tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69741292024-03-12T20:09:56.492-04:00 chastity reVisited For purity and the dignity of the bodyLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05714225694607303543noreply@blogger.comBlogger379125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974129.post-85544066251387323342014-04-26T02:00:00.000-04:002014-04-26T07:23:58.229-04:00The Divine Mercy Novena Day Nine<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="jesus" style="font-weight: bold;">Today bring to Me SOULS WHO HAVE BECOME LUKEWARM,<span class="asterisk">*</span> and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy. These souls wound My Heart most painfully. My soul suffered the most dreadful loathing in the Garden of Olives because of lukewarm souls. They were the reason I cried out: 'Father, take this cup away from Me, if it be Your will.' For them, the last hope of salvation is to run to My mercy.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Most compassionate Jesus, You are Compassion Itself. I bring lukewarm souls into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart. In this fire of Your pure love, let these tepid souls, who, like corpses, filled You with such deep loathing, be once again set aflame. O Most Compassionate Jesus, exercise the omnipotence of Your mercy and draw them into the very ardor of Your love, and bestow upon them the gift of holy love, for nothing is beyond Your power. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon lukewarm souls who are nonetheless enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. Father of Mercy, I beg You by the bitter Passion of Your Son and by His three-hour agony on the Cross: Let them, too, glorify the abyss of Your mercy. Amen.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-size: x-small;">*To understand who are the souls designated for this day, and who in the Diary are called 'lukewarm,' but are also compared to ice and to corpses, we would do well to take note of the definition that the Savior Himself gave to them when speaking to St. Faustina about them on one occasion: <span class="jesus" style="font-weight: bold;">There are souls who thwart My efforts </span>(1682). <span class="jesus" style="font-weight: bold;">Souls without love or devotion, souls full of egoism and selfishness, proud and arrogant souls full of deceit and hypocrisy, lukewarm souls who have just enough warmth to keep themselves alive: My Heart cannot bear this. All the graces that I pour out upon them flow off them as off the face of a rock. I cannot stand them because they are neither good nor bad </span>(1702). </span></div>
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Now, pray the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy: <a href="http://thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/praythechaplet.php" style="text-decoration: none;">http://thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/</a><br />
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<b>To fittingly observe the Feast of Mercy, we should:<br /><br />1. Celebrate the Feast on the Sunday after Easter (or its Vigil).<br />2. Sincerely repent of all our sins.<br />3. Place our complete trust in Jesus.<br />4. Go to Confession, preferably before the Feast.<br />5. Receive Holy Communion on the day of the Feast (or its Vigil).<br />6. Venerate* the Image of The Divine Mercy.<br />7. Be merciful to others, through our actions, words, and prayers on their behalf.</b><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">*To venerate a sacred image or statue simply means to <br />perform some act or make some gesture of deep <br />religious respect toward it because of the person whom <br />it represents — in this case, our Most Merciful Savior.</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-align: left;"></span><br />
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</span>Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05714225694607303543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974129.post-36563798604114198292014-04-25T11:02:00.000-04:002014-04-25T18:52:56.535-04:00The Divine Mercy Novena Day Eight<br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="jesus" style="font-weight: bold; text-align: left;">Today bring to Me THE SOULS WHO ARE DETAINED IN PURGATORY, and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy. Let the torrents of My Blood cool down their scorching flames. All these souls are greatly loved by Me. They are making retribution to My justice. It is in your power to bring them relief. Draw all the indulgences from the treasury of My Church and offer them on their behalf. Oh, if you only knew the torments they suffer, you would continually offer for them the alms of the spirit and pay off their debt to My justice.</span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-align: left;">Most Merciful Jesus, You Yourself have said that You desire mercy; so I bring into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls in Purgatory, souls who are very dear to You, and yet, who must make retribution to Your justice. May the streams of Blood and Water which gushed forth from Your Heart put out the flames of Purgatory, that there, too, the power of Your mercy may be celebrated. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-align: left;">Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls suffering in Purgatory, who are enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. I beg You, by the sorrowful Passion of Jesus Your Son, and by all the bitterness with which His most sacred Soul was flooded: Manifest Your mercy to the souls who are under Your just scrutiny. Look upon them in no other way but only through the Wounds of Jesus, Your dearly beloved Son; for we firmly believe that there is no limit to Your goodness and compassion. Amen.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-align: left;">Now, pray the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy: <a href="http://thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/praythechaplet.php" style="text-decoration: none;">http://thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/</a><br /><br />Read about the Divine Mercy: <a href="http://thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/novena.php" style="text-decoration: none;">http://thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/novena.php</a></span><br />
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</span>Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05714225694607303543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974129.post-67659287358380848822014-04-24T16:36:00.000-04:002014-04-24T23:18:38.528-04:00The Divine Mercy Novena Day Seven<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="jesus" style="font-weight: bold;">Today bring to Me THE SOULS WHO ESPECIALLY VENERATE AND GLORIFY MY MERCY,<span class="asterisk">* </span>and immerse them in My mercy. These souls sorrowed most over my Passion and entered most deeply into My spirit. They are living images of My Compassionate Heart. These souls will shine with a special brightness in the next life. Not one of them will go into the fire of hell. I shall particularly defend each one of them at the hour of death.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Most Merciful Jesus, whose Heart is Love Itself, receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who particularly extol and venerate the greatness of Your mercy. These souls are mighty with the very power of God Himself. In the midst of all afflictions and adversities they go forward, confident of Your mercy; and united to You, O Jesus, they carry all mankind on their shoulders. These souls will not be judged severely, but Your mercy will embrace them as they depart from this life. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls who glorify and venerate Your greatest attribute, that of Your fathomless mercy, and who are enclosed in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. These souls are a living Gospel; their hands are full of deeds of mercy, and their hearts, overflowing with joy, sing a canticle of mercy to You, O Most High! I beg You O God: </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Show them Your mercy according to the hope and trust they have placed in You. Let there be accomplished in them the promise of Jesus, who said to them that during their life, but especially at the hour of death, the souls who will venerate this fathomless mercy of His, He, Himself, will defend as His glory. Amen.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">*The text leads one to conclude that in the first prayer directed to Jesus, Who is the Redeemer, it is "victim" souls and contemplatives that are being prayed for; those persons, that is, that voluntarily offered themselves to God for the salvation of their neighbor (see Col 1:24; 2 Cor 4:12). This explains their close union with the Savior and the extraordinary efficacy that their invisible activity has for others. In the second prayer, directed to the Father from whom comes "every worthwhile gift and every genuine benefit," we recommend the "active" souls, who promote devotion to The Divine Mercy and exercise with it all the other works that lend themselves to the spiritual and material uplifting of their brethren. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Now, pray the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy: <a href="http://thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/praythechaplet.php" style="text-decoration: none;">http://thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/</a><br /><br />Read about the Divine Mercy: <a href="http://thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/novena.php" style="text-decoration: none;">http://thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/novena.php</a></span><br />
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Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05714225694607303543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974129.post-14024191739023094152014-04-23T04:58:00.000-04:002014-04-23T04:58:00.660-04:00Divine Mercy Novena Day Six<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="jesus" style="font-weight: bold;">Today bring to Me THE MEEK AND HUMBLE SOULS AND THE SOULS OF LITTLE CHILDREN, and immerse them in My mercy. These souls most closely resemble My Heart. They strengthened Me during My bitter agony. I saw them as earthly Angels, who will keep vigil at My altars. I pour out upon them whole torrents of grace. Only the humble soul is capable of receiving My grace. I favor humble souls with My confidence.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Most Merciful Jesus, You yourself have said, "Learn from Me for I am meek and humble of heart." Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart all meek and humble souls and the souls of little children. These souls send all heaven into ecstasy and they are the heavenly Father's favorites. They are a sweet-smelling bouquet before the throne of God; God Himself takes delight in their fragrance. These souls have a permanent abode in Your Most Compassionate Heart, O Jesus, and they unceasingly sing out a hymn of love and mercy. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon meek souls, upon humble souls, and upon little children who are enfolded in the abode which is the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. These souls bear the closest resemblance to Your Son. Their fragrance rises from the earth and reaches Your very throne. Father of mercy and of all goodness, I beg You by the love You bear these souls and by the delight You take in them: Bless the whole world, that all souls together may sing out the praises of Your mercy for endless ages. Amen. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Now, pray the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy: <a href="http://thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/praythechaplet.php" style="text-decoration: none;">http://thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/</a><br /><br />Read about the Divine Mercy: <a href="http://thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/novena.php" style="text-decoration: none;">http://thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/novena.php</a></span></div>
Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05714225694607303543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974129.post-60656605864172828742014-04-22T04:55:00.000-04:002014-04-22T04:55:00.909-04:00Divine Mercy Novena Day Five<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="jesus" style="font-weight: bold; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Today bring to Me THE SOULS OF THOSE WHO HAVE SEPARATED THEMSELVES FROM MY CHURCH,<span class="asterisk">*</span> and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. During My bitter Passion they tore at My Body and Heart, that is, My Church. As they return to unity with the Church, My wounds heal and in this way they alleviate My Passion.</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Most Merciful Jesus, Goodness Itself, You do not refuse light to those who seek it of You. Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who have separated themselves from Your Church. Draw them by Your light into the unity of the Church, and do not let them escape from the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart; but bring it about that they, too, come to glorify the generosity of Your mercy. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls of those who have separated themselves from Your Son's Church, who have squandered Your blessings and misused Your graces by obstinately persisting in their errors. Do not look upon their errors, but upon the love of Your own Son and upon His bitter Passion, which He underwent for their sake, since they, too, are enclosed in His Most Compassionate Heart. Bring it about that they also may glorify Your great mercy for endless ages. Amen.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">*Our Lord's original words here were "heretics and schismatics," since He spoke to Saint Faustina within the context of her times. As of the Second Vatican Council, Church authorities have seen fit not to use those designations in accordance with the explanation given in the Council's Decree on Ecumenism (n.3). Every pope since the Council has reaffirmed that usage. Saint Faustina herself, her heart always in harmony with the mind of the Church, most certainly would have agreed. When at one time, because of the decisions of her superiors and Father confessor, she was not able to execute Our Lord's inspirations and orders, she declared: "I will follow Your will insofar as You will permit me to do so through Your representative. O my Jesus, I give priority to the voice of the Church over the voice with which You speak to me" (<em>Diary</em>, 497). The Lord confirmed her action and praised her for it. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Now, pray the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy: <a href="http://thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/praythechaplet.php" style="text-decoration: none;">http://thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/</a><br /><br />Read about the Divine Mercy: <a href="http://thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/novena.php" style="text-decoration: none;">http://thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/novena.php</a></span>Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05714225694607303543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974129.post-34672844030255977362014-04-21T06:34:00.000-04:002014-04-21T16:51:12.049-04:00The Divine Mercy Novena Day Four<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIArxqRKkHZ4HTq7Z-aNqzxOrdF6V-uDrC4vJNl1zcM2vUcJaDiyDN7TaBTnA-Ms4clgGUmG39jRQvq_hThMG45xTIYaioiheqz9ZJzVL1qgDTqg34_uMZNSeJ20aIfRXvsihCEg/s1600/Divine_Mercy_(Adolf_Hyla_painting)2007-08-16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIArxqRKkHZ4HTq7Z-aNqzxOrdF6V-uDrC4vJNl1zcM2vUcJaDiyDN7TaBTnA-Ms4clgGUmG39jRQvq_hThMG45xTIYaioiheqz9ZJzVL1qgDTqg34_uMZNSeJ20aIfRXvsihCEg/s1600/Divine_Mercy_(Adolf_Hyla_painting)2007-08-16.jpg" height="320" width="210" /></a></div>
Fourth Day:<br />
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<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="jesus" style="font-weight: bold;">Today bring to Me THOSE WHO DO NOT BELIEVE IN GOD<span class="asterisk">*</span> AND THOSE WHO DO NOT YET KNOW ME. I was thinking also of them during My bitter Passion, and their future zeal comforted My Heart. Immerse them in the ocean of My mercy.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Most compassionate Jesus, You are the Light of the whole world. Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who do not believe in God and of those who as yet do not know You. Let the rays of Your grace enlighten them that they, too, together with us, may extol Your wonderful mercy; and do not let them escape from the abode which is Your Most Compassionate Heart. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls of those who do not believe in You, and of those who as yet do not know You, but who are enclosed in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. Draw them to the light of the Gospel. These souls do not know what great happiness it is to love You. Grant that they, too, may extol the generosity of Your mercy for endless ages. Amen.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">*Our Lord's original words here were "the pagans." Since the pontificate of Pope John XXIII, the Church has seen fit to replace this term with clearer and more appropriate terminology. </span></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Now, pray the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy: <a href="http://thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/praythechaplet.php">http://thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Read about the Divine Mercy: <a href="http://thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/novena.php">http://thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/novena.php</a></span>Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05714225694607303543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974129.post-64013575470417526932014-04-20T05:32:00.000-04:002014-04-20T05:32:00.383-04:00Divine Mercy Novena Day Three<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<h2 style="margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-top: 0.25em; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></h2>
<h2 style="margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-top: 0.25em; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Third Day:</span></h2>
<div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Today bring to Me ALL DEVOUT AND FAITHFUL SOULS, and immerse then in the ocean of My mercy. The souls brought Me consolation on the Way of the Cross. They were that drop of consolation in the midst of an ocean of bitterness.</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Most Merciful Jesus, from the treasury of Your mercy, You impart Your graces in great abundance to each and all. Receive us into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart and never let us escape from It. We beg this grace of You by that most wonderous love for the heavenly Father with which Your Heart burns so fiercely. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon faithful souls, as upon the inheritance of Your Son. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, grant them Your blessing and surround them with Your constant protection. Thus may they never fail in love or lose the treasure of the holy faith, but rather, with all the hosts of Angels and Saints, may they glorify Your boundless mercy for endless ages. Amen. </span></div>
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<br />
Now, pray the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy: <a href="http://thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/praythechaplet.php">http://thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/</a><br />
<br />
Read about the Divine Mercy: <a href="http://thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/novena.php">http://thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/novena.php</a>vLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05714225694607303543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974129.post-5836644811421013272014-04-19T06:30:00.000-04:002014-04-19T06:30:00.652-04:00Divine Mercy Novena Day Two<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Second Day:</span><br />
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4em;">
<span class="jesus" style="font-weight: bold;">Today bring to Me THE SOULS OF PRIESTS AND RELIGIOUS, and immerse them in My unfathomable mercy. It was they who gave Me strength to endure My bitter Passion. Through them as through channels My mercy flows out upon mankind.</span><br />
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Most Merciful Jesus, from whom comes all that is good, increase Your grace in men and women consecrated to Your service,<span class="asterisk" style="color: #ad0000; font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold;">*</span> that they may perform worthy works of mercy; and that all who see them may glorify the Father of Mercy who is in heaven.<br />
<br />
Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the company of chosen ones in Your vineyard—upon the souls of priests and religious; and endow them with the strength of Your blessing. For the love of the Heart of Your Son in which they are enfolded, impart to them Your power and light, that they may be able to guide others in the way of salvation and with one voice sing praise to Your boundless mercy for ages without end. Amen.</div>
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*In the original text, St. Faustina uses the pronoun "us" since she was offering this prayer as a consecrated religious sister. The wording adapted here is intended to make the prayer suitable for universal use.<br />
<br /></div>
<b style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4em;">Now, pray the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy: </b><br />
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<br />
<a href="http://thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/praythechaplet.php">http://thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/praythechaplet.php</a></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4em;">
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4em;">
<b>Read about the Divine Mercy:</b> <a href="http://thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/novena.php">http://thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/novena.php</a><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
</div>
Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05714225694607303543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974129.post-45030180206028458912014-04-17T08:55:00.000-04:002014-04-18T08:55:43.028-04:00The Divine Mercy Novena Day One<br />
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<h2 style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-top: 0.25em;">
First Day:</h2>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4em;">
<span class="jesus" style="font-weight: bold;">Today bring to Me ALL MANKIND, ESPECIALLY ALL SINNERS, and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. In this way you will console Me in the bitter grief into which the loss of souls plunges Me.</span><br />
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Most Merciful Jesus, whose very nature it is to have compassion on us and to forgive us, do not look up<span style="line-height: 1.4em;">on our sins but upon our trust which we place in Your infinite goodness. Receive us all into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart, and never let us escape from It. We beg this of You by Your love which unites You to the Father and the Holy Spirit.</span><br />
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Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon all mankind and especially upon poor sinners, all enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion show us Your mercy, that we may praise the omnipotence of Your mercy for ever and ever. Amen.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4em;">
