Sacred Head of Jesus

17/02/2024

REPENTANCE (4)

The most important thing is the act of sorrow, which must have a supernatural motive, which must have a profound seriousness. I fear that some of the confessions that are made are invalid or unformed, because so many people do things too habitually, and put all the importance in declaring faults, whereas the greater importance must be in having the true feeling of penance. Penance is an act of walking in reverse; that is why the Greek word which renders much more than the Latin or Italian one: 'metanoia', change of the 'nous', change of the head; it is not an easy thing to change the head. It is to change things that are esteemed, wanted, loved, because they are guilty, it is to change ideas. But this is what we must do, and this is also what measures man's dignity, because it is always honourable for a man to be able to repair the faults he has made. It is part of human dignity. One cannot understand how a man has his dignity, if before his Creator he does not have the ability to show himself, as he must, profoundly opposed to that in which he has succumbed to evil.

(Card. Giuseppe Siri, Easter preparation for UCID, 1983)

17/02/2024

Novena to St. Walburga - first day
O God, come to my assistance.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen

Psalm 23 or other psalm of trust (Psalm 62, 91) may be recited: Psalm 23 from the Douay-Rheims Bible:

The Lord is My Shepherd
A psalm for David. The Lord ruleth me: and I shall want nothing.
He hath set me in a place of pasture. He hath brought me up, on the water of refreshment.
He hath converted my soul. He hath led me on the paths of justice, for His own name's sake.
For though I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evils, for Thou art with me. Thy rod and Thy staff, they have comforted me.
Thou hast prepared a table before me against them that afflict me. Thou hast anointed my head with oil; and my chalice which inebriateth me, how goodly is it!
And Thy mercy will follow me all the days of my life. And that I may dwell in the house of the Lord unto length of days

Holy Walburga, you dwell in the glory of heaven, gazing upon the face of the Triune God in the company of all the saints. I turn to you, full of trust in the words of Jesus Christ, “Amen, amen I say to you, the one who has faith in me will do the works I do, and greater far than these” (Jn 14:12). God has granted you the gift of healing; help me in my need, which I bring before you (mention petition). Beg God to grant healing, consolation and strength to me and to all those for whom I pray. Implore Him to let me recognize His love and know His presence, whatever He may have in store for me. Ask this for me through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns in the unity of the Father and the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen

St. Walburga, by your blessed life of love,
God blessed you with the power to heal,
to make whole the soul as well as the body.
Beg for us what we cannot obtain for ourselves,
and heal our world of sickness and sorrow.
May God hear you,
who lived so graciously for His glory,
and send us the healing grace we need,
through your powerful intercession.

Amen.

Say 1: Our Father… Say 1: Hail Mary… Say 1: Glory Be…

15/02/2024

Today we celebrate the 119th anniversary of Teresa Helena Higginson´s death.

Prayer of Teresa Higginson for the spread of devotion to the Sacred Head of Our Lord

O infinite Wisdom, boundless Love, how unsearchable are Thy ways! Make known, O Lord, Thy desire to have Thy Sacred Head honoured as the Seat of divine Wisdom, and to have Thy holy Soul, sorrowful unto death, comforted. Arise and show that Thou art the Almighty God. Make known the burning desire of Thy Sacred Heart. Make haste, O Lord, for Thy own dear sake.
Do not delay; I conjure Thee through Thy most Precious Blood, and for Thy bitter Passion's sake.
I ask Thee, O ever Blessed Trinity, in the holy name of Jesus, in honour of this same Seat of Divine Wisdom, and through the burning love of His Sacred Heart; I ask Thee in the name of Mary and Joseph, and for the salvation of souls, that Thou wilt make known and spread this Devotion.
O Lord Thou knowest the desire with which I desire to satisfy Thee; yet how weak and helpless I am; and how little is yet done.
Speak, Lord, and say what Thou wouldst have us do.
Amen.

