Prayer for the Holy Souls | Novena Day 8

Another bitter sorrow of these souls is caused by the reflection that God had distinguished them by so many graces not granted to others, and that they compelled Him, by their sins, to condemn them to these sufferings, and that they had deserved hell, but were pardoned and saved only by the mercy of God.

Prayer: O my God! I also am one of these ungrateful beings, having received so much grace, and yet despised Thy love, and deserved to be cast by Thee into hell. Thy infinite goodness has spared me until now. Therefore, I now love Thee above all things, and I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee. I would rather die than ever again offend Thee. Grant me the grace of holy perseverance. Have compassion on me and, at the same time, on the holy souls suffering in purgatory.


O Mary, Mother of God, come to their assistance with thy powerful intercession.


Our Father...
Hail Mary...
O most sweet Jesus, have mercy on them!
On Thy spouses have compassion,
on these suffering children Thine;
make these holy souls partakers
of Thy happiness Divine.

 
This has been extracted from Susan Tassone's "Praying in the Presences of Our Lord for the Holy Souls" and is a novena by St. Alphonsus de Ligouri.
Susan's writing on the Holy Souls are all worth purchasing and reading.

"Halloween" - introducing belief in the secular world?

Image source: Michael Halcomb's
blogpost on halloween:
http://michaelhalcomb.blogspot.co.uk/2011
/10/rethinking-halloween-christian.html

Hallow

Ok. When we pray the greatest prayer that we have been taught, which is the Our Father, we pray:
"Our Father, who art in heaven, HALLOWED be thy name".

Yup. Hallowed. Sounds close enough to the word "halloween" to take this freaky celebration as linked, in some way, to Christianity.

So what's this halloween stuff all about? Like, REALLY all about? And why do I have an issue with it (enough to write a blogpost about it)?

In the YouCat, #519 teaches that to "hallow" or to "treat God's name as something holy means to place him above everything else". It then goes on to say that "to hallow God's name means to do justice to his reality, to acknowledge him, to praise him, to give him due honour, and to live according to his commandments.

Oblivious

I dunno about you, but I rarely see God's name, his army of angels and saints, or the Church that Our Lord Jesus Christ died for, acknowledged or honoured during this 'night of fright'. In fact... quite the opposite. On the streets tonight, we'll see groups of children and teenagers glorifying the devil, demons and witches in their apparel - and it's not the worst of it that they're most likely oblivious to doing this.  The worst of it, is that halloween has become such a joke, that people tend to think demons and witches, and the devil himself is a joke. I would really like for everyone to meet an exorcist, to discover how much of a joke demons ARE NOT! So I stress my point: it's probably not so much that children & teens are allowed to go around wearing devil costumes and freaking each other out with ghoulish 'tricks' or the yuckiest 'treats' that can be bought out of Poundland. The idea of dressing up, or eating sweets and chocolate, is a pretty fun thing - and it's good to encourage this in moderation. But they need to be educated on what exactly they are representing when they do this at halloween, and the reality of it.

Belief

I watched this freaky movie the other night, called The Skeleton Key with Kate Hudson - really well made movie about a young and upcoming nurse, who goes into a home to care for an elderly man. However, there has been a history of voodoo in that place, and the 'wife' of the elderly mute is a spirit who has lived hundreds of years, transferring from body to body, and this young nurse is her next victim. When this spirit has gotten into the body of the nurse, [thus getting to my point], she says this: "It gets harder every time. They just don't believe like they used to. Gotta get 'em all riled up." When you lose faith, or belief, then your vision of the bigger picture of life becomes narrower.

Consider your eyesight. You can see objects or people nearly 180 degrees around the front of your peripheral. Having faith in God is pretty similar to that, in that the spectrum of belief is wide - one tends to believe in the devil, his demons and bad angels, and voodoo, and witchcraft. Of course... these are all things of the spiritual world that very few of us are well connected to. When you don't believe, that spectrum is narrowed - your eyesight is then only what you can see right in front of you.