<b>Now, pray the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy: </b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/praythechaplet.php">http://thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/praythechaplet.php</a></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4em;">
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<div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4em;">
<b>Read about the Divine Mercy:</b> <a href="http://thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/novena.php">http://thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/novena.php</a></div>
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Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05714225694607303543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974129.post-34441980170309285012014-03-29T11:06:00.001-04:002014-03-29T11:10:18.887-04:00‘Planned’ parenthood—God’s way • by By Joe Pisani<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b> • by By Joe Pisani</b><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">From the Fairfield County Catholic, publication of the <a href="http://www.bridgeportdiocese.com/" target="_blank">Diocese of Bridgeport</a></span><br />
<br />
While I was being introduced to guests at my younger sister’s birthday party, someone who had a little too much Pinot Grigio asked, “Is that your father?”<br />
<br />
“Check the prescription on those eyeglasses,” I wanted to say.<br />
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<div>
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I’m sure the question made Margaret’s day, although it cast a bit of a pall over mine. (At least they didn’t say “grandfather.”)<br />
<br />
In my defense, let me point out that it was a poorly lit room, some guests had been drinking heavily and I had gray stubble on my face because I didn’t shave. You see, I wanted to look like those young hunks in GQ magazine who have sexy facial hair, but I guess my plan backfired because I looked more like Burl Ives than Hugh Jackman.<br />
<br />
“No,” Margaret told the inquiring guest, “That’s my brother. We were born 13 years apart.” Then, she added, “I wasn’t planned.”<br />
<br />
“Planned”—what a utilitarian concept. I doubt my parents planned her or my sister Kathy, who was born a year later on the same day. My father didn’t believe in long-range planning. He took life a day at a time, which is a lesson they taught him in Alcoholics Anonymous.<br />
<br />
How many of us were planned by our parents? For my part, I hope I was a complete surprise, like winning Lotto or getting a flat tire when you’re rushing to a meeting.<br />
<br />
Planned or unplanned, our parents welcomed us. They were from a different era when it was widely believed that all life, from the beginning to the end, was sacred. They also subscribed to this crazy notion that children were gifts from God.<br />
<br />
When I thought about it, I had to admit that none of our four daughters was “planned,” at least by my wife and me. We never sat down to develop a strategic plan for parenthood with an Excel spreadsheet, a folder of Huggies coupons, and blueprints for a bigger house. In fact, we raised four daughters in a Cape Cod with three bedrooms, no dishwasher and one bathroom. The waiting lines were long and the yelling was loud.<br />
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Our daughters were surprises, and what great surprises. We welcomed them all, although we feared that four children were more than we could afford. In the end, God provided, as he always does.<br />
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Years later, however, while I was struggling to pay for college and weddings, I sometimes wondered, “Why the heck did we have four kids? A dog or two and possibly a parakeet would have been a lot less expensive.” But the truth is we wouldn’t have done anything differently.<br />
<br />
As parents, we may not have planned those pregnancies, but God certainly did. God has a plan, and it’s always better than our plan. Sometimes, though, what He has in store for us isn’t necessarily what our first choice would be.<br />
<br />
As he told the prophet Jeremiah: “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you. I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”<br />
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One of my “unplanned” sisters became a doctor who works in the intensive care unit and has helped many families when they’re confronting a medical crisis or the end of life. The other “unplanned” sister is a social worker who counsels families troubled by abuse and poverty. I like to think they take Christ with them in their work.<br />
<br />
The greatest tragedy of our age is that so many children, had they been born and not aborted, could have changed the world for the better, in big ways and in small. They might have developed a cure for cancer or AIDS, and they might have brought Christ to the lonely, the suffering and the dispossessed.<br />
<br />
Each one of us was created in God’s image and likeness with infinite forethought and love, although I confess that I seldom feel like a piece of fine craftsmanship and usually think of myself more as a Hyundai than a Porsche. But even our flaws were part of his plan, and the amazing thing is he loves us, flaws and all.<br />
<br />
Years before Roe v. Wade and long before our society began to trivialize the sacredness of human life, Trappist author M. Raymond wrote, “Each human being is so tremendous that he or she merits a reverence that is really religious. For each is a creation of God; each a mirror of Divinity; each a feature or a facet on the Face of Christ.”<br />
<br />
People who are forgotten by society, people who have no value in the eyes of a materialistic, status-obsessed culture are infinitely valued in the eyes of God.<br />
<br />
Fr. Raymond also said, “From all eternity, God has had in his mind and will a specific task for you to perform for which no one else in all creation is fitted as you are. It belongs to you and to you alone.”<br />
<br />
He’s talking about you. He’s talking about me. He’s talking about millions upon millions of “unplanned” children, whose value God understood before time began.<br />
<br />
Or as Mother Angelica once said: “God knew you, loved you, and chose you before there was an angel, before there was a world, a universe or a star.”<br />
<br />
<i>Joe Pisani, a journalist for many years, is principal at The Dilenschneider Group, a strategic communications firm.</i></div>
Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05714225694607303543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974129.post-73426606452195059552014-03-15T18:22:00.000-04:002014-03-15T20:06:56.007-04:00Clarification of Who Am I to Judge? by Fr. Cipolla<div style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; border: 0px; color: #464646; line-height: 25.200000762939453px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">Perhaps, just perhaps, it is time for a clarification of this phrase, <b style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Who am I to judge?”</i></b> Perhaps, just perhaps, the official explainer, Fr. Lombardi, should tell the world what this means. Perhaps, just perhaps, the Bishop of Rome, should tell the world what this means in the context of Jesus Christ’s words <i style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Judge not and you will not be judged</i></span><i style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">”</i><i style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"> </i><span style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">in the Gospel of St. Luke. Perhaps the important distinction between sinful condemnation of a person in one’s heart and making a valid moral judgment could be pointed out. Perhaps there can be a clarification of these words within the context of the teaching of the Church on human sexuality as clearly set out in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. </span></span><br />
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<div style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">The store includes a gallery of photos showing different people wearing this t-shirt. The photo that most touched me was the one above of a geography class in a Catholic school with some of the students wearing this T-shirt ("<i style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Holy Names Geography Club in their orange Z Day ribbons, supporting Mark Zmuda. More photos to come! #zday</i>"). The smiles on the faces of the kids are real and touching. The context is their support of a teacher in the school who was fired for "marrying" another man. For these Catholic kids what is most important is being nice to other people and being open to "alternative" life styles. The questions of salvation, of truth, of sacrifice, of faith with content: how can these compete with a smiling Pope and “Who am I to judge” on a T-shirt? And there is the real tragedy. But we live in hope. And perhaps, just perhaps, someone, even the Bishop of Rome, will let those kids and the world know what that now famous question means.</span></div>
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Father Richard G. Cipolla<br />
<i>A convert from the Episcopal Church, Father Richard Cipolla is a priest of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut and a Latin scholar who came to love and celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass.</i>Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05714225694607303543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974129.post-13654584485538268762014-03-13T06:47:00.001-04:002014-03-13T06:47:11.378-04:00Novena to St. Joseph<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><i>Say once a day for nine days, especially beginning on 10 March and ending on 18 March, the eve of the Feast of St. Joseph</i><br><br>O glorious descendant of the kings of Judah, Inheritor of the virtues of all the patriarchs. Just and happy St. Joseph, listen to my prayer. Thou art my glorious protector, and shall ever be, after Jesus and Mary the object of my most profound veneration and confidence. Thou art the most hidden, though the greatest Saint, and art particularly the patron of those who serve God with the greatest purity and fervor. In union with all those who have ever been most devoted to thee I now dedicate myself to thy service; beseeching thee, for the sake of Jesus Christ, who vouchsafed to love and obey thee as a son, to become a father to me; and to obtain for me the filial respect, confidence and love of a child towards thee. <br><br>O powerful advocate of all Christians, whose intercession, as St. Theresa assures us, has never been found to fail, deign to intercede for me now, and to implore for me the particular intention of this Novena. <br><br><i>(Mention your intentions here)</i><br><br>Recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be. <br><br>Present me O great Saint to the adorable Trinity, with Whom thou hadst so glorious and so intimate a correspondence. Obtain that I may never efface by sin the Sacred Image according to the likeness of which, I was created. Beg for me that my divine Redeemer would enkindle in my heart and in all hearts, the fire of His Love, and infuse therein the virtues of His adorable infancy, His purity, simplicity, obedience, and humility. <br><br>Obtain for me likewise a lively devotion to thy virgin spouse, and protect me so powerfully in life and death, that I may have the happiness of dying as thou didst, in the friendship of my Creator, and under the immediate protection of the Mother of God. Amen.</span><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw77rFNLhg43OmW56wxsRW4NS7IQFOhsSVXWj0AP0jiuT_Q52xt_tOTlz2bKFBdQII8f9m7kdNH0huAEvoHscG1psEiEBUVdkcWKWGqW0uwb5pOaS__QxAdp4sb_OUzbnjVwpmrA/s640/blogger-image-107001838.