Stairway Heaven

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Feast Day: St. Cecilia, 2nd-3rd centuries

Domenichino, Saint Cecilia with an angel
holding a musical score, (c. 1617–18).

Orpheus could lead the savage race
And trees unrooted left their place
Sequacious of the lyre
But bright Cecilia rais'd the wonder high'r
When to her organ, vocal breath was giv'n
An angel heard, and straight appear'd
Mistaking earth for Heav'n

A Song For St. Cecilia's Day,1687, John Dryden

Saint Cecilia is said to have heard heavenly music inside her heart when she was forced to marry the pagan, Valerian. A wealth of music, art and festivals in honor of St. Cecilia has grown from this little bit of information from her biography. She is the acclaimed patron saint of music, especially church music, as well as that of musicians, composers, instrument makers and poets. The name Cecilia means blind and so, although we don't know if she herself couldn't see, she is also the Catholic patron saint of the blind.

It is believed that St. Cecilia was born in the 2nd or 3d century A.D., although the dates of her birth and martyrdom are unknown. A religious romance telling the love story of Saint Cecilia and Valerian appeared in Greece during the 4th century A.D., and there is a biography of St Cecilia dating from the 5th century A.D. She is purported to have been the daughter of a wealthy Roman family, a Christian from birth, who was promised in marriage to a pagan named Valerian. Cecilia, however, had vowed her virginity to God, and wore sackcloth, fasted and prayed in hopes of keeping this promise. Saint Cecilia disclosed her wishes to her husband on their wedding night. She told Valerian that an angel watched over her to guard her purity. He wanted to see the angel, so St. Cecilia sent him to Pope Urban(223-230). Accounts of how and when Valerian saw the angel vary, but one states that he was baptized by the Pope, and, upon his return to Saint Cecilia, they were both given heavenly crowns by an angel. Another version recounts that Tibertius, Valerian's brother, sees the crowns and he too is converted. Painting attached to this paragraph is Raphael, The Ecstasy of St. Cecilia.

Another version states that Then Valerian cried saying: "There is nothing truer under heaven." Then vanished this old man away. Then Valerian received baptism of Saint Urban and returned home to Saint Cecilia, whom he found within her chamber speaking with an angel. And this angel had two crowns of roses and lilies which he held in his hands, of which he gave one to Cecilia, and that other to Valerian, saying: "Keep ye these crowns with an undefouled and clean body, for I have brought them to you from Paradise, and they shall never fade, nor wither, nor lose their savour, nor they may not be seen but of them to whom chastity pleases. And you Valerian because you has used profitable counsel, demand what you wilt."

To whom Valerian said: "There is nothing in this world to me liefer than my brother, whom I would fain that he might know this very truth with me."

To whom the angel said: "Thy petition pleases our Lord, and ye both shall come to him by the palm of martyrdom."

The two brothers then make it their mission to bury Christian martyrs put to death by the prefect of the city. In turn, they were brought in front of the prefect and sentenced to death by the sword. Cecilia, in the meantime, continued to make many conversions, and prepared to have her home preserved as a church at her death.

Finally, she too was arrested and brought before the prefect. He ruled that she should die by suffocation in the baths. Saint Cecilia was locked into the bathhouse and the fires vigorously stoked. She remained there for a day and a night but was still alive when the soldiers opened the doors. She was then ordered beheaded, but the executioner, after striking three times without severing St Cecilia's head, ran away, leaving her badly wounded.

St. Cecilia hung onto life for three days after the mortal blows, preaching all the while. She made many more conversions and people came to soak up her flowing blood with sponges and cloths. There exists in Rome a church in St. Cecilia's honor that dates from about the fifth century. Her relics were believed to have been found by Pope Paschal I in 821 A.D., in the cemetery of St. Celestas. These remains were exhumed in 1599, when Cardinal Paul Emilius Sfondrati rebuilt the church of St. Cecilia, and said to be incorrupt.

St. Cecilia's following flourished during the Middle Ages in Europe. Songs were sung in her name, poetry was written, paintings with St. Cecilia as the subject were created, and her feast day, on November 22 was happily celebrated. She continued to be a popular topic for the arts well into the 18th century. Hans Memling, in 1470, painted St. Cecilia playing the organ at the mystical marriage of Catherine of Alexandria. In 1584 she was named patroness of the academy of music founded in Rome. Raphael painted her at Bologna, Rubens at Berlin and Domenichino in Paris. Chaucer commemorates her in his Second Nun's Tale and Handel set John Dryden's "Ode to Saint Ceclia" to music in 1736. Never was so much made of such a tiny bit of pseudo-biographical information. St. Cecilia, said to have heard heavenly music at one moment of her life, became the patroness of all western music. Even the Andrews sisters, in 1941, recorded a song, "The Shrine of St. Cecilia."

