Of friendship

I rejoiced with those who said to me,

"Let us go to the house of the Lord." - Psalm 122:1

 

 

“How pleasing to our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament

is the short quarter of an hour that

we steal from our occupations, from something of no use,

to come and pray to Him, to visit Him, to console Him.”

 

Saint John Vianney

Virtuous ways...

  Your beauty... should be that of your inner self,

the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit,

which is of great worth in God's sight.  ~ I Peter 3: 3,4  

 

Our Lady of the Rosary Adoration Chapel - San Diego

 

 

“Would you like me to teach you how to grow from virtue to virtue and how, if you are already recollected at prayer, you can be even more attentive next time, and so give God more pleasing worship? Listen, and I will tell you.

If a tiny spark of God’s love already burns within you, do not expose it to the wind, for it may get blown out. Keep the stove tightly shut so that it will not lose its heat and grow cold. In other words, avoid distractions as well as you can.

Stay quiet with God.

Do not spend your time in useless chatter.”

 

St. Charles Borromeo

Italy ~ 1534-1584

Archbishop of Milan, Cardinal 

Towering figure of the Catholic Reformation

Patron saint of catechists and seminarians

FEAST DAY - November 4

 

 

St Charles Borromeo offers some wise and beautiful words to Seminarians and Priests (and others can 'listen in' and merit too):

"My brothers, you must realize that for us churchmen nothing is more necessary than meditation. We must meditate before, during and after everything we do. The prophet says: I will pray, and then I will understand. When you administer the sacraments, meditate on what you are doing. When you celebrate Mass, reflect on the sacrifice you are offering. When you pray the Office, think about the words you are saying and the Lord to whom you are speaking. When you take care of your people, meditate on the Lord's blood that has washed them clean. In this way, all you do becomes a work of love. This is the way we can easily overcome the countless difficulties we have to face day after day, which, after all, are part of our work: in meditation we find the strength to bring Christ to birth in ourselves and in other men." (Office of Readings, November 4)

St. Charles Borromeo, pray for us!

The influence of His presence

... and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. - Galatians 2:20b

“It is a fire whose heat will warm and cheer those around you.  They will breathe the Eucharistic presence. 

The sweetness which you will draw from your Communion will have its effect on your conduct, and you will so attract all hearts, first to yourself, and then to Him Whom you carry in your breast.

Have faith in the influence

of the presence of the Lord.”

 

Saint Peter Julian Eymard

In the Light of the Monstrance (1947)

Grant Thy eternal rest...

All Souls Day*

Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed

November 2

 

The commemoration of All Souls is rooted in the Church's

strong conviction that we, the living, have a serious responsibility

in love to accompany with prayer those who have died but who

must yet complete the purificatory preparation every human being

needs to be able to dwell in the all-encompassing love of God.

(From Magnificat, November 2010, Vol 12, No 9)

 

 

 

 

"Eternal Father, I offer You the most precious Blood

of Your Divine Son, Jesus, in union with

the Masses said throughout the world today,

for all the Holy Souls in purgatory.  Amen."

 

St Gertrude the Great

 

 

"I would go so far as to say that if there was no purgatory, then we would have to invent it, for who would dare say to himself that he was able to stand directly before God. .... (God) can cleanse us in such a way that we are able to be with Him and can stand there in the fullness of life.  Purgatory strips off from one person what is unbearable and from another the inability to bear certain things, so that in each of them a pure heart is revealed, and we can see that we all belong together in one enormous symphony of being."  ~ Pope Benedict XVI

 

LITTLE LITANY OF THE HOLY SOULS

Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us.

Holy Souls, Pray for us. For the souls of our families, We pray Thee, O God. For the souls of our friends, We pray Thee, O God. For the souls of our enemies, We pray Thee, O God. For the souls of all pagans, We pray Thee, O God. For the souls of all priests, We pray Thee, O God. For the souls of all religious, We pray Thee, O God. For the souls of the just, We pray Thee, O God. For the souls of all sinners, We pray Thee, O God. For the Holy Souls in Purgatory, We pray Thee, O God. For those who have none to pray for them, We pray Thee, O God. O almighty and eternal God, we beg Thee to have mercy on the Holy Souls in Purgatory, especially those for whom we are bound to pray; and we ask Thee also to listen to the prayers of the Blessed Souls in our behalf. Amen.

All Souls Day ~ Jakub Schikaneder (1888)

 

PRAYER FOR A HAPPY DEATH…written by Bl Cardinal Newman.

O my Lord and Savior, support me in my last hour by the strong arms of Thy sacraments, and the fragrance of Thy consolations. Let Thy absolving words be said over me, and the holy oil sign and seal me; and let your own body be my food, and Thy blood my sprinkling; and let Thy Mother Mary come to me, and my angel whisper peace to me, and Thy glorious saints and my own dear patrons smile on me, that in and through them all I may die as I desire to live, in Thy Church, in Thy faith, and in Thy love. Amen.   

My Jesus, mercy.

*MORE on All Souls Day...   Click here: All Souls Day

 

Remember those, O Lord,

Who in Your peace have died,

Yet may not gain love's high reward

Till love is purified

 

With You they faced death's night

Sealed with Your victory sign;

Soon may the splendor of Your light

On them forever shine!

 

O blest communion!

 

  Solemnity of All Saints*

November 1

We are called to remember all of the saints, known and unknown, whose lives have served as holy examples for us.  

"To become saints means to fulfill completely what we already are, raised to the dignity of God's adopted children in Christ Jesus..." ... "This, then, is the meaning of today's Solemnity:  looking at the shining example of the Saints to reawaken within us the great longing to be like them:  happy to live near God, in His light, in the great family of God's friends.  Being a Saint means living close to God, to live in His family... " ~ Benedict XVI

 

   

          "Saints of God, perfected in love and victorious over sin, who now enjoy the reward of adoring Our Lord face to face in everlasting JOY and GLORY: 

            Be gracious to remember us, flawed and failing, who still struggle on earth, who kneel here adoring Our Lord hidden in the tabernacle, who long for the day when we too will be made like Him and will see Him as He is.

              Gather around us here in His Eucharistic Presence to strengthen us with your prayers and to enrich our feeble worship with the mighty chorus of your praise.  Teach us by your example to love Him above all things, so that we too may become the pure in heart to see God, who enjoy with you the eternal blessed fellowship of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen." 

From Jesus, We Adore You,

Prayers Before the Blessed Sacrament

Paul Thigpen

   

 

 

*Origin of All Saint's Day as a feast of the Church Click here:  http://www.wf-f.org/AllSaints.html

 

  

 

During the Octave of All Saints' Day (Nov 1 thru Nov 8) any of the faithful,

by devoutly visiting a cemetery and praying for the departed,

can obtain a plenary indulgence (each day this is done),

applicable to the poor souls in purgatory,

(under the usual conditions for obtaining indulgences).