Lead, kindly Light!...

  "Lead, kindly Light!

amid the encircling gloom,

Lead thou me on!"

St John Henry Cardinal Newman

 

"In the Holy Mass that One Sacrifice on the Cross 

once offered is renewed, continued, applied to our benefit. 

He seems to say, My Cross was raised up 1800 years ago, 

and only for a few hours - and very few of my servants 

were present there - but I intend to bring millions into 

my Church. For their sakes then I will perpetuate 

My Sacrifice, that each of them may be as 

though they had severally been present at Calvary.

I will offer Myself up day by day to the Father, 

that every one of my followers may have the opportunity 

to offer up his petitions to Him, sanctified and 

recommended by the all-meritorious virtue of my Passion.

 

Thus I will be a Priest for ever, in the order of Melchizedek  

- My Priests will stand at the Altar - 

but not they, but I rather, will offer.  

I will not let them offer mere bread and wine, but I myself 

will be present on the Altar instead, and I will 

offer myself invisibly, while they perform the outward rite.

And thus the Lamb that was slain once for all, 

though He is ascended on high, ever remains a victim 

from His miraculous presence in Holy Mass  under the 

figure and appearance of mere earthly and visible symbols."

 

 St John Henry Cardinal Newman

England ~ 1801-1890

Convert from Anglicanism in 1845
Doctor of the Church

Teacher (Oxford), eminent theologian, 

writer, poet, popular preacher

Established Oratory of St Philip in England

Founded the Catholic University of Ireland

Feast Day:  Oct 9

Painting above:  Francois-Marius Granet

 

"God knows what is my greatest happiness, 

but I do not. Thus God leads us by strange ways; 

we know He wills our happiness, but we neither 

know what our happiness is, nor the way." 

St John Henry Cardinal Newman

St John Henry Newman, pray for us!

Work hard, eat well, live fully...

  But by the grace of God I am what I am, and 

his grace to me was not without effect.  - I Cor 15:10a

"When we work hard, we must eat well. 
What a joy, that you can

receive Holy Communion often!

It's our life and support in this life --

Receive Communion often, 
and Jesus will change you into Himself." 

St Peter Julian Eymard

Two marvelous fonts of grace...

 Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary

October 7

LÃ¥tefossen is unique among Norwegian waterfalls: two streams coming together 

on the side of a mountain just before they merge into another river in the valley below.

 

"Jesus gave Himself as spiritual food 
and True Presence among us in the 

Blessed Sacrament.  In our own century at Fatima,

Mary asked the three children and us to, 
'Pray the Rosary every day.'

Here we see two marvelous fonts of grace 

flowing together.

When we receive Jesus in the Eucharist, 

we become united with Him.

Adoring His presence exposed on the altar 

or in the tabernacle we bask in His warmth. 

Meditating on the Rosary, we recall Jesus' life, 

death and resurrection and the union 

of His mother in the work of our salvation.

Through the Eucharist and the Rosary, 

two hearts are joined in love, and 

we, in love, are joined to those two hearts."

From the article, "Mirroring Divine Love," 

by Michael Six

 

 

More on...the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary

 

To commemorate the victory of the Christian Armada over the Turks on Oct 7, 1571, Pope Pius V introduced the Feast of Our Lady of Victory. Christian Europe had been at risk  of being conquered by the Ottoman Empire (Muslim). The year leading up to the battle had been declared the Year of the Rosary.  At the beginning of that year, each mariner of the Holy League was given a rosary and instructed to pray it daily.  The rosary also served to unite the contentious factions of the Holy League during the year of its formation and proved equally important for getting the Holy League to the battle as winning the battle. When faced with unfavorable wind at the onset of the battle, the men picked up their rosaries and began praying.  Miraculously the winds shifted and served to be a key factor in the ensuing victory. 

 

The Feast's name was changed in 1969 to Our Lady of the Rosary and it is now a mandatory memorial.  It is now attached to and starts Respect For Life Month.

_____________________________

 

Many complain that the Mass and Rosary are repetitious.  However,  the “repetition” of the Mass and Rosary alike can work a slow but deep transformation of one's heart. One could also point out that repetition is not necessarily a sign of a lack of imagination. It may be sheer exuberant pleasure that makes us repeat an activity.  G. K. Chesterton argued that repetition is a characteristic of the vitality of children.  They like the same stories, the same words, time and time again, not because they are bored and unimaginative but because they delight in life.

 

Chesterton wrote:

“Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead, for grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony.  It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening “Do it again” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes each daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old and our Father is younger than we. The repetition in Nature may not be a mere recurrence; it may be a theatrical encore. Heaven may encore the bird who laid an egg."

 

Pray the Rosary.  Pray the Mass. 

Exult in the monotony. Transform your heart.

By word and example bring others close to Jesus

in the Blessed Sacrament and the Rosary!
____________________

"Love is expressed with few words,
always the same and always repeated."

 St Charles de Foucauld
______________________

Click here: Fatima, Our Lady of the Rosary - YouTube (6:30 mins)
Click here: Our Lady of the Rosary - YouTube (2 mins) 
Click here:The Battle of Lepanto. - YouTube (7 mins)

 

"May the Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace, 
intercede for all humanity, so that

hate and death never have the last word!" 
 St John Paul II

 

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!

The cross is steady...

  Stat crux dum volvitur orbis

"The cross is steady while 
the world is turning." - St Bruno

"I believe the sacraments

which the Church believeth,

and in particular that the bread and wine 

consecrated on the altar are 

the true Body of our Lord Jesus Christ;

His true Flesh, and His true Blood,

which we receive for the remission of our sins,

and in the hope of eternal life." - St Bruno

St Bruno

 Feast Day - October 6

Nee 1030, Germany

Died 1101, Italy
Hermit

Founder, Carthusian Order
Patron: those who suffer from demonic possession

"By your work you show what you love

and what you know." - St Bruno

____________________

"For the devil may tempt the good, 

but he cannot find rest in them; 

for he is shaken violently, and upset, 

and driven out, 

now by their prayers, 

now by their tears of repentance, 

and now by their alms giving 

and similar good works." - St Bruno

______________________

Click here: St. Bruno - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online  (1:16 mins)

Click here: The life of St Bruno - YouTube  (5:48 mins)

Click here: Charterhouse of the Transfiguration

St Bruno, pray for us!

Inexhaustible spring of mercy...

   "Let us then with confidence draw near

to the throne of grace, 

that we may receive mercy and find grace

to help in time of need. - Hebrews 4:16

 

 “You wanted to stay with us, and so you left us 
Yourself in the Sacrament of the Altar, 
and You opened wide Your mercy to us. 
You opened an inexhaustible spring of mercy for us, 
giving us Your dearest possession, 

the Blood and Water, that gushed forth

 from Your Heart” (Diary 1747).

 

St Maria Faustina

Poland ~ 1905-1938 
Nun, mystic, visionary

Known as the Apostle of Divine Mercy

Feast Day – October 5

 

  

"If we were to sit for an hour

a few feet away from a radioactive element, 

how much would that change affect us? 

The Lord is infinitely more powerful than this 

and if we go to Him seeking grace and mercy,

how much more can we hope to be changed?" 

 St Maria Faustina

 

Click here: 10 Most Beautiful/Inspiring St. Faustina Quotes about Mercy

Click here: Saint Faustina - Congregation of the Sisters (incl full text Diary)

Click here: Chaplet of Divine Mercy

 

St Faustina, pray for us,

that we may earnestly say,  

Jesus I trust in You!