tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742085426694144922024-03-13T10:21:38.672-07:00Scriptural RosaryClick the below heading "Scriptural Rosary" for the actual thing.Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08615111645004884355noreply@blogger.comBlogger153125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-274208542669414492.post-58486169417780031372022-07-24T16:12:00.009-07:002023-08-15T12:40:05.323-07:00On the Blessed Virgin Mary and Devotion to Her<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVRzgRN5InpKghD-NamL297ADfxicFNaDFIKWk7pp_MdHeuvNGBzldsUyPt6Nm9Yxb-YbpC_p7NV11u6T9NS8oiSmpyXNiw33F9puhU3hyOOhIcxG9q7YsMNfig_WzQ1_GF5c4YdxU5uxbMuaTVhtVuKHhXj9RFyis_ucBN0PILh6scWunriuQvmlAkA/s710/Our%20Lady%20of%20the%20Rosary.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="710" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVRzgRN5InpKghD-NamL297ADfxicFNaDFIKWk7pp_MdHeuvNGBzldsUyPt6Nm9Yxb-YbpC_p7NV11u6T9NS8oiSmpyXNiw33F9puhU3hyOOhIcxG9q7YsMNfig_WzQ1_GF5c4YdxU5uxbMuaTVhtVuKHhXj9RFyis_ucBN0PILh6scWunriuQvmlAkA/s320/Our%20Lady%20of%20the%20Rosary.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A fitting summary of what the Church teaches about the Blessed Virgin Mary may be found in the eighth chapter of the Second Vatican Council’s Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lumen Gentium. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is recommended that one read this section of Lumen Gentium (nos. 52-67) in conjunction with this reflection.</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-12cbcce2-7fff-f774-390c-609663b92ee6"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To understand properly what Divine Revelation has taught us about who our Blessed Mother is, and what role she plays in our lives as followers of Christ, it is important to keep in the mind that the Church has always sought to teach about our Lady in relation to Christ. “In the Virgin Mary, everything is relative to Christ and dependent on him” (St. Pope Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Marialis Cultus</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 25). As St. Pope John Paul II observed,</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Only in the mystery of Christ is [the Blessed Virgin Mary’s] mystery fully made clear. Thus has the Church sought to interpret it from the very beginning: the mystery of the Incarnation has enabled her to penetrate and to make ever clearer the mystery of the Mother of the Incarnate Word. The Council of Ephesus (431) was of decisive importance in clarifying this, for during that Council, to the great joy of Christians, the truth of the divine motherhood of Mary was solemnly confirmed as a truth of the Church's faith. Mary is the Mother of God (= Theotókos), since by the power of the Holy Spirit she conceived in her virginal womb and brought into the world Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who is of one being with the Father...In turn, the dogma of the divine motherhood of Mary was for the Council of Ephesus and is for the Church like a seal upon the dogma of the Incarnation, in which the Word truly assumes human nature into the unity of his person, without cancelling out that nature. (Encyclical </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Redemptoris Mater</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 4)</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our Blessed Mother’s motherhood in relation to Christ’s faithful likewise flows from her divine motherhood of the person of Jesus Christ. Reflecting on the intercession which our Blessed Mother exercised for the benefit of the married couple at the wedding feast at Cana in Galilee (see John 2:1-11), St. Pope John Paull II observed, “From the text of John it is evident that it is a mediation which is maternal. As the [Second Vatican] Council proclaims: Mary became ‘a mother to us in the order of grace’. This motherhood in the order of grace flows from her divine motherhood.” (</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Redemptoris Mater</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 22, citing </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lumen Gentium</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 61).</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Careful analysis of Sacred Scripture likewise confirms Mary’s motherhood “in the order of grace” as stemming from her motherhood of the Incarnate Word.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Prior to ascending into heaven, our Lord told his disciples “Behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). Following our Lord’s ascension into heaven, the Evangelist Luke then relates in the Book of Acts, “they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet...All these in one accord devoted themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren” (Acts 1:12, 14).</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Evangelist Luke, who authored both the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts, uses identical language to describe the coming of the Holy Spirit upon our Blessed Mother at the Incarnation and upon the Church on Pentecost. In response to our Blessed Mother’s question as to the nature of her conception of Christ, the Angel Gabriel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you” (Luke 1:35). Immediately before ascending to heaven, our Lord told his disciples, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you” (Acts 1:8). </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Just as when St. Luke used language from the Second Book of Samuel which pertained to the Ark of the Covenant in order to describe Our Lady’s visitation to her cousin Elizabeth, thus depicting Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant (see 2 Samuel 6:2, 5, 9, 11; Luke 1:39, 43, 44, 56), so, too, does his use of the language describing the Holy Spirit’s coming upon Mary at the Incarnation (“power...Holy Spirit...come upon”) draw a parallel with the Holy Spirit’s coming upon the Church at Pentecost. By drawing a connection between the coming of the Holy Spirit at both the events of the Incarnation and Pentecost, this parallel helps to illustrate the intercessory role which our Blessed Mother played in the Upper Room at Pentecost. Just as God used her consent to His will for her to be the mother of Jesus as revealed to her at the Annunciation (see Luke 1:31, 38), in a like manner, her intercession among the members of the Church was key as they prayed in fulfillment of our Lord’s direction to “stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49).</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Since it has pleased God not to manifest solemnly the mystery of the salvation of the human race before He would pour forth the Spirit promised by Christ, we see the apostles before the day of Pentecost "persevering with one mind in prayer with the women and Mary the Mother of Jesus, and with His brethren", and Mary by her prayers imploring the gift of the Spirit, who had already overshadowed her in the Annunciation. (</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lumen Gentium</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 59, citing Acts 1:14)</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our Lady continues to intercede for us in heaven to assist us on our way of salvation just as she did in the Upper Room. “Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this salvific duty, but by her constant intercession continued to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation” (</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lumen Gentium</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 62).</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Second Vatican Council further qualifies the Blessed Virgin Mary’s intercessory role as a participation in Christ’s own unique role as Mediator.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is but one Mediator as we know from the words of the apostle, "for there is one God and one mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a redemption for all" (1 Timothy 2:5). The maternal duty of Mary toward men in no wise obscures or diminishes this unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows His power. For all the salvific influence of the Blessed Virgin on men originates, not from some inner necessity, but from the divine pleasure. It flows forth from the superabundance of the merits of Christ, rests on His mediation, depends entirely on it and draws all its power from it. In no way does it impede, but rather does it foster the immediate union of the faithful with Christ. (</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lumen Gentium</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 60)</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This intercessory role for the benefit of the Church further illustrates a fulfillment of her role as mother which our Lord had earlier decreed as he hung upon the cross. The Gospel of John recounts this instance:</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdelene. When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold your son!” Then he said to his disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. (19:25-27)</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">St. Pope John Paul II confirmed that the “beloved disciple” of this episode, St. John the Evangelist, stands in the place of all of Christ’s faithful:</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The words uttered by Jesus from the Cross signify that the motherhood of her who bore Christ finds a "new" continuation in the Church and through the Church, symbolized and represented by John.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">...</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It can also be said that these same words [“Behold your son.”] show the reason for the Marian dimension of the life of Christ’s disciples. This is not only true of John, who at that hour stood at the food of the cross together with his Master’s Mother, but is also true of every disciple of Christ, of every Christian. The Redeemer entrusts his mother to his disciple, and at the same time gives her to him as his mother. Mary’s motherhood, which becomes man’s inheritance, is a gift: a gift which Christ himself makes personally to every individual. (</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Redemptoris Mater </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">24, 45)</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our Blessed Mother responds to our Lord’s command to behold us as her children by looking out for us just as she did for the married couple at the wedding feast at Cana, and by continually interceding for us as has been illustrated above. It also follows that our devotion to our Lady as Christ’s disciples follows from our own response to our Lord’s command to behold her as our Mother.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="display: inline-block; position: relative; width: 100px;"></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In 2018, Pope Francis underscored the Blessed Virgin Mary’s motherhood of the members of the Church by approving the liturgical feast of Mary, Mother of the Church. In the decree establishing this feast, Cardinal Robert Sarah, then Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, indicated the regard that we as members of the Church are to have toward our Lady in response to her motherhood:</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Indeed, the Mother standing beneath the cross (cf. Jn 19:25), accepted her Son’s testament of love and welcomed all people in the person of the beloved disciple as sons and daughters to be reborn unto life eternal. She thus became the tender Mother of the Church which Christ begot on the cross handing on the Spirit. Christ, in turn, in the beloved disciple, chose all disciples as ministers of his love towards his Mother, entrusting her to them so that they might welcome her with filial affection. (</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Decree on the the Celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary Mother of the Church in the General Roman Calendar</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">)</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In response to our Lord’s command to behold Mary as our Mother, our devotion to our Lady springs from this “welcoming” of her in her maternal role. As Cardinal Sarah notes, we welcome her with filial affection, of the affection of a child for its mother. Any devotional practice focused on our Lady, such as praying the rosary, should be accompanied by such affection. Our Lady no doubt delights in this affection as a mother would. This affection likewise helps us to keep in mind why it is that we regularly carry out such devotional practices: as an expression of love of children for their mother, and so avail ourselves of benefiting from her maternal role in helping us foster greater union with Christ.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This filial affection we have for Our Lady is not mere sentimentality, but the heart’s response to the mind’s assent to the truths of faith that the Blessed Virgin Mary is our Mother “in the order of grace”.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let the faithful remember moreover that true devotion consists neither in sterile or transitory affection, nor in a certain vain credulity, but proceeds from true faith, by which we are led to know the excellence of the Mother of God, and we are moved to a filial love toward our mother and to the imitation of her virtues. (</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lumen Gentium</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 67)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The regard we have for our Lady as our Mother should also entail veneration we have for her as she whom God chose to be Mother of the “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” (Revelation 19:16), in such a manner that we allow our regard for her to be influenced by that favor which the Most High God showed her in gracing her with so exalted a role.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The early writers of the Church called Mary "the Mother of the King" and "the Mother of the Lord," basing their stand on the words of St. Gabriel the archangel, who foretold that the Son of Mary would reign forever [see Luke 1:33] and on the words of Elizabeth who greeted her with reverence and called her "the Mother of my Lord." [Luke 1:43] Thereby they clearly signified that she derived a certain eminence and exalted station from the royal dignity of her Son. (Venerable Pope Pius XII, Encyclical </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ad Caeli Reginam</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 9)</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This “certain eminence and exalted station” with which God has blessed our Lady may also be glimpsed in the “great portent” of the twelfth chapter of the Book of Revelation of the “woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars” (12:1). One may legitimately interpret this Woman as representing the Blessed Virgin Mary.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This Woman represents Mary, the Mother of the Redeemer, but at the same time she also represents the whole Church, the People of God of all times, the Church which in all ages, with great suffering, brings forth Christ ever anew. (<a href="https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/audiences/2006/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20060823.html">Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience, 23 August 2006</a>)</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This passage from the Book of Revelation, while portraying the Woman as she who is “crowned with twelve stars” and gives birth to “a male child, who is to rule all nations with a rod of iron” (see also Psalm 2:9), likewise identifies her “offspring” as “those who keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus” (12:1, 17).</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Identifying the Virgin Mary as both Mother and Queen, the Church prays in the Opening Prayer of the Mass for the feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary:</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">O God, who made the Mother of your Son</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">to be our Mother and our Queen, graciously grant that, sustained by her intercession,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">we may attain in the heavenly Kingdom</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the glory promised to your children.