A Blast From the Past . . .
Mark Your Calendars . . . December Sixth!
There is a lot of bad stuff surfacing in our Church and world today. Seems that offering a day of prayer on December Sixth honors our dedication to God and sends forth prayers in reparation for the evil that is being done. I also included below prayers which would be great for starting a Novena for these intentions beginning on December sixth. Hey, if four exorcists think we need this, I’m going by their experiences in their ministry!
Act of Consecration of the Human Race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Most sweet Jesus, Redeemer of the human race, look down upon us humbly prostrate before Thy altar. We are Thine, and Thine we wish to be; but, to be more surely united with Thee, behold each one of us freely consecrates himself today to Thy Most Sacred Heart. Many indeed have never known Thee; many too, despising Thy precepts, have rejected Thee. Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus, and draw them to Thy Sacred Heart.
Be Thou King, O Lord, not only of the faithful who have never forsaken Thee, but also of the prodigal children who have abandoned Thee; grant that they may quickly return to their Father’s house lest they die of wretchedness and hunger.
Be Thou King of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions, or whom discord keeps aloof; call them back to the harbor of truth and unity of faith, so that soon there may be but one flock and one Shepherd.
Be Thou King of all those who are still involved in the darkness of idolatry or of Islamism; refuse not to draw them all into the light and kingdom of God. Turn Thine eyes of mercy toward the children of that race, once Thy chosen people: of old they called down upon themselves the Blood of the Savior; may it now descend upon them a laver of redemption and of life.
Grant, O Lord, to Thy Church assurance of freedom and immunity from harm; give peace and order to all nations, and make the earth resound from pole to pole with one cry: Praise to the Divine Heart that wrought our salvation; to It be glory and Honor forever. Amen.
Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
O sweet Jesus, Whose overflowing charity for men is requited by so much forgetfulness, negligence and contempt, behold us prostrate before Thy altar eager to repair by a special act of homage the cruel indifference and injuries, to which Thy loving Heart is everywhere subject.
Mindful alas! that we ourselves have had a share in such great indignities, which we now deplore from the depths of our hearts, we humbly ask Thy pardon and declare our readiness to atone by voluntary expiation not only for our own personal offenses, but also for the sins of those, who, straying far from the path of salvation, refuse in their obstinate infidelity to follow Thee, their Shepherd and Leader, or, renouncing the vows of their baptism, have cast off the sweet yoke of Thy Law.
We are now resolved to expiate each and every deplorable outrage committed against Thee; we are determined to make amends for the manifold offenses against Christian modesty in unbecoming dress and behavior, for all the foul seductions laid to ensnare the feet of the innocent, for the frequent violations of Sundays and holidays, and the shocking blasphemies uttered against Thee and Thy Saints.
We wish also to make amends for the insults to which Thy Vicar on earth and Thy priests are subjected, for the profanation, by conscious neglect or terrible acts of sacrilege, of the very Sacrament of Thy Divine Love; and lastly for the public crimes of nations who resist the rights and teaching authority of the Church which Thou hast founded.
Would, O divine Jesus, we were able to wash away such abominations with our blood. We now offer, in reparation for these violations of Thy divine honor, the satisfaction Thou didst once make to Thy eternal Father on the cross and which Thou dost continue to renews daily on our altars; we offer it in union with the acts of atonement of Thy Virgin Mother and all the Saints and of the pious faithful on earth; and we sincerely promise to make recompense, as far as we can with the help of Thy grace, for all neglect of Thy great love and for the sins we and others have committed in the past. Henceforth we will live a life of unwavering faith, of purity of conduct, of perfect observance of the precepts of the gospel and especially that of charity. We promise to the best of our power to prevent other from offending Thee and to bring as many as possible to follow Thee.
O loving Jesus, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our model in reparation, deign to receive the voluntary offering we make of this act of expiation; and by the crowning gift of perseverance keep us faithful unto death in our duty and the allegiance we owe to Thee, so that we may one day come to that happy home, where Thou with the Father and the Holy Ghost livest and reignest God, world without end. Amen.
The Fall of the Berlin Wall . . .
Thirty years ago, this month, the people spoke and the Berlin Wall came down. Not many people even remember what the Berlin Wall was all about and more don’t care at this stage of the game. Real history is not a topic taught in our school systems these days.
I remember that day particularly well. My mother was actually in Germany at the time although she wasn’t in the vicinity of the historiic day. And when I heard the news, I was happy for many relatives who had spent the last thirty years behind the wall but sad for my mother as her mother lived in East Germany and died there behind the wall.