Link to some St. Cecilia Medal
I am not associated with this company

The Saint Cecilia medal, typically features her at the organ, the traditional instrument of the Catholic Church, sometimes with angelic hosts gathered around her. St. Cecilia societies still flourish around the world, often sponsoring musical events and contests. There is a beautiful St. Cecilia Cathedral in Omaha, Nebraska, the diocese of which claims her as their patron saint. In fact, anyone involved with Church music will know of the feast day of Saint Cecilia and what it represents. Prayers to her ask God's blessings on musicians and the hymns they proclaim to Him. Musician or not in her real life, St. Cecilia, by her devout, musical followings has certainly earned the right to be called the patroness of music.

Saint Cecilia of Rome

Saint Cecilia by Guido Reni, 1606
Virgin and Martyr
Born 2nd century A.D.
Rome
Died Sicily
Major shrine Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, Rome
Feast: November 22patron saint of musicians
Attributes: flute, organ, roses, violin, harp, harpsichord, singing, blind
Patronage Church music, great musicians, poets

Like any good Christian, Cecilia sang in her heart, and sometimes with her voice. She has become a symbol of the Church's conviction that good music is an integral part of the liturgy, of greater value to the Church than any other art. In the present confused state of Church music, it may be useful to recall some words of Vatican II (see below).

QUOTE:
“Liturgical action is given a more noble form when sacred rites are solemnized in song, with the assistance of sacred ministers and the active participation of the people.... Choirs must be diligently promoted, but bishops and other pastors must ensure that, whenever the sacred action is to be celebrated with song, the whole body of the faithful may be able to contribute that active participation which is rightfully theirs.... Gregorian chant, other things being equal, should be given pride of place in liturgical services. But other kinds of sacred music, especially polyphony, are by no means excluded.... Religious singing by the people is to be skillfully fostered, so that in devotions and sacred exercises, as also during liturgical services, the voices of the faithful may ring out” (Constitution on the Liturgy, 112-118).

PRAYERS TO SAINT CECILIA:

O glorious saint, who chose to die instead of denying your King, we pray you please to help us as His fair praise we sing. We lift our hearts in joyous song to honor Him this way. And while we sing, remembering, to sing is to doubly pray.

At once in our hearts and in our tongues we offer double prayer sent heavenward on winged notes to praise God dwelling there. While in our hearts and tongues we try with song to praise God twice, we ask dear saint, to help us be united close to Christ! Amen.

Dear St. Cecilia, one thing we know for certain about you is that you became a heroic martyr in fidelity to your divine Bridegroom. We do not know that you were a musician, but we are told that you heard Angels sing.
Inspire musicians to gladden the hearts of people by filling the air with God's gift of music and reminding them of the divine Musician who created all beauty. Amen.

Lord, hear our requests. Through the intercession of St. Cecilia, please grant what we ask. Amen.

Saint Cecilia, heroic martyr who stayed faithful to Jesus your divine bridegroom, give us faith to rise above our persecutors and to see in them the image of our Lord. We know that you were a musician and we are told that you heard angels sing. Inspire musicians to gladden the hearts of people by filling the air with God's gift of music and reminding them of the Divine Musician Who created all beauty. Amen.

Litany of St. Cecilia

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

God the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, Have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us.
Saint Cecilia, Pray for us.
Saint Cecilia, wise virgin, Pray for us.
Saint Cecilia, whose heart burned with the fire of Divine love, Pray for us.
Saint Cecilia, apostle by thy zeal and charity, Pray for us.
Saint Cecilia, who converted thy spouse and procured for him the crown of Martyrdom, Pray for us.
Saint Cecilia, who by thy pleadings moved the hearts of pagans, and brought them into the true Church,
Pray for us.
Saint Cecilia, who didst unceasingly see thy guardian Angel by thy side, Pray for us.
Saint Cecilia, who didst mingle thy voice with the celestial harmonies of the virgins, Pray for us.
Saint Cecilia, who by thy melodious accents celebrated the praises of Jesus, Pray for us.
Saint Cecilia, illustrious Martyr of Jesus Christ, Pray for us.
Saint Cecilia, who during three days dist suffer most excruciating torments, Pray for us.
Saint Cecilia, consolation of the afflicted, Pray for us.
Saint Cecilia, protectress of all who invoke thee, Pray for us.
Saint Cecilia, patroness of holy canticles, Pray for us.
Saint Cecilia, special patroness and advocate of all singers, musicians, authors, and students, Pray for us.

We salute thee, O Virgin, who didst give thy blood for the defense and faith of Jesus Christ.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.

God glorified Saint Cecilia,
And He crowned her virtues.

Let us pray: O Eternal God, Who didst give us, in the person of Saint Cecilia, a powerful protectress, grant that after having faithfully passed our days, like herself, in innocence and holiness, we may one day attain the land of beatitude, where in concert with her, we may praise Thee and bless Thee forevermore in eternity. Amen.