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw77rFNLhg43OmW56wxsRW4NS7IQFOhsSVXWj0AP0jiuT_Q52xt_tOTlz2bKFBdQII8f9m7kdNH0huAEvoHscG1psEiEBUVdkcWKWGqW0uwb5pOaS__QxAdp4sb_OUzbnjVwpmrA/s640/blogger-image-107001838.jpg"></a></div>Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05714225694607303543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974129.post-44687235560666212192014-03-09T19:59:00.001-04:002014-03-09T20:02:36.320-04:00Traditional Catholic Prayers: O Kind Creator, bow thine ear<a href="http://traditional-catholic-prayers.blogspot.com/2012/05/o-kind-creator-bow-thine-ear.html?m=1">Traditional Catholic Prayers: O Kind Creator, bow thine ear</a><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">O kind Creator, bow thine ear</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">To mark the cry, to know the tear<br />Before thy throne of mercy spent<br />In this thy holy fast of Lent.<br /><br />Our hearts are open, Lord, to thee:<br />Thou knowest our infirmity;<br />Pour out on all who seek thy face<br />Abundance of thy pardoning grace.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Our sins are many, this we know;<br />Spare us, good Lord, thy mercy show;<br />And for the honour of thy name<br />Our fainting souls to life reclaim.<br /><br />Give us the self-control that springs<br />From discipline of outward things,<br />That fasting inward secretly<br />The soul may purely dwell with thee.<br /><br />We pray thee, Holy Trinity,<br />One God, unchanging Unity,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">That we from this our abstinence</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">May reap the fruits of penitence. Amen.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05714225694607303543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974129.post-14563802679288322812013-08-23T13:25:00.003-04:002013-08-23T19:27:54.884-04:00"They don't build them like this anymore": Inspiring renovation to Traditonal Latin Mass Parish Church in Norwalk CT<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzP1I_n4FTt9qHMXRp02h-lTJ6_yLdSg2OGtoO0zJ8lS9l46gL6OrvbWp9oxQS0MkVpjq_Lr9I0Kog' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM3Rw8mn_9HJNG6a2iYWUS19sobiXKbRxo3XGF3S1tKd6-MPOXvwYIm0xrLHjSXTd53ajkZLay8fQTEzUy1tE8U1Q1nQOl7Y8lJ7lCh9fKGWQrBYiFUBZQfA3AcX5Wa3Nl7c5KTA/s1600/stmarynorwalk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM3Rw8mn_9HJNG6a2iYWUS19sobiXKbRxo3XGF3S1tKd6-MPOXvwYIm0xrLHjSXTd53ajkZLay8fQTEzUy1tE8U1Q1nQOl7Y8lJ7lCh9fKGWQrBYiFUBZQfA3AcX5Wa3Nl7c5KTA/s200/stmarynorwalk.jpg" width="119" /></a></div>
Even when the Traditional Latin Mass was confined to the "crypt," hundreds of worshippers searching for its reverence and beauty overflowed the pews in St. Patrick Chapel in the basement of St. Mary Church. That was Advent of 2007, and the parish, under the pastorship of Fr. Greg Markey, has been evolving toward the perfect form of Catholic worship ever since. "Creating a beautiful home for our Lord gives glory to His greatness and helps form strong Catholics,' says Fr. Markey. A traditional Gothic architectural structure, St. Mary in Norwalk, is forming many strong Catholics through prayer, liturgy, sacred music, worship, art and architecture.<br />
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After that trial period in the basement of the church, then Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Rev. William Lori, allowed the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass to be moved upstairs to the church proper. Unfortunately, St. Mary was not immune from the disastrous effects of church whitewashing that occurred in the 60's and 70's. A beautiful testament to the glory of God at the turn of the 20th century, St. Mary's became a banal "worship space", devoid of the rich history of 2,000 years of Catholic worship.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFcrHDWLr1j2Y31X_YBpu4MUNsB9RuCP-ZrwbkLzFjoITWrGGfw2HPcRgrFp0Z2uDUJKZ7_davP8lsg3PIHK3GYbKRHm7A5g9GENDd6ArPybOCr7cJR3qOR9a8BGm8M84JdkNGrg/s1600/StMaryInterior1931.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFcrHDWLr1j2Y31X_YBpu4MUNsB9RuCP-ZrwbkLzFjoITWrGGfw2HPcRgrFp0Z2uDUJKZ7_davP8lsg3PIHK3GYbKRHm7A5g9GENDd6ArPybOCr7cJR3qOR9a8BGm8M84JdkNGrg/s320/StMaryInterior1931.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Mary Church 1930</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFFPwQ2sKozkgqG1bXhAm89cs2j_YqTSlWr33x2jt6Z_tmQColbU1NgCM_D2pgQ4-Sv6X8VrEK6h10CLvPOMxbcXkGaoJRgjWCXZS-x1MoMllDkWQfIzu4uPkJzWj4_lrs46owtg/s1600/StMaryInterior1990.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFFPwQ2sKozkgqG1bXhAm89cs2j_YqTSlWr33x2jt6Z_tmQColbU1NgCM_D2pgQ4-Sv6X8VrEK6h10CLvPOMxbcXkGaoJRgjWCXZS-x1MoMllDkWQfIzu4uPkJzWj4_lrs46owtg/s320/StMaryInterior1990.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Mary Church 1989</td></tr>
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<a href="http://stmarynorwalk.net/hstrybox.html" target="_blank">Renovations began soon after</a> bringing the Traditional Latin Mass upstairs, and will be culminating this Christmas season of 2013, when the commissioned painting of renowned neo-Classical artist <a href="http://www.leonardporter.com/" target="_blank">Leonard Porter</a>, The Assumption, will be installed in the central reredos, directly behind the high altar.<br />
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The video is a special report covered by Channel 12 News in Connecticut about the renovation at St. Mary.<br />
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If you are interested in supporting the renovation project at St. Mary, please visit<a href="http://stmarynorwalk.net/hstrybox_donate.html" target="_blank"> this link. </a><br />
To donate by PayPal click <a href="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=10384323" target="_blank">this link.</a><br />
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Read article by Joseph McAleer, former Diocesan spokesperson at <a href="http://www.bridgeportdiocese.com/index.php/fcc/article/saint_mary_parish_norwalk_project_will_restore_historic_church" target="_blank">this link.</a><br />
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View more photos at <a href="http://www.examiner.com/article/they-don-t-build-them-like-this-anymore" target="_blank">this link.</a>Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05714225694607303543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974129.post-9793411745868630452013-08-14T16:55:00.001-04:002013-08-23T19:04:48.100-04:00Extraordinary Form will be offered at St. Joseph Church, Danbury, CT<div class="page" title="Page 1">
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11.000000pt;">Good news from <a href="http://www.stjosephchurchdanbury.org/media/1/11/August18,%20Bulletin.pdf" target="_blank">St. Joseph Church bulletin:</a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Dear parishioners and friends of St. Joseph Parish,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11.000000pt;">In Advent of 2012, we introduced the Third Edition
of the Roman Missal at our Parish Masses. This new
English translation, called the “Ordinary Form” of the
Mass, was implemented smoothly after appropriate
catechesis and with helpful worship aids.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11.000000pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11.000000pt;">Listening to parishioners over these first two years
of my pastorate, I have frequently heard expressed the
sincere request for the “Latin Mass.” These requests
have come from </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial,Italic'; font-size: 11.000000pt;">young </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11.000000pt;">and </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial,Italic'; font-size: 11.000000pt;">old </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11.000000pt;">and include a </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial,Italic'; font-size: 11.000000pt;">stable
</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11.000000pt;">number of the faithful.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11.000000pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11.000000pt;">The “Latin Mass,” called in the liturgical language
of the Church the “Extraordinary Form,” uses the Ordo
Missal published by Blessed Pope John XXIII in 1962
(now called the Missal of Blessed John XXIII.)
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11.000000pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11.000000pt;">There are in essence then, two forms or editions
or usages of the same Roman rite. It was Pope Emeritus
Benedict XVI who granted the liturgical freedom to offer
both forms of Mass in the Apostolic Letter called
Summorum Pontificum (2007). In it he wrote, “In parishes
where there is a stable group of faithful who adhere to the
earlier liturgical tradition, the pastor should willingly
accept their request to celebrate the Mass according to
the rite of the Roman Missal published in 1962...” Pope
Emeritus Benedict XVI explains, “What earlier
generations held as sacred remains sacred and great for
us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden
or even considered harmful.”
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11.000000pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11.000000pt;">I shared and discussed the request for the Latin
Mass with the Parish Council at our meetings last year.
In order to be responsive and sensitive to this request for
Mass in both the Extraordinary and Ordinary Forms, I
have concluded that a weekly Sunday Mass in Latin will
be offered starting later this year (the readings will be in
English, using editions recognized by the Apostolic See).
The Latin Mass, however, can only be offered after minor
restoration of the sanctuary is completed.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11.000000pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11.000000pt;">You may have noticed that the old, red carpet in
the sanctuary has been removed, revealing elegant
marble steps leading to the high altar. Within the next few
weeks, the sanctuary floor itself is going to be cleaned.
The high altar will also be restored and cleaned in order
to offer the Latin Mass, once again, at that altar.
</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlADYsEEcZRSwkwp8YplLCUHh7OqNL9KgFLJ2CbvgtmB3dxMfGVbbGkU4cEZp_3XAhbhK2nM0Hmj_G-9lkznKQq9-QsGjO_dmN26ni2rWcwK2HQvC33NiuwaX1yNbxxXyLp4Z3-g/s1600/IMG_1873.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlADYsEEcZRSwkwp8YplLCUHh7OqNL9KgFLJ2CbvgtmB3dxMfGVbbGkU4cEZp_3XAhbhK2nM0Hmj_G-9lkznKQq9-QsGjO_dmN26ni2rWcwK2HQvC33NiuwaX1yNbxxXyLp4Z3-g/s320/IMG_1873.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11.000000pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11.000000pt;">Finally, we discovered the previously existing low
altar had a major crack in its center. It has been removed
and will be repaired and repurposed for our outdoor
memorial gardens.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11.000000pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11.000000pt;">The smaller altar now in place is an architectural
match to the main section of the high altar. It is made of
wood, however, with a solid piece of natural stone, i.e.,
marble, which is large enough to hold the Sacred Host,
Chalice, and ciboria used at Mass. The piece of marble
was inserted into the wooden altar table. This stone is
called the Altar Stone. In it is a First Class relic of St.
Charles Borromeo. The Altar Stone denotes Christ, who
is the </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial,Italic'; font-size: 11.000000pt;">Mystical Stone</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11.000000pt;">, or foundation of the Church.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11.000000pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11.000000pt;">This smaller altar of sacrifice is, as previously
indicated, a wooden structure. Because it is of this lighter
material, it can be moved out of the sanctuary when the
Latin Mass is offered facing East.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11.000000pt;">Mass is central to our spiritual life in the Roman
Catholic Church. Our sanctuary will soon be able to
accommodate both forms of the Roman Rite so that the
fullness of our Catholic heritage can be preserved and
celebrated “all for the glory of God and the salvation of
souls.”