Mockery

One could argue that you've gotta dangle the bait in front of the preys eyes before the prey can act... is that what halloween is about then? Could the purpose of halloween be a good thing in the end? Could it help children and teens understand the reality of evil? I believe in the way we do it today, no. Like I mentioned, it's become a joke - a mockery. And mockery is neither good, true, real nor kind. And a second 'no' because if parents and teachers don't educate the kids on this stuff, then the message or the reality of evil is lost. When I look at the fake blood on people's faces, I think and reflect on the real blood of the Christ mocked after His scourging during His Passion. Not much has changed, right?

Solution

I know of an awesome Catholic family, so God-fearing, and beautiful witnesses to the faith (the father was one of my lecturers @ SPES), who actually go around with candles on trick or treat night dressed as angels, and granting the peace of Christ to anyone who opens the doors. I mean... imagine if all Christian families did that on "trick-or-treat"night. Wow... there'd be competition with it becoming a "peace night" on certain streets of the States!

As for me, I plan to give little bags of sweets out, but will include a little slip calling the child/teen to holiness, and a miraculous medal. And I'll be surprised if my front door doesn't get egged tonight!

Anyways, in ancient Catholic tradition, we celebrated the feast of All Saints (all God's holy people who have left this world) as "All Hallows" on the 1st November. That would... errr... be tomorrow. Today is thus, in ancient terms, "All Hallows Eve" which is where the term "Halloween" comes from. It is meant to be (and if you pray the Divine Office, you'll see), a great celebration of holiness. A "holyween"!

So as my conclusion, my issue with people celebrating halloween is that, like Christmas, people have COMPLETELY MISSED THE POINT!! If you don't truly believe in God and his army of HOLY angels and saints, then you don't truly believe in the devil, and his army of demons and invokers. My advice: go and read up about it, and then see what your heart is thirsty for. Please God that won't be the fake blood of vampires but the Eucharistic Blood of Christ upon the altar of the Church.

Prayer for the Holy Souls | Novena Day 6

The holy souls are, indeed, comforted by the recollection of the passion of Jesus Christ, and the Holy Sacrament of the Altar, since they know they are saved by the passion of Jesus Christ, and have received, and still receive, so much consolation from Holy Masses and Holy Communions. Nevertheless, they are greatly pained by the recollection of their ingratitude for these two gifts of love of Jesus Christ.

Prayer: O my Divine Redeemer, Thou didst die for me on the Cross, and have so often united Thyself with me in Holy Communion, and I have repaid Thee only with ingratitude. Now, however, I love Thee above all things, O supreme God; and I am more grieved at my offenses against Thee than any other evil. I would rather die than offend you again. Grant me the grace of holy perseverance. Have compassion on me, and at the same time, on the holy souls in purgatory.

O Mary, Mother of God, come to their assistance with thy powerful intercession.

Our Father...
Hail Mary...
O most sweet Jesus, have mercy on them!
On Thy spouses have compassion,
on these suffering children Thine;
make these holy souls partakers
of Thy happiness Divine.

This has been extracted from Susan Tassone's "Praying in the Presences of Our Lord for the Holy Souls" and is a novena by St. Alphonsus de Ligouri. 
Susan's writing on the Holy Souls are all worth purchasing and reading.

Prayer for the Holy Souls | Novena Day 5

Another great suffering is caused these holy souls by the ignorance of the time of their deliverance. They are certain of being one day released, yet the uncertainty of the time when their purgatorial term will have ended gives them great pain.


Prayer: Woe to me, unhappy being, if Thou, O Lord, had cast me into hell; for from that dungeon of eternal pain there is no deliverance. I love Thee above all things, O infinite God, and I am sincerely sorry for having ever offended Thee again. Grant me the grace of holy perseverance. Have compassion on me, and, at the same time, on the holy souls in purgatory.

O Mary, Mother of God, come to their assistance with thy powerful intercession.
 
Our Father...
Hail Mary...
O most sweet Jesus, have mercy on them!
On Thy spouses have compassion,
on these suffering children Thine;
make these holy souls partakers
of Thy happiness Divine.

This has been extracted from Susan Tassone's "Praying in the Presences of Our Lord for the Holy Souls" and is a novena by St. Alphonsus de Ligouri. 
Susan's writing on the Holy Souls are all worth purchasing and reading.

Prayer for the Holy Souls | Novena Day 4

The pain that still more afflicts these holy souls, the spouses of Jesus, is the thought of having, during life, displeased by their sins that God whom they so ardently love.