PRAYER TO SAINT CECILIA
We lift our hearts in joyous sonG, O glorious saint, who chose to die
Instead of denying your King.
We pray you please to help us
As His fair praise we sing!

To honor Him this way,
And while we sing, remembering,
To sing is to doubly pray.

At once in our hearts and in our tongues
We offer double prayer
Sent heavenward on winged notes
To praise God dwelling there.

While in our hearts and tongues we try
With song to praise God twice,
We ask dear saint, to help us be
United closed to Christ!

PRAYER TO ST. CECILIA
St. Cecilia, glorious Virgin and Martyr of Jesus Christ, I admire the courage with which you professed your faith in the face of severe persecution, and the generous love with which you offered your life in witness to your belief in the Blessed Trinity. I thank God with you for the wonderful graces He had bestowed upon you to make your life holy and pleasing to Him even in the midst of the wealth that was yours. I thank Him for the privilege offered to you of receiving the glorious crown of martyrdom. Prayer to St. Cecilia

Saint Cecilia, I also admire the purity of love that bound you to the Savior, which was greater in your eyes than any human affection, so that you declared yourself before the enemies of the Church, "I am the bride of my Lord Jesus Christ". Pray for me that in imitation of you I may keep my body pure and my soul holy, and that I may love Jesus with all my heart.

In these times so full of pleasure seeking and so lacking in faith, teach us to profess our faith courageously and to be willing to sacrifice ourselves in practicing it, so that our good example may lead others closer to Christ and the Church He as founded.

In thanksgiving to God for the graces he bestowed on St Cecilia: Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be. St. Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr of Jesus Christ, pray for us.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=34
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03471b.htm
http://www.saintcecilia.us/index.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Cecilia
http://www.americancatholic.org/features/saintofday/default.aspx
http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/golden314.htm
http://www.catholic-saints.net/saints/st-cecilia.php
http://saints.sqpn.com/saint-cecilia
http://www.academyofsaintcecilia.com/Home/index.shtml

http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/r/reni/1/cecilia.html
http://thestceciliaproject.wordpress.com/

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Nov. 21

Presentation of the Virgin
by Titian

SEQUENCE

The "Wisdom of God with inscrutable providence, disposeth all things rightly: Joachim and Anne are united in wedlock, but their union is sterile.

With all the heart's affection they together bind themselves by inviolable vow to the Lord: that if He deign to give them offspring, they without delay will consecrate it to Him for ever in the temple.

A bright Angel appears, and tells them their prayers are heard, and by the grace of the most high King, a daughter shall be given them, full of grace.

Holy even in her conception, she is born in a wondrous manner, yet in a way more wondrous still will she give birth, remaining a virgin, to the Son of the most high Father, when He comes to, freely, cancel the guilt of the world.

She is born then, that blessed Virgin, and at the age of three years is presented in the temple; swift and erect, adorned with her beautiful robe, she ascends the fifteen steps, beneath her parents' gaze.

The temple shines with a new glory, when this august Virgin is presented; there she is taught by God, is visited by the Angels from heaven, and rejoices with them.

When the chief priest bids the maidens of adult age prepare for marriage, the Virgin at first refuses; for her parents have devoted her to God, and she herself has vowed to remain a virgin.

God, being consulted, answers that the virgin shall take him for her spouse whom a miraculous flower shall designate; Joseph thus chosen weds the maiden and leads her to his home.

Then Gabriel is sent to her, telling her how she is to become a mother; but the prudent Virgin stands silent, pondering over the strangeness of the message.

But when he explains how this shall be, she believes him; and thus by the Holy Spirit the Word is conceived, and He whom no space can contain is concealed in the Virgin's bosom.

O peerless maiden, how dost thou surpass all praise in thy dazzling glory! Protect us now, that in our fatherland we may enjoy thy fruit, whereby thou art so honored. Amen.

Mary’s presentation was celebrated in Jerusalem in the sixth century. A church was built there in honor of this mystery. The Eastern Church was more interested in the feast, but it does appear in the West in the 11th century. Although the feast at times disappeared from the calendar, in the 16th century it became a feast of the universal Church.

The feast is associated with an event recounted not in the New Testament, but in the apocryphal Infancy Narrative of James. According to that text, Mary's parents, Joachim and Anne, who had been childless, received a heavenly message that they would bear a child. In thanksgiving for the gift of their daughter, they brought her, when still a child, to the Temple in Jerusalem to consecrate her to God. For three years they kept this sacred treasure at home, after which time, although Mary was their only comfort, they resigned her with pious fortitude, in fulfilment of their vow.

Religious parents never fail by devout prayer to consecrate their children to God, His divine service and love, both before and after their birth. Some among the Jews, not content with this general consecration of their children, offered them to God in their infancy, by the hands of the priests in the Temple, to be brought up in quarters attached to the Temple, attending the priests and Levites in their sacred ministry. There were special divisions in these lodgings for the women and children dedicated to the divine service. (III Kings 6:5-9) We have examples of this special consecration of children in the person of Samuel, for example.