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11.000000pt;">Devotedly in Christ,
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'ScriptMTBold'; font-size: 13.000000pt;">Reverend Samuel V. Scott </span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><b><u>Thank you Father Scott! </u></b></span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">The Reverend Samuel V. Scott was appointed the pastor of St. Joseph Parish in June, 2011. Most recently, Father Scott served as the rector of St. John Fisher Seminary, <st1:city style="margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><st1:place style="margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Stamford</st1:place></st1:city>, the college seminary of the Diocese of Bridgeport. He previously served at parishes in <st1:city style="margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><st1:place style="margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Westport</st1:place></st1:city> and <st1:city style="margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><st1:place style="margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Brookfield</st1:place></st1:city>, and is thrilled to return to parish ministry at St. Joseph Parish, which he describes as a "vibrant Catholic parish blessed with a thriving diocesan school." </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">A native of <st1:place style="margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><st1:city style="margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Gettysburg</st1:city>, <st1:state style="margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Pennsylvania</st1:state></st1:place>, Father Scott is a graduate of <st1:place style="margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><st1:placename style="margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">St. Joseph</st1:placename> <st1:placetype style="margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Academy</st1:placetype></st1:place>, McSherrystown, a school administered by the Sisters of St. Joseph, Chestnut Hill. He attended <st1:place style="margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><st1:placename style="margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Delone</st1:placename> <st1:placename style="margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Catholic</st1:placename> <st1:placetype style="margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">High School</st1:placetype></st1:place>where a religion course made a life-changing impact and led to his vocation to the priesthood. Father Scott took his undergraduate degree from <st1:place style="margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><st1:placename style="margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Vassar</st1:placename> <st1:placetype style="margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">College</st1:placetype></st1:place> where he studied philosophy and theology. Upon graduation, he received a fellowship to study at Union Theological Seminary, <st1:state style="margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><st1:place style="margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">New York</st1:place></st1:state>, where he received the Master of Divinity degree in Church History.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Father Scott entered the formation program of the Diocese of Bridgeport in 1990 and completed his theological studies at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, Overbook, in 1995 where he received the M.A. in Sacred Scripture. Father Scott was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Edward M. Egan, in 1995, at St. Augustine Cathedral, <st1:city style="margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><st1:place style="margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Bridgeport</st1:place></st1:city>. His ongoing formation included attendance at Institute for Priestly Formation of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. There he received certification for completion of a course and practicum on the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite according to the Missal of Blessed John XXIII. </span></div>
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Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05714225694607303543noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974129.post-77212432781674470502013-08-08T10:53:00.003-04:002013-08-08T10:54:27.910-04:00St. John Marie Vianney, pray for us! Pray for our priests!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">August 8 is the traditional feast day of St. John Vianney, patron saint of all priests. John Vianney's body remains incorrupt, entombed in Ars, where he served faithfully. In this time when the Traditional Latin Mass might lose some footing, we pray for John Vianney's intercession, especially for priests who are resistant to bringing the Traditional Latin Mass to the faithful. May John Vianney's intercession ignite new fervor in the Traditional Latin Mass.</span><br />
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John Mary Vianney was born in the Village of Dardilly in the diocese of Lyons, and gave many indications of his future sanctity.<br />
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As an eight year old boy, keeping sheep, he would lead the other children to kneel before the image of the Mother of God, teaching them the rosary by word and example: and he loved the work in the fields and meditate on divine things. He was a great lover of the poor and took delight in helping them in every way. He was slow to learn, but after imploring God's help, and working hard to complete his course in theology, he was judged fit to be ordained.<br />
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Receiving an appointment as pastor he made spiritual flowers bloom again in a parish that had been nothing but a dried up wasteland. Busy every day hearing confessions and giving spiritual counsel, he bore patiently the most horrible attacks of Satan. He established a practice of making missions in more than hundred parishes.<br />
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The faithful came flocking to his parish, even from distant places in a holy desire to see him; but he did not share their high opinion of him, and more than once he tried to slip away. Worn out by his labors rather than his old age, he rested in the Lord at the age of seventy-three, on the day he had foretold, August 4, 1859. Famous for many miracles, he was enrolled among the Blessed by Pius X, and among the Saints by Pius XI, who on the fiftieth anniversary of his own priesthood, appointed him the heavenly patron of parish priests, and all priests.<br />
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COLLECT<br />
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<span style="color: red;"><b><i>Prayer</i></b></span> {from the Proper of Saints}<br />
<span style="color: red;"><i>V.</i></span> O Lord, hear my prayer.<br />
<span style="color: red;"><i>R.</i></span> And let my cry come unto thee.<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b><i>L</i></b></span>et us pray<br />
Almighty and merciful God, who didst make St. John Mary to be wonderful in pastoral zeal and unchanging love for prayer and penance, grant we beseech thee, that by his example and intercession we may be able to gain the souls of our brethren in Christ, and with them to arrive at the glory of eternity.<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b><i>T</i></b></span>hrough the same Jesus Christ, thy Son, Our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.<br />
<span style="color: red;"><i>R.</i></span> Amen.<br />
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From <a href="http://divinumofficium.com/" target="_blank">Divinumofficium.com </a><br />
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<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05714225694607303543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974129.post-36879558471694182802013-08-08T01:48:00.001-04:002013-08-23T19:14:41.895-04:00Contracepted Sex=Homosexual Sex<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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If you can't see video, follow this link: <a href="http://youtu.be/E8U4b6n-iRw">http://youtu.be/E8U4b6n-iRw</a><br />
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You've heard this factoid before-no church accepted contraception before 1930. That is, until the Lambeth Conference, when the Anglican Church decided contraception was acceptable under certain circumstances. It was all downhill after that, with Protestant denominations, one after another, following suit.<br />
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A more conservative Washington Post, on <span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">March 22, 1931, </span>reacted with this statement:<br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><i>"Carried to its logical conclusion, the committee's report, if carried into effect, would sound the death-knell of marriage as a holy institution by establishing degrading practices which would encourage indiscriminate immorality. The suggestion that the use of legalized contraceptives would be "careful and restrained" is preposterous."</i></span></blockquote>
The Catholic Church also, at that time clarified Her position with Pope Pius XI's encyclical <i><a href="http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_31121930_casti-connubii_en.html" target="_blank">Casti Conubii, </a></i>On Christian Marriage.<br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-align: -webkit-left;"><i>To take away from man the natural and primeval right of marriage, to circumscribe in any way the principal ends of marriage laid down in the beginning by God Himself in the words 'Increase and multiply,' is beyond the power of any human law.</i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-align: -webkit-left;"><i>But no reason, however grave, may be put forward by which anything intrinsically against nature may become conformable to nature and morally good. Since, therefore, the conjugal act is destined primarily by nature for the begetting of children, those who in exercising it deliberately frustrate its natural power and purpose sin against nature and commit a deed which is shameful and intrinsically vicious.</i></span></blockquote>
Pat Robertson would have his followers believe that Protestant churches have always accepted contraception. Being born in 1930, maybe he wouldn't remember. But a pillar of his church should make it his business to know.<br />
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On top of that, he lets his true colors show, when he talks about large families in Appalachia. He describes the poor children as "ragamuffins" and suggests they would have been better off not to be born. A tragic pronouncement for anyone to declare-who lives and who should not be born. And Protestants (and Liberals) aren't the only ones who make these pronouncements. Recall Matt. 26:11- "For the poor you have always with you: but me you have not always."<br />
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Michael Voris draws a clear cut conclusion: if Robertson (and others) can claim to be pro-life, but still advocate for birth control, then they advocate against life. For one reason, proponents of life realize the abortifacient property of birth control. Proponents of death won't draw the line between contraception and emergency contraception, and therefore abortion. More importantly, because birth control frustrates the marriage act's meaning- the begetting of children- Protestants like Robertson unknowingly open the door to unnatural unions that do the same thing.<br />
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<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05714225694607303543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974129.post-33198946612719678102013-08-02T08:14:00.001-04:002013-08-02T08:29:40.949-04:00St. Alphonsus Mary Liguori, pray for us!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; "><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); "><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhewHkzLkT0wdOJNN81apKmr3IE0_RRWTghSHvvgYRVeyZXe8RklSubnnIL00YErhT7MWczdTXjFPz6gNs4IAeHor0Riq17Ut-gCWRQkpASGfJ-f4ObtCaZvKWUPTJz3Jcd2yCbKg/s640/blogger-image--5398275.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhewHkzLkT0wdOJNN81apKmr3IE0_RRWTghSHvvgYRVeyZXe8RklSubnnIL00YErhT7MWczdTXjFPz6gNs4IAeHor0Riq17Ut-gCWRQkpASGfJ-f4ObtCaZvKWUPTJz3Jcd2yCbKg/s640/blogger-image--5398275.jpg"></a></div>Born at Naples of noble parents, Alphonsus Mary Liguori as very young man took delight in caring for the sick in the public hospitals and in devoting his spare time to prayer in churches. In obedience to his father he became a lawyer; but when he had experienced the dangers of this kind of career, he abandoned the profession. </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">He renounced his right of inheritance as oldest son and became a priest, attacking vice with such zeal that he obtained the conversions of a great number of sinners. He took special pity on the poor and those living in rural districts and founded the Congregation of Priests of the Most Holy Redeemer to preach the Gospel to them. Lest anything should turn him from his determination, he bound himself by a perpetual vow never to waste any time. Constant in contemplating the Passion of the Lord and the holy Eucharist, he was outstanding in his devotion to the holy Mother of God, being more than once refreshed by signs of her heavenly protection. He wrote many books of religious instruction and of devotion by which he strove to gain souls for Christ. </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">He consistently refused the ecclesiastical honours offered to him, but was compelled by the Holy See to accept the Bishopric of the Church of Santa Agata dei Goti, where he was generous to the poor and made himself all things to all men. He also brought nuns back to a more perfect form of life. Serious chronic illnessses led him to resign the episcopal office and return to his disciples. Finally, at the age of ninety years, radiant with innocence of life and penance, he died a most peaceful death in the year 1787. Pope Pius IX declared him a Doctor of the universal Church, and Pius XII established him as the heavenly patron before God of all confessors and moral theologians.