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As we maintain this reverential regard for our Lady as our Mother, as the Mother of the Lord, and as Queen, we do not hesitate to heed that maternal direction she gave to the servants at the wedding feast at Cana: “Do whatever he tells you” (John 2:5). Just as our Lord directed us to behold our Lady as our Mother, so we benefit from regarding her as such by heeding her direction in pointing us back to our Lord. By participating in this interplay, we move more deeply in that family relationship as children of God “in the order of grace” which surpasses biological bonds; as our Lord declared, “Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother” (Mark 3:35). Our Lady herself exemplifies this obedience to God’s will, most especially in her consent to God’s will in response to the Angel’s message: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1: 38). In her consent to God’s will, so too does she model that trust we should have as the Lord’s disciples in following his will. As our Lady’s cousin, Elizabeth, proclaimed under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, “Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord” (Luke 1:45, cf. 1:41).</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="display: inline-block; position: relative; width: 100px;"></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Devotional Practices to the Blessed Virgin Mary</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As we “behold” our Lady as our Mother, we express our filial regard for her with internal and external practices. At times, the internal and external aspects of such practices coincide by design, as with the rosary, by which one outwardly prays vocally while simultaneously contemplating the “mysteries” of the rosary, or the events in the lives of Jesus and Mary on this the rosary’s meditations are based.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In addition to the rosary, the Church’s history has witnessed manifold expressions of devotion to our Lady in both the East and the West.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As he considered how renewal of the faithful’s devotional practices to the Blessed Virgin Mary fell within the overall liturgical renewal following the Second Vatican Council, St. Pope Paul VI affirmed the following criterion:</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It seems to us particularly in conformity with the spiritual orientation of our time, which is dominated and absorbed by the "question of Christ," that in the expressions of devotion to the Virgin the Christological aspect should have particular prominence...This will without doubt contribute to making piety towards the Mother of Jesus more solid, and to making it an effective instrument for attaining to full "knowledge of the Son of God, until we become the perfect man, fully mature with the fullness of Christ himself" (Eph. 4:13). (</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Marialis Cultus</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 25)</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In reaffirming the rosary’s value as maintaining this Chrisological character, St. Pope Paul VI deemed the rosary a “compendium of the entire Gospel” (Marialis Cultus 42, citing Venerable Pope Pius XII, Letter to the Archbishop of Manila "Philippinas Insulas"). Expounding on this point, he continued:</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Rosary draws from the Gospel the presentation of the mysteries and its main formulas. As it moves from the angel's joyful greeting and the Virgin's pious assent, the Rosary takes its inspiration from the Gospel to suggest the attitude with which the faithful should recite it. In the harmonious succession of Hail Mary's the Rosary puts before us once more a fundamental mystery of the Gospel - the Incarnation of the Word, contemplated at the decisive moment of the Annunciation to Mary. The Rosary is thus a Gospel prayer. (</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Marialis Cultus</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 44)</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">St. Pope John Paul II also reaffirmed this Christological character of the rosary when he stated simply that “to recite the Rosary is nothing other than to </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">contemplate with Mary the face of Christ</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">” (</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rosarium Virginis Mariae</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 3, emphasis in the original).</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pope Leo XIII explained how this quality of the rosary to bring Christ and his gospel to light would have lent itself to St. Dominic’s combat against the Albigensian heresy:</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">St. Dominic, after journeying from Spain into France, was the invincible opponent of the Albigensian heresy which at that time was spreading like an evil pestilence through almost the whole of southern France to the foot of the Pyrenees. By his explaining and preaching on the wonderful and sacred mysteries of God’s gifts, the light of truth burned brightly in the very places that had been overshadowed by the darkness of error. For this is what each series of the rosary mysteries, which we so highly esteem, does for us. (Encyclical </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Parta Humano Generi</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> ___)</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Though the historicity of the traditions of Our Lady’s bestowal of the rosary to St. Dominic and of St. Dominic’s use of the actual rosary in his preaching against the Albigensians is debated, it is worth noting that these traditions have been attested to by several popes throughout history, including Popes Leo X, Pius V, Gregory XIII, Sixtus V, Clement VIII, Alexander VII, Innocent XIII, Benedict XIII, Pius IX, and Leo XIII (see Augusta Theodosa Drane, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The History of St. Dominic: Founder of the Friars Preachers</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, p. 136).</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">History nevertheless attests to a substantial relationship between the Dominican Order and the rosary’s place in the prayer life of the Church. After the rosary had developed over centuries, its popularity spread among the faithful as a result of the establishment of the Confraternity of the Rosary, an association of clergy and the faithful devoted to promotion of the rosary (see Donald Calloway, MIC, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Champions of the Rosary: The History and Heroes of a Spiritual Weapon</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, pp. 67-71). In 1475, a Rosary Confraternity based in Cologne, Germany was the first to be officially recognized by a pope. Following this recognition, many more local confraternities were to be recognized as they were established under the direction of Dominican friars. The rosary flourished throughout the 16th century and in 1520, Pope Leo X traced the confraternity’s beginnings to St. Dominic himself (see </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pastoris aeterni</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, as cited in ibid., p. 75). This attribution to St. Dominic was later repeated in 1897 by Pope Leo XIII (see Encyclical </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Augustissimae Virginis Mariae</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, 7).</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Starting in 1571, the general chapters of the Dominican Order (meetings at which decisions are collectively made regarding the life and governance of the whole Order) “began to urge or require friars to preach about and promote the rosary” (Augustine Thompson, OP, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dominican Brothers: Conversi, Lay, and Cooperator Friars</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, p. 95). This Dominican connection to the rosary and the Rosary Confraternity was reinforced by the fact that prior to 1964, the blessing of rosaries was a “reserved blessing”, meaning that only priests of the Dominican Order could bless them (see Augustine Thompson, O.P., </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dominican Blessing of the Holy Rosary</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, http://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2008/10/dominican-blessing-of-holy-rosary.html#.XvDYBYjYqyI ). </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One may list other examples from history illustrating the relationship of the Dominican Order to the rosary, including those lives of numerous Dominican Saints and Blesseds who while being devoted to the rosary proved outstanding models of holiness and conformity to God’s will for one’s state in life.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In addition to Rosary, a devotional practice which has stood the test of time throughout the Church's history is the <i>Angelus</i>. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Of the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Angelus</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, St. Pope Paul VI wrote: </span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-3e98dc3e-7fff-7c44-6841-300f3bf5f927"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Its simple structure, its biblical character, its historical origin which links it to the prayer for peace and safety, and its quasi-liturgical rhythm...sanctifies different moments during the day, and because it reminds us of the Paschal Mystery, in which recalling the Incarnation of the Son of God we pray that we may be led "through his passion and cross to the glory of his resurrection." (<i>Marialis Cultus</i> 41, citing the Angelus’ Closing Prayer)</span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Numerous other devotions to our Lady have arisen throughout the Church's history. Among regular participation in Mass, one may complement one's prayer life through the adoption of such devotional practices as those which have proven beneficial to many. May knowledge of our Blessed Mother and sincere devotion to her lead you into an ever closer relationship with Jesus our Lord.</span></div></span><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08615111645004884355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-274208542669414492.post-23328322072897521682022-07-24T15:38:00.003-07:002022-07-24T18:04:16.542-07:00On Contemplative Prayer<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeKIRjdeFIdHiHGmx0a9B2tD-drCItjTtby1spBka_D722Piy4FOGf7GWN03Rmp9k3UdJmznd0MfDlGkWi2xE7tDm4tAii5PYaYhvBEwnsma2o2M3Dx0E6Zu7VnlT6Ly8DuXlYWPNuCOckSfQtxCUgTa4AspjlI9698cqpX0GiEm2wmMeZQJbGGiRRIA/s410/St%20Dominic%20Praying.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="410" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeKIRjdeFIdHiHGmx0a9B2tD-drCItjTtby1spBka_D722Piy4FOGf7GWN03Rmp9k3UdJmznd0MfDlGkWi2xE7tDm4tAii5PYaYhvBEwnsma2o2M3Dx0E6Zu7VnlT6Ly8DuXlYWPNuCOckSfQtxCUgTa4AspjlI9698cqpX0GiEm2wmMeZQJbGGiRRIA/s320/St%20Dominic%20Praying.jpg" width="234" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div><span id="docs-internal-guid-9db65719-7fff-200e-6cb8-93e0c39ca76f"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Catechism of the Catholic Church presents a section on contemplative prayer in paragraphs 2709-2724. St. Pope John Paul II also wrote an Apostolic Letter entitled </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Novo Millenio Ineunte</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> which focused in large part on Christian contemplation. It is recommended that this section in the Catechism, along with Section II of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Novo Millenio Ineunte </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(“A Face to Contemplate”), be read in conjunction with this reflection.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Christian meditation often focuses on an idea - “or point” - about God as its object. This is a helpful practice which often lends itself to providing a sort of springboard in one’s mind by which God may speak more deeply to the soul about that or a related point, thus revealing His word to the soul through such practice. Prayerful reflection on Sacred Scripture - or what is called </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">lectio divina</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - involves provision of the points of meditation to oneself as the very content of Sacred Scripture itself. One does well to constantly seek and heed the guidance of the Holy Spirit with such practice, and so grow in the Spirit’s gift of understanding with regards to Sacred Scripture. Through frequent practice of such meditation on Sacred Scripture, along with other study of scriptural exegesis in light of the teachings of the Church, one prepares one’s heart and mind as “good soil” by which one “hears the word and understands it” so as to bear much “fruit” in one’s life (Matthew 13:23).</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In contemplative prayer, one does not so much focus on </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">an idea</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> about God as one does on God Himself. St. Theresa of Jesus described contemplative prayer as “a close sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us” (as cited in CCC 2709). Thus David sings in the 63rd Psalm,</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">O God, thou art my God, I seek thee,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">my soul thirsts for thee;</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">my flesh faints for thee,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">as in a dry weary land where no water is.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So I have looked upon thee in the sanctuary,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">beholding thy power and glory. (v. 1-2)</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One directs one’s mind, heart, and whole being to behold God Himself, thus entering into a mutual exchange of life and love which sustains our souls and actualizes greater communion with God. So the 63rd Psalm continues,</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Because thy steadfast love is better than life,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">my lips will praise thee.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So I will bless thee as long as I live;</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I will lift up my hands and call on thy name.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My soul is feasted as with marrow and fat,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and my mouth praises thee with joyful lips. (v. 3-5)</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Upon entering into this communion between God and oneself, one gives oneself over to God’s power in Christ by which God sustains all creation in Himself. “All things were created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:16-17). So the 63rd Psalm continues,</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My soul clings to thee;</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">thy right hand upholds thee. (v. 8)</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The essence of contemplative prayer thus shifts from what one is </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">doing</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> during contemplative prayer, to one’s </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">being</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> with and in God. St. Pope John Paul II made this distinction immediately before the outset of the section on Christian contemplation in </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Novo Millenio Ineunte</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is important however that what we propose, with the help of God, should be profoundly rooted in contemplation and prayer. Ours is a time of continual movement which often leads to restlessness, with the risk of "doing for the sake of doing". We must resist this temptation by trying "to be" before trying "to do". (15)</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As we learn about and practice contemplative prayer, let us seek and heed the guidance of the Holy Spirit while allowing our prayer to be informed by Divine Revelation, as revealed in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As Christian prayer has been influenced by other forms of meditation, the magisterium of the Church has sought to remind us that our starting point for Christian contemplation is Christ, especially in his humanity. Christ himself reminded us, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me”, and “He who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:6, 9). St. John Paul II described Christian contemplation as a matter of contemplating the face of Christ, for “he is the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15, cf. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Novo Millenio Ineunte</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Section II). It is through our union with Christ in his humanity that we experience God in contemplative prayer through Christ’s divinity, since in Christ “the fullness of divinity dwells” (Colossians 2:9).</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pope John Paul II has pointed out to the whole Church the example and the doctrine of St. Teresa of Avila who in her life had to reject the temptation of certain methods which proposed a leaving aside of the humanity of Christ in favor of a vague self-immersion in the abyss of the divinity. In a homily given on November 1st, 1982, he said that the call of Teresa of Jesus advocating a prayer completely centered on Christ "is valid, even in our day, against some methods of prayer which are not inspired by the Gospel and which in practice tend to set Christ aside in preference for a mental void which makes no sense in Christianity. Any method of prayer is valid insofar as it is inspired by Christ and leads to Christ who is the Way, the Truth and the Life (cf. Jn 14:6)." See: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Homilia Abulae habita in honorem Sanctae Teresiae</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: AAS 75 (1983), 256-257. (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Orationis Formas</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on Some Aspects of Christian Meditation, 12)</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Contemplative prayer is also not to be confused with such practices as “Centering Prayer” or yoga. For more information on this point, please see the document by the Pontifical Councils for Culture and Interreligious Dialogue entitled </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus Christ Bearer of the Water of Life</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, sections 2.3.4 and 3.4.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Finally, it is important to remember that contemplative prayer is above all a grace: a gift from God. Such gifts from God “are inspired by the one and same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills” (1 Corinthians 12:11). Just as Jesus resisted Satan’s temptation to throw himself from the parapet of the temple so that God may save him (see Matthew 4:5-7, Luke 4:9-12), so we must avoid “putting God in a box”, so to speak, by attempting to “make contemplative prayer happen” as if it were a matter of mastering some sort of technique.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The essential element in Christian faith, however, is God's descent towards his creatures, particularly towards the humblest, those who are weakest and least gifted according to the values of the “world”. There are spiritual techniques which it is useful to learn, but God is able to by-pass them or do without them. A Christian's “method of getting closer to God is not based on any technique in the strict sense of the word. That would contradict the spirit of childhood called for by the Gospel. The heart of genuine Christian mysticism is not technique: it is always a gift of God; and the one who benefits from it knows himself to be unworthy”. (</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus Christ Bearer of the Water of Life </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3.4, citing </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Orationis Formas</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 23, cf. St. Teresa of Jesus, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Castillo Interior</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> IV, 1, 2)</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Keeping in mind our Lord’s words “How much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13), let us ask the Holy Spirit for the gift of contemplative prayer and hope for the reception of this gift with humble openness. “For God alone my soul waits in silence” (Psalm 62:1).</span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span></div>Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08615111645004884355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-274208542669414492.post-59383566353954583042022-03-05T16:21:00.002-08:002022-03-05T16:21:08.113-08:00Happy Lent!<p>I thought I might repost this post as it contains the Prayer Before the Crucifix at the bottom, by which one may obtain a plenary indulgence on Fridays during Lent:</p><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EswYVg0uOhA/WNwVXKwk5OI/AAAAAAAAAeM/GprvIn81rOopfnN-UhQ54MaytNYiOPNnwCLcB/s1600/crucifix%2Bicon.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EswYVg0uOhA/WNwVXKwk5OI/AAAAAAAAAeM/GprvIn81rOopfnN-UhQ54MaytNYiOPNnwCLcB/s1600/crucifix%2Bicon.jpg" /></a></div>In response to the iconoclast heresy, the Second Council of Nicea decreed in 787 that "like the honored and life giving cross, revered and holy images...are to be exposed in holy churches of God" and, among other places, "in houses and by public ways" (<em><a href="http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Councils/ecum07.htm" target="_blank">Definitio de sacris imaginbus</a></em>). "The Fathers of Nicea see the basis for the use of sacred images in the mystery of the Incarnation of Christ, 'the image of the invisible God' (Col 1, 15): 'the Incarnation of the Son of God initiated a new "economy" of images"' (<em><a href="http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20020513_vers-direttorio_en.html" target="_blank">Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy</a></em> 238). In directing that "a cross, with an image of Christ crucified upon it" be kept in churches "either on the altar or near it, where it is clearly visible to the assembled congregation", the Congregation for Divine Worship proposed that "such a cross...calls to the mind for the faithful the saving Passion of the Lord" (<em><a href="http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/the-mass/general-instruction-of-the-roman-missal/girm-chapter-5.cfm" target="_blank">General Instruction of the Roman Missal, Third Edition</a></em>, 308). The function of the crucifix as aiding the individual in calling the mind the Passion of the Lord recalls the very reason which the Second Council of Nicea gave for the faithful's use of sacred images representing Jesus, Mary, the angels and saints: "The more frequently they are seen in representational art, the more are those who see them drawn to remember and long for those who serve as models, and to pay these images the tribute of salutation and respectful veneration." (<a href="http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Councils/ecum07.htm" target="_blank"><em>Definitio de sacris imaginbus</em></a><em>) </em><br /><br /><em></em>St. Paul hints at the existence of what may have been an image like a crucifix in the early Church when he writes to the Galatians: "O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?" (Gal. 3:1). It is important to remember that Christ was crucified in Jerusalem, which lies about 900 miles (or about 1,450 km) from what was then Galatia. Jesus Christ would only have been "publicly portrayed as crucified" to the Galatians by some sort of image like a crucifix.<br /><br />Traces throughout Scripture further reveal what spiritual benefits may be had by the individual's use of a crucifix to aid in evoking Christ's passion and death. Upon recording the episode of the soldiers' piercing of the crucified Christ's side with a lance, which released the life-giving stream of blood and water (cf. John 19:34), St. John recalled the prophetic words of Zechariah concerning the episode: "They shall look on him whom they have pierced" (Jn. 19:37, cf. Zech. 12:10).<br /><br />We, too, may participate in looking upon the Pierced One when we look upon a crucifix. That there may be some benefit by looking at an image of Christ crucified can be surmised from our Lord's own comparison of his being "lifted up" to the bronze serpent's being erected by Moses: "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life" (Jn. 3:14-15, cf. ). That being "lifted up" refers to Jesus' being "lifted up" on the cross is indicated by another passage in John's gospel: "'And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.' He said this to show by what death he was to die" (Jn. 12:32-33, see also Jn. 8:28).<br /><br />In the Old Testament, God sent the seraph serpents upon those whom traveled with Moses as punishment for their complaints against God and Moses: "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food" (Num. 21:5). Commentating on such rebellion of the people, the author of the letter to the Hebrews indicates that it was lack of faith that led them to rebellious disobedience: "Who were they that heard and yet were rebellious? Was it not all those who left Egypt under the leadership of Moses?...And to whom did he swear that they should never enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient?...So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief" (Heb. 3:16, 18-19). With regard to the episode of Moses' erecting of the bronze serpent, the remedy for such lack of faith can be seen as the act of obedience to God's command for Moses to make and erect the serpent and, consequently, the people's "obedience of faith" (cf. Rom. 1:5, 16:26) in then looking at the bronze serpent, by which act God brought about their healing from the serpent's bite (cf. Num. 21:8-9).<br /><br />In a like manner, looking devoutly upon an image of Christ crucified may correspond to that faith in Jesus to which he refers when saying, "So must the Son of man be lifted up, so that whoever believes in him may have eternal life" (Jn. 3:15). We, too, suffered from sin and its consequences until Jesus freed us from such by the opportunity to reign in his own divine life (cf. Jn 1:13, 1:Rom. 5:12-17, 6:23, 2 Pet. 1:4). Our sharing in the abundant life of God corresponds to the "much fruit" which Jesus said his death would bring about (Jn. 12:24). That we are now freed from the death of sin and have been brought to life in Christ through baptism (Rom. 6:3-4) signifies that triumph over Satan that Jesus brought about by his death on the cross:<br /><br />"And you, who were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, having canceled the bond which stood against us with its legal demands; this he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the principalities and powers and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in him." (Col. 2:13-15)<br /><br />Devoutly gazing upon a crucifix affords us of the opportunity to actualize our having been "made alive" in Christ into our daily life, such that in recalling Christ's saving passion and death as the source of our new life in him, we renew our resolve to strive to live out this new life with him. This new life comes about by our birth of water and the Spirit in baptism (cf. Jn. 3:5), by believing in Christ's word (cf. Jn. 5:24), and is animated by Christ's own life and infinite grace conferred upon us by reception of the Holy Eucharist, by the reception of which Jesus promised: "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him" (Jn. 6:56). The Eucharist further reminds us of Christ's total self-emptying and self-giving that he underwent for our salvation (cf. Phil. 2:6), even to the point that he unites us to himself body and soul in the gift of his very self in the Eucharist.<br /><br />The total self-giving of Christ lends stark meaning to his commandment of love: "Love one another as I have loved you" (Jn. 15:12). When we take this commandment to heart and imitate this self-giving love of Christ, our lives become those of "faith working through love" (Gal. 5:6). We know that our own love - this theological virtue of charity - is itself a gift from God, "God's love [having] been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us" (Romans 5:5). And, it is this very love of God which serves as our own initiative to love.<br /><br />God's love for us is especially made manifest in Christ's death on the cross, where the crucifix makes visible his own words: "Greater love has no man than to lay down his life for his friends" (Jn. 15:13). Realization of our dignity as God's children whom he loves with a "love which endures forever" (Ps. 136) further stimulates our resolve to live out our own "obedience of faith". As Jesus said, "If a man loves me, he will keep my word" (Jn. 14:23), and it is this reciprocal love for God which motivates our desire to keep his word and to love one another as he has loved us (cf. Jn. 15:12). "We love because he first loved us" (1 Jn. 4:19). Our obedience to God then, in imitation of him who was "obedient unto death, even death on a cross" (Phil. 2:8), does not arise out of compulsion, but is compelled by love.<br /><br />As the crucifix shows us, such fidelity to God is not always easy. Resisting temptation (cf. 1 Cor. 10:13), bearing others' contempt (cf. Jn. 15:18-21), and other trials which God allows are all necessary conditions to following Christ (cf. Lk. 14:27). Yet we will share in Christ's inheritance of eternal life as God's children "provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him" (Rom. 8:17). The crucifix's representation of Christ's suffering serves as a constant reminder for us to unite our own sufferings to Christ's for our own sanctification and for the sanctification of others. As St. Paul declared, "I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church" (Col 1:24).<br /><br />The Holy Spirit who on the one hand communicates God's life and love to us, on the other draws us back to God through Christ's own offering of himself to the Father "through the eternal Spirit" (Heb. 9:14), and in so doing heals us of our brokenness and separation from God on account of sin (cf. Benedict XVI, <i>The Spirit of the Liturgy</i>, p. 33). Offering our suffering and struggles to Christ crucified serves in a special way to ensure we are offering our whole selves to him, and so get caught up in that same movement of the Spirit to reunify ourselves and all of creation with God by Christ who, when "lifted up, draws all men to" himself (Jn. 12:32) so as "to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross" (Col 1:20). We thus look forward to becoming part of this new creation toward which the Spirit draws us, already made real in Christ's resurrection, as we ourselves live out our lives in self-giving love.<br /><br />* * * * *<br /><br />Here are some Scripture verses which serve as helpful points of meditation while contemplating the crucifix. Such contemplation may be accomplished by devoutly looking upon a crucifix while prayerfully pondering one of these verses. Don't forget to begin your prayer by asking the Holy Spirit to guide your contemplation and so help you know and experience more fully the benefits of Christ's saving passion, death, and resurrection.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--JjcPHvNxX8/WO5sb-v597I/AAAAAAAAAfM/qD5PUz4ZzsczePWCHNQgWB-WcWn2R2OjwCLcB/s1600/Christ%2BCrucified.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--JjcPHvNxX8/WO5sb-v597I/AAAAAAAAAfM/qD5PUz4ZzsczePWCHNQgWB-WcWn2R2OjwCLcB/s320/Christ%2BCrucified.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><br />"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)<br /><br />"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." (John 12:24)<br /><br />"And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." (John 12:32)<br /><br />"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." (John 15:12)<br /><br />"Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13)<br /><br />"The life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20)<br /><br />Such contemplation of the crucifix may additionally be an act of allowing our hearts to be moved to compassion for Jesus in his suffering, and to simply loving him in return, in keeping with the words of Zechariah: "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of compassion and supplication, so that, when they look on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a first-born." (12:10)<br /><br />* * * * *<br /><br />Here is a prayer called the Prayer Before the Crucifix. A partial indulgence is normally granted by the prayerful recitation of this prayer, while a plenary indulgence is possible when praying this prayer before a crucifix on Fridays during Lent (<i><a href="https://www.basilica.ca/documents/2016/10/Sacred%20Apostolic%20Penitentiary-The%20Enchiridion%20of%20Indulgences.pdf">Enchridion Indulgentiarum</a></i>, Other Grants of Indulgences, 22).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N-u5sX7rLJc/WPZjE4hveeI/AAAAAAAAAfk/PDiS16P8v_AFJ6BAMTIt_5YGzl2vJv-jQCLcB/s1600/crucifix.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N-u5sX7rLJc/WPZjE4hveeI/AAAAAAAAAfk/PDiS16P8v_AFJ6BAMTIt_5YGzl2vJv-jQCLcB/s1600/crucifix.jpg" /></a></div><br /><i>Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus,</i><br /><i>while before your face I humbly kneel,</i><br /><i>and with burning soul pray and beseech you to fix deep in my heart lively sentiments of faith, hope and charity,</i><br /><i>true contrition for my sins, and a firm purpose of amendment,</i><br /><i>while I contemplate with great love and tender pity your five wounds,</i><br /><i>pondering over them within me,</i><br /><i>calling to mind the words which David, your prophet, said of you, my good Jesus:</i><br /><i>"They have pierced my hands and my feet; they have numbered all my bones." (Psalm 22:16-17)</i></div>Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08615111645004884355noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-274208542669414492.post-35431481070900962232019-03-15T13:41:00.001-07:002019-03-15T13:41:06.530-07:00Happy Lent!I thought I might repost this post as it contains the Prayer Before the Crucifix at the bottom, by which one may obtain a plenary indulgence on Fridays during Lent:<div>