The Gospel tells us nothing of the childhood of Mary; Her title Mother of God, eclipses all the rest. Where, better than in the Temple, could Mary be prepared for Her mission? Twelve years of recollection and prayer, contemplation and sufferings, were the preparation of the chosen one of God. The tender soul of Mary was adorned with the most precious graces and became an object of astonishment and praise for the holy Angels, as well as of the highest complacency for the adorable Trinity. The Father looked upon Her as His beloved Daughter, the Son as One set apart and prepared to become His Mother, and the Holy Ghost as His undefiled Spouse.

Here is how Mary’s day in the Temple was apportioned, according to Saint Jerome. From dawn until nine in the morning, She prayed; from 9:00 until 3:00 She applied Herself to manual work; then She turned again to prayer. She was always the first to undertake night watches, the One most applied to study, the most fervent in the chanting of Psalms, the most zealous in works of charity, the purest among the virgins, Her companions, the most perfect in the practice of every virtue. On this day She appears as the standard-bearer for Christian virginity: after Her will come countless legions of virgins consecrated to the Lord, both in the shadow of the altars or engaged in the charitable occupations of the Church in the world. Mary will be their eternal Model, their dedicated Patroness, their sure guide on the paths of perfection.

Mary remained in the Temple until puberty, at which point she was assigned to Joseph as guardian. Later versions of the story (such as the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew and the Gospel of the Nativity of Mary) tell us that Mary was taken to the Temple at around the age of three in fulfillment of a vow. Tradition held that she was to remain there to be educated in preparation for her role as Mother of God.

Though it cannot be proven historically, Mary’s presentation has an important theological purpose. It continues the impact of the feasts of the Immaculate Conception and of the birth of Mary. It emphasizes that the holiness conferred on Mary from the beginning of her life on earth continued through her early childhood and beyond.

Comment:

It is sometimes difficult for modern Westerners to appreciate a feast like this. The Eastern Church, however, was quite open to this feast and even somewhat insistent about celebrating it. Even though the feast has no basis in history, it stresses an important truth about Mary: From the beginning of her life, she was dedicated to God. She herself became a greater temple than any made by hands. God came to dwell in her in a marvelous manner and sanctified her for her unique role in God's saving work. At the same time, the magnificence of Mary enriches her children. They, too, are temples of God and sanctified in order that they might enjoy and share in God's saving work.

Prayer:

"Hail, holy throne of God, divine sanctuary, house of glory, jewel most fair, chosen treasure house, and mercy seat for the whole world, heaven showing forth the glory of God. Purest Virgin, worthy of all praise, sanctuary dedicated to God and raised above all human condition, virgin soil, unplowed field, flourishing vine, fountain pouring out waters, virgin bearing a child, mother without knowing man, hidden treasure of innocence, ornament of sanctity, by your most acceptable prayers, strong with the authority of motherhood, to our Lord and God, Creator of all, your Son who was born of you without a father, steer the ship of the Church and bring it to a quiet harbor" (adapted from a homily by St. Germanus on the Presentation of the Mother of God).

Prayer:

"Congratulate me, all ye that love the Lord, because when I was a little one I pleased the Most High (Second Responsory in the Common Office of Our Lady)." Such is the invitation thou addressest to us, O Mary, in the Office chanted in thy honor; and on what feast couldst thou do so more appropriately?

When, even more little in thy humility than by thy tender age, thou didst mount, in thy sweet purity, the steps of the temple, all heaven must have owned that it was henceforth just for the Most High to take His delight in our earth. Having hitherto lived in retirement with thy blessed parents, this was thy first public act; it showed thee for a moment to the eyes of men, only to withdraw thee immediately into deeper obscurity. But, as thou wast officially offered and presented to the Lord, He Himself doubtless, surrounded by the princes of His court, presented thee not less solemnly to those noble spirits, as their Queen. In the fulness of the new light that then burst upon them, they understood at once thy incomparable greatness, the majesty of the temple where Jehovah was receiving a homage superior to that of their nine choirs, and the august prerogative of the Old Testament to have thee for its daughter, and to perfect, by its teachings and guidance during those twelve years, the formation of the Mother of God.

Holy Church, however, declares that we can imitate thee, O Mary, in this mystery of thy Presentation, as in all others (2nd Lesson of 2nd Nocturn Ambr. de Virginibus ii). Deign to bless especially those privileged souls who, by the grace of their vocation, are even here below dwellers in the house of the Lord: may they be like that fruitful olive enriched by the Holy Spirit, to which St John Damascene compares thee (1st Lesson of 2nd Nocturn. Damasc. de Fide orthodoxa, iv.). But is not every Christian, by reason of his Baptism, an indweller and a member of the Church, God's true sanctuary, prefigured by that of Moriah? May we, through thy intercession, follow thee so closely in thy Presentation, even here in the land of shadows, that we may deserve to be presented after thee to the Most High in the temple of his glory (Collect of the feast).