Some penitents have felt so much pain and sorrow in thinking of having, by their sins, offended so good a God, that they died of grief. The souls in purgatory understand, far better than we do, the claims that God has to our love; they love Him with all their strength. Hence, at the thought of having offended Him during life, they experience pain that surpasses all other pain.

Prayer: O my God! Because Though art infinite goodness, I am sorry with my whole heart for having offended Thee. I promise to die rather than ever offend Thee more. Give me holy perseverance; have pity on me, and have pity on those holy souls that anguish in the cleansing flames of love, and who love Thee with all their hearts.


O Mary, Mother of God, come to their assistance with thy powerful intercession.
Our Father...
Hail Mary...
O most sweet Jesus, have mercy on them!
On Thy spouses have compassion,
on these suffering children Thine;
make these holy souls partakers
of Thy happiness Divine.

This has been extracted from Susan Tassone's "Praying in the Presences of Our Lord for the Holy Souls" and is a novena by St. Alphonsus de Ligouri. 
Susan's writing on the Holy Souls are all worth purchasing and reading.

Prayer for the Holy Souls | Novena Day 3

Another great pain of the holy souls is caused by the hideous vision of their guilt, for which they now suffer. In this life the hideousness of sin is not seen as in the life to come; and this is one of the greatest sufferings of purgatory.

Prayer: O my God! Because Thou art infinte goodness, I love Thee above all things, and repent with my whole heart of my offenses against Thee. Grant me the grace of holy perseverance. Have compassion on me, and, at the same time, on the holy souls suffering in purgator.

O Mary, Mother of God, come to their assistance with thy powerful intercession.



Our Father...
Hail Mary...
On Thy spouses have compassion,
on these suffering children Thine;
make these holy souls partakers
of Thy happiness Divine.

Prayer for the Holy Souls | Novena Day 2

The second pain which causes these holy souls much suffering, is the time lost in life, when they might have gained merits for Heaven, and the thought that they are unable to repair this loss, because the time of life and merit is passed.

Prayer: Woe to me, unhappy being, so many years have I already spent on earth and have earned naught but hell! I give Thee thanks, O Lord, for granting me time even now to atone for my sins. My good God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee. Send me Thy assistance, that I may apply the time yet remaining to me for Thy love and service; have compassion on me, and at the same time, on the holy souls suffering in purgatory.



O Mary, Mother of God, come to their assistance with thy powerful intercession.

Our Father...
Hail Mary...
O most sweet Jess, have mercy on them! 
On Thy spouses have compassion, 
on these suffering children Thine;
make these holy souls partakers
of Thy happiness Divine.

This has been extracted from Susan Tassone's "Praying in the Presences of Our Lord for the Holy Souls" and is a novena by St. Alphonsus de Ligouri. Susan's writing on the Holy Souls are all worth purchasing and reading.

How on earth does 'no meat on Fridays' bring me closer to Christ?!

So, you have probably all heard by now, that as of TODAY, the Catholic Bishops Conference of England & Wales wish to bring back the practice of holy abstinence.


WHAT on earth does that mean?!
Holy abstinence is the practice of 'abstaining' (which means to restrain oneself) from doing or enjoying something. In this particular case, we will, by the grace given from God, abstain from meat on Fridays.


What is the difference between abstaining and fasting?
Some people go further than abstaining from meat on Fridays, and make a sacrifice of not eating anything for a whole 24 hours. If you are more of the hardcore type, fasting might be right up your alley! But the Church of England and Wales only require an abstinence from meat on Fridays.