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In response to the iconoclast heresy, the Second Council of Nicea decreed in 787 that "like the honored and life giving cross, revered and holy images...are to be exposed in holy churches of God" and, among other places, "in houses and by public ways" (<em><a href="http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Councils/ecum07.htm" target="_blank">Definitio de sacris imaginbus</a></em>). "The Fathers of Nicea see the basis for the use of sacred images in the mystery of the Incarnation of Christ, 'the image of the invisible God' (Col 1, 15): 'the Incarnation of the Son of God initiated a new "economy" of images"' (<em><a href="http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20020513_vers-direttorio_en.html" target="_blank">Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy</a></em> 238). In directing that "a cross, with an image of Christ crucified upon it" be kept in churches "either on the altar or near it, where it is clearly visible to the assembled congregation", the Congregation for Divine Worship proposed that "such a cross...calls to the mind for the faithful the saving Passion of the Lord" (<em><a href="http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/the-mass/general-instruction-of-the-roman-missal/girm-chapter-5.cfm" target="_blank">General Instruction of the Roman Missal, Third Edition</a></em>, 308). The function of the crucifix as aiding the individual in calling the mind the Passion of the Lord recalls the very reason which the Second Council of Nicea gave for the faithful's use of sacred images representing Jesus, Mary, the angels and saints: "The more frequently they are seen in representational art, the more are those who see them drawn to remember and long for those who serve as models, and to pay these images the tribute of salutation and respectful veneration." (<a href="http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Councils/ecum07.htm" target="_blank"><em>Definitio de sacris imaginbus</em></a><em>) </em><br />
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<em></em>St. Paul hints at the existence of what may have been an image like a crucifix in the early Church when he writes to the Galatians: "O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?" (Gal. 3:1). It is important to remember that Christ was crucified in Jerusalem, which lies about 900 miles (or about 1,450 km) from what was then Galatia. Jesus Christ would only have been "publicly portrayed as crucified" to the Galatians by some sort of image like a crucifix.<br />
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Traces throughout Scripture further reveal what spiritual benefits may be had by the individual's use of a crucifix to aid in evoking Christ's passion and death. Upon recording the episode of the soldiers' piercing of the crucified Christ's side with a lance, which released the life-giving stream of blood and water (cf. John 19:34), St. John recalled the prophetic words of Zechariah concerning the episode: "They shall look on him whom they have pierced" (Jn. 19:37, cf. Zech. 12:10).<br />
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We, too, may participate in looking upon the Pierced One when we look upon a crucifix. That there may be some benefit by looking at an image of Christ crucified can be surmised from our Lord's own comparison of his being "lifted up" to the bronze serpent's being erected by Moses: "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life" (Jn. 3:14-15, cf. ). That being "lifted up" refers to Jesus' being "lifted up" on the cross is indicated by another passage in John's gospel: "'And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.' He said this to show by what death he was to die" (Jn. 12:32-33, see also Jn. 8:28).<br />
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In the Old Testament, God sent the seraph serpents upon those whom traveled with Moses as punishment for their complaints against God and Moses: "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food" (Num. 21:5). Commentating on such rebellion of the people, the author of the letter to the Hebrews indicates that it was lack of faith that led them to rebellious disobedience: "Who were they that heard and yet were rebellious? Was it not all those who left Egypt under the leadership of Moses?...And to whom did he swear that they should never enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient?...So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief" (Heb. 3:16, 18-19). With regard to the episode of Moses' erecting of the bronze serpent, the remedy for such lack of faith can be seen as the act of obedience to God's command for Moses to make and erect the serpent and, consequently, the people's "obedience of faith" (cf. Rom. 1:5, 16:26) in then looking at the bronze serpent, by which act God brought about their healing from the serpent's bite (cf. Num. 21:8-9).<br />
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In a like manner, looking devoutly upon an image of Christ crucified may correspond to that faith in Jesus to which he refers when saying, "So must the Son of man be lifted up, so that whoever believes in him may have eternal life" (Jn. 3:15). We, too, suffered from sin and its consequences until Jesus freed us from such by the opportunity to reign in his own divine life (cf. Jn 1:13, 1:Rom. 5:12-17, 6:23, 2 Pet. 1:4). Our sharing in the abundant life of God corresponds to the "much fruit" which Jesus said his death would bring about (Jn. 12:24). That we are now freed from the death of sin and have been brought to life in Christ through baptism (Rom. 6:3-4) signifies that triumph over Satan that Jesus brought about by his death on the cross:<br />
<br />
"And you, who were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, having canceled the bond which stood against us with its legal demands; this he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the principalities and powers and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in him." (Col. 2:13-15)<br />
<br />
Devoutly gazing upon a crucifix affords us of the opportunity to actualize our having been "made alive" in Christ into our daily life, such that in recalling Christ's saving passion and death as the source of our new life in him, we renew our resolve to strive to live out this new life with him. This new life comes about by our birth of water and the Spirit in baptism (cf. Jn. 3:5), by believing in Christ's word (cf. Jn. 5:24), and is animated by Christ's own life and infinite grace conferred upon us by reception of the Holy Eucharist, by the reception of which Jesus promised: "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him" (Jn. 6:56). The Eucharist further reminds us of Christ's total self-emptying and self-giving that he underwent for our salvation (cf. Phil. 2:6), even to the point that he unites us to himself body and soul in the gift of his very self in the Eucharist.<br />
<br />
The total self-giving of Christ lends stark meaning to his commandment of love: "Love one another as I have loved you" (Jn. 15:12). When we take this commandment to heart and imitate this self-giving love of Christ, our lives become those of "faith working through love" (Gal. 5:6). We know that our own love - this theological virtue of charity - is itself a gift from God, "God's love [having] been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us" (Romans 5:5). And, it is this very love of God which serves as our own initiative to love.<br />
<br />
God's love for us is especially made manifest in Christ's death on the cross, where the crucifix makes visible his own words: "Greater love has no man than to lay down his life for his friends" (Jn. 15:13). Realization of our dignity as God's children whom he loves with a "love which endures forever" (Ps. 136) further stimulates our resolve to live out our own "obedience of faith". As Jesus said, "If a man loves me, he will keep my word" (Jn. 14:23), and it is this reciprocal love for God which motivates our desire to keep his word and to love one another as he has loved us (cf. Jn. 15:12). "We love because he first loved us" (1 Jn. 4:19). Our obedience to God then, in imitation of him who was "obedient unto death, even death on a cross" (Phil. 2:8), does not arise out of compulsion, but is compelled by love.<br />
<br />
As the crucifix shows us, such fidelity to God is not always easy. Resisting temptation (cf. 1 Cor. 10:13), bearing others' contempt (cf. Jn. 15:18-21), and other trials which God allows are all necessary conditions to following Christ (cf. Lk. 14:27). Yet we will share in Christ's inheritance of eternal life as God's children "provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him" (Rom. 8:17). The crucifix's representation of Christ's suffering serves as a constant reminder for us to unite our own sufferings to Christ's for our own sanctification and for the sanctification of others. As St. Paul declared, "I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church" (Col 1:24).<br />
<br />
The Holy Spirit who on the one hand communicates God's life and love to us, on the other draws us back to God through Christ's own offering of himself to the Father "through the eternal Spirit" (Heb. 9:14), and in so doing heals us of our brokenness and separation from God on account of sin (cf. Benedict XVI, <i>The Spirit of the Liturgy</i>, p. 33). Offering our suffering and struggles to Christ crucified serves in a special way to ensure we are offering our whole selves to him, and so get caught up in that same movement of the Spirit to reunify ourselves and all of creation with God by Christ who, when "lifted up, draws all men to" himself (Jn. 12:32) so as "to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross" (Col 1:20). We thus look forward to becoming part of this new creation toward which the Spirit draws us, already made real in Christ's resurrection, as we ourselves live out our lives in self-giving love.<br />
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* * * * *<br />
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Here are some Scripture verses which serve as helpful points of meditation while contemplating the crucifix. Such contemplation may be accomplished by devoutly looking upon a crucifix while prayerfully pondering one of these verses. Don't forget to begin your prayer by asking the Holy Spirit to guide your contemplation and so help you know and experience more fully the benefits of Christ's saving passion, death, and resurrection.<br />
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"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)<br />
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"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." (John 12:24)<br />
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"And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." (John 12:32)<br />
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"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." (John 15:12)<br />
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"Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13)<br />
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"The life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20)<br />
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Such contemplation of the crucifix may additionally be an act of allowing our hearts to be moved to compassion for Jesus in his suffering, and to simply loving him in return, in keeping with the words of Zechariah: "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of compassion and supplication, so that, when they look on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a first-born." (12:10)<br />
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* * * * *<br />
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Here is a prayer called the Prayer Before the Crucifix. A partial indulgence is normally granted by the prayerful recitation of this prayer, while a plenary indulgence is possible when praying this prayer before a crucifix on Fridays during Lent (<i><a href="https://www.basilica.ca/documents/2016/10/Sacred%20Apostolic%20Penitentiary-The%20Enchiridion%20of%20Indulgences.pdf">Enchridion Indulgentiarum</a></i>, Other Grants of Indulgences, 22).<br />
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<i>Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus,</i><br />
<i>while before your face I humbly kneel,</i><br />
<i>and with burning soul pray and beseech you to fix deep in my heart lively sentiments of faith, hope and charity,</i><br />
<i>true contrition for my sins, and a firm purpose of amendment,</i><br />
<i>while I contemplate with great love and tender pity your five wounds,</i><br />
<i>pondering over them within me,</i><br />
<i>calling to mind the words which David, your prophet, said of you, my good Jesus:</i><br />
<i>"They have pierced my hands and my feet; they have numbered all my bones." (Psalm 22:16-17)</i></div>
Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08615111645004884355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-274208542669414492.post-21907592545135550742019-01-03T17:48:00.002-08:002019-01-04T21:34:26.305-08:00The Most Holy Name of Jesus<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: blue;">First Day - <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Matthew&chapno=1&startverse=18&endverse=21"><span style="color: blue;">Matthew 1:18-21</span></a></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue;">Second Day - <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Luke&chapno=2&startverse=21&endverse=21"><span style="color: blue;">Luke 2:21</span></a></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue;">Third Day - <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=John&chapno=14&startverse=12&endverse=14"><span style="color: blue;">John 14:12-14</span></a></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue;">Fourth Day - <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Acts&chapno=3&startverse=1&endverse=16"><span style="color: blue;">Acts 3:1-16</span></a></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Fifth Day - <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Acts&chapno=4&startverse=7&endverse=12"><span style="color: blue;">Acts 4:7-12</span></a></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Sixth Day - <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Acts&chapno=5&startverse=40&endverse=42"><span style="color: blue;">Acts 5:40-42</span></a></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Seventh Day - <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Philippians&chapno=2&startverse=5&endverse=11"><span style="color: blue;">Philippians 2:5-11</span></a></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Eighth Day - <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Colossians&chapno=3&startverse=12&endverse=17"><span style="color: blue;">Colossians 3:12-17</span></a></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Ninth Day - <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=2+Thessalonian&chapno=1&startverse=11&endverse=12"><span style="color: blue;">2 Thessalonians 1:11-12</span></a></span><br />
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<i>Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them. - Matthew 18:20</i>Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08615111645004884355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-274208542669414492.post-73436500215157258712017-11-08T20:14:00.001-08:002022-03-05T16:22:24.460-08:00Dominican Grace Before Meals in Latin<br />