Reflection:

The consecration of Mary to God presented all the conditions of the most perfect sacrifice: it was prompt, generous, joyous, unregretted, without reservation. How agreeable it must have been to God! May our consecration of ourselves to God be made under Her patronage, assisted by Her powerful intercession and united with Her ineffable merits.

Poetry:

The Presentation Of the Blessed Virgin Mary

How they loved
This longed-for child
How their eyes danced
At the first glance of God’s beautiful gift.

One happy year, then two, then before
They knew it they were moved
To bring Mary to the Temple-
Their child,
(She, who was to be,
The Mother of God.)

Ascending the steps the little one smiled,
Wisdom before, Wisdom behind
And as they watched with misted eyes
A voice said,’ Hope! Be reconciled!

I go into this holy place
Where all is light and all is grace,
The gift of life you’ve given me
Will bear the fruit to set men free.

I dedicate myself to God -
These temple walls do not divide
The love of those contained herein
From that which flows outside.

I shall take you in my heart
To where I do not know
As we are wont to follow where
The Spirit bids us go.

So not in sadness do you leave
Nor I in sadness stay
For we are in the Spirit’s love
Day unto gifted day.’

Bibliography:

http://www.americancatholic.org/features/saints/saint.aspx?id=1206

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presentation_of_Mary

http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/PRESENT.htm

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12400a.htm

http://www.magnificat.ca/cal/engl/11-21.htm

http://www.wf-f.org/BVMPresentation.html

http://poetryprayerandpraise.blogspot.com/2009/11/presentation-of-blessed-virgin-mary-and.html

http://catholicharboroffaithandmorals.com/Presentation%20of%20Mary%2002.html

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

I Won the Blog Give-Away on Prayers on a Wire Team!

I'm just so happy. I won the Blog Giveaway on the Prayers on a Wire Etsy Team for Octobers. The prize was the stunning wire rosary made by Patty M of PMM Designs. Together, we designed a Family Rosary for my Mother for Christmas. The rosary is so lovely and it was so wonderful working with Patty. We included Swarovski birthstone colored crystal beads to represent my father (deceased), mother, myself, brother, his wife, my husband, and my brother's three daughters (one set of twins). It all worked out so perfectly. My father and mother are represented by the Paters between the crucifix and the Miraculous Medal (thank you Patty), my nieces are represented the aves with the eldest closest to the crucifix and the rest of us are represented by Paters around the rosary. The remaining aves are white Swarovski pearls. I cannot wait to get it so I had to share it today. All pictures were taken by Patty M., the artist/seller.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

My Newest Chaplet and Rosary Bracelet - Rosa Mystica

This chaplet and rosary bracelet were a custom order by a lady who loves Rosa Mystica, as does her mother. The bracelet has a Rosa Mystica medal. One can see the three roses (imagine red, white and yellow) above her praying hands. Above her head it states Rosa Mistica. On the back of the medal is a building/shrine and Maria Madre De La Iglesia, translated from Spanish as Mary Mother of the Church. Please see http://www.mgr.org/rosamystica.html. The bracelet includes a small crucifix. The ten aves and the rose carved Pater are red carnelian gemstone.

The chaplet is from a picture of the Rosa Mystica chaplet provided by the buyer. It starts with a clear enameled copper crucifix, 3 small beads, and a Rosa Mystica center. The front of the enameled copper center shows Rosa Mystica. On the back of the center it states Maria Rose Mistica ruega por nosostros, translated from Spanish as Mary Mystical Rose pray for us. The back is stamped Italy. The center is followed by 7 small beads and a large carved floral bead repeated 7 times.

Friday, November 4, 2011

Our Lady Of Grace by Catholics 50+ | eons.com

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Feast of All Saints'

All Saints Day, the day on which Catholics celebrate all the saints, known and unknown, is a surprisingly old feast. It arose out of the Christian tradition of celebrating the martyrdom of saints on the anniversary of their martyrdom. When martyrdoms increased during the persecutions of the late Roman Empire, local dioceses instituted a common feast day in order to ensure that all martyrs, known and unknown, were properly honored.

By the late fourth century, this common feast was celebrated in Antioch, and Saint Ephrem the Syrian mentioned it in a sermon in 373. In the early centuries, this feast was celebrated in theEaster season, and the Eastern Churches, both Catholic and Orthodox, still celebrate it then.

How the Western Church came to celebrate this feast in November is a puzzle to historians. The Anglo-Saxon theologian Alcuin observed the feast on November 1 in 800, as did his friend Arno, Bishop of Salzburg. Rome finally adopted that date in the ninth century.