</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><i><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">"There is Nothing Shorter than </span><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">Time</span><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">, </span><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">but </span><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">there is Nothing more </span><font style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">Valuable</font><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">. There is Nothing Shorter than </span><font style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">Time</font><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">; because the</span><font style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">Past</font><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; "> is no-more, the </span><font style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">Future</font><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; "> is 'Uncertain', and the </span><font style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">Present</font><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; "> is but a 'Moment'. This is what </span><font style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">Jesus Christ</font><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">meant, when </span><font style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">He</font><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; "> said: "</span><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">A Little While, and now you shall not see Me</span><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">". We may say the same of our Life, which, according to Saint James, is but a 'Vapor', which is soon Scattered </span><font style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">Forever</font><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">. "</span><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">For what is your Life? It is a Vapor which Appeareth for a Little While</span><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">" - James 4:14. But the</span><font style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">Time</font><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; "> of this Life, is as Precious, as it is Short; for, in every Moment, if we Spend it Well, we can acquire </span><font style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">Treasures of Merits</font><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; "> for </span><font style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">Heaven</font><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">; </span><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">but</span><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">, if we Employ</span><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">Time</span><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; "> </span><font style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">Badly</font><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">, we may in each Moment 'Commit' </span><font style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">Sin</font><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">, and 'Merit' </span><font style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">Hell</font><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">. I mean this Day to show you how Precious is </span><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">every</span><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; "> Moment of the </span><font style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">Time</font><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; "> which </span><font style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">God </font><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">gives us, </span><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">not</span><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; "> to </span><font style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">Lose</font><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; "> it, and much less to Commit </span><font style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">Sin</font><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">, </span><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">but</span><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; "> to Perform </span><font style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">Good Works</font><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">, and to </span><font style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">Save</font><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; "> our </span><font style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">Souls</font><span style="text-align: -webkit-left; ">."</span></i></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Sermons of St. Alphonsus Liguori- </span></div><div><span style="font-family: '.HelveticaNeueUI'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; white-space: nowrap; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); ">http://copiosa.org/liguori_sermons/</span></div>Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05714225694607303543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974129.post-50856294329180231152013-07-31T09:09:00.001-04:002013-07-31T09:17:12.671-04:00St. Ignatius of Loyola, pray for us<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"></span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">A Spaniard, born at Loyola in Cantabria, Ignatius first served in the court of the Most Catholic King and then in the army. In the defence of Pampeluna, he was wounded. As he lay in a long convalescence, the chance reading of some holy books gave him a burning desire to follow in the footsteps of Christ and the Saints. He went to Montserrat, hung up his arms before the Altar of the Blessed Virgin, and spent a whole night in prayer, thus entering on his new profession of holy warfare. </span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The austerity of his life was extraordinary. He was ignorant of letters but, refreshed by brilliant illuminations from God, he composed the Exercises, a wonderful book approved by the Apostolic See and also by its usefulness to everyone. At Paris he was joined by nine companions of different nations all studying at the university, and there at Montmartre he laid the first foundations of the Society of Jesus which were later completed at Rome. To the three customary vows was added one to carry out the command of the Apostolic See concerning the Missions. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Ignatius gave aid in increasing the beauty of churches, in teaching catechism, and in fostering attendance at sermons and the reception of the sacraments. He was most zealous for the spread of the Christian religion everywhere, and exercised a wonderful power over demons. In the sixty-fifth year of his age, he went to receive the embrace of his Lord, whose greater glory he had always sought in all things. Pius XI appointed and declared him the heavenly patron of all spiritual exercises or retreats.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><a href="http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/Tag/st-ignatius-loyola#supersized-search-283115" target="_blank">The Life of St. Ignatius by artist Carlos Saenz de Tejada</a>-<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_48227011"> </a></span><span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); font-family: '.HelveticaNeueUI'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/Tag/st-ignatius-loyola">http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/Tag/st-ignatius-loyola</a></span></div>
Ignatius writes the Spiritual Exercises in the cave at Manresa<br />
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Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05714225694607303543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974129.post-70719053631925606612013-07-13T10:09:00.001-04:002013-07-13T12:06:48.827-04:00Prayer for the Priest<b>O Mary, Mother of the High Priest, </b><br />
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<b>You love your priestly Son with the love of your maternal heart.</b></div>
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<b>Hear my heartfelt prayer today for all priests.</b></div>
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<b>I pray </b></div>
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<b>For faithful and fervent priests,</b></div>
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<b>For unfaithful and tepid priests,</b></div>
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<b>For priests who minister at home,</b></div>
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<b>For priests in the missions,</b></div>
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<b>For young and old priests,</b></div>
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<b>For the sick and dying priests,</b></div>
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<b>For the souls of forgotten priests,</b></div>
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<b>For priests who have touched my life,</b></div>
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<b>Especially for Fathers______________.</b></div>
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<b>Maternal heart of Mary,</b></div>
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<b>Remind us that your priestly sons</b></div>
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<b>Are weak and frail human beings.</b></div>
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<b>Give them a deep faith, a firm hope,</b></div>
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<b>And a burning love, to faithfully live</b></div>
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<b>And preach the Gospel.</b></div>
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<b>I ask that</b></div>
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<b>In their loneliness, you strengthen them;</b></div>
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<b>In their sorrow, you comfort them;</b></div>
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<b>In their frustration, you support them.</b></div>
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<b>Mary, keep them close to your Son, the Priest.</b></div>
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<b>Bless them abundantly</b></div>
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<b>Now and in eternity. Amen.</b></div>
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This is a nice short prayer to say for priests. Thursday is the day that we traditionally remember priests, just as Friday we commemorate the Lord's Passion, and Saturday is dedicated to The Blessed Virgin Mary. Remember the priests every Thursday, and offer your Holy Communion for them.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie2p54y_xMDtS2fW9qqksmIpLlKA1DYb2Fbf4xCNODchY1TbzWgDwq71pXGTqYoMyq4mVR91M9oOtyJcOC7CTyFvkcjyEb_scq7mW0YW3vhIg8CnI-kzgOJODtynqLmDsNXN1vVw/s1600/72.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie2p54y_xMDtS2fW9qqksmIpLlKA1DYb2Fbf4xCNODchY1TbzWgDwq71pXGTqYoMyq4mVR91M9oOtyJcOC7CTyFvkcjyEb_scq7mW0YW3vhIg8CnI-kzgOJODtynqLmDsNXN1vVw/s200/72.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">sthughofcluny.org</td></tr>
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On Holy Thursday 2013, Fr. Richard Cipolla of <a href="http://www.stmarynorwalk.net/" target="_blank">St. Mary Church in Norwalk Connecticut</a>, gave a stirring <a href="http://sthughofcluny.org/2013/04/sermon-given-on-holy-thursday-by-father-richard-cipolla.html" target="_blank">homily </a>on the priesthood through the ages, and the challenges of the priesthood today.<a href="http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-devirilization-of-liturgy-in-novus.html" target="_blank"> Father Cipolla says</a> that the true priest is a hero for his people, one who stands before God on our behalf, and who stands before the forces of evil as protector of his people. Even the most lukewarm priest in the world still received Holy Orders for this holy purpose.</div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-align: justify;"><i>"But when a priest dares to take on something so counter-cultural, so in your face damning the culture, as celibacy and does it in freedom, not because this is part of the package, but because this is in imitation of his Lord and Savior, and in so doing, turns his back on the false and hideous understanding of freedom that the world preaches and lives by: then the priest incurs the hatred of the world, and, if the truth be told, the annoyance of many of his own flock. When the priest accepts his personal suffering as a genuine and necessary part of his life as a priest as a joining of his suffering to the suffering of his flock all grounded in the suffering of Christ on the Cross, when he accepts that as priest he will always have in his heart <b>la tristezza così perenne</b>, that sadness that is always there, and when he stands at the altar and loses himself and allows the reality of his suffering and the suffering of his people to be offered up by his hands and to be placed in the crucible of the fiery love of God and there to be transformed by that love that is present at that moment in our time and space, that love whose locus is the Cross, that love that cannot be contained by time and space and yet is contained in that bread and in that wine, that love that makes itself completely <b>disponibile</b>, to be touched, lifted up, adored, and ultimately eaten and drunk. How can the priest’s heart not break with love and therefore with joy at the celebration of every Mass, knowing who he is and what he is doing?"</i></span></blockquote>