Imprimatur: Liverpolii die 13 Sep. 1931, + Ricardus Archiepiscopus Liverpolitanus.

Imprimatur: Edm. Can. Surmont, V.G.: England, September 2, 1926. Teresa Helena Higginson was a saintly British Roman Catholic mystic. She was born on the 2...

29/01/2024

This was the humble prayer of the theologian who understands that he is dealing with things much higher than himself and that he has a grave responsibility towards his people. Father Reginaldo, his secretary, and other brethren were fortunate enough to observe St. Thomas while in deep prayer, when suddenly Christ appeared and motioned towards his writings and said: “You wrote well about the sacrament of my Body and you wrote well and according to truth; you also have resolved the question that was posed to you.

This understanding of the Truth defines and holds true, as long as man is present on earth.” Having heard this, Thomas was filled with joy and thanksgiving, and prostrated himself and knelt down at the altar in front of our Lord.

St. Thomas Aquinas: Prayer before Study

Creator of all things,
true Source of light and wisdom,
lofty origin of all being,
graciously let a ray of Your brilliance
pe*****te into the darkness of my understanding
and take from me the double darkness
in which I have been born,
an obscurity of both sin and ignorance.
Give me a sharp sense of understanding,
a retentive memory,
and the ability to grasp things correctly and fundamentally.
Grant me the talent of being exact in my explanations,
and the ability to express myself with thoroughness and charm.
Point out the beginning,
direct the progress,
and help in completion;
through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

—St. Thomas Aquinas

"Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you. Amen."

23/01/2024

Saint Emerentiana: Those familiar with the traditional Breviary (dropped from the Novus Ordo 'missals') will know the story of this virgin and martyr who Holy Mother Church has had Her religious commemorate on a yearly basis for some 1800 years. Let us quote the Breviary directly:

“Emerantiana, a Roman virgin, stepsister of the blessed Agnes, while still a catechumen, burning with faith and charity, when she vehemently rebuked idol-worshippers who were stealing from Christians, was stoned and struck down by the crowd which she had angered. Praying in her agony at the tomb of holy Agnes, baptized by her own blood which she poured forth unflinchingly for Christ, she gave up her soul to God.

Virgin and martyr, d. at Rome in the third century; The old Itineraries to the graves of the Roman martyrs, after giving the place of burial on the Via Nomentana of St. Agnes, speak of St. Emerentiana. Over the grave of St. Emerentiana a church was built which, according to the Itineraries, was near the church erected over the place of burial of St. Agnes, and somewhat farther from the city wall. In reality Emerentiana was interred in the coemeterium majus located in this vicinity not far from the coemeterium Agnetis. Armellini believed that he had found the original burial chamber of St. Emerentiana in the former coemeterium. According to the legend of St. Agnes, Emerentiana was her foster-sister. Some days after the burial of St. Agnes, Emerentiana, who was still a catechumen, went to the grave to pray, and while praying she was suddenly attacked by the pagans and killed with stones. Her feast is kept on 23 January. In the "Martyrologium Hieronymianum" she is mentioned under 16 September, with the statement: In coemeterio maiore. She is represented with stones in her lap, also with a palm or lily.”

O Lord, pardon our sins through the intercession of the blessed virgin martyr Emerentiana, who pleased You by her purity and her faith. Through Our Lord . . .

Image: Agnes' parents with the dead Emerentiana, fresco in the church of Sant'Agnese fuori le mura in Rome

10/01/2024

https://www.preces-latinae.org/thesaurus/Pater/LitaniaePatris.html

27/09/2023

Remember, our Lady of La Salette, true Mother of sorrows, the tears which thou didst shed for me on Calvary; be mindful also of the unceasing care which thou dost exercise to screen me from the justice of God; and consider whether thou canst now abandon thy child, for whom thou hast done so much. Inspired by this consoling thought, I come to cast myself at thy feet, in spite of my infidelity and ingratitude. Reject not my prayer, O Virgin of reconciliation, convert me, obtain for me the grace to love Jesus Christ above all things and to console thee too by living a holy life, in order that one day I may be able to see thee in Heaven. Amen.

