Jan 19: Return of Oriental Separatists (Church Unity Octave Prayer)
by VP
Posted on Sunday January 19, 2025 at 12:00AM in Poetry
"Once more thy guiding star place in the sky,
And lead - lead back the Magi of the East
To thy One See on earth through which from High
Thou speakest to the world's greatest and least:
Communion with the Apostolic See
Will banish schism in true unity.
"Ut omnes unum sint," O lord, we pray
That all be drawn within thy one, true fold,
Back to thy Church - from which the wand'rers stray
And the true Faith she keeps like saints of Old.
O bring them back, Good Shepherd of the sheep;
And rouse the heathen nations from their sleep. Amen"
Source: Catholic Hymns for the People, James Martin Raker 1919 -
Prayer intention: Return of Oriental Separatists to the one fold of St. Peter, the one Shepherd
- Ant. That they all may be one, as
Thou, Father, in me and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us; that
the world may believe that Thou has sent me.
℣. I say to thee, that thou art Peter,
℟. And upon this rock I will build my Church.
Let us pray: Lord Jesus Christ, Who didst say to Thine Apostles: peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, look not upon my sins, but upon the faith of Thy Church; and vouchsafe unto Her that peace and unity which is agreeable to Thy will: Who livest and reignest God forever and ever. Amen.
Reflection:
"On this second day of the Unity octave our prayers are for a special group cut off from the Church, but united to her in may ways. These dissidents of the East who can trace their spiritual lineage to Ignatius of Antioch, John Chrystostom, the two Gregorys, John Damascene and so many other illustrious saints, have the seven sacraments and the Mass; they have bishops and priests with valid orders. They treasure a deep devotion to the Mother of God, but they lack the fullness of love because they reject the oneness of government and authority in the Holy Father.
Among the so-called Orthodox there are many manifestations of love for Mary. The icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Byzantine in style, is the most popular representation of Mary in the Near East and before the Bolsheviks and Communists defamed her image it was most widely venerated in "Holy Russia." Despite the suffering and persecution of the present hour an ardent love for Mary lives on in the hearts of the Russian people and of others enslaved by the same oppressor, with smuggled pictures and hidden icons that testify to a love that cannot be uprooted by force. The flames now concealed will burst forth again and the Bogoroditza (She-who-gave-birth-to-God) will once more reign as Queen and Mother.
Even in the Kremlin there is a church building dedicated to Mary under the title of the Assumption. Assuredly it is not used for divine services today, but in the future it will again re-echo the prayers and hymns in honor of the Mother of God and the prophecy of a holy priest and Apostles of Mary, Maximilian Kolbe, O.F.M. Conv., will be fulfilled: "One day you will see the statue of the Immaculate atop the Kremlin."
When the Catholics of Zhorimir, Russia, asked Pope Leo XIII for a copy of the most popular picture of Our Lady of Rome, the Pontiff sent a copy of the picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. He likewise made it the official seal of the Pontifical Mission for Russia. The same inscription is used as the cover of a publication, Balcan, devoted to the study of Christian Unity, it adorns the walls of the Institute of Oriental Studies in Rome, an inspiration for the Europeans and Asiatics who gather there to discuss plans for reunion.
In 1931 Pope Piux XI issued an encyclical, Lux Veritatis, on the fifteenth centenary of the Council of Ephesus. His reference to Our Lady at the end of the document is most appropriate at the present time:
Under the auspices of the Heavenly Queen, We desire all to beg for a very special favor of the greatest importance, that she who is loved and venerated with such ardent piety by the people of the East, may not permit that they should be unhappily wandering and still kept apart from the unity of the Church, and thus from her Son, whose vicar We are. (...) Would, moreover, that very soon the happiest of days might dawn when the Virgin Mother of God, looking through her image so exquisitely worked in mosaic under Our Predecessor, Sixtus III, in the Liberian Basilica, and restored by Us to its original beauty, would see the separated children returning to venerate her with Us with one mind and one faith." Lux Veritatis, Dec. 25 1931
Source: Father Titius Crannis, S.A. The American Ecclesiastical Review, Volume 130, Herman Joseph Heuser Catholic University of America Press, 1954
St. Paul, The First Hermit, Confessor, A.D. 343
by VP
Posted on Wednesday January 15, 2025 at 12:00AM in Poetry
St. Paul lived in the desert about a hundred years, clothed with the leaves of the trees, feeding on dates and bread, — a crow bringing him daily half a loaf, as St. Jerome relates in his life, and drinking at the fountain. Pray that you may understand something of this spirit. A little is sufficient to sustain nature; and all beyond this is some degree of excess. It is the will of God that you should eat and drink, to preserve the life which he has given you: but if in this you study to indulge a disorderly appetite, what is this but an abuse? It is an act of injustice, in feeding that which you are obliged to weaken and overcome. And what is all your expense in that way, but defrauding the poor, who have a right to all that is superfluous to you? To what account will you place what is thus laid out? Consider if it will be accepted by Him, who cannot be imposed upon by vain pretexts.