The shorter form of the Dominican Grace Before Meals most commonly prayed is "May the Giver of all good things bless the food and drink of His servants. Amen." The Latin version of this shorter form is: "Largitor omnium bonorum benedicat cibum et potum servorum suorum. Amen." It is noteworthy, however, that the more distinctly Dominican form of this prayer was traditionally said when blessing diluted wine to be used for the evening meal during periods of fasting, and does not include <i>cibum,</i> food, but just <i>potum,</i> drink - as follows: "Largitor omnium bonorum benedicat potum servorum suorum. Amen."<br />
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In case you are looking for a Latin version of the grace before meals prayer of "Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts", etc., that can be found <a href="http://www.preces-latinae.org/thesaurus/Basics/Mensae.html">here</a>.<br />
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I had difficulty finding the Dominican Grace Before Meals in Latin online previously, so when I found a placard with a traditional series of such prayers, I thought I might post them. The placard is kept in the refectory at St. Albert's Priory, the Dominican House of Study in Oakland, California.<br />
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The prayers from the placard are as follows:<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">BENEDICTIO MENSAE</span><br />
<br />
<b>ANTE PRANDIUM</b><br />
<br />
QUANDO NON JEJUNATUR:<br />
Oculi omnium in te sperant Domine: et tu des escam illorum in tempore opportuno: aperis tu manum tuam, et imples omne animal benedictione. Gloria Patri, etc. Kyrie eleison, etc. Pater noster, etc., secreto.<br />
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QUANDO JEJUNATUR:<br />
Edent pauperes et saturabuntur: et laudabant Dominum qui requirunt eum: vivent corda eorum in saeculum saeculi. Gloria Patri, etc. Kyrie eleison, etc. Pater noster etc., secreto.<br />
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HEB. Et ne nos inducas in tentationem.<br />
R. Sed libera nos a malo.<br />
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HEB. Oremus. Bene+dic Domine dona tua: quae de tua largitate sumus sumpturi. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. R. Amen.<br />
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Jube domne benedicere.<br />
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HEB. Mensae caelestis participes faciat nos Rex aeternae gloriae.<br />
R. Amen.<br />
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<b><br /></b>
<b>ANTE CENAM</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
QUANDO NON JEJUNATUR:<br />
<br />
Edent pauperes et saturabuntur: et laudabant Dominum qui requirunt eum: vivent corda eorum in saeculum saeculi. Gloria Patri, etc. Kyrie eleison, etc. Pater noster, etc. secreto.<br />
<br />
HEB. Et ne nos inducas in tentationem.<br />
R. Sed libera nos a malo.<br />
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HEB. Oremus. Bene+dic Domine dona tua, quae de tua largitate sumus sumpturi. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. R. Amen.<br />
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Jube domne benedicere.<br />
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HEB. Ad cenam vitae aeternae perducat nos Rex gloriae.<br />
R. Amen.<br />
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QUANDO JEJUNATUR:<br />
<br />
HEB. Largitor omnium bonorum bene+dicat potum servorum suorum.<br />
R. Amen.<br />
<br />
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Datum S.ti Francisci, die 18a maii 1946<br />
vi facultatum specialium R.mi Mag. Gen.<br />
Imprimatur: Fr. Benedictus M. Blank, O.P.<br />
Prior Provincialis<br />
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Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08615111645004884355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-274208542669414492.post-59502296455045556542017-07-16T21:12:00.004-07:002017-07-30T11:26:59.678-07:00Jesus is Lord<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
First Day - <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Matthew&chapno=7&startverse=21&endverse=27"><span style="color: blue;">Matthew 7: 21-27</span></a><br />
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Second Day - <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Matthew&chapno=12&startverse=1&endverse=8"><span style="color: blue;">Matthew 12:1-8</span></a><br />
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Third Day - <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Mark&chapno=12&startverse=35&endverse=37"><span style="color: blue;">Mark 12:35-37</span></a><br />
<br />
Fourth Day - <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=John&chapno=20&startverse=19&endverse=29"><span style="color: blue;">John 20:19-29</span></a><br />
<br />
Fifth Day - <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Romans&chapno=10&startverse=1&endverse=13"><span style="color: blue;">Romans 10:1-13</span></a><br />
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Sixth Day - <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Romans&chapno=14&startverse=7&endverse=9"><span style="color: blue;">Romans 14:7-9</span></a><br />
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Seventh Day - <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=2+Corinthians&chapno=4&startverse=1&endverse=12"><span style="color: blue;">2 Corinthians 4:1-12</span></a><br />
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Eighth Day - <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Philippians&chapno=2&startverse=5&endverse=11"><span style="color: blue;">Philippians 2:5-11</span></a><br />
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Ninth Day - <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=1+Timothy&chapno=6&startverse=11&endverse=16"><span style="color: blue;">1 Timothy 6:11-16</span></a><br />
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<i>No one can say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:3)</i>Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08615111645004884355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-274208542669414492.post-880032749572358372017-07-16T19:57:00.002-07:002017-12-04T21:46:39.587-08:00God's Faithfulness<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">First Day - </span><a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Deuteronomy&chapno=7&startverse=6&endverse=11" style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue;">Deuteronomy 7:6-11</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Second</span></span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Day - </span><a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=DIV2&byte=2395718" style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue;">Psalm 117</span></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Third Day -<span style="color: blue;"> </span></span></span><a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Isaiah&chapno=41&startverse=8&endverse=13" style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue;">Isaiah 41:8-13</span></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fourth Day - <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Isaiah&chapno=43&startverse=1&endverse=7"><span style="color: blue;">Isaiah 43:1-7</span></a></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fifth Day - </span><a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Romans&chapno=4&startverse=16&endverse=25" style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue;">Romans 4:16-25</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sixth Day - <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=1+Corinthians&chapno=1&startverse=1&endverse=9"><span style="color: blue;">1 Corinithians 1:1-9</span></a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Seventh Day - </span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=1+Thessalonians&chapno=5&startverse=23&endverse=24"><span style="color: blue;">1 Thessalonians 5:23-24</span></a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eighth Day - </span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=2+Thessalonian&chapno=3&startverse=1&endverse=5"><span style="color: blue;">2 Thessalonians 3:1-5</span></a></span></span><br />
<i style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></i>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ninth Day - <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=2+Timothy&chapno=2&startverse=8&endverse=13"><span style="color: blue;">2 Timothy 2:8-13</span></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times, times new roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span style="font-family: times, times new roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span style="font-family: times, times new roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>He will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. (Psalm 91:4)</i></span></span></div>
Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08615111645004884355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-274208542669414492.post-49380379100199552632017-05-03T22:53:00.003-07:002017-07-22T21:14:12.375-07:00The Singularity of Christ<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SRyRFhRSpnA/WQq7vgv0K5I/AAAAAAAAAgA/jGWVxTBtmq056hoVR0Lc1ZePd1aUdsjFQCLcB/s1600/Christ%2BIcon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SRyRFhRSpnA/WQq7vgv0K5I/AAAAAAAAAgA/jGWVxTBtmq056hoVR0Lc1ZePd1aUdsjFQCLcB/s200/Christ%2BIcon.jpg" width="166" /></a></div>
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First Day - <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Mark&chapno=9&startverse=2&endverse=8"><span style="color: blue;">Mark 9:2-8</span></a><br />
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Second Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Luke&chapno=2&startverse=25&endverse=35"><span style="color: blue;">Luke 2:25-35</span></a><br />
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Third Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Luke&chapno=20&startverse=9&endverse=18"><span style="color: blue;">Luke 20:9-18</span></a><br />
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Fourth Day - <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=John&chapno=1&startverse=1&endverse=18"><span style="color: blue;">John 1:1-18</span></a><br />
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Fifth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=John&chapno=3&startverse=16&endverse=21"><span style="color: blue;">John 3:16-21</span></a><br />
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Sixth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=John&chapno=14&startverse=1&endverse=7"><span style="color: blue;">John 14:1-7</span></a><br />
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Seventh Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=John&chapno=15&startverse=1&endverse=11"><span style="color: blue;">John 15:1-11</span></a><br />
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Eighth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Acts&chapno=4&startverse=5&endverse=12"><span style="color: blue;">Acts 4:5-12</span></a><br />
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Ninth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Colossians&chapno=1&startverse=15&endverse=20"><span style="color: blue;">Colossians 1:15-20</span></a><br />
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<i>For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 3:11)</i>Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08615111645004884355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-274208542669414492.post-29504800531254119652017-04-23T20:37:00.001-07:002017-04-23T20:37:12.139-07:00Happy Divine Mercy Sunday!<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_zNkRXVy6fvw/TQlNhEr5-lI/AAAAAAAAAPg/gix6rjJ_bHg/s1600/DivineMercy.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551053246299765330" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/_zNkRXVy6fvw/TQlNhEr5-lI/AAAAAAAAAPg/gix6rjJ_bHg/s200/DivineMercy.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 200px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 132px;" /></a><br />
Though we are sinners, God still loves us and seeks us out.<br />
<br />
First Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=DIV2&byte=2251884" style="color: #000099;">Psalm 51</a><br />
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Second Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=DIV2&byte=2424936" style="color: #000099;">Psalm 130</a><br />
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Third Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Matthew&chapno=6&startverse=7&endverse=15" style="color: #000099;">Matthew 6:7-15</a><br />
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Fourth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Matthew&chapno=9&startverse=9&endverse=13" style="color: #000099;">Matthew 9:9-13</a><br />
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Fifth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Matthew&chapno=18&startverse=23&endverse=35" style="color: #000099;">Matthew 18:23-35</a><br />
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Sixth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Luke&chapno=15&startverse=1&endverse=10" style="color: #000099;">Luke 15:1-10</a><br />
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Seventh Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Luke&chapno=15&startverse=11&endverse=32" style="color: #000099;">Luke 15:11-32</a><br />
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Eighth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=John&chapno=8&startverse=2&endverse=11" style="color: #000099;">John 8:2-11</a><br />
<a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Romans&chapno=5&startverse=1&endverse=11" style="color: #000099;"><br /></a>Ninth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Romans&chapno=5&startverse=1&endverse=11" style="color: #000099;">Romans 5:1-11</a><br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">"The Son of man came to seek and to save the lost." (Luke 19:10)</span><br />
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In addition, the Bible has its own prayers of asking God for His mercy, known as the penitential psalms. Including Psalms 51 and 130 above, they are Psalms <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=DIV2&byte=2160413"><span style="color: blue;">6</span></a>, <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=DIV2&byte=2209042"><span style="color: blue;">32</span></a>, <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=DIV2&byte=2225666"><span style="color: blue;">38</span></a>, <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=DIV2&byte=2251884"><span style="color: blue;">51</span></a>, <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=DIV2&byte=2356523"><span style="color: blue;">102</span></a>, <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=DIV2&byte=2424936"><span style="color: blue;">130</span></a>, and <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=DIV2&byte=2443745"><span style="color: blue;">143</span></a>. These psalms convey an intense spirit of repentance.Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08615111645004884355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-274208542669414492.post-87019027097341332272017-04-17T08:28:00.001-07:002017-04-17T08:28:51.611-07:00Happy Easter!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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First Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Matthew&chapno=28&startverse=1&endverse=10"><span style="color: blue;">Matthew 28:1-10</span></a><br />
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Second Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=John&chapno=20&startverse=1&endverse=18"><span style="color: blue;">John 20:1-18</span></a><br />
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Third Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Luke&chapno=24&startverse=13&endverse=49"><span style="color: blue;">Luke 24:13-49</span></a><br />
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Fourth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Mark&chapno=16&startverse=9&endverse=18"><span style="color: blue;">Mark 16:9-18</span></a><br />
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Fifth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=John&chapno=20&startverse=19&endverse=29"><span style="color: blue;">John 20:19-29</span></a><br />
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Sixth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Acts&chapno=2&startverse=22&endverse=32"><span style="color: blue;">Acts 2:22-32</span></a><br />
