St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr, A.D. 304 or 305.
by VP
Posted on Tuesday January 21, 2025 at 12:00AM in Saints
St. Agnes by Cesare Dandini
"She was a Roman virgin, who, at the age of thirteen, having chosen Christ for her spouse, continued faithful to him, amidst all the solicitations and attempts made against her. Flatterers could not move her, nor threats, nor torments terrify her. She had given her heart to Christ; and was resolved that nothing of this world should take it from him. Her constancy was first tried by the fire, from which, like pure gold, she came out without hurt. Afterwards, by the sword of the executioner, she gave up her soul, a holy victim into the hands of her heavenly spouse. Pray for this spirit of the love of God, that you may sincerely give your heart to him, and be ever faithful in what you do. Be ashamed to be outdone by a virgin of thirteen years; and that not having half the trials which she had, you are so often overcome. You pretend to love God: and yet upon every little difficulty, or the flattery of creatures, you surrender yourself, and become a prey, either to impatience, sensuality, or self-love. Humble yourself at the sight of your infirmity and inconstancy: lay a better foundation, and beg for the strength of this saint.
Lament the unhappy education of both sexes, in these tender years; who are trained up to an early knowledge of the follies and vanities of this world; but little acquainted with the practice of a Christian life. Instead of humility, they are instructed in pride: instead of meekness, they are taught to be imperious: instead of forsaking the world, they are taught to admire it: instead of self-denial, they are bred up in the practice of indulging themselves. Thus, instead of loving
God, and being prepared to sacrifice all to him, they fall a sacrifice
to vanity and self-love. Pray, therefore, for all parents, that their
care and love for their children may be substantial; that nature may not
be their rule, but the gospel; and that, if they have faith, they may give proof of it in this point." The Catholic Year by Fr. John Gother
Jan 21. Return of European Protestants ( Church Unity Octave Prayer)
by VP
Posted on Tuesday January 21, 2025 at 12:00AM in Tradition
"O Michael, who hast strongly kept the way
Invaders sought, and hast undone their boast:
With thee may blest Saint Boniface now pray
And Mary Queen of Peace, and heav'nly host
That all misled by heresy, may search
The paths and find the Way of Holy Church.
"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 European Protestants
- 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:
There is little to be gained in criticizing Martin Luther today. Rather men should pray that those who follow him may come to a realization of the gift that he, and those who follow him, flung aside: veneration for the Mother of God. As a young priest Luther wrote and preached beautiful tributes to Mary. Even after he nailed his ninety-fives theses to the door of Wittenburg's Cathedral and turned his back on his Lord, he wrote in a commentary on the Magnificat: "If I had as many tongues as there are stars in the sky or grains of sand on the seashore, or leaves of all the forests, and if with all these tongues I did nothing but praise Mary day and night, I could never say anything half so glorious to her as that which is expressed in the single phrase: "Thou art the Mother of God."
In a short while he repudiated Our Lady too, but among his followers devotion to the Virgin did not die so quickly. In many places in the sixteenth century the Lutherans continued to celebrate the feast of the Assumption with meetings and canticles because the people would not give up the festival. At the present day many still demonstrate love for Mary by reciting the Rosary and there has been a notable increase of Marian devotion especially in the Evangelical Church of Mainz.
During the Holy Year of 1950 a Lutheran minister, Richard Baumann, made a pilgrimage to Rome. In writing of his experiences he frequently alluded to the Blessed Virgin. Of the Rosary he said: "...when the rosary is said, truth sinks in to the subconscious like a slow and steady downpour, the hammered sentences of the catechism receive an indelible validity for precisely the little ones..." He made special note of the fact that the symbolical books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church use the following phrases: "Mary, the pure, the holy, the ever-virgin, the God-Bearer, truly the Mother of God, worthy of the amplest praises. She will that we follow her example. She prays for the Church."
For the first time in four hundred years the sons of St. Francis have returned to Norway. The land that produced its St. Olaf and St. Magnus, its St. Hallvard and St. Eyestein is beginning to re-echo with the liturgy of the Church and its Aves in honor of the Mother of God. St. Canute of Denmark will live in other sons of the Church and St. Bridget and St. Catherine of Sweden will rise once more as modern heroines of God's family, if only a sufficient number of missioners will take the torch of faith and carry it full-flaming among men who know it not. In the prayer of the famous Barnabite priest, Fr. Karl Schilling, who labored so extensively for the conversion of the Scandinavian people, we ask divine blessings: "Good Jesus, I humbly fall at Thy feet and pray Thee by Thy holy wounds and by Thy Precious Blood which Thou has shed for the whole world, to look in mercy upon the Scandinavian people. Let astray hundreds of year ago, they are now separated from Thy Church and denied the inestimable benefit of the Sacrament of Thy Body and Blood, and also the many other means of grace which Thou hast instituted for the consolation of the faithful in life and in death.
Remember, O Saviour of the world, that for these souls also Thou didst shed Thy Precious Blood and endure untold sufferings.
Good Shepherd, lead these Thy sheep back to the wholesome pastures of Thy Church, so that they may be on flock together with us under Thy Vicar here on earth - the Bishop of Rome, who in the person of the Holy Apostle Peter was commissioned by Thee to care both for the lambs and for the sheep.
Hear, O merciful Jesus, these our petitions, which we make to Thee with full trust in the love of Thy Sacred Heart towards us, and to Thy Holy Name be glory, honor, and praise through all eternity."
Source: Father Titius Crannis, S.A. The American Ecclesiastical Review, Volume 130, Herman Joseph Heuser Catholic University of America Press, 1954
The Long Waiting
by VP
Posted on Tuesday January 21, 2025 at 12:00AM in Meditations
"1. For seven long years the Holy Family remained in the land of Egypt. From day to day they knew not whether they were to spend all their days in banishment, far from the dear land of Israel, or to return thither it might be on the morrow; yet no shade of impatience ever marred the perfection of their peace and resignation to the will of God. How different from myself, who am so anxious and troubled about the future!
2. During all this time St. Joseph supported his holy spouse and the Infant Jesus by working at his trade of a carpenter. They often felt the pinch of poverty, but never wanted for bread. God forsakes not His own, though He sometimes tries them to the very edge of their powers of endurance. He will not forsake me if I put my trust in Him.
3. How little the people of Egypt knew Who it was that dwelt for these long years amongst them! If they had known it, they would eagerly have cast aside their idols, and thrown themselves at the feet of the King of heaven and earth. So if those outside the Catholic Church knew that on every altar God Himself dwells in the Blessed Sacrament, how they would come in crowds to make their humble submission to Him! Hence teach a great charity to those outside the Church of Christ. It is often ignorance, not malice, that stands in the way of their conversion."
Meditations for Christmas . By Rev. Richard F. Clarke S.J. The Catholic Truth Society, London 1891