Reflect too on the penitential life of this saint. If these holy men did so much for salvation, have you not reason to fear when you do so little? If theirs was the way to heaven, is yours so too, when you take quite a contrary method?" The Catholic Year, by Rev. Fr. John Gother
To the Divine Infant
by VP
Posted on Tuesday January 14, 2025 at 12:00AM in Poetry
Infant of Prague: Mother Of Mercy, Washington NC)
Prayer to the Holy Infant for priests
Jesus, Divine Infant, I bless and thank
Your most loving Heart for the institution of the priesthood. Priests
are sent by You, as You were sent by the Father. To them You entrusted
the treasures of Your doctrine, of Your Law, of Your Grace, and souls
themselves.
Grant me the grace to love them, to listen to them,
and to let myself be guided by them in Your ways. Jesus, send good
laborers into Your harvest. May priests be the salt that purifies and
preserves; may they be the light of the world; may they be the city
placed on the mountain. May they all be formed after Your own Heart. And
in heaven may they be surrounded by a joyous throng of those they
shepherded on earth. Amen.
Glory Be three times.
Infant Jesus, make me love You more and more!
To the Divine Infant:
Sweet Infant - God! I humbly fly to Thee,
For I have heard Thy whisper all divine:
"Come all who labor, come with trust to me,"
"Your hearts can only rest in love of mine."
Sweet Infant - Jesus! I believe in Thee,
And hope for mercy from Thy loving Heart.
O may I love and serve Thee fervently!
"The Prince of peace," "Emmanuel" Thou art!
Sweet little Jesus! Souls so dear to Thee
Shall be the objects of my tender love.
O grant that we may all eternally
Rejoice and praise Thee in the land above.
Written by: Enfant de Marie (These lines were suggested by the beautiful prayer in honor of the Holy Infant of Prague, composed by the Carmelite, Father Cyril a Matre Dei.)The Carmelite review, 1898
St. Hilary of Poitiers, France. Bishop and Confessor, Doctor of the Church A.D. 368 (the Hammer of the Arians)
by VP
Posted on Tuesday January 14, 2025 at 12:00AM in Poetry
Saint Hilaire, peint par Pierre-Floréal Crémière
- The Church is the Ship outside which it is impossible to understand the Divine Word, for Jesus spoke from the boat to the people gathered on the shore.
- The utter folly of our time is lamentable, that men should think to assist God with human help and to protect the Church of Christ by worldly ambition.
He was of a most illustrious family in Gaul, and brought up in idolatry. But by the divine grace he was happily converted to the Christian faith; and from his baptism led a life of eminent zeal and piety. He had lived with so much regularity in a conjugal state, that for his extraordinary virtues he was made choice of to be bishop of the diocese wherein he lived. Pray for all who have the care of families: they have the charge of them under God, being his vicegerents, and must give an account of all the disorders, whether in children or servants, which are occasioned by their ill example or neglect. How few families are to be found, in which Christian discipline and order are observed! Those who should give the example, are irregular themselves; and then what becomes of those who are under their charge? Spare not your prayers on a subject which demands your tears; and if you have any part in this duty, pray that you may be faithful in it. Beg pardon for past errors, and take effectual care to amend. Think not your charge small: weigh it in all its particulars, and you will find it very great.
St. Hilary, being made bishop, applied himself wholly to the discharge of his duty. He stood resolutely against the enemies of the Christian faith, by preaching, writing, and disputing, and opposed the then prevailing errors of the Arians. Pray for the extirpation of all errors, especially that of the Arians. Pray for all the bishops of Christ's Church; that in their piety, vigilance, and zeal, they may follow the example of this saint in reforming all abuses destructive of faith and a good life. Do your part in being an advocate for truth by your good example.
St. Hilary died in the year 368. He is styled by St. Augustin, "the illustrious doctor of the Churches :" and St. Jerome says that he was a "most eloquent man, and the trumpet of the Latins against the Arians." Recommend yourself and all belonging to you on this his festival to his holy intercession." The Catholic Year by Rev. Fr. John Gother
