The Feast Of The Sacred Heart Of Jesus

The  Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

The Friday that follows the Second Sunday in Time After Pentecost is the Feast of the Sacred Heart. 

Many Catholics prepare for this Feast by beginning a Novena to the Sacred Heart on the Feast of Corpus Christi, which is the Thursday of the week before. On the Feast of the Sacred Heart itself, we can gain a plenary indulgence by making an Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart.

Sacred Heart of Jesus

by Fr. Francis Xavier Weninger, 1877

“This is life everlasting that they may know Thee, and whom
Thou hast sent, Jesus Christ.”–John xvii, 3.

As the pulpit text which I have just read for you, dearly beloved in Christ, admonishes us, more is necessary for our salvation than faithfully to confess God the Father, and whom He has sent, Jesus Christ; for, if this confession is to deliver and save us, we must follow Christ by obeying the teachings of the faith He brought into the world. The devils also confess God, and yet they remain devils; they also confess Jesus Christ, yet they are damned forever. Therefore, St. Paul so expressly declares to the early Christians: 

“And what else do I require of you, by all I have told you, by word and by our epistle, than that you advance in the knowledge and love of Christ?” which means that, in proportion as this knowledge and love takes root in your heart, and increases and fructifies, so also will you, together with me, follow Jesus, and be saved through Him. These are the words of the Apostle of nations.

But it is precisely in this regard that a very great deficiency is generally manifested. Not to speak of those who know nothing of Jesus save what they have learned from history, and who are not members of the true faith, how many, even among those who call themselves Catholics, and, perhaps, live exteriorly as such, in reality know Him not! They know Him, as it were, only by name; they know Him not personally; and the “knowledge they have of the divine Saviour exercises no beneficial influence upon their lives.

In this meditation, therefore, my dear brethren, I will endeavor to demonstrate, that a true veneration of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the portal through which we must enter into the sanctuary of a sweet, a loving union, with Christ, an intimate, personal knowledge of the Saviour. O Mary, who, as His Mother, didst know and love the Son of God, following Him with devoted care even to the foot of the cross, we pray thee, obtain for us the grace to know and love Him too. I speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the greater glory of God!

Christ is, as holy faith teaches, the incarnate Son of God. That this knowledge may enkindle within us, and fan the fire of divine love, in so ardent a manner that we may imitate our divine Saviour, we must often meditate on the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God, of which a tender devotion to the Sacred Heart can not fail to remind us. The Angels cherish the most profound veneration, and yet God did not become an angel–but a man. To this He was impelled by no other consideration than His love for us.

“I have loved thee with an eternal love, and drawn thee with merciful love to Me.” What a powerful motive for love and gratitude! God was pleased to create us, not only after His own image, but to take upon Himself our very nature, inexpressibly inferior as it is, and thus elevate it above the angelic nature. They possess not, like us, the privilege of calling him brother. Should not this urge us to listen to our Lord when He speaks thus to our hearts: “And now what else does thy God require of thee, than that thou shouldst love Him?”

Christ, as God and man at the same time, is our Redeemer, Who shed His precious blood for us in that atoning sacrifice, completed through the infinite merits which accompanied all His divine actions; and He offered it as an expiation to the infinite justice of God. But if we wish fully to understand this tremendous sacrifice which Christ presented to His heavenly Father for every human soul, the love of Christ, and His character as Saviour of the world, must arise clearly before us, and this will be attained by looking into the depths of the Sacred Heart.

For “the redemption of the world” would have been realized by the first aspiration to which Christ gave utterance in His mother's womb, at His Incarnation, when He confessed before His Father: “Behold, here am I, and Thy law is in the midst of my heart.” I have come to reconcile the human race with Thee. This prayer was, as St. Paul assures us, already sufficient for the salvation and redemption of every member of the human family, for it was of an infinite value. 

But the overwhelming love of Jesus for us demanded something more than our mere redemption, for He wished to deliver us in a manner indicative of that love, so that our hearts might the more readily turn to Him. O how He wished us to follow His divine example, and make the merits of His life and death our own, no matter how great the cost!

And now, to understand this in the most effective manner, let us glance at His heart, and remember, at the same time, that Christ offered His life, sufferings, and death, to His heavenly Father, not only for all mankind, but for every individual soul; as if that soul had been the only one He came to save, as will be manifested, in the clearest light, by a glance at the Sacred Heart. You have a right to say this very heart beat in the breast of the Infant Jesus as He lay in the manger at Bethlehem, and offered the pains and griefs of infancy for me. The circumcision, the flight into Egypt, the weary toil which marked His daily life at Nazareth, He offered for me! 