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Please pray for our priests! St. John Vianney, patron of priests, pray for us!</div>
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<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05714225694607303543noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974129.post-82525158341316072482013-07-11T13:27:00.001-04:002013-07-13T12:56:04.381-04:00Who do you say that I AM?How many "prayer warriors" do you know? Twitter's a great place to meet them, or to hone your own skills of praying for people. I have a great group of Twitter prayer warriors to share my Catholic faith with. We call our selves "Catholic Characters," because we find joy in praying for and lifting each other up. And supporting each other in our apologetic pursuits.<br />
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Lately, I'm finding a new type of person to pray for. These are the tweeps we engage in our "apologetic pursuits." They can be Protestant, gay, or atheist, or anywhere in between. Each are unique in their beliefs, and their ability to persuade, argue, insult, encourage, or cajole. But they all share one thing in common: every one of them thinks they <span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">understand, and can explain in a nutshell, what Catholicism is.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">I haven't found one who can.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">Archbishop Fulton Sheen once said, <i>"</i></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><i><span style="text-align: left;">There are not one hundred people in the United States who hate The Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they wrongly perceive the Catholic Church to be.”</span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></i></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><i><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">I'm not saying that people hate us (although some might), but that their perception of Catholicism is based on a false premise. And who can blame them? Everywhere you turn, Catholicism is being assaulted. It's very easy to hop on that bandwagon.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">I'd like to continue the discussion here. Help to dispel ideas of what our opponents <i>think</i> Catholicism is. Veni Sancte Spiritus.</span></div>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-cards="hidden" data-conversation="none" data-partner="tweetdeck">
<a href="https://twitter.com/1catherinesiena">@1catherinesiena</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/lindagaboardi">@lindagaboardi</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/AwakeDeborah">@AwakeDeborah</a> No offense meant, but the Catholic Church has made idols of Mary and the saints.<br />
— OneWhiteTiger (@onewhitetiger) <a href="https://twitter.com/onewhitetiger/statuses/355320133356503041">July 11, 2013</a></blockquote>
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Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05714225694607303543noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974129.post-40745967816565084892013-07-10T13:52:00.001-04:002013-07-11T22:16:40.345-04:00Is this your typical Catholic Parish?<div class="page" title="Page 1">
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<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt;">By Michael Voris</span><br />
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<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://img.youtube.com/vi/m3J7O4eS_ME/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/m3J7O4eS_ME&source=uds"><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/m3J7O4eS_ME&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></object></div>
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<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt;">What is the Church of Nice? It is a worship community that sort of looks Catholic and OFFICIALLY is Catholic – but at the end of the day, authentic Catholicism has been
sucked out of it in almost every possible way.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">There are all kinds of signs you can look for to determine if your parish is a Church of
Nice.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">The priest will never preach on anything controversial related to your eternal life, like
homosexuality, abortion, reception of Holy Communion as a divorced and remarried
parishioner.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">He will never utter a word about the immortal danger your soul is in if you are co-habiting and or having sex outside of marriage or using contraception INSIDE marriage.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">Times for Confession will be sparse and practically none of the parishioners ever go –including you.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">If you have been going to your Church of Nice parish for some years, you will occasionally have the thought come to your mind that it seems like less and less people attend.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">You will also notice that there are nowhere near as many young adults or families as you
remember from years ago. But the music director will bust out in a loud song rich with
lyrics about the community, instead of God, and you will forget your thoughts about less
people in the pews.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">You will also hear a strange thing from time to time about something the RCIA instructor
or Religious Ed director said in class and you will think to yourself for a moment –
“hmmm .. that’s odd”, but then you will go on with your business and forget about it.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">Then the occasional discussion will come up with friends and family who are former
Catholics who bad mouth this or that about the Church – and while you might feel quietly
uncomfortable about their outbursts, you won’t say anything because, frankly, you don’t
have the knowledge to respond to them because it was never told to you.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">And eventually, you will allow yourself to be lulled into a false set of comfort regarding
their eternal lives by buying into the ridiculous diabolical canard that – it’s not REALLY
important if they are Catholic or not – after all, they’re basically good people and God
understands and we are all going to Heaven anyway so not that big a deal.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">If you go to a parish replete with altar girls, protestant hymns, an army of so-called </span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt;">“Eucharistic ministers” (which they are NOT by the way), a joke-cracking priest, a con-
gregation receiving Holy Communion in their hands, warped catechesis coming from the
adult and/or kids religious ed department, no substantive preaching, a congregation with
more older people than younger families and no one really in between, where people
around you, including you dress in clothes more suited for going to the movies than wor-
shipping God, if almost the entire congregation goes to Holy Communion, and a good
number of them never return to their seats afterwards, if it is customary to applaud the
band or singers – then you can be pretty certain, your parish is a Church of Nice.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">If you have no idea why this list of issues are problematic, then you are almost guaran-
teed to belong to the Church of Nice.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">If you don’t know the answers to the following basic questions, you should be concerned:
What are is meant by the Four Last Things and what are they?<br />
What is wrong about using the term Eucharistic Ministers?<br />
What is an indulgence and why is it important to know?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt;">Can you explain why Protestantism is a heresy? (Did you even know it IS a heresy?)
What are the various mysteries of the Holy Rosary?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">
What does the Church mean by the term “The Real Presence”?<br />
What is the Mass?
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">Can you be a “good” Catholic and still disagree with the Magisterium?
Do you even know what the word Magisterium means?
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">Is it EVER possible to refuse to believe an infallible teaching AND still be a good Catholic?
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">If you can’t answer ALL of these questions – at least on some fundamental level – then
you need to be very concerned about your faith life. And this is just a beginning list – it
could easily have hundreds of questions on it.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">What the Church of Nice gang has been so fantastic at over the past 40 or 50 years .. and
this means bishops and priests .. is substituting knowledge with feelings.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">In this manner , they have introduced into the faith a humanist dimension that has no
place in the Church.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">The same madness that goes on in the culture about not being judgmental and always
making sure no one is offended has become paramount in the Church as well, thanks to
the Church of Nice crowd – hence the name, Church of NICE, where everyone is always </span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt;">Nice.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">If you attend a parish that subscribes to the Church of Nice agenda – watch out. Your
soul is in jeopardy, serious jeopardy.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">It is very likely that your religious instruction is deficient, you haven’t been to confession
in God knows how long, and if you have children – they are bored out of their minds and
more than likely will stop attending Mass after they leave home.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">These are all symptoms of a dying faith – and it can all be placed at the doorstep of the
Church of Nice.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">The Church of Nice is failing in spectacular fashion! It’s beginning to resemble the Rus-
sian Front from the German’s perspective in World War II. It won’t be much longer be-
fore the whole edifice is flat our overrun.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">As the Russian forces – the Red Army – was overrunning town after town and province
after province – reclaiming all that had been taken by the Nazis in the previous two years,
many of the German High Command and the civilian population back in Berlin carried
on as though the eastern front was a sad fact, but not one they REALLY had to worry
about.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">In April 1945, the first Russian tanks crashed into the heart of Berlin. It took a while, but
when it happened, it was decisive and final.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">This is what is happening in the Church today – the portion of the Church, which is the
majority part of it, that worships at the Altar of Nice. It is being overrun and the defeat is
monumental.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">2000 US parishes closed in the last 20 years, 1300 of them in the past 10 years and no
end of closings in sight. And why has the Church of Nice risen to such heights of power
and control.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">Because fallen human nature is weak. Because most people don’t like confrontation and
will only occasionally do the right thing and challenge evil and wrong. Because being vi-
gilant – always vigilant - exacts a cost. And because sin is attractive. And because we are
lazy and slothful.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">If it were not for the Catholic Church, the whole world would end up in Hell because the
Catholic Church is necessary for salvation. This is its charter – to be the instrument of
salvation – not merely a sign of salvation, but the actual instrument through which God
works His salvific action.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">When much of that Church casts aside that charter and adopts an inauthentic attitude of
being the Church of Nice, then the world will go out of balance – as it has – and the
eternal lives of those Church of Nice members hangs in the balance.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">If you attend a Church of Nice parish – get out of it and get to a parish where you will get </span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt;">AUTHENTIC Catholicism – the real McCoy. If you have friends or family who need to
hear this, pass it along.</span><br />
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<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://img.youtube.com/vi/m3J7O4eS_ME/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt; "><br></span></object></div>
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<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://img.youtube.com/vi/m3J7O4eS_ME/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt; ">If you have priests or know of them who are not fulfilling their duties to help you and
your families get to heaven by bringing you the real faith – send them this. The clock is
running out. The tanks will come crashing in to the town square soon enough – and when
that happens – it will be too late. </span></object></div>
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Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05714225694607303543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974129.post-693709973196123062013-06-21T20:54:00.000-04:002013-06-21T07:15:40.636-04:00St. Aloysius, patron of Catholic youth<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyc7oYV0WLrIWRxZEx-AB8qpGw1P_sCO78P49f-VX-ez37x_FVs8gVbB5LIDW6GHfY7Bg7kldgaGh-T-JXIgnhPzXef5bGM250VaDVa_1cII0QAi7X0Z8RS-8hgNlCY9LUuZQn/s1600/St.+Aloysius+Gonzaga.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyc7oYV0WLrIWRxZEx-AB8qpGw1P_sCO78P49f-VX-ez37x_FVs8gVbB5LIDW6GHfY7Bg7kldgaGh-T-JXIgnhPzXef5bGM250VaDVa_1cII0QAi7X0Z8RS-8hgNlCY9LUuZQn/s320/St.+Aloysius+Gonzaga.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<blockquote>