This once carried an indulgence of 500 days (S. P. Ap., Nov. 7, 1927 and Dec. 12, 1933).

15/08/2023

Prayer To The Blessed Virgin Assumed Into Heaven By Pope Pius XII
On the Occasion of the Proclamation of the Dogma of the Assumption.

O, Immaculate Virgin Mother of God and Mother of Men,
we believe with all the fervour of our faith in thy triumphant Assumption,
body and soul, into Heaven,
where thou art acclaimed as Queen by all the Choirs of Angels
and by all the Legions of Saints.
We unite with them to praise and bless the Lord
Who halls exalted thee above all other pure creatures
and to offer to thee the fervour of our devotion and our love.

We know that thine eyes,
which caressed maternally the humble
and suffering humanity of Jesus on earth,
are now filled with the vision of the glorified humanity of the incarnate Wisdom,
and that the joy of thy soul contemplating face to face the adorable Trinity.
makes thy heart beat with beatifying tenderness.
And we, poor sinners. whose bodies burden the flight of the soul,
we beseech thee to purify our senses so that we may learn,
while yet here below, to enjoy God and God alone in the charm of His creatures.

We are confident that thine eyes of mercy look down upon our miseries,
our sorrows, our struggles, and our weaknesses,
and smile upon our joys and our victories,
and that thou hearest the voice of Jesus saying to each one of us,
just as He said of His beloved disciple. ” Behold thy son.”
and we invoke thee, our Mother,
and like John we take thee for guidance,
strength and consolation in our mortal life.

We have the life-giving certainty that thine eyes,
which wept on the earth bathed with the Blood of Jesus,
still gaze on this world. a prey to wars, persecutions
and the oppressions of the just and the weak;
and, in the shadows of this vale of tears,
we look to thy heavenly light and thy sweet pity for comfort
in the grief of our hearts and in the trials of the Church and our homeland.

And we believe. too, that in the glory where thou reigns,
clothed in the sun and crowned with the stars, thou art,
after Jesus, the joy and the happiness of all the angels and saints;
and we on this earth, who pass as pilgrims
comforted by faith in future resurrection,
look to thee, our life, our sweetness and our hope.
Draw us with the sweetness of thy voice and show unto us, one day,
after this our exile, the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
0 clement, 0 loving, 0 sweet Virgin Mary.

14/08/2023

Novena to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Say once a day for nine days, especially starting on August 13 and ending on August 21, the eve of the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

O Heart of Mary, Mother of God and our Mother; Heart most worthy of love, in which the adorable Trinity is ever well-pleased, worthy of the veneration and love of all the Angels and of all men; Heart most like to the Heart of Jesus, of which thou art the perfect image; Heart, full of goodness, ever compassionate toward our miseries; deign to melt our icy hearts and grant that they may be wholly changed into the likeness of the Heart of Jesus, our divine Saviour. Pour into them the love of thy virtues, enkindle in them that divine fire with which thou thyself dost ever burn. In thee let holy Church find a safe shelter; protect her and be her dearest refuge, her tower of strength, impregnable against every assault of her enemies.

Be thou the way which leads to Jesus, and the channel, through which we receive all the graces needful for our salvation. Be our refuge in time of trouble, our solace in the midst of trial, our strength against temptation, our haven in persecution, our present help in every danger, and especially at the hour of death, when all hell shall let loose against us its legions to sn**ch away our souls, at that dread moment, that hour so full of fear, whereon our eternity depends. Ah, then, most tender Virgin, make us to feel the sweetness of thy motherly heart, and the might of thine intercession with Jesus, and open to us a safe refuge in that very fountain of mercy, whence we may come to praise Him with thee in paradise, world without end. Amen. (Mention your request here…)

Say 1: Our Father… Say 1: Hail Mary… Say 1: Glory Be…