There were a lot of relatives from my grandfather’s side of the family residing in communism. When the allies divided up Germany, no one realized that Russia would take this step. Only one of family of my German relatives got out before they closed down all traffic in and out. The father of the family was a clever and hardworking man who knew Russia would never be satisifed watching people go in and out of ‘Russian’ terrority for long. At the early stages, Germans could get a pass to spend the day in the West visting relatives. My cousins did so taking with them their baby girl. At the checkpoint, initially, the Russian guards tried to take the baby for collateral to make sure the couple did return at the end of the day but, somehow, the couple assured them they would be back and walked through that checkpoint taking with them only their child, the baby carriage, and the clothing they were wearing and never looked back.
A young priest, who befriended my grandmother, was from West Germany and was in the newly-occupied Russian Zone on assignment. The wall went up and he woke up to being a ‘citizen’ and, basically a prisoner in a new situation.
My mother was there when the Americans pulled out of East Germany and watched the Russians come in. Being fluent in English, she had been called upon a lot by the American Army to help with translations and dealings with the Germans during their time there. When word came down that it was official that the Russians were coming in, my mother took to running down to the main square every morning to see what flag was flying. Her stomach dropped the morning she arrived to see the Americans taking down their flag and the Russian flag being hoisted up the flag pole. She walked slowly home.
However, several of the American soldiers she had been helping, contacted her and quietly said to pack a small bag and stand in the crowds watching the American troops pulling out at the train station. Her mother packed the bag and they stood side by side in the noisy crowds but had been warned to not do any goodbyes, just stand there. Minutes before the train pulled out, several American soldiers came up behind my mother and grandmother, circled my mother blocking her from view and the group marched into the train successfully hiding my mother.
Naturally, the American MP’s were carefully searching the train for people trying to leave on the troop trains. My mother’s soldier friends, put her into an oversized uniform, hat down over her face, and told her to be quiet. Sure enough, the MPs checked out the car and when they pointed to where my mother was shaking in her boots, the other soldiers indicated they needed to be quiet as the ‘soldier’ had done too much celebrating the night before and shouldn’t be bothered. My mother successfully made it to Bavaria and her uncle’s home but not without a lot more adventures.
Even though she wasn’t home in the States when the wall went down, I imagined that she was reliving what I just related and thanking God for the chances He gave her in life.
There is a difference between the Berlin Wall and the walls on our borders. The Berlin Wall was in place to prevent people from leaving. Our border walls are there for our protection yet we can cross back and forth without worry of being locked in against our will.
Shining Light Into the Darkness . . .
Prayer of Reparation for the Idolatrous Acts During the Last Synod for the Amazon
Remember to pray in reparation today for sins against idolatry. His Excellency Athanasius Schneider has written the following prayer for this purpose:
“Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, receive through the hands of the Immaculate Mother of God and Ever Virgin Mary from our contrite heart a sincere act of reparation for the acts of worship of wooden idols and symbols during the Synod for the Amazon, which occurred in Rome, the Eternal City, the heart of the Catholic world. Pour out in the heart of Our Holy Father Pope Francis, of the Cardinals, of the Bishops, of priests and lay faithful, your Spirit, who will expel the darkness of their minds, so that they might recognize the impiety of such acts, which offended your Divine majesty and offer to you public and private acts of reparation.
Pour out in all members of the Church the light of the fullness and beauty of the Catholic Faith. Enkindle in them the burning zeal of bringing the salvation of Jesus Christ, true God and true man, to all men, especially the people in the Amazon region, who still are enslaved in the service of feeble material and perishable things, as the deaf and mute symbols and idols of “mother earth.” Enkindle the light of faith in those persons, especially in the persons of the Amazonian tribes who do not yet possess the liberty of the children of God, and who do not have the unspeakable happiness of knowing Jesus Christ and having in Him a participation in the life of your Divine nature.
Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, you are the one true God, besides Whom there is no other god and no salvation, have mercy on your Church. Look especially upon the tears and contrite and humble sighs of the little ones in the Church. Look upon the tears and prayers of the little children, of the adolescents, of young men and young women, of the fathers and mothers of families and also of the true Christian heroes, who in their zeal for your glory and in their love for Mother Church threw into the water the symbols of abomination which defiled her. Have mercy on us: spare us, O Lord, parce Domine, parce Domine! Have mercy on us: Kyrie eleison! Amen.”
Three of My Favorite People!
Morality an Our World Today . . .
“Every sin against sexual morality is an attack upon the stability, the goodness, and the beauty of a society. Every such sin ultimately has a child for its victim.” Anthony Esolen
Listen, Laugh and Then Worry!
Crazy Quilts, Catholics & Cookies 