This Sacred Heart throbbed for me in every phase of His Apostolic life, and offered all for me! This same heart throbbed for me in His breast at the Last Supper, and throbbed for me when Jesus resolved to offer Himself daily in the Sacrament of His love, until the very end of time, to remain with me, to unite Himself with me, body and soul, divinity and humanity, in every holy Communion which it would be my privilege to receive.

It throbbed for me when, with prophetic vision, the Redeemer saw the many temptations which would surround me in life, and His precious blood burst forth from every pore, as Gethsemane's groves witnessed His terrible agony there. And, oh, how bitterly it throbbed when the cruel scourge laid open the quivering flesh to the very bone, and the aching brow was made to feel a keener pang from the pressure of the sharp thorns, put on in mockery of a crown, and the heavy cross was laid upon those weary shoulders until all that was human in the Son of God was well nigh crushed to earth. And at last the weary walk was over, but only to give place to new and bitter pain as the nails were driven through the sacred hands and feet. 

And now behold the Creator of heaven and earth hanging on the cross, a bleeding victim for our sins. Ah, then His Sacred Heart throbbed for me as He cried out to the eternal Father: “Father, forgive!” Then, when he yielded up the Ghost, behold, a soldier opened His heart, and from it fell the last drop of His precious blood– for me. I am redeemed, and with a Redemption superabundant indeed!
“They will see Whom they have pierced.” These are the inspired words of the prophet; yes, and they will adore the triumph of infinite mercy by which the greatest crime which a creature can commit, Deicide, became a source for the pardon of every sin, as St. Paul implies when he says: “Christ destroyed sin through sin upon the cross.” 

This open heart, this sacred wound, removed the vail which rested upon the work of Redemption. To glance at it, nay, to look into its depths, we can see the glimmer of a lovely light which illumines the work of the Saviour's mercy and love, penetrating our hearts with a longing to reciprocate that love which led Him to purchase our salvation at the cost of life.

 This Jesus is, as Saviour, the founder of that Church to which He confided His infinite merits, and the dispensation of the means of salvation. She rose from His heart in the symbol of blood and water, even as from the side of the sleeping Adam God called our mother Eve into existence. And behold us, without any merit of our own, members of this Church so holy and divine. What a motive for us, as children of this loving mother, to grow in the grace of God, and by constant intercourse with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, to grow also in His personal knowledge.

Yes! to look into the Heart of Jesus, gives us a glimpse, in all its splendor, of the majesty and sanctity of the one true Church, and can not fail to excite in us the most ardent desire and longing to live as her faithful children, grateful that we are so highly favored as to be children of that glorious mother. It animates us to more earnest efforts to propagate the faith, over the whole world, according to the desire of the Sacred Heart. This Lord and Saviour is, according to His Person, at once our Father, Friend, and Brother; the Spouse of our souls–Christ! 

He it is Who regained for us the right to enter heaven. He is our Brother, Who took upon Himself our nature; our Friend, Who provided for us as for Himself; and the Spouse of our souls–infinite goodness and greatness–Christ!

To behold all this we must look into the depths of His Sacred Heart. The world is full of brothers, friends, and spouses, but how different are they in the measure of love they bear to their own! In the open Heart of Jesus we behold, united, the hearts of loving fathers, brothers, and friends; and yet His love is greater than all! Did He not give the very last drop of blood from that heart, and am I not, therefore, right when I say: If we wish to attain to a knowledge of this dear Redeemer, in all His divine sweetness, we must cast frequent glances into the Sacred Heart, and seek refuge in its bleeding wound? 

We will then adorn our own hearts, so that we will one day be worthy to enter into an abode of eternal blessedness. Blessed St. Gertrude, devoted adorer of the Sacred Heart, obtain for us the grace to love it with your fervent love, and through a like imitation of its virtues, to share with you the glorious reward of its faithful servants.–Amen.

“For this cause I bow my knees to the Father, that you may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth of this mystery.”–Eph. iii, 14, 18.

“To me, the least of all the saints, is given this grace to preach among the Gentiles, and to enlighten all men what is the dispensation of the mystery which hath been hidden from eternity in God, Who created all things. For this cause I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of Whom all paternity in heaven and earth is named, That He would grant you the grace to be strengthened by the power of His Spirit unto the inward man; That Christ may dwell by faith in your hearts: that being rooted and founded in charity, you may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth of this mystery; To know also the charity of Christ, which surpasseth all human knowledge.”