The current date of November 1 was instituted by Pope Gregory III (731-741), when he consecrated a chapel to all the martyrs in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and ordered an annual celebration. This celebration was originally confined to the diocese of Rome, but Pope Gregory IV (827-844) extended the feast to the entire Church and ordered it to be celebrated on November 1.

The vigil or eve of the feast, October 31, is commonly known as All Hallows Eve, or Halloween. Despite concerns among some Christians (including some Catholics) in recent years about the "pagan origins" of Halloween, the vigil was celebrated from the beginning—long before Irish practices, stripped of their pagan origins (just as the Christmas tree was stripped of similar connotations), were incorporated into popular celebrations of the feast.

COMMENT:

This feast first honored martyrs. Later, when Christians were free to worship according to their conscience, the Church acknowledged other paths to sanctity. In the early centuries the only criterion was popular acclaim, even when the bishop's approval became the final step in placing a commemoration on the calendar. The first papal canonization occurred in 993; the lengthy process now required to prove extraordinary sanctity took form in the last 500 years. Today's feast honors the obscure as well as the famous—the saints each of us have known.

QUOTE:

“After this I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.... [One of the elders] said to me, ‘These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb’” (Revelation 7:9,14).

THE PRAYER FOR ALL SAINTS' DAY:

Today is All Saints’ Day, a day on which we remember those saints in Christ who have gone before us and celebrate how we have been made saints through Christ’s death and resurrection. The prayer for All Saints’ Day encapsulates the meaning of this day well:

O almighty God, by whom we are graciously knit together as one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of Jesus Christ, our Lord, grant us so to follow Your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living that we may come to those unspeakable joys which You have prepared for those who sincerely love You; through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen!

All Saints' Day in Krakow

Additional Prayers:

1) Father, All-Powerful and ever-living God,
today we rejoice in the holy men and women
of every time and place.
May their prayers bring us your forgiveness and love
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

2) Almighty and Everlasting God,
who dost enkindle the flame of Thy love in the hearts of the saints,
grant unto us the same faith and power of love;
that, as we rejoice in their triumphs
we may profit by their examples, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

3) How shining and splendid are your gifts, O Lord
which you give us for our eternal well-being
Your glory shines radiantly in your saints, O God
In the honour and noble victory of the martyrs.
The white-robed company follow you,
bright with their abundant faith;
They scorned the wicked words of those with this world’s power.
For you they sustained fierce beatings, chains, and torments,
they were drained by cruel punishments.
They bore their holy witness to you
who were grounded deep within their hearts;
they were sustained by patience and constancy.
Endowed with your everlasting grace,
may we rejoice forever
with the martyrs in our bright fatherland.
O Christ, in your goodness,
grant to us the gracious heavenly realms of eternal life.

4) Almighty God, who hast knit together thine elect in one
communion and fellowship in the mystical body of Your Son
Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow Your blessed
saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to
those ineffable joys that thou hast prepared for those who
unfeignedly love thee; through the same Jesus Christ our
Lord, who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth,
one God, in glory everlasting. Amen

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
http://www.americancatholic.org/features/saintofday/default.aspx
http ://www.churchyear.net/allsaints.html
http://zachmcintosh.com/2010/11/01/abc-extra-all-saints-day/
http ://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Saints
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01315a.htm
http://catholicism.about.com/od/holydaysandholidays/p/All_Saints_Day.htm
http://www.turnbacktogod.com/november-01-all-saints-day/http://www.stlukescatholic.com/index.cfm?load=news&newsarticle=249&page=30

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Maria Rosa Mystica Prayers

The 13th of each month should be honored as a special Maria Rosa Mystica day (Her Feast Day is July 13th). On the 12 preceeding days special prayers should be offer

Mystical Rose, be thou blessed, Mother of Divine Grace. Thou hast given to the whole of mankind thy divine Son, Jesus Christ, the Author of Grace.

Mystical Rose, be thou ever blessed! Thy Divine Son, when dying upon the cross, obtained grace for us and thou didst co-operate with Him in this, when the sword pierced Thy soul.

Mystical Rose, be thou ever blessed! Thou were chosen by the Heavenly Father to be the mistress of His treasures, stewardess and distributor of all His graces.

Mystical Rose, our mother! Turn loving eyes upon the millions of human kind. We beg thee, we implore thee, we beseech thee, let all obtain the grace of God through holy Baptism, the sacrament of Reconciliation and all the other sacraments.

Mystical Rose, Mother of Divine Grace, let us all attain to the house of the Heavenly Father, for we are all Thy children and the children of God. Look upon my soul, which through sin is so poor and unworthy.

Mystical Rose, thou givest to whom thou willest. Thou givest when and as much as thou willest. I trust in thee; I open my heart to thee. Let thy light irradiate my soul. Make Thy motherly love cause my indifferent heart to glow. Fill me with Thy joy, Thy humility and Thy peace!