What does abstinence have to do with God?
Let's first remember that we are body, soul and spirit (1 Thes 5:23). Our bodies (our material selves) are fed by food. Our souls (our immaterial selves such as all that we feel, our emotions, our thoughts) are fed with love. Our spirits (the part within ourselves that connects/relates directly with God), are fed with prayer.
Abstinence affects all three dimensions of ourselves. When we abstain from meat, we don't feed our bodies with that type of food. That's a rather simple statement, and is, in a sense, the easiest concept to understand about abstinence. The more difficult concept to get around is the link between abstinence and our souls and spirits. I don't know about you, but for me, I thoroughly enjoy eating meat. It tastes yummy, and it fills my tummy! When someone enjoys doing or eating something very much, it takes will power, and a strength of character not to do or have it. Take this deeper, and one may realise that this is an exercise for the soul. Abstaining helps one to 'love' their self-pleasure less. And this is the vital link between you, abstinence and God. For in loving yourself less, you begin to place someone else first: God. By depriving oneself from something pleasurable (in this case, to eat), we are able to begin to make reparation (in other words, to repair the damage) that our sin has done for our own souls and spirits. This is a surface level description of temporal punishment and can be considered a penance.
We're all wounded people, and each have our weaknesses that could be instrumental in us causing sin. When we sin, we take steps away from God. Abstaining from a pleasurable food like meat helps us remember that we desire to make it up to Him after we've said sorry (at Confession). Abstinence isn't only applicable to food, it could be applicable to other things that we take pleasure from, for example TV or facebook, but the Church in England and Wales are encouraging us to abstain from meat.


Why would some people abstain and fast by choice?
It's a really beautiful thing to want to be united in prayer and abstinence every Friday. Together, we ask the good and merciful Lord to bless the Church abundantly for this commitment made by His people. The tremendous gift of abstinence draw us closer to God on a personal level by coming face to face with our weaknesses and temptations (Rom 8:26). Prayer helps us to overcome weakness and temptation because it directs our spirits to rely and trust in God's power to strengthen and bless you through any trails. This practice, in a mystical sense, as the mystical body of Christ unites us in Christ's sufferings on calvary and during His passion. After a while, you learn to love this sacrifice, because you know that it's the one time of your week that you are doing something for God.


Tips for abstaining from meat every Friday
1) Don't beat yourself up if you fail on the first occasion! This practice may take months to get used to. Having said that, just because it might take someone else months, it might only take you weeks - so you're encouraged to make as great an effort as you can!

2) It might help if you dedicate your abstinence for a particular intention. For example, maybe you are having a difficulty with a friend - you could offer your sacrifice of meat for a healing in that relationship. Or maybe you wish to be generous, and offer your abstinence for a sinner you have never before met. Dedicating your abstinence for something, or offering it on behalf of someone else helps you take this more seriously, and helps you remember to continue the abstinence throughout the day.

3) If you're right outside KFC or Nando's, and you can smell the chicken wafting from inside the restaurant, you may very well be faced with temptation. Firstly, if you really take this seriously, it makes sense to make an effort to tell your friends about what's going on, and that you need to mooooooove awaaaaay from KFC! Secondly, that smell is going to linger on your mind. And the best way to overcome these temptations is through prayer. Jesus was tested in the desert with temptations from the devil (Matt 4:1-11), and overcame these temptations with fasting and prayer.

4) Get yourself used to fish! Fish is even more yummy for your tummy, if you know how to cook it with some tasty mouth-watering recipes! Try it! Likewise, get yourself a good vegetarian recipe book... there are some amazing dishes you can make which doesn't contain meat or meat stock! HAPPY NO-MEAT COOKING!!

LISS Day 34

Our Lady

Luke 1:46-49 & John 19:25-27

In a previous LISS reflection about Mary's unbroken spirit despite her time of heartbreak, I reflected on her grace from God to live through her Son's humiliation and death on the cross. She is an extraordinary woman (biggest understatement ever!)... one who is my inspiration and whom I love dearly... for it was by her intercession I was able to encounter her Son. I have a relationship with my most Blessed Mother, but many do not. In fact, I call her my beautiful Maria, because she is the most beautiful woman ever created by God. So, I have found a website which helps to explain the Litany of Our Lady of Loreto, which will help you who do not have a relationship with her, to understand who she is! You can click here for the original link which belongs to The International Marian Research Institute in Dayton, Ohio. This is the many advocacies of Our Lady.

1. Mary's Holiness - Three introductory advocations highlight Mary's sanctity as person (Sancta Maria), her role as mother of Jesus Christ (Sancta Dei Genitrix), and her vocation as virgin (Sancta Virgo Virginum). Mary's sanctity is stressed.

2. Mary, the Mother - Twelve advocations refer to Mary as Mother. The purpose of this series of advocations is to highlight the various facets of Mary's role as mother. Some of these advocations, especially at the beginning (1-3) and at the end (11-12) of the series, are referring explicitly to her maternal activity and the addressees (Christ, the Church...) of this activity. Mary is:

(1) Mother of Christ (Mater Christi)
(2) Mother of the Church (Mater Ecclesiae) 

(3) Mother of Divine Grace (Mater Divinae Gratiae)

And again, at the end of the series:

(11) Mother of our Creator (Mater Creatoris)
(12) Mother of our Savior (Mater Salvatoris)

The intermediate advocations (4-10) qualify or characterize the person of Mary as mother, mainly with adjectives:

(4) Mother Most Pure (Mater purissima)
(5) Mother Most Chaste (Mater castissima)
(6) Mother Inviolate (Mater inviolate)
(7) Mother Undefiled (Mater intemerata)
(8) Mother Most Amiable (Mater amabilis)
(9) Mother Most Admirable (Mater admirabilis)

(10) Mother of Good Counsel (Mater boni consilii) [Mother of Fair Love (Mater pulchrae dilectionis)]

Mary attracts love and admiration, and she is of good counsel, but most of the characteristics mentioned (4-7) refer to the miraculous and virginal birth of Jesus.

3. Mary, the Virgin - The advocations of Mary Mother are followed by six titles extolling her as Virgin. They stress not only the merit of her virginity:
Virgin Most Prudent (Virgo prudentissima)
Virgin Most Venerable (Virgo veneranda)
Virgin Most Renowned (Virgo praedicanda)

but also the "efficacy" of virginity. Mary is:

Virgin Most Powerful (Virgo potens)
Virgin Most Merciful (Virgo clemens), and
Virgin Most Faithful (Virgo fidelis).

4. Symbols of Mary - We then have thirteen symbolic advocations, mostly taken from the Old Testament and applied to Mary which highlight her virtues and her eminent role in salvation history:

(1) Mirror of Justice (Speculum justitiaé)
(2) Seat of Wisdom (Sedes sapientiae)
(3) Cause of Our Joy (Causa nostrae laetitiae)
(4) Spiritual Vessel (Vas spirituale)
(5) Vessel of Honor (Vas honorabile)
(6) Singular Vessel of Devotion (Vas insigne devotionis)
(7) Mystical Rose (Rosa mystica)
(8) Tower of David (Turris davidica)
(9) Tower of Ivory (Turris eburnea)
(10) House of Gold (Domus aurea)
(11) Ark of the Covenant (Foederis arca)
(12) Gate of Heaven (Janua coeli)
(13) Morning Star (Stella matutina)

5. Mary, the Helper - The group of four advocations that follows extol Mary's role as advocate for spiritual and corporal works of mercy. She is:
(1) Health of the Sick (Salus infirmorum)

(2) Refuge of Sinners (Refugium peccatorum)
(3) Comforter of the Afflicted (Consolatrix afflictorum)

(4) Help of Christians (Auxilium christianorum)


6. Mary, the Queen - The last part of the Marian advocations is composed of a series of 13 titles referring to Mary as Queen. Mary is Queen of Saints and inhabitants of heaven:

(1) Queen of Angels (Regina Angelorum)
(2) Queen of Patriarchs (Regina Patriarcharum)
(3) Queen of Prophets (Regina Prophetarum)
(4) Queen of Apostles (Regina Apostolorum) 

(5) Queen of Martyrs (Regina Martyrum)
(6) Queen of Confessors (Regina Confessorum)

(7) Queen of Virgins (Regina Virginum)
(8) Queen of all Saints (Regina Sanctorum omnium)

There are five advocations which emphasize the personal holiness, distinction, and role of Mary’s queenship:

(09) Queen Conceived Without Original Sin (Regina sine macula originali concepta) 

(10) Queen Assumed into Heaven (Regina in caelum assumpta)
(11) Queen of the Most Holy Rosary (Regina sacratissimi rosarii) 

(12) Queen of Families (Regina familiarum)
(13) Queen of Peace (Regina pacis)


Hail Mary, so full of beauty and God's Grace! You are the most feminine of comforters, who we cry to daily for your prayer and intercession and to wipe away our tears. Thank you for bringing me closer to Your Son, inspiring me in spirit to pray at the foot of His cross of salvation with you! Pray for us, all of us sinners now, and at the hour of our death!