With these words to the Ephesians, and similar assurances in many passages of the Epistles which St. Paul wrote–not only for the faithful of his own day, but for those of all future time–the Apostle of nations exhorts us in the most expressive manner to advance in the knowledge of Christ. And if we wish to comprehend the total height and depth, the entire breadth and length, of the love of Jesus, we can only do so by looking into the depths of His Sacred Heart; and to make this clear, will be the object of my words today. O Mary, Mother of the Divine Heart, obtain for us the grace to enter into the full knowledge of Christ's love for us, that we may meet it with faithful reciprocal love! I speak in the holy name of Jesus, for the greater honor and glory of God!

To contemplate in its entire extent the love of Jesus Christ, and to open our hearts in true reciprocal love to the Lord, that He may dwell therein, we must go to the Sacred Heart and look into its depths. There, ah! there, we can behold in all its immensity a love so mighty that it drew Him away from the throne of His glory in heaven to earth, and urged Him not only to assume human nature, but by so doing, as St. Paul assures us, to annihilate Himself and take the form of a slave. For, appearing as a man among men, He concealed His divinity before them; and although He wrought miracles, other men, with the Divine assistance, performed wonders still greater:–Moses, for instance, at the departure of the children of Israel from Egypt.

Men in general acknowledged Him so little as God, that they threatened to stone Him when He declared that He was. They persecuted at every occasion this meek Lamb of God, and at last nailed Him to the cross. And what brought to such depths of humility the King of kings and Lord of lords? Because He chose not to appear as a powerful monarch, as a ruler over the whole universe, before whom all nations would tremble, but as a slave; for He entered this world as the subject of an emperor who governed only the Romans as free men, while those nations he had conquered were held in subjection. And therefore Christ suffered the death of the slave–crucifixion.

Why did He humble Himself so deeply? One glance into the Divine Heart will tell us that it was His merciful love to us. Great God! what misery overwhelmed the human race, and what would have become of us if the arm of Thy infinite justice had not been stayed! But Christ the Son of God, equal in essence and nature to His eternal Father, wished, through love, to celebrate the triumph of His infinite mercy; and this love urged Him not only to grant pardon to penitent sinners, but to make satisfaction for them, and take upon Himself the justification for sin.

Not only, beloved in Christ, did He mean to pardon this or that sin, to forgive this or that sinner, but for every sin that would ever be committed, and for every sinner, if he were truly contrite, a gracious pardon would be found. Christ requires but one thing of the sinner–that he avails himself of those efficacious means of salvation to be found in the true Church, and takes refuge in His Sacred Heart.

Dearly beloved Christians, souls redeemed by the blood of a God, reflect upon this precious truth; and that you may realize the depth of His love for you, look at the Sacred Heart — look into its bleeding wound. The Almighty, the Omnipotent God, the gracious and merciful Saviour, comes from the heaven of His glory to afford us a certain refuge therein–to save us from that pit which the malice of sin has prepared for us in hell.

The Deluge prefigured the spiritual ruin which overwhelmed the whole human race. Now, Holy Scripture testifies that the waters thereof rose to the height of fifteen cubits above the loftiest mountains. This indicates the degree of malice which characterized the wickedness of mankind, it being greater than that of the fallen angels. 

Their sin was that pride which led them to wish to be like God; while man, on the contrary, committed Deicide, as St. Peter, in his first sermon, called the Crucifixion, when he said: “The Author of life you have killed.”

This reproach applies not only to those Jews who personally laid hands on Christ, but to all men as sinners; for St. Paul asserts: “Whosoever sins, crucifies God in his heart, tramples His precious Blood under foot.” And yet God forgives on account of the merits of Christ! Whom? The greatest sinner if he but repent.

Glance at the Heart of Jesus, opened after His death: by this He opened His arms to every soul, with the loving words: “I have loved thee unto death, and presented the last drop of My heart's blood for thee to draw thee from the abyss of destruction which thy sins prepared for thee in hell.” Oh, what a depth, and, at the same time, what a height of love! 

The work of Redemption as consummated by this love, made fast the gates of hell, and rescued us from that fiery pit; but not content with this, our loving Saviour would open the portals of a heaven more beautiful than the one which would have been our portion had Adam never sinned.

And now, as brothers of the Son of God, we may enter that region of bliss, and become as precious stones set in the celestial crown of the world of angels. We may, by our zeal in the exercise of good works, and their union with the merits of Christ, ascend higher and higher, through new and more brilliant merits, to an immeasurable degree of glory. Look at Mary, whose throne is next to that of Jesus: she was, like us, a child of man, and her glory by far outshines that of the brightest angel. 

We, as her children, may hope to attain a place in heaven, near that of our gracious Queen; for from the Heart of Jesus came forth the cry: “To him that shall overcome I will grant to sit with Me on My throne.”