Mystical Rose, thou acceptest that thou art a mother with a special care for all those children who most require thy help. And so I seek thy help in all my bodily and spiritual needs. Very particularly I beg thee for the following grace . . .

Mystical Rose, thou art the mother of Jesus Christ and the mother of Divine Grace, Thou art the Mother of Mercy and the Mother of Life. Thou art our kind mother and our hope. Enclose me in Thy Immaculate Heart and hear my prayer. Amen.

Mystical Rose, pray to Jesus for us! (Three times)

Salve Regina . . . Hail Holy Queen . . .

1. The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary and she conceived by the Holy Spirit. Hail Mary . . .

2. Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to Thy Word. Hail Mary . . .

3. And the Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us. Hail Mary . . .

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Let us pray. Pour forth, we beseech thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts, that we to whom the incarnation of Thy Son was made known by the message of an angel, may by His passion and cross be brought to His glorious resurrection, through the same Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Prayers to “Rosa Mystica”

Rosa Mystica, Immaculate Virgin, Mother of Grace, in honor of your Divine Son, we prostrate ourselves at your feet to implore God’s mercy. We beg for help and grace, not relying on any merit of ours, but on the Kindness of your motherly heart, and confident that you will grant our urgent requests. Hail Mary . . .

Rosa Mystica, Mother of Jesus, Queen of the Holy Rosary and Mother of the Church, of the mystical body of Christ, we implore the gifts of unity and peace for the anxious world, and those graces so able to convert the souls of your erring children. Hail Mary . . .

Rosa Mystica, Queen of the Apostles, pray that many men and women may hear Christ’s call to priestly and religious vocations, an d help them to spread the Kingdom of Jesus Christ throughout the world by the holiness of their lives and their burning zeal for the salvation of souls. Pour out your heavenly grace upon us! Hail Mary . . .

Additional Prayers

http://rosamystica13.com/prayers.php

http://www.mgr.org/RosaMysticaNovena.html

http://www.rosamystica.us/rosamysticaprayer.html

Apparitions of Rosa Mystica

http://www.catholic.org/featured/headline.php?ID=291

http://www.giftstor.org/RosaMystica.htm

http://www.marypages.com/MontichiariEng.htm

Friday, October 28, 2011

Feast Day: Sts. Jude and Simon, Apostles and Martyrs

Simon, called the Zealot to distinguish him from the apostle whom Jesus renamed Peter, was one of the original 12 apostles. He was sent to spread the Gospel in Egypt, Persia and Mesopotamia. Jude, also an apostle, was a nephew of Mary and Joseph and preached with St. Simon. St. Jude was a healer and an exorcist; he is now best known as the patron saint of lost or impossible causes. Tradition teaches that both Simon and Jude were martyred, although the exact places of their martyrdoms are unknown.

Saint Simon and Saint Jude ... you carried the good news of Jesus throughout the eastern regions with no thought to your own safety ... please help us to be as fearless in our daily living of the Gospel. Saints Simon and Jude, pray for us!

Little is known of these two Apostles, whose names are always linked in the Gospel accounts, St. Simon was surnamed the Zealot for his rigid adherence to the Jewish law and to the Canaanite law. He was one of the original followers of Christ. Western tradition is that he preached in Egypt and then went to Persia with St. Jude, where both suffered martyrdom. Eastern tradition says Simon died peacefully at Edessa.

Jude is so named by Luke and Acts, while Matthew and Mark call him Thaddeus. St. Jude, known as Thaddaeus, was a brother of St. James the Less, and a relative of Our Saviour. St. Jude was one of the 12 Apostles of Jesus. He is not mentioned elsewhere in the Gospels, except, of course, where all the apostles are mentioned. He is an author of an epistle (letter) to the Churches of the East, particularly the Jewish converts, directed against the heresies of the Simonians, Nicolaites, and Gnostics. This Apostle is said to have suffered martyrdom along with St. Simon in Armenia, which was then subject to Persia. However, scholars debate whether or not he is the author of the Letter of Jude. Actually, Jude had the same name as Judas Iscariot. Evidently because of the disgrace of that name, it was shortened to "Jude" in English. Ancient writers tell us that he preached the Gospel in Judea, Samaria, Idumaea, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Lybia. According to Eusebius, he returned to Jerusalem in the year 62, and assisted at the election of his brother, St. Simeon, as Bishop of Jerusalem.