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Seventh Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Romans&chapno=6&startverse=1&endverse=11"><span style="color: blue;">Romans 6:1-11</span></a><br />
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Eighth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=1+Corinthians&chapno=15&startverse=1&endverse=11"><span style="color: blue;">1 Corinthians 15:1-11</span></a><br />
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Ninth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=1+Corinthians&chapno=15&startverse=12&endverse=28"><span style="color: blue;">1 Corinthians 15:12-28</span></a><br />
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<em>"I am the Resurrection and the Life." (John 11:25)</em>Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08615111645004884355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-274208542669414492.post-37540279927354637112017-03-29T13:48:00.000-07:002017-04-19T13:42:10.250-07:00On Contemplating the Crucifix<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In response to the iconoclast heresy, the Second Council of Nicea decreed in 787 that "like the honored and life giving cross, revered and holy images...are to be exposed in holy churches of God" and, among other places, "in houses and by public ways" (<em><a href="http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Councils/ecum07.htm" target="_blank">Definitio de sacris imaginbus</a></em>). "The Fathers of Nicea see the basis for the use of sacred images in the mystery of the Incarnation of Christ, 'the image of the invisible God' (Col 1, 15): 'the Incarnation of the Son of God initiated a new "economy" of images"' (<em><a href="http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20020513_vers-direttorio_en.html" target="_blank">Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy</a></em> 238). In directing that "a cross, with an image of Christ crucified upon it" be kept in churches "either on the altar or near it, where it is clearly visible to the assembled congregation", the Congregation for Divine Worship proposed that "such a cross...calls to the mind for the faithful the saving Passion of the Lord" (<em><a href="http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/the-mass/general-instruction-of-the-roman-missal/girm-chapter-5.cfm" target="_blank">General Instruction of the Roman Missal, Third Edition</a></em>, 308). The function of the crucifix as aiding the individual in calling the mind the Passion of the Lord recalls the very reason which the Second Council of Nicea gave for the faithful's use of sacred images representing Jesus, Mary, the angels and saints: "The more frequently they are seen in representational art, the more are those who see them drawn to remember and long for those who serve as models, and to pay these images the tribute of salutation and respectful veneration." (<a href="http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Councils/ecum07.htm" target="_blank"><em>Definitio de sacris imaginbus</em></a><em>) </em><br />
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St. Paul hints at the existence of what may have been an image like a crucifix in the early Church when he writes to the Galatians: "O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?" (Gal. 3:1). It is important to remember that Christ was crucified in Jerusalem, which lies about 900 miles (or about 1,450 km) from what was then Galatia. Jesus Christ would only have been "publicly portrayed as crucified" to the Galatians by some sort of image like a crucifix.<br />
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Traces throughout Scripture further reveal what spiritual benefits may be had by the individual's use of a crucifix to aid in evoking Christ's passion and death. Upon recording the episode of the soldiers' piercing of the crucified Christ's side with a lance, which released the life-giving stream of blood and water (cf. John 19:34), St. John recalled the prophetic words of Zechariah concerning the episode: "They shall look on him whom they have pierced" (Jn. 19:37, cf. Zech. 12:10).<br />
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We, too, may participate in looking upon the Pierced One when we look upon a crucifix. That there may be some benefit by looking at an image of Christ crucified can be surmised from our Lord's own comparison of his being "lifted up" to the bronze serpent's being erected by Moses: "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life" (Jn. 3:14-15, cf. ). That being "lifted up" refers to Jesus' being "lifted up" on the cross is indicated by another passage in John's gospel: "'And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.' He said this to show by what death he was to die" (Jn. 12:32-33, see also Jn. 8:28).<br />
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In the Old Testament, God sent the seraph serpents upon those whom traveled with Moses as punishment for their complaints against God and Moses: "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food" (Num. 21:5). Commentating on such rebellion of the people, the author of the letter to the Hebrews indicates that it was lack of faith that led them to rebellious disobedience: "Who were they that heard and yet were rebellious? Was it not all those who left Egypt under the leadership of Moses?...And to whom did he swear that they should never enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient?...So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief" (Heb. 3:16, 18-19). With regard to the episode of Moses' erecting of the bronze serpent, the remedy for such lack of faith can be seen as the act of obedience to God's command for Moses to make and erect the serpent and, consequently, the people's "obedience of faith" (cf. Rom. 1:5, 16:26) in then looking at the bronze serpent, by which act God brought about their healing from the serpent's bite (cf. Num. 21:8-9).<br />
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In a like manner, looking devoutly upon an image of Christ crucified may correspond to that faith in Jesus to which he refers when saying, "So must the Son of man be lifted up, so that whoever believes in him may have eternal life" (Jn. 3:15). We, too, suffered from sin and its consequences until Jesus freed us from such by the opportunity to reign in his own divine life (cf. Jn 1:13, 1:Rom. 5:12-17, 6:23, 2 Pet. 1:4). Our sharing in the abundant life of God corresponds to the "much fruit" which Jesus said his death would bring about (Jn. 12:24). That we are now freed from the death of sin and have been brought to life in Christ through baptism (Rom. 6:3-4) signifies that triumph over Satan that Jesus brought about by his death on the cross:<br />
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"And you, who were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, having canceled the bond which stood against us with its legal demands; this he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the principalities and powers and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in him." (Col. 2:13-15)<br />
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Devoutly gazing upon a crucifix affords us of the opportunity to actualize our having been "made alive" in Christ into our daily life, such that in recalling Christ's saving passion and death as the source of our new life in him, we renew our resolve to strive to live out this new life with him. This new life comes about by our birth of water and the Spirit in baptism (cf. Jn. 3:5), by believing in Christ's word (cf. Jn. 5:24), and is animated by Christ's own life and infinite grace conferred upon us by reception of the Holy Eucharist, by the reception of which Jesus promised: "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him" (Jn. 6:56). The Eucharist further reminds us of Christ's total self-emptying and self-giving that he underwent for our salvation (cf. Phil. 2:6), even to the point that he unites us to himself body and soul in the gift of his very self in the Eucharist.<br />
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The total self-giving of Christ lends stark meaning to his commandment of love: "Love one another as I have loved you" (Jn. 15:12). When we take this commandment to heart and imitate this self-giving love of Christ, our lives become those of "faith working through love" (Gal. 5:6). We know that our own love - this theological virtue of charity - is itself a gift from God, "God's love [having] been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us" (Romans 5:5). And, it is this very love of God which serves as our own initiative to love.<br />
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God's love for us is especially made manifest in Christ's death on the cross, where the crucifix makes visible his own words: "Greater love has no man than to lay down his life for his friends" (Jn. 15:13). Realization of our dignity as God's children whom he loves with a "love which endures forever" (Ps. 136) further stimulates our resolve to live out our own "obedience of faith". As Jesus said, "If a man loves me, he will keep my word" (Jn. 14:23), and it is this reciprocal love for God which motivates our desire to keep his word and to love one another as he has loved us (cf. Jn. 15:12). "We love because he first loved us" (1 Jn. 4:19). Our obedience to God then, in imitation of him who was "obedient unto death, even death on a cross" (Phil. 2:8), does not arise out of compulsion, but is compelled by love.<br />
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As the crucifix shows us, such fidelity to God is not always easy. Resisting temptation (cf. 1 Cor. 10:13), bearing others' contempt (cf. Jn. 15:18-21), and other trials which God allows are all necessary conditions to following Christ (cf. Lk. 14:27). Yet we will share in Christ's inheritance of eternal life as God's children "provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him" (Rom. 8:17). The crucifix's representation of Christ's suffering serves as a constant reminder for us to unite our own sufferings to Christ's for our own sanctification and for the sanctification of others. As St. Paul declared, "I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church" (Col 1:24).<br />
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The Holy Spirit who on the one hand communicates God's life and love to us, on the other draws us back to God through Christ's own offering of himself to the Father "through the eternal Spirit" (Heb. 9:14), and in so doing heals us of our brokenness and separation from God on account of sin (cf. Benedict XVI, <i>The Spirit of the Liturgy</i>, p. 33). Offering our suffering and struggles to Christ crucified serves in a special way to ensure we are offering our whole selves to him, and so get caught up in that same movement of the Spirit to reunify ourselves and all of creation with God by Christ who, when "lifted up, draws all men to" himself (Jn. 12:32) so as "to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross" (Col 1:20). We thus look forward to becoming part of this new creation toward which the Spirit draws us, already made real in Christ's resurrection, as we ourselves live out our lives in self-giving love.<br />
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Here are some Scripture verses which serve as helpful points of meditation while contemplating the crucifix. Such contemplation may be accomplished by devoutly looking upon a crucifix while prayerfully pondering one of these verses. Don't forget to begin your prayer by asking the Holy Spirit to guide your contemplation and so help you know and experience more fully the benefits of Christ's saving passion, death, and resurrection.<br />
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"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)<br />
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"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." (John 12:24)<br />
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"And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." (John 12:32)<br />
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"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." (John 15:12)<br />
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"Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13)<br />
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"The life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20)<br />
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Such contemplation of the crucifix may additionally be an act of allowing our hearts to be moved to compassion for Jesus in his suffering, and to simply loving him in return, in keeping with the words of Zechariah: "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of compassion and supplication, so that, when they look on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a first-born." (12:10)<br />
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Here is a prayer called the Prayer Before the Crucifix. A partial indulgence is normally granted by the prayerful recitation of this prayer, while a plenary indulgence is possible when praying this prayer before a crucifix on Fridays during Lent (<i><a href="https://www.basilica.ca/documents/2016/10/Sacred%20Apostolic%20Penitentiary-The%20Enchiridion%20of%20Indulgences.pdf">Enchridion Indulgentiarum</a></i>, Other Grants of Indulgences, 22).<br />
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<i>Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus,</i><br />
<i>while before your face I humbly kneel,</i><br />
<i>and with burning soul pray and beseech you to fix deep in my heart lively sentiments of faith, hope and charity,</i><br />
<i>true contrition for my sins, and a firm purpose of amendment,</i><br />
<i>while I contemplate with great love and tender pity your five wounds,</i><br />
<i>pondering over them within me,</i><br />
<i>calling to mind the words which David, your prophet, said of you, my good Jesus:</i><br />
<i>"They have pierced my hands and my feet; they have numbered all my bones." (Psalm 22:16-17)</i>Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08615111645004884355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-274208542669414492.post-3466856049335464132017-03-20T12:22:00.002-07:002017-03-20T12:22:52.053-07:00Happy Feast of Saint Joseph!A Novena of Meditations on St. Joseph<br />
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First Day - <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Matthew&chapno=1&startverse=1&endverse=17">Matthew 1:1-17</a><br />
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Second Day - <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Matthew&chapno=1&startverse=18&endverse=25">Matthew 1:18-25</a><br />
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Third Day - <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Luke&chapno=2&startverse=1&endverse=7">Luke 2:1-7</a><br />
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Fourth Day - <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Luke&chapno=2&startverse=15&endverse=21">Luke 2:15-21</a><br />
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Fifth Day - <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Luke&chapno=2&startverse=22&endverse=40">Luke 2:22-40</a><br />
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Sixth Day - <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Matthew&chapno=2&startverse=13&endverse=23">Matthew 2:13-23</a><br />
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Seventh Day - <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Genesis&chapno=39&startverse=1&endverse=6">Genesis 39:1-6</a><br />
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Eighth Day - <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Luke&chapno=2&startverse=41&endverse=52">Luke 2:41-52</a><br />
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Ninth Day - <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Matthew&chapno=13&startverse=53&endverse=58">Matthew 13:53-58</a><br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">The righteous flourish like the palm tree,</span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.</span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">They are planted in the house of the Lord,</span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">they flourish in the courts of our God. (Psalms 92:12-13)</span>Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08615111645004884355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-274208542669414492.post-58910197322110423012016-09-12T20:33:00.000-07:002016-09-12T21:07:34.956-07:00Modern-Day, Church-Approved Apparition of St. Joseph<img alt="Image result for st joseph itapiranga" 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" /><br />
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From Itapiranga in the state of Santa Catarina in Brazil, comes this Church-approved apparition of St. Joseph.<br />
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From March 1 to March 9, 1998, St. Joseph appeared to a 22-year-old student, Edson Glauber, encouraging devotion and consecration to his Most Chaste Heart as efficacious means of protection from the devil and of growth in virtue, especially holy faith and chastity.<br />
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It is not necessary for Catholics to believe in such private revelations; as the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, "It is not their role to improve or complete Christ's definitive Revelation, but to help live more fully by it in a certain period of history." (67)<br />
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And, I have personally found the messages associated indeed helpful in living out the gospel in this period of history. <a href="http://apostolatestjoseph.com/apparitions-of-itapiranga-brazil.php">Check them out!</a><br />
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For more info., please see <a href="http://www.ncregister.com/blog/joseph-pronechen/major-apparitions-of-st.-joseph-are-approved">this article</a> from the National Catholic Register.Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08615111645004884355noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-274208542669414492.post-16755622752692757192016-08-29T07:36:00.002-07:002016-08-29T10:26:11.073-07:00Happy Feast of the Martyrdom of John the Baptist!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-96GCCbB8VW4/V8RHrR0ZXTI/AAAAAAAAAdM/VkT-35MPXk8qnFy8sSvIvaprkogmkk3lwCLcB/s1600/St%2BJohn%2BMartyrdom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-96GCCbB8VW4/V8RHrR0ZXTI/AAAAAAAAAdM/VkT-35MPXk8qnFy8sSvIvaprkogmkk3lwCLcB/s320/St%2BJohn%2BMartyrdom.jpg" width="227" /></a></div>
After Christ himself, the figure of whose life the gospels tell us the most is John the Baptist:<br />
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First Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Luke&chapno=1&startverse=5&endverse=25"><span style="color: blue;">Luke 1:5-25</span></a><br />
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Second Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Luke&chapno=1&startverse=39&endverse=56"><span style="color: blue;">Luke 1:39-56</span></a><br />
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Third Day - <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Luke&chapno=3&startverse=1&endverse=18">Luke 3:1-18</a></span><br />
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Fourth Day - <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Matthew&chapno=3&startverse=13&endverse=17">Matthew 3:13-17</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Matthew&chapno=3&startverse=13&endverse=17"><br /></a></span>
Fifth Day - <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=John&chapno=1&startverse=19&endverse=34">John 1:19-34</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=John&chapno=1&startverse=19&endverse=34"><br /></a></span>
Sixth Day - <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=John&chapno=3&startverse=22&endverse=30">John 3:22-30</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=John&chapno=3&startverse=22&endverse=30"><br /></a></span>
Seventh Day - <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Luke&chapno=7&startverse=18&endverse=35">Luke 7:18-35</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Luke&chapno=7&startverse=18&endverse=35"><br /></a></span>
Eighth Day - <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Mark&chapno=6&startverse=14&endverse=29">Mark 6:14-29</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Mark&chapno=6&startverse=14&endverse=29"><br /></a></span>
Ninth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Luke&chapno=1&startverse=57&endverse=80"><span style="color: blue;">Luke 1:57-80</span></a><br />
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<em>The voice cries: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God." (Isaiah 40:3)</em>Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08615111645004884355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-274208542669414492.post-61283488661692906292016-04-11T12:33:00.002-07:002016-04-11T12:33:18.456-07:00Happy Easter! A Novena of Meditations on the Resurrection<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9Y-kjd6bTIg/UW2hSa_ytVI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/4fyE_n05RSY/s1600/resurrection.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9Y-kjd6bTIg/UW2hSa_ytVI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/4fyE_n05RSY/s200/resurrection.jpg" width="166" /></a></div>
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First Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Matthew&chapno=28&startverse=1&endverse=10"><span style="color: blue;">Matthew 28:1-10</span></a><br />
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Second Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=John&chapno=20&startverse=1&endverse=18"><span style="color: blue;">John 20:1-18</span></a><br />
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Third Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Luke&chapno=24&startverse=13&endverse=49"><span style="color: blue;">Luke 24:13-49</span></a><br />
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Fourth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Mark&chapno=16&startverse=9&endverse=18"><span style="color: blue;">Mark 16:9-18</span></a><br />
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Fifth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=John&chapno=20&startverse=19&endverse=29"><span style="color: blue;">John 20:19-29</span></a><br />
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Sixth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Acts&chapno=2&startverse=22&endverse=32"><span style="color: blue;">Acts 2:22-32</span></a><br />
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Seventh Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Romans&chapno=6&startverse=1&endverse=11"><span style="color: blue;">Romans 6:1-11</span></a><br />
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Eighth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=1+Corinthians&chapno=15&startverse=1&endverse=11"><span style="color: blue;">1 Corinthians 15:1-11</span></a><br />
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Ninth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=1+Corinthians&chapno=15&startverse=12&endverse=28"><span style="color: blue;">1 Corinthians 15:12-28</span></a><br />
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<em>"I am the Resurrection and the Life." (John 11:25)</em>Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08615111645004884355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-274208542669414492.post-10010999939895183882015-09-14T16:49:00.002-07:002015-09-14T16:49:58.106-07:00Happy Feast of the Triumph of the Cross!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xdooXcOCvNk/UjTYbmQrueI/AAAAAAAAAWs/d6ZE3fRi7p8/s1600/exaltation+of+the+holy+cross.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xdooXcOCvNk/UjTYbmQrueI/AAAAAAAAAWs/d6ZE3fRi7p8/s1600/exaltation+of+the+holy+cross.png" /></a></div>
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First Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Mark&chapno=15&startverse=33&endverse=39" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Mark 15:33-39</span></a><br />
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Second Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=John&chapno=3&startverse=13&endverse=17" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">John 3:13-17</span></a><br />
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Third Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=John&chapno=12&startverse=20&endverse=33" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">John 12:20-33</span></a><br />
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Fourth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Romans&chapno=5&startverse=6&endverse=11" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Romans 5:6-11</span></a><br />
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Fifth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=1+Corinthians&chapno=1&startverse=10&endverse=25" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">1 Corinthians 1:10-25</span></a><br />
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Sixth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Ephesians&chapno=2&startverse=11&endverse=16" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Ephesians 2:11-16</span></a><br />
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Seventh Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Philippians&chapno=2&startverse=5&endverse=11" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Philippians 2:5-11</span></a><br />
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Eighth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Colossians&chapno=1&startverse=13&endverse=20" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Colossians 1:13-20</span></a><br />
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Ninth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Colossians&chapno=2&startverse=8&endverse=15" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Colossians 2:8-15</span></a><br />
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<em>Far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Galatians 6:14)</em>Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08615111645004884355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-274208542669414492.post-22372707208493028742014-12-27T01:04:00.000-08:002016-02-14T23:22:30.666-08:00A Novena of Meditations on Restful Sleep<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_6fQCURQ5hs/VJ516begPCI/AAAAAAAAAbk/Gw4jaaQ4ngA/s1600/peaceful%2Bsleep.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_6fQCURQ5hs/VJ516begPCI/AAAAAAAAAbk/Gw4jaaQ4ngA/s1600/peaceful%2Bsleep.jpg" width="173" /></a></div>
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First Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Genesis&chapno=2&startverse=1&endverse=3" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Genesis 2:1-3</span></a><br />
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Second Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=DIV2&byte=2156575" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Psalm 3</span></a><br />
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Third Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=DIV2&byte=2157547" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Psalm 4</span></a><br />
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Fourth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=DIV2&byte=2422445" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Psalm 127</span></a><br />
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Fifth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Jeremiah&chapno=31&startverse=23&endverse=26" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Jeremiah 31:23-26</span></a><br />
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Sixth Day - Ezekiel <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Ezekiel&chapno=34&startverse=11&endverse=15" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">34:11-15</span></a>, <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Ezekiel&chapno=34&startverse=24&endverse=26" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">24-26</span></a><br />
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Seventh Day - Sirach <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Wisdom+of+Jesus+Son+of+Sirach&chapno=31&startverse=1&endverse=4" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">31:1-4</span></a>, <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Wisdom+of+Jesus+Son+of+Sirach&chapno=31&startverse=19&endverse=22" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">19-22</span></a><br />
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Eighth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Matthew&chapno=11&startverse=28&endverse=30" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Matthew 11:28-30</span></a><br />
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Ninth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Hebrews&chapno=4&startverse=1&endverse=11" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Hebrews 4:1-11</span></a><br />
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<em>"Come away by yourselves to a lonely place, and rest a while." (Mark 6:31)</em><br />
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<br />Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08615111645004884355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-274208542669414492.post-61156541000192199842014-12-03T22:21:00.000-08:002014-12-06T15:47:17.694-08:00The Fullness of God<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cDWOcGSUYDc/VH_9PuuDWdI/AAAAAAAAAbU/GjootPW0qDk/s1600/Jesus%2Bfeeds%2B5000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cDWOcGSUYDc/VH_9PuuDWdI/AAAAAAAAAbU/GjootPW0qDk/s1600/Jesus%2Bfeeds%2B5000.jpg" height="149" width="200" /></a></div>
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First Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=1+Kings&chapno=19&startverse=1&endverse=8" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">1 Kings 19:1-8</span></a><br />
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Second Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=DIV2&byte=2272269" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Psalm 63</span></a><br />
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Third Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=DIV2&byte=2274950" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Psalm 65</span></a><br />
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Forth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Isaiah&chapno=55&startverse=1&endverse=11" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Isaiah 55:1-11</span></a><br />
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Fifth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Jeremiah&chapno=31&startverse=10&endverse=14" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Jeremiah 31:10-14</span></a><br />
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Sixth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Matthew&chapno=15&startverse=32&endverse=38" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Matthew 15:32-38</span></a><br />
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Seventh Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=John&chapno=4&startverse=1&endverse=15" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">John 4:1-15</span></a><br />
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Eighth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=John&chapno=6&startverse=25&endverse=51" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">John 6:25-51</span></a><br />
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Ninth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Ephesians&chapno=3&startverse=14&endverse=21" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Ephesians 3:14-21</span></a><br />
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<em>In him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. (Colossians 1:19)</em><br />
<br />Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08615111645004884355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-274208542669414492.post-23303661100877567512014-10-03T09:07:00.002-07:002014-10-08T10:37:16.728-07:00A Novena of Meditations on Christ the King<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q1XApjZracs/VC7LoDHCZqI/AAAAAAAAAbE/hM_EaTHpiYc/s1600/Christ%2Bthe%2BKing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q1XApjZracs/VC7LoDHCZqI/AAAAAAAAAbE/hM_EaTHpiYc/s1600/Christ%2Bthe%2BKing.jpg" /></a></div>
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First Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=DIV2&byte=2155208" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Psalm 2</span></a><br />
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Second Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Daniel&chapno=7&startverse=9&endverse=14" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Daniel 7:9-14</span></a><br />
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Third Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Matthew&chapno=25&startverse=31&endverse=46" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Matthew 25:31-46</span></a><br />
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Fourth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Luke&chapno=23&startverse=35&endverse=43" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Luke 23:35-43</span></a><br />
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Fifth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=John&chapno=18&startverse=33&endverse=37" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">John 18:33-37</span></a><br />
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Sixth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=John&chapno=19&startverse=1&endverse=16" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">John 19:1-16</span></a><br />
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Seventh Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=1+Corinthians&chapno=15&startverse=20&endverse=28" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">1 Corinthians 15:20-28</span></a><br />
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Eighth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Colossians&chapno=1&startverse=12&endverse=20" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Colossians 1:12-20</span></a><br />
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Ninth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Revelation&chapno=19&startverse=11&endverse=16" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Revelation 19:11-16</span></a><br />
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<em>To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood </em><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><em>and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever.</em> <em>Amen. (Revelation 1:5-6)</em></span><br />
<br />Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08615111645004884355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-274208542669414492.post-6069647981827094762014-10-03T08:32:00.004-07:002014-10-06T08:52:38.952-07:00The Holy Angels<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OgDrN1fy-t8/VC7D9R3OrFI/AAAAAAAAAa0/x0S-K5MDGIk/s1600/Angels%2BIcon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OgDrN1fy-t8/VC7D9R3OrFI/AAAAAAAAAa0/x0S-K5MDGIk/s1600/Angels%2BIcon.jpg" /></a></div>
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First Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Exodus&chapno=23&startverse=20&endverse=22" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Exodus 23:20-22</span></a>
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Second Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Tobit&chapno=12&startverse=1&endverse=22" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Tobit 12:1-22</span></a><br />
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Third Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=DIV2&byte=2341040" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Psalm 91</span></a><br />
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Fourth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Isaiah&chapno=6&startverse=1&endverse=8" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Isaiah 6:1-8</span></a><br />
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Fifth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Ezekiel&chapno=1&startverse=1&endverse=28" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Ezekiel 1:1-28</span></a><br />
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Sixth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Matthew&chapno=18&startverse=1&endverse=10" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Matthew 18:1-10</span></a><br />
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Seventh Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=John&chapno=1&startverse=47&endverse=51" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">John 1:47-51</span></a><br />
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Eighth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Revelation&chapno=8&startverse=1&endverse=5" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Revelation 8:1-5</span></a><br />
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Ninth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Revelation&chapno=12&startverse=7&endverse=12" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Revelation 12:7-12</span></a><br />
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<em>The angel of the Lord encamps those who fear him, to deliver them. (Psalm 34:7)</em><br />
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<br />Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08615111645004884355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-274208542669414492.post-36728927183935503472014-09-14T14:53:00.000-07:002014-09-14T19:54:47.512-07:00A Novena of Meditations on the Triumph of the Cross<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xdooXcOCvNk/UjTYbmQrueI/AAAAAAAAAWs/d6ZE3fRi7p8/s1600/exaltation+of+the+holy+cross.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xdooXcOCvNk/UjTYbmQrueI/AAAAAAAAAWs/d6ZE3fRi7p8/s1600/exaltation+of+the+holy+cross.png" /></a></div>
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First Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Mark&chapno=15&startverse=33&endverse=39" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Mark 15:33-39</span></a><br />
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Second Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=John&chapno=3&startverse=13&endverse=17" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">John 3:13-17</span></a><br />
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Third Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=John&chapno=12&startverse=20&endverse=33" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">John 12:20-33</span></a><br />
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Fourth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Romans&chapno=5&startverse=6&endverse=11" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Romans 5:6-11</span></a><br />
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Fifth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=1+Corinthians&chapno=1&startverse=10&endverse=25" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">1 Corinthians 1:10-25</span></a><br />
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Sixth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Ephesians&chapno=2&startverse=11&endverse=16" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Ephesians 2:11-16</span></a><br />
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Seventh Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Philippians&chapno=2&startverse=5&endverse=11" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Philippians 2:5-11</span></a><br />
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Eighth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Colossians&chapno=1&startverse=13&endverse=20" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Colossians 1:13-20</span></a><br />
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Ninth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Colossians&chapno=2&startverse=8&endverse=15" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Colossians 2:8-15</span></a><br />
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<em>Far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Galatians 6:14)</em>Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08615111645004884355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-274208542669414492.post-10463952498259863722014-08-07T00:40:00.002-07:002014-09-24T14:17:29.004-07:00The Simple Life of Faith<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R9D4mQaNv5k/U-MqFvsJfeI/AAAAAAAAAZ0/nuUBaeGBd0Y/s1600/path.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R9D4mQaNv5k/U-MqFvsJfeI/AAAAAAAAAZ0/nuUBaeGBd0Y/s1600/path.png" height="200" width="160" /></a></div>
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First Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Deuteronomy&chapno=10&startverse=12&endverse=15"><span style="color: blue;">Deuteronomy 10:12-15</span></a><br />
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Second Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Psalms&chapno=34&startverse=11&endverse=14"><span style="color: blue;">Psalm 34:11-14</span></a><br />
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Third Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Ecclesiastes&chapno=12&startverse=11&endverse=14"><span style="color: blue;">Ecclesiastes 12:11-14</span></a><br />
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Fourth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Micah&chapno=6&startverse=6&endverse=8"><span style="color: blue;">Micah 6:6-8</span></a><br />
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Fifth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Matthew&chapno=7&startverse=12&endverse=14"><span style="color: blue;">Matthew 7:12-14</span></a><br />
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Sixth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Matthew&chapno=22&startverse=34&endverse=40"><span style="color: blue;">Matthew 22:34-40</span></a><br />
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Seventh Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Luke&chapno=8&startverse=19&endverse=21" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Luke 8:19-21</span></a><br />
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Eighth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=John&chapno=14&startverse=1&endverse=6"><span style="color: blue;">John 14:1-6</span></a><br />
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Ninth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=1+John&chapno=4&startverse=13&endverse=16"><span style="color: blue;">1 John 4:13-16</span></a><br />
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<em>Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths,</em><br />
<em>where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. (Jeremiah 6:16)</em>Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08615111645004884355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-274208542669414492.post-49885550981615467902014-06-15T09:56:00.001-07:002014-06-15T09:56:33.701-07:00Happy Trinity Sunday!<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BOH_jNFHAno/TgY9Vtx9VfI/AAAAAAAAAQE/0Ta7jVsLmuU/s1600/trinity-icon.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BOH_jNFHAno/TgY9Vtx9VfI/AAAAAAAAAQE/0Ta7jVsLmuU/s200/trinity-icon.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622248628094326258" style="float: right; height: 200px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 158px;" /></a><br />
<span style="background-color: #fbfaf8; color: #202020;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life. It is the mystery of God in himself. It is <span style="font-family: inherit;">therefore the source of all the other mysteries of faith, the light that enlightens them</span></span></span><span style="background-color: #fbfaf8; color: #202020;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">." (Catechism of the Catholic Church 234)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">First Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Matthew&chapno=28&startverse=16&endverse=20"><span style="color: #000099;">Matthew 28:16-20</span></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Second Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Mark&chapno=1&startverse=9&endverse=11"><span style="color: #000099;">Mark 1:9-11</span></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Third Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Mark&chapno=12&startverse=35&endverse=37"><span style="color: #000099;">Mark 12:35-37</span></a></span><br />
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Fourth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=John&chapno=14&startverse=15&endverse=24"><span style="color: #000099;">John 14:15-24</span></a><br />
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Fifth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=John&chapno=15&startverse=18&endverse=27"><span style="color: #000099;">John 15:18-27</span></a><br />
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Sixth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=John&chapno=16&startverse=12&endverse=15"><span style="color: #000099;">John 16:12-15</span></a><br />
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Seventh Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=1+Corinthians&chapno=12&startverse=1&endverse=6"><span style="color: #000099;">1 Corinthians 12:1-6</span></a><br />
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<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="color: black;">Eighth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Ephesians&chapno=2&startverse=11&endverse=22"><span style="color: blue;">Ephesians 2:11-22</span></a></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="color: black;">Ninth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Ephesians&chapno=4&startverse=1&endverse=6"><span style="color: blue;">Ephesians 4:1-6</span></a></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><br /></span> <span style="font-style: italic;">The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Corinthians 13:14)</span>Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08615111645004884355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-274208542669414492.post-84331125498484980082014-04-27T22:38:00.003-07:002014-04-27T22:38:35.263-07:00For Divine Mercy Sunday, a Novena of Passages on God's Mercy<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_zNkRXVy6fvw/TQlNhEr5-lI/AAAAAAAAAPg/gix6rjJ_bHg/s1600/DivineMercy.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_zNkRXVy6fvw/TQlNhEr5-lI/AAAAAAAAAPg/gix6rjJ_bHg/s200/DivineMercy.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551053246299765330" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 200px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 132px;" /></a><br />
Though we are sinners, God still loves us and seeks us out.<br />
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First Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=DIV2&byte=2251884" style="color: #000099;">Psalm 51</a><br />
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Second Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=DIV2&byte=2424936" style="color: #000099;">Psalm 130</a><br />
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Third Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Matthew&chapno=6&startverse=7&endverse=15" style="color: #000099;">Matthew 6:7-15</a><br />
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Fourth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Matthew&chapno=9&startverse=9&endverse=13" style="color: #000099;">Matthew 9:9-13</a><br />
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Fifth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Matthew&chapno=18&startverse=23&endverse=35" style="color: #000099;">Matthew 18:23-35</a><br />
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Sixth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Luke&chapno=15&startverse=1&endverse=10" style="color: #000099;">Luke 15:1-10</a><br />
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Seventh Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Luke&chapno=15&startverse=11&endverse=32" style="color: #000099;">Luke 15:11-32</a><br />
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Eighth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=John&chapno=8&startverse=2&endverse=11" style="color: #000099;">John 8:2-11</a><br />
<a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Romans&chapno=5&startverse=1&endverse=11" style="color: #000099;"><br /></a>Ninth Day - <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Romans&chapno=5&startverse=1&endverse=11" style="color: #000099;">Romans 5:1-11</a><br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">"The Son of man came to seek and to save the lost." (Luke 19:10)</span><br />
<em></em><br />
In addition, the Bible has its own prayers of asking God for His mercy, known as the penitential psalms. Including Psalms 51 and 130 above, they are Psalms <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=DIV2&byte=2160413"><span style="color: blue;">6</span></a>, <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=DIV2&byte=2209042"><span style="color: blue;">32</span></a>, <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=DIV2&byte=2225666"><span style="color: blue;">38</span></a>, <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=DIV2&byte=2251884"><span style="color: blue;">51</span></a>, <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=DIV2&byte=2356523"><span style="color: blue;">102</span></a>, <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=DIV2&byte=2424936"><span style="color: blue;">130</span></a>, and <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=DIV2&byte=2443745"><span style="color: blue;">143</span></a>. These psalms convey an intense spirit of repentance.Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08615111645004884355noreply@blogger.com0