St. Aloysius Gonzaga's outstanding quality was his radiant purity and the Church praises this perfect innocence with the words, "Thou has made him little less than the angels." He was baptized in the womb, because his life was in danger, and he made a vow of chastity at the age of nine. When he was sixteen he joined the Society of Jesus and died at the age of twenty-three in 1591 as a result of his devoted nursing of the plague-stricken.</blockquote>
<br />
Aloysius, born Luigi Gonzaga, grew up in 16th century Italy, in a time not unlike today, an indulgent time period, with syphilis one of the major diseases of the time. Luigi was determined to become a saint, and performed self-inflicted penances, such as getting up in the middle of the night to kneel on the floor of his bedroom, or whip himself with a belt, and fasting three days a week. He did many of penances to preserve his purity, such as avoiding looking directly at women.<br />
<br />
Although his father expected Luigi to be a soldier, the saint was drawn to the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and became a Jesuit. Once in his order, he received direction to get more sleep, and eat more, so austere were his penances.<br />
<br />
When the plague struck, the Jesuits served the sick, which was an extreme sacrifice for Aloysius, who had a kidney disorder from childhood. Nursing the victims of the plague, carrying them to their quarters on his back, washing and dressing them, Aloysius eventually caught the disease. Before he died, he asked his confessor if it was possible to avoid Purgatory. His extreme penances and strong will may have benefited him in that regard.<br />
<br />
Aloysius' purity and selflessness makes him a powerful patron for Catholic youth, especially teens. His image is frequently pictured with the crucifix, a lily, and a skull, for his devotion to the Cross of Christ, his purity, and his serving the sick.<br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="title" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="title" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Prayer</span> <span class="annotation">{from the Proper of Saints}</span><br /><span class="rubric" style="font-style: italic;">V.</span> The Lord be with you.<br /><span class="rubric" style="font-style: italic;">R.</span> And with thy spirit.<br /><span class="dropcap" style="font-weight: bold;">L</span>et us pray<br />O God, the Giver of all heavenly gifts, Who in the Angel-lad Aloysius didst join strange innocency with strange penance, be entreated for his sake and by his prayers, and grant unto us who have not followed him in his innocency the grace to imitate him in his penance.<br /><span class="small-dropcap" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">T</span>hrough Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end.<br /><span class="rubric" style="font-style: italic;">R.</span> Amen.</span></div>
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<br />
St. Aloysius, pray for us!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.therealpresence.org/archives/Saints/Saints_008.htm">Fr. Hardon's talk on St. Aloysius.</a></div>
Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05714225694607303543noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974129.post-74285831884391912532013-05-07T21:40:00.001-04:002013-07-03T11:22:21.590-04:00Abortion, Contraception Consequences on Display in Gosnell’s ‘house ofhorrors’<div align="LEFT" dir="LTR" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
</div>
<div align="LEFT" dir="LTR" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Letter of </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-align: left;">Bishop James D. Conley, Diocese of Lincoln Nebraska</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" dir="LTR" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); font-family: '.HelveticaNeueUI'; font-size: x-small; line-height: 19px; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="http://www.dioceseoflincoln.org/SouthernNeRegister/bcc/bcc050313.aspx">http://www.dioceseoflincoln.org/SouthernNeRegister/bcc/bcc050313.aspx</a></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" dir="LTR" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Our news outlets are not known for their squeamish attitude toward violence. On the contrary, reporters are often criticized for fixating on violence, exploiting it as fodder for the 24-hour news cycle.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" dir="LTR" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">We rarely see journalists shying away from a gruesome case. Yet, the media has been reluctant to cover the trial of Dr. Kermit Gosnell – a Philadelphia abortionist accused of committing unspeakable crimes at his "Women’s Medical Center."</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" dir="LTR" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Already indicted by a grand jury, Gosnell is on trial for running a "house of horrors," where hundreds of infants were born alive and beheaded with scissors.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" dir="LTR" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The testimony against him includes some of the most shocking statements ever made in an American courtroom. His former aides speak of infants whose hands and feet were kept in jars, and their bodies flushed down toilets, after they were delivered alive and decapitated.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" dir="LTR" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Somehow, this story went largely unnoticed by mainstream reporters. One would expect a murderous doctor, running a "clinic" reminiscent of Auschwitz, to face a media blitz and a burst of public outrage.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" dir="LTR" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Instead, Gosnell’s trial has been treated as a low-key, local story. Pro-life advocates took up the task of publicizing it, using social media to make up for news outlets’ silence.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" dir="LTR" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I suspect journalists would rather ignore what happened at Gosnell’s "Medical Center." The case raises too many disturbing questions – about the mentality behind abortion, and our culture’s troubling attitude toward human life.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" dir="LTR" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">For instance, most "pro-choice" partisans dismiss the idea that abortion leads to infanticide. They distance themselves from thinkers like Princeton’s professor Peter Singer – who defends the killing of newborns, and the "right" to abortion, on the same philosophical basis.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" dir="LTR" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">But Gosnell’s trial shows the difficulty of separating abortion from infanticide, in theory and in practice.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" dir="LTR" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Indeed, there is a hideous logical consistency in Gosnell’s career. He started off killing children in the womb, and ended up killing them after birth. At some point, the distinction between abortion and infanticide must have struck him as a mere technicality, just a matter of geography.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" dir="LTR" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Most abortion advocates are, thankfully, not so logical. Most of them find Gosnell’s actions appalling. Yet they have no valid or compelling grounds on which to condemn his particular methods of abortion as wrong.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" dir="LTR" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Indeed, on the level of moral principles, infanticide and abortion are equivalent. Kermit Gosnell took the abortion mentality to its logical conclusion.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" dir="LTR" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">This is a hard fact, with disturbing implications. It is an inconvenient fact for journalists, and many members of their audience, to face. This partly explains their reluctance to cover Gosnell’s trial, since it directly raises the question of abortion and its relationship to infanticide.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" dir="LTR" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">But the link between infanticide and abortion is not the only issue raised by this case. There is also the larger question of how human life is regarded, in a culture where contraception is widespread and abortion becomes "backup birth control." After all, most women who seek an abortion are on some form of birth control.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" dir="LTR" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Kermit Gosnell’s actions are the logical outcome of the abortion mentality. But they are also, in a deeper sense, the result of what Blessed John Paul II called the "contraceptive mentality."</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" dir="LTR" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Many people wrongly believe contraception prevents abortion. This is not borne out by statistics, or by careful thinking about the issues.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" dir="LTR" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Research shows that contraception leads to riskier behavior, more unplanned pregnancies, and consequently, more abortion. When contraception fails – as it inevitably does – couples are tempted to eliminate the "unwanted" life.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" dir="LTR" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Kermit Gosnell looked at these "unwanted" lives, and saw burdens placed upon women. He was more ruthless than most, in his efforts to eliminate these living "burdens."</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" dir="LTR" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Most people do not share Gosnell’s ruthlessness. But many in our society seem to share his attitude: that human life is sometimes an inconvenient and unnecessary burden, rather than a sacred gift from God.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" dir="LTR" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">This is the "contraceptive mentality" that Blessed John Paul II saw as a root cause of abortion. When we see any human life as a troublesome burden we must manage, rather than a sacred gift entrusted to our care, there is a temptation to get rid of the burden by any means necessary.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" dir="LTR" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The Gosnell case suggests that our society’s view of human life is deeply wrong. It suggests that a culture of contraception cannot avoid becoming a "culture of death" – in which some lives are seen not as gifts, but as burdens.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" dir="LTR" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Our media outlets thrive on provocation and controversy, but they shrink from life’s deeper questions. They shy away from suggesting that abortion might lead to infanticide. They don’t dare to ask whether the "contraceptive mentality" makes us callous toward life.</span></div>
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The popular media will not take the risk of raising these more fundamental questions by publicizing Gosnell’s trial. That is why we must raise awareness of this case, to help the world see the consequences of contraception and abortion.</span>Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05714225694607303543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974129.post-71748206617524474712013-04-07T13:44:00.001-04:002013-04-07T13:46:41.141-04:00How to Celebrate the Feast of Divine Mercy<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8SSYw-1hKZWRxuGT-zrgUjDMWR3bCZeaJhT2kdirzuhFh4TnD4CAxB4QUWNu9YtTfwoifqkfm8cxQnUYb7tQMKv89E59s5bai7FAb7XWr54ZuUb2a8W-npXA3WVGGZSQrT9Ng9g/s1600/6B3B7A0C-6ADD-4AFF-857C-ECB077B11075.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8SSYw-1hKZWRxuGT-zrgUjDMWR3bCZeaJhT2kdirzuhFh4TnD4CAxB4QUWNu9YtTfwoifqkfm8cxQnUYb7tQMKv89E59s5bai7FAb7XWr54ZuUb2a8W-npXA3WVGGZSQrT9Ng9g/s320/6B3B7A0C-6ADD-4AFF-857C-ECB077B11075.JPG" /></a></div>
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Whoever approaches the Fountain of Life on this day will be granted complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. (Diary 300)<br />
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I want the image solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter, and I want it to be venerated publicly so that every soul may know about it. (Diary 341)<br />
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This Feast emerged from the very depths of My mercy, and it is confirmed in the vast depths of my tender mercies. (Diary 420)<br />
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On one occasion, I heard these words: My daughter, tell the whole world about My Inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment.* On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come forth from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will I contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity. The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy. (Diary 699)<br />
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Yes, the first Sunday after Easter is the Feast of Mercy, but there must also be deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for Me. You are to show mercy to our neighbors always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to absolve yourself from it. (Diary 742)<br />
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I want to grant complete pardon to the souls that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion on the Feast of My mercy. (Diary 1109)Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05714225694607303543noreply@blogger.com0