Saint Jude the Apostle
Apostle Jude, by Anthonis van Dyck
Apostle and Martyr
Born	1st century AD Roman Province of Galilee
Died	1st century AD Roman Province of Syria
Honored in	Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Churches, Eastern Catholic Churches, Church of the East, Coptic Church, Anglican Communion, Lutheranism , Islamand Philippine Independent Church
Canonized	Pre-Congregation
Majorshrine	Saint Peter's, Rome, Reims,Toulouse, France
Feast	October 28 (Western Christianity) June 19 (Eastern Christianity)
Attributes	Axe, club, boat, oar, medallion
Patronage	Armenia, lost causes, desperate situations, ibises^{[citation needed]}, hospitals, St. Petersburg, Florida, Cotta Lucena City Quezon,Philippines the Chicago Police Department, Clube de Regatas do Flamengo from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Sibalom, Antique,Philippines.

St Jude is invoked in desperate situations because his New Testament letter stresses that the faithful should persevere in the environment of harsh, difficult circumstances, just as their forefathers had done before them. Therefore, he is the patron saint of desperate cases. (The epithet is also commonly rendered as “patron saint of lost causes”.) However, there is another reckoning to this epithet. Many Christians have unfortunately reckoned him as Judas Iscariot and thus avoided veneration. Therefore he was also called the “Forgotten Saint”. Because veneration was avoided, only people in the most desperate circumstances would call upon him, and Jude, desiring to help, was willing to pray for even the most desperate or lost case. Therefore, goes the logic, Jude became the patron saint of lost causes.

Saint Simon the Zealot
St. Simon, by Peter Paul Rubens (c. 1611), from his Twelve Apostles series at the Museo del Prado, Madrid
Apostle, Martyr, Preacher
Born	Cana or Canaan
Died	~65 or ~107^[1] place of death disputed. Possibly Pella, Armenia; Suanir, Persia; Edessa, Caistor
Honored in	Roman Catholic Church; Eastern Orthodox Church; Coptic Church;Oriental Orthodox Churches,Eastern Catholic Churches;Anglican Church; Lutheran Church; Islam.
Majorshrine	relics claimed by many places, including Toulouse; Saint Peter's Basilica^[2]
Feast	October 28 (Western Christianity); May 10 (Coptic Church)
Attributes	boat; cross and saw; fish (or two fishes); lance; man being sawn in two longitudinally; oar^[2]
Patronage	curriers; sawyers; tanners^[2]

Simon is mentioned on all four lists of the apostles. On two of them he is called "the Zealot." The Zealots were a Jewish sect that represented an extreme of Jewish nationalism. For them, the messianic promise of the Old Testament meant that the Jews were to be a free and independent nation. God alone was their king, and any payment of taxes to the Romans—the very domination of the Romans—was a blasphemy against God. No doubt some of the Zealots were the spiritual heirs of the Maccabees, carrying on their ideals of religion and independence. But many were the counterparts of modern terrorists. They raided and killed, attacking both foreigners and "collaborating" Jews. They were chiefly responsible for the rebellion against Rome which ended in the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. In art, Simon has the identifying attribute of a saw because according to legend, he was put to death by a saw.

COMMENT:
As in the case of all the apostles except for Peter, James and John, we are faced with men who are really unknown, and we are struck by the fact that their holiness is simply taken to be a gift of Christ. He chose some unlikely people: a former Zealot, a former (crooked) tax collector, an impetuous fisherman, two "sons of thunder" and a man named Judas Iscariot.It is a reminder that we cannot receive too often. Holiness does not depend on human merit, culture, personality, effort or achievement. It is entirely God's creation and gift. God needs no Zealots to bring about the kingdom by force. Jude, like all the saints, is the saint of the impossible: only God can create his divine life in human beings. And God wills to do so, for all of us. One of his namesakes is St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, which has helped many children with terminal illnesses and their families since its founding in 1962.

QUOTE:

"Just as Christ was sent by the Father, so also he sent the apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit. This he did so that, by preaching the gospel to every creature (cf. Mark 16:15), they might proclaim that the Son of God, by his death and resurrection, had freed us from the power of Satan (cf. Acts 26:18) and from death, and brought us into the kingdom of his Father" (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy).

PRAYERS TO ST. JUDE:

A common Roman Catholic prayer is:

"O most holy apostle, Saint Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the Church honoureth and invoketh thee universally, as the patron of hopeless cases, and of things almost despaired of. Pray for me, who am so miserable. Make use, I implore thee, of that particular privilege accorded to thee, to bring visible and speedy help where help was almost despaired of. Come to mine assistance in this great need, that I may receive the consolation and succor of Heaven in all my necessities, tribulations, and sufferings, particularly (here make your request) and that I may praise God with thee and all the elect throughout eternity. I promise thee, O blessed Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favour, to always honour thee as my special and powerful patron, and to gratefully encourage devotion to thee. Amen."

”

An alternative prayer:

"May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be adored, glorified, loved and preserved now and forever. Sacred Heart of Jesus have mercy on us, Saint Jude worker of Miracles, pray for us, Saint Jude helper and keeper of the hopeless, pray for us, Thank you Saint Jude."

BIBLIOGRAPHY: