CAPG's Blog 

Settegast, Joseph Anton Nikolaus, 1813-1890

"The Seal of Confession: John Nepomucen was born in Bohemia about 1330. He dedicated to God and the Holy Virgin a life which had, in his case, been miraculously preserved from his very infancy, and embraced the ecclesiastical state, that he might devote himself wholly to the salvation of souls. The first efforts of his zeal having been attended with admirable results, particularly among the students of the town of Prague, the emperor Wenceslas wished to hear him preach, and named him his almoner. The empress and many of the greatest personages of the court put themselves under his spiritual direction; but as the pious empress had been accused of leading a disorderly life, the emperor wished to obtain information in that particular, from her confessor. The latter, as duty required, withheld all explanation. Wenceslas, who was of wrathful temper and had become cruel by dint of misfortune, maltreated John Nepomucen, submitted him to a protracted torture, and caused him at last to be thrown into the Moldau. The body of the holy martyr, by means of a celestial light, was discovered, withdrawn from the waters and fittingly interred. This happened in 1383. Benedict XIII. canonized John Nepomucen in 1729.

Moral reflection: When once initiated into the divine mysteries, the prophet Isaiah exclaimed: "My secret to myself!" That of the confessor being more sacred, belongs not to him, but is God's own. (Isa. XXIV. 16.)" Pictorial half hour with the Saints, Fr. Lecanu.

Prayer:  "How great, glorious Martyr, was the honor reserved for you by the Son of God when He chose you to be the one who was to attest, by laying down his life, the sacredness of the secret which protects the Sacrament of Penance! Other priests, as well as yourself, have bravely suffered persecution for the sake of the secrecy of the mystery of Reconciliation. But you were the one chosen by Heaven to give a solemn testimony of priestly discretion. Your sufferings were known to more than to Angels. Your martyrdom was a public one, and the faithful honor your courage as an eloquent proof of how truly our good Shepherd, Jesus, removes every difficulty that could deter the strayed sheep from returning to the fold.

    We address ourselves to you, holy Martyr, on this the day of your triumph, and we beg of you to intercede for sinners. Admirable minister of the Sacrament of Penance, you see how many Christians there are who neglect to avail themselves of the means of salvation prepared for them by our Risen Savior. Instead of laying hold of this “second plank after shipwreck,” they let themselves be carried on to the deep abyss by the tide of their sinful habits. There are thousands who have turned a deaf ear, even this Easter, to the call of holy Church who invited them, as an affectionate Mother, to approach the tribunal of mercy and Reconciliation. We beseech you, intercede for these blind, these unwary, these ungrateful men. Get them that grace which will lead them to the feet of the God of Mercy who is ever ready to grant pardon.

    There are others, again, who go to Confession but who have not the dispositions requisite for receiving the grace of the Sacrament —the justification of their souls. Pray also for these that they may see the danger they thus incur of profaning the Blood of Christ. Obtain for all them who approach the holy tribunal an honest avowal of their sins and contrition of heart, that thus the life of our Risen Jesus may be imparted to them, and that they may never again lose it. By your powerful intercession, raise up zealous and faithful ministers of this great Sacrament of which you were the martyr. Draw down on their arduous labor the blessing of Heaven: then will the number of the children of God be increased and the grace of the Holy Ghost triumph in souls that have long been dead in sin." Dom Gueranger

Prayer for a priest before Confession

Prayer for a priest after Confession

Devotion to the Holy Face: Carmelites, Buffalo NY

Holy Face Devotion in the Raleigh Diocese, NC:

• Anyone may join St. Catherine's in Wake Forest as we do phone devotion to the Holy Face every other Tuesday at 9:30 .Simply call. (4 FREE )1 701 892 5279; ACCESS CODE IS 7970106# and join in.
  
• Our Lady of Lourdes: 6:15 pm (Fallon Center) every Tuesday.
  

The principal object of the devotion to the Holy Face is to offer respectful love and homage to the Adorable Face of Jesus disfigured in the Passion; to make reparation for blasphemy and the neglect of Holy Days, which outrages Him afresh; and, lastly, to obtain of God the conversion of sinners and profaners of the Holy Days:

Eternal Father, we offer You the Holy Face of Jesus, covered with blood, sweat, dust, and spittle, in reparation for the crimes of communists, blasphemers, and for the profaners of the Holy Name and of the Holy Day of Sunday.

Offering of the Holy Face by St. John Vianney, the Cure of Ars:

    Oh, my beautiful Immaculate Mother Mary, Queen of Sorrows, I beg of you, by the inexpressible agony you did endure at the foot of the Cross, to offer to the Eternal Father, in my stead, the Holy Face of your Divine Son, my Jesus, covered with Blood, wounds, and other indignities heaped upon Him during His Sacred Passion, and beg of Him to grant … (Here mention the grace or favor you desire). Amen.

The Divine Praises in Reparation for Blasphemies

    Blessed be God.
    Blessed be His Holy Name.
    Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true Man.
    Blessed be the Name of Jesus.
    Blessed be His Most Sacred Heart.
    Blessed be His Most Precious Blood.
    Blessed be Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.
    Blessed be the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete.
    Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary most holy.
    Blessed be her holy and Immaculate Conception.
    Blessed be her glorious Assumption.
    Blessed be the name of Mary, Virgin and Mother,
    Blessed be St. Joseph, her most chaste Spouse.
    Blessed be God in His Angels and in His Saints.

I salute, adore, and love Thee, O Jesus, my Savior, covered anew with outrages by blasphemers, and I offer Thee, through the heart of Thy blessed Mother, the worship of all the Angels and Saints, as an incense and a perfume of sweet odor, most humbly beseeching Thee, by the virtue of Thy Sacred Face, to repair and renew in me and in all men Thy image disfigured by sin. Amen

A Prayer for the Church

O God, by Thy Holy Name have pity on us, protect us, and save us.
O good Jesus, in the sweet Name guard our Sovereign Pontiff; breathe into his
soul the spirit of the Comforter.

Jesus, thy Church is menaced with great trials! Holy Father, by the virtue of
thy salutary Name protect the Church of Jesus Christ. This was the last will of
thy Divine Son; it is the holy prayer which love prompted towards the end of his
life. Holy Father, keep in thy Name those thou hast given me (St. John chap. xxxvii. 11)

O most holy and worthy Mother, refuge of the Church, intercede for us and save us by
the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

St. Michael and the Holy Angels, guard the bark of Peter; disperse its enemies
by the Holy Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Source: Sister Saint-Pierre and the Work of Reparation. Manual of the Archconfraternity of the Holy Face, 1887

Prayer to Obtain the Settlement of all Our Needs

    Oh, Eternal Father, since it has pleased our Divine Savior to reveal to mankind in our present century the power residing in His Holy Face, we now avail ourselves of this treasure in our great needs. Since our Savior Himself promised that by offering to You, oh Eternal Father, the Holy Face disfigured in the Passion, we can procure the settlement of all our affairs, and that nothing whatsoever will be refused us, we now come before Your Throne.

    Offering to You, oh God, this adorable Countenance, disfigured with painful bruises and covered with shame and confusion, we beg through the merits of this Holy Face to obtain these, our pressing needs.

    Grant us pardon, Eternal Father, for the worst crimes of our age, which are atheism, blasphemy, and the desecration of Your holy days. May this offering of the Holy Face of our Savior before Your throne obtain for us deliverance from these evils.

    Send us, oh God, many vocations to the priesthood and to the religious life, so that by their prayers, their works, and their sacrifices, they may spread the blessings of Your Church and confound Your enemies. Amen

More resources:

• The Feast of the Holy Face (World Report)
• League of Saint Martin
• Oratoire de la Sainte Face Tours, France
• Video From the Diocese of Tours (In French)

"O blessed Pontiff, be our protector against the spirits of Hell. They are devoured by envy at seeing how man, that lowly and feeble creature, has become the object of God's predilection. The Incarnation of the Son of God, His death on the Cross, His glorious Resurrection, the Sacraments which give us the life of Grace - all these sublime means by which the infinite goodness of God has restored us to our lost dignity, have excited the rage of the old enemy, and he seeks revenge by insulting, in us, the Image of our Creator. At times, he attacks man with all the frenzy of angry jealousy. To mimic the operations of Sanctifying Grace - which, so to speak, makes us the instruments of God's good pleasure - Satan sometimes takes possession of our fellow creatures, and makes them his slaves. Your power, O Ubaldus, has often manifested itself by rescuing these unhappy victims of the Devil's jealousy, and holy Church, on this day celebrates the special prerogative conferred on you by our Heavenly Father. Relent not in the exercise of your charitable office. And yet, O holy Pontiff, you know that the snares of the wicked spirits are more injurious to the souls than to the bodies of men.

Have pity, then, on the unhappy slaves of sin, who, though the divine Sun of the Pasch has risen upon them, are still in the darkness of guilt. Pray for them that they may become once more Children of the Light, and share in the Easter Resurrection which Jesus offers to all."

Source: Dom Prosper Gueranger