And how shall we learn the breadth of this love? I answer: By contemplating the generosity which marked its course, and so animated the Sacred Heart in the breast of the Infant Saviour in the crib and of the Redeemer on the cross. Even now it beats for us in the Most Holy Sacrament over the whole globe. Think of the generosity of that love by which Jesus has communicated to us the whole merit of His life, passion, and death.

The words of St. Augustine refer to this in the explanation and answer given by him of the words of Christ: “What price could man give for his soul?” “Remember,” exclaims St. Augustine, “the price which Christ paid for you through the work of Redemption; you have been purchased by the life, passion, and death of Christ the Son of God.” 

What He gave for you He did not give even for the angels. Oh, how sweetly are we reminded of all this by one loving glance at the Sacred Heart of Jesus! It beats indeed today on earth for each one of us. Go before the tabernacle and ask what is that which Jesus confers upon you in every Holy Communion. It is Himself.

And the length of this enduring love may be discerned by the unwearied forbearance He shows to man. From the first moment of your conception, Christian soul, He has loved you with an everlasting love. He has thought of you, and longed to bless you for all eternity. 

And it will be your own fault if He does not remain, until your very latest breath, the same faithful, loving Jesus, Who will assist you in that last dread passage where time is merged into eternity.

Yes, it is an article of faith that when the greatest sinner turns with a repentant heart to Jesus, even in his dying hour, he will still be saved through Him. And is this really so? Christian, look at the wounded Heart in the breast of your Redeemer. It has ceased to beat–it is dead! Yet from the wound came blood and water, the symbol of the Church to which Christ gave power to pardon the dying sinner whose heart cries out for mercy–for forgiveness through the merits of Christ.

Dearly beloved, who have listened to my words today, reflect upon what I have told you of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus–of the height, depth, breadth, and length of the love of Christ. Consider it daily, and the wish of St. Paul, of which I have already spoken to you, will certainly be fulfilled in you. You will become so strengthened in the love of God, through the Spirit of Christ, that He will abide in your heart, and, finding therein so firm a faith, earnest a hope, and ardent a love, will there take up His abode forever. Amen!

“Is thy heart right as my heart is with thy heart? “–4 Kings x, 15.

Centuries have passed since our Lord and Saviour, the loving Jesus, in His visible presence, walked the earth; and as the years roll on, He asks of every Catholic soul the same question which He put to the prince of the Apostles: “Lovest thou Me?” and every one should reply as did the ardent Peter: “Yes, Lord, I love Thee;” and yet the answer is not the same, for St. Peter not only assured the Lord of his love, but added: “Lord, Thou knowest all things, Thou knowest that I love Thee.”

If our divine Lord possessed not the power to read what is written in the inmost recesses of our hearts, He might be deceived by the assurance of a love which has no place therein, and indiscriminately bestow those rich treasures of grace which He loves so well to give, and which we require to work out our salvation in that state of life to which we have each one been assigned. But the Lord searcheth the heart of man, and knoweth if his lips speak truth. 

And too often, my dearest Christians, the lives, even of those who possess the gift of faith, so directly contradict their professions, that to them might be applied the words of Isaac: “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are those of Esau.”

The lips say: “I love my Jesus who died for me,” but as “actions speak louder far than words,” they often proclaim the falsity of the assertion. We can not sufficiently appreciate the necessity of examining ourselves carefully on this point, and it were well to do so in presence of the Sacred Heart, as it beats in our midst, in the Most Holy Sacrament. What answer could we make to this question of our Lord? Could we truly say with St. Peter: “Lord, Thou knowest all things; Thou knowest that I love Thee.” 

 Beloved in Christ, in this regard I will put into the mouth of our Saviour those words of Holy Scripture. “Is thy heart right as my heart is with thy heart?” and after you have listened attentively to my words today, let each one make answer to his soul and his God. O Mary, Mother of Jesus, who lovedst Him with the most sincere and maternal love, grant that we also may love Him with sincere and filial love! I speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the honor and glory of God!

The first mark of sincere love is the silent testimony of the heart itself, which is felt only by those who love. The little child, which never even heard the word love, feels it in the depths of its tender heart toward its mother, who lavishes upon it every fond endearment as it lovingly clings about her neck. Question your own heart as to its feelings whenever you pronounce the sacred name of Jesus, or even think of Him.

St. Bernard sometimes, after he had uttered that holy name, tasted a sweetness upon his lips as though he had eaten honey. Can you say, O Christian! that your feelings are like his? Is it with you, as St. Augustine declares of himself, that you find every thing, wherein the name of Jesus does not occur, insipid and without interest? You love Jesus, you say, but if His name leaves you insensible and cold, I am forced to doubt the sincerity of your love. But as it is also true that mere feeling is very deceptive, therefore show, by your life, that you really speak the truth.

The second mark of sincere love is the care one takes not to grieve or offend the object of his love. Thus it may happen that a wife says to her husband: “Do you love me?” and what is his probable reply? “Silly question; would I have married you had I not?” But evening comes, and the charms of home are powerless to keep him there. So he goes to the tavern, where the midnight hour finds him still, yet he knows how much he will grieve his faithful wife by this evil course. Is she not perfectly right, therefore, if she says within herself: “Thy lips say I love thee; but thy life says it is a lie. Thy love is not sincere, or thou wouldst not be so ready to grieve my heart.”

Christian, your Saviour asks: “Do you love Me?” How does your life answer this question of the Lord? With what care do you endeavor, not only not to commit a mortal sin, which would at once banish Christ from your heart; but to avoid committing even one deliberate venial sin which grieves and afflicts your Lord? Do you watch over your conscience by the most assiduous practice of the particular examen? If so, then, indeed, you speak the truth. But if it would seem that you are careless in regard to the trifling sins and imperfections,–if you neglect the particular examen, you place yourself in the greatest danger of sinning, even grievously, and your lips would utter a lie: your love is only an illusion.

Even if you would read from your book the most ardent affections of love, while your lips say: “Yes, Lord Jesus, I love You;” your life cries out: “It is false.” But how is it, then, if you live with the guilt of mortal sin upon your soul? Ah! then, indeed, you deeply grieve your Saviour, and banish Him from your heart.
The third mark of sincere love is the desire to please the beloved, and to do with zeal what is required of us by the one whom we love. A well known proverb says that “love can read in the eyes of the beloved the desire of his heart.” The same is true of a sincere love towards Jesus. 

A wife needs not to ask her husband whether he loves her, although he is of a very undemonstrative nature,–never expressing his love,–if his actions show that he does, if he is quick to anticipate every wish of her heart; and fulfill it, if possible; therein lies the real test of love. The same is true of the sincerity of our love towards Jesus. What He requires of us is made known by His admonition: “Follow Me!–Be ye holy, as your Father in heaven is holy.” Ask your heart, with what zeal you walk in the path of Christian perfection, whether it is your earnest wish to become holy.

And not only that, but what zeal do you manifest in assisting Jesus to extend His kingdom on earth, through zeal in the exercise of the spiritual and corporeal works of mercy? With what solicitude do you endeavor to prevent others from offending God, particularly those whom the Lord has confided to your care, watching that they fulfill their duties as faithful and zealous children of the Church?

Do you try earnestly to lead infidels and heretics to the way of salvation, and the knowledge of the true and only Church wherein salvation is to be found; and to support over the whole earth the kingdom of God, that zealous missionaries may be enabled to preach the gospel among the heathens? Can you say with truth that you are zealous in each of the above duties? If so, then you may indeed rejoice, for it is well with you; and your life replete with holy deeds shows that you sincerely love your God. 

But, on the contrary–and oh, with how many is not this the case! –if you are satisfied to live an ordinary Christian life, and, even this merely from the force of habit; if you do not at the very moment you awake from sleep, resolve to let your aim be to grow always better and better; to constantly multiply the good works you perform, to never lose an opportunity to save and sanctify others;–if, I repeat, beloved in Christ, it is thus with you, then your love for Jesus is far from being sincere.

And if you are content to be solicitous only for your immediate family or your own parish Church, as far as necessity requires; and even if you show yourself an active parish child, yet neglect every thing in regard to caring for the salvation of souls, as if it were a duty belonging only to priests, then the sincerity of your love towards Jesus is rather self-deception. Whosoever loves Jesus sincerely provides for the salvation of souls, even though he be not a Paul nor a Priest, remembering the admonition of the disciple of love: “As He has shed His blood for us, so we should be ready to shed ours for each soul.”

The fourth mark of sincere love is that magnanimity and fidelity which leads us to make sacrifices, even if we should have to suffer by assisting others. Behold a married couple blessed with the goods of the world, with health and happiness, because prosperity has smiled upon their lives. You ask me whether they love one another, and to what degree? 

A question difficult to answer, while they continue to lead such a delightful life. On the contrary, suppose a youth and maiden to enter the married life with every prospect of health and happiness, and behold! after a few months, the hand of the Lord is laid heavily upon her, and He calls her to pass under His chastening rod. The wife becomes incurably ill, the husband loses his entire wealth, yet their love remains the same; yes, its flame burns even more brightly than before. Ah, yes! they love each other truly.

You say: “Yes, I love Jesus;” show it by your love for the cross, by your patience, if the Lord imposes His chastening hand upon you. If then your affections of love multiply towards Jesus, and you esteem yourself happy that He has drawn you to Himself by the royal way of the cross, we know that you really have a sincere love towards Him. 

And what in all this world so effectively conduces to this condition of sincere love, as one glance at the most Sacred Heart of Jesus and an assiduous cultivation of that beautiful devotion; for that Heart shed the last drop of blood for you on the cross, in sincere love. You have this Sacred Heart present in the Blessed Sacrament. Go then before the tabernacle, and think of Him who nourishes you so often with the Holy Sacrament, and gives it to you as food.

The better to illustrate this I will relate the following event: It happened that a ship was lost at sea, and those of the passengers who escaped the wreck were cast upon a desert island. Among them was a mother with a nursing infant. However, the joy of the passengers at their rescue was of brief duration, for they discovered that the soil was bleak and barren, and afforded no food whatever. And no vessel appeared to bear them away, the mother sat holding the starving child to her breast, from which it had drawn the very last drop of milk.
The mother had no nutriment, how could she nourish it? It drew with such force that it took from her veins the life blood, yet she uttered no word of complaint. 

The mother becoming weaker and weaker, the passengers entreated her to let the child die, and, perhaps, her own life might be saved. But she was deaf to their prayers, and still allowed the babe to drink her blood; yes, to the very last moment of her life, which was indeed at hand, for her head drooped upon that faithful breast; and when the prayers of wrecked passengers, that they might be rescued, were heard and a vessel came in sight, she was dead. 

The child lived and grew to man's estate, and when the youth heard what his mother had done for him, and how she had nourished him with her blood, the heroic act filled his heart with such ardent love for her, that from the very depths of his yearning heart he often cried: “O mother! mother! could I but once behold you, if even for one moment, only to thank you for your devoted maternal love. Oh, how happy would I not feel!”

Christians, what that mother did, the Sacred Heart of Jesus is doing daily in the Most Holy Sacrament, and has done it for nineteen hundred years, by nourishing us with His precious blood. As children of God, as members of the Church, we can thank Him for it personally. Oh, then, make good use of His Presence on your altars, particularly by frequent and worthy Communions. No doubt that will enkindle and nourish in your hearts the, fire of divine love, as nothing else could in the world; and you will find your dearest joy in cherishing a sincere, ardent, and faithful love towards the Sacred Heart of Jesus.–Amen! 

Credits : Regina Magazine With Some Editing By Me 

Feast Of Corpus Christi 2019 The Most Holy Body and Blood Of Jesus Christ

The Feast of Corpus Christi.

This Feast of the Sacred Body of Our Divine Lord is celebrated in the Latin Church on the Sunday after Trinity Sunday to solemnly commemorate the Institution of the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist. 

This great event is also commemorated on Maundy Thursday, mentioned as Natalia Calicis (Birth of the Chalice) in the Calendar of Polemius (448) for the 24th of March, the 25th of March being recognized in some places as the day of the Death of Christ. This day, however, occurs in Holy Week, a season of sadness, during which the minds of the faithful are expected to be occupied with thoughts of Our Lord's Passion. 

Moreover, so many other mysteries relative to the Passion are commemorated on this day that the principal event, the Institution of the Holy Eucharist, is deserving of a particular festival. 

This is mentioned as the chief reason for introducing the feast of Corpus Christi in the Papal Bull Transiturus.

The instrument in the hand of Divine Providence was St. Juliana of Mont Cornillon, in Belgium. She was born in 1203 at Retinnes near Liège. Orphaned at an early age, she was educated by the Augustinian nuns of Mont Cornillon. In time she made her religious profession and later became Superior. Intrigues and persecutions of various kinds drove her from her own convent several times. She died on the fifth of April, 1258, at the House of the Cistercian nuns at Fosses, and was buried at Villiers.

From her early youth, Sr. Juliana had a great veneration for the Blessed Sacrament, and always longed for a special feast in Its honor. This holy desire was given further impetus by an authentic vision which she was shown of the Church, whose liturgical cycle appeared as an almost-full moon, yet having one dark void, signifying the absence of such a solemnity. 

She humbly submitted this revelation to Msgr. Robert de Thorete, then Bishop of Liège; to the learned Dominican Hugh, later Cardinal Legate in the Netherlands; and finally to Jacques Pantaléon, at that time Archdeacon of Liège, who afterwards was successively made the Bishop of Verdun, Patriarch of Jerusalem (after the First Crusade), and finally elected to the Papacy as Urban IV. Bishop Robert was favorably inclined to promote a greater devotion to our Eucharistic King. Since bishops had the right of ordering feasts for their respective jurisdictions, he called a synod in 1246, and ordered the celebration to be held in the following year; also, that a monk whose name was John should write the special Office for the occasion. The episcopal decree is still preserved in Binterim (Denkwürdigkeiten, V, 1, 276), together with parts of the Office. 

The pious Bishop did not live to see the fulfillment of his command, for he died on October 16, 1246. Nevertheless, the feast was celebrated for the first time by the obedient canons of the Cathedral of St. Martin at Liège.

Meanwhile, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Jacques Pantaléon, was elected Pope on August 29, 1261. There was at that time in Liège a devout recluse in whom St. Juliana had inspired a fervent devotion of the Holy Eucharist, who spent her time in adoration of Our Divine Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. She besought the Bishop of Liège, Heinrich of Guelders, to request the Sovereign Pontiff to extend this beautiful celebration to the entire Catholic world. Pope Urban IV, who had long cherished a fervent devotion for the feast of Corpus Christi, granted the petition on September 8, 1264, by publishing the Bull Transiturus. Having extolled the love of Our Savior manifested in the Holy Eucharist, he ordered the annual celebration of Corpus Christi on the Thursday following Trinity Sunday, and at the same time granted many Indulgences to the faithful for the attendance at Mass and at the Office. 

This Office, composed at the request of the Pope by the Angelic Doctor St. Thomas Aquinas, is one of the most beautiful in the Roman Breviary, and has been admired not only for its wonderful devotion, but also for its literary excellence.

The death of Pope Urban IV on October 2, 1264, shortly after the publication of the decree, somewhat impeded the spread of the new feast. But Pope Clement V again took the matter in hand, and at the General Council of Vienne (1311), took measures to implement the feast of Corpus Christi. His new decree embodied that of Pope Urban IV, and his successor, Pope John XXII (of Sabbatine Privilege fame) also urged its observance. The Procession of the Blessed Sacrament, which was already held in some places, was endowed with rich indulgences by Popes Martin V and Eugene IV. The pious Bishops of the German Empire were the first to accomplish a uniform observance of the new feast (instituted at Köln in 1306, at Worms in 1315, and in Strasbourg in 1316). In England it was introduced from the continent between 1320 and 1325.

Feast of Corpus Christi

by Fr. Francis Xavier Weninger, 1877

The same reason which caused the Festival of the Holy Trinity, induced the Catholic Church to institute the festival of Corpus Christi, which we celebrate today. She requires that we shall confess and renew today the faith which we have in the Blessed Eucharist, and that we bestow all possible honors upon the Most Holy Sacrament and give due thanks to our Saviour for its institution. In order that this just requirement of the Church may be more fully complied with, we shall here give some explanation of the above reasons. In regard to the first reason, the following are the facts, which the church especially desires to call to our memory by this joyous festival. Our dear Saviour, on the same evening when His bitter suffering for the redemption of man began, instituted the Blessed Eucharist, out of His immeasurable love for us. In it He is truly and substantially present with body and soul, with flesh and blood, as God and Man, under the form of bread and wine. 

Under the form of bread, not only His holy body, but also His holy blood is present; because a living body cannot exist without blood. Hence he receives it, who partakes of holy communion only in the form of bread, not less than he who receives it in two forms, as the priests, when they say holy Mass. The latter partake of holy communion under two forms, in order that the passion and death of our Saviour, during which His blood flowed from His wounds, might be more vividly represented.

From the moment that the priest speaks the prescribed holy words, in the name of Christ, over the bread and wine, the Lord is present in the Holy Sacrament. Bread and wine change their substance miraculously into the true body and blood of the Saviour, in such a manner, that all that remains of the bread and wine is their form, color and taste. The presence of Christ lasts so long as the bread and the wine are unconsumed. It is further to be considered that our Lord is present in a small host as well as in a large one, as well in a portion of a host as in a whole one. Hence he who receives an entire host, has no more than he who receives only a part of one, the latter has just as much as the former. 

The same is the case with those who by inadvertence receive more than one Host, while others receive only one. It is only to be remarked that in case a consecrated Host is broken or divided, the holy body of the Saviour is not broken nor divided, but the form of the bread only: even as Christ will not again die, so his holy body can neither be broken nor divided. All these points are articles of faith in the Catholic Church, and are explained in sermons, in religious instructions and in many books, and are especially demonstrated by the word of God. 

All true Catholics believe this without any doubt, as the Almighty, who is eternal and infallible truth, has revealed it, and as that Church assures us, which on account of the assistance of the Holy Ghost, promised to her by Christ, cannot err.

Those who are not Catholics teach in many points quite differently. They especially reject the real presence of Christ in the form of bread and wine, and also the transubstantiation of these latter into the real body and blood of the Lord. 

They maintain it to be impossible that bread and wine can be changed into the body and blood of Christ, or that Christ can be really present at the same time, in so many different places, in so small a compass as the holy Host. If we ask them why they consider it impossible, they answer: “because we cannot conceive, cannot comprehend, how it can be possible.” But if they believe impossible all which they cannot understand, they must, besides many other articles of faith, reject the creation of the world; the humanity and resurrection of Christ; the Holy Trinity; because all these are just as inconceivable for the mind of man, as the transubstantiation of the bread and wine and the substantial presence of the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. It matters not in articles of faith whether we are able to comprehend them or not so long as they are revealed by God.

That which the Almighty has revealed must be true, whether I can understand it or not: for He is omniscient, hence infallible, and cannot be deceived, while our understanding can as easily be deceived as our senses. God is truth: therefore can not deceive. He is omnipotent; hence He can do more than the human mind can comprehend. “With God all things are possible,” said Christ Himself. “Let us admit that God can do more than we are able to fathom,” says St. Augustine, while St. Cyril of Alexandria writes; “The Lord says by the prophet Isaias: ‘My counsel is not like yours, neither are my ways like your ways: for as the heaven is above the earth, so are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts.' Cannot therefore the works of Him, who stands so high above us in wisdom and power, exceed in their greatness the limits of our understanding?”
The same is taught by all the Holy Fathers. 

They also refer to many occurrences in nature, which, although we cannot comprehend them, nevertheless take place. They speak of the creation of the world, and say, if we believe that God created a whole world out of nothing, how can we hesitate to believe that He can change bread and wine, or that He can be present in that form? The water at Cana was changed into wine: why then should He not possess the power to transform bread and wine into His holy body and blood? Truly, whoever believes that God is omnipotent, infallible and infinite, cannot doubt this article of faith. 

We Catholics believe so, and hence we cannot doubt any of the above mentioned points of the true faith. This faith we this day renew and confess publicly. The Catholic Church requires it, and has for this reason instituted today's Festival. She further demands that we unanimously, bestow today all possible honor upon the Blessed Sacrament, and that we praise and glorify with all the powers of our soul, the Saviour therein concealed. And is not this justly demanded of us? of us who firmly believe that our Lord is present in His double nature as God and as man, in the Blessed Sacrament? 

All honor, all praise belongs to the true God.

King David, in the Old Testament, bestowed great honor upon the Ark of the Covenant, in which a part of the manna was preserved, as Holy Writ relates. The manna of the Old Testament was only a feeble type of our Most Holy Sacrament, as Christ Himself teaches: hence we owe so much greater honor to it. The wise man said, many thousand years ago: “Glorify the Lord, as much as you can . . . Bless ye the Lord, exalt Him as much as you can.” (Eccl. xliii.) As we are assured by our faith that our God and Lord is truly and substantially present in the Blessed Sacrament, it is natural that we honor, praise and glorify Him with all our strength. We are bound to do this not merely today, but during the whole year. Who is there, however, that can say of himself that he has not sometimes been remiss in this sacred duty? Hence the Holy Church requires that we, remembering our duty this day, kindle anew our zeal, if it has abated, and thus with united hearts, honor, praise and exalt the Most Holy Sacrament. For this purpose she has also ordained that the Blessed Sacrament shall be carried through the streets in solemn processions.

Everything connected with this ceremony is intended to honor our Lord in every possible manner. The Church tries, by this public manifestation, to atone somewhat for the many and great wrongs to which the Blessed Sacrament is so frequently subjected by heretics as well as by Catholics. One cannot, without horror, think how this sacred mystery has been assailed and dishonored in centuries gone by, and down to our days. A pious Christian dares not even relate the wrongs done to it, which are great enough to deserve hell. And what does our Saviour, concealed in the Blessed Sacrament, suffer from those who believe in his presence? 

The irreverence and levity with which many Christians conduct themselves in presence of the Blessed Eucharist, tend to dishonor and disgrace our Saviour. The unworthy communions which unhappily take place, offend Him in a most grievous manner. The misuse of the body, especially of the tongue and mouth, which are so often sanctified by partaking of the true body and blood of Christ, cannot but excite the wrath of the Lord. For these, as well as other wrongs done to the Blessed Sacrament, the Church of Christ seeks to make amends by these solemn processions, and by all the other pious exercises she has ordained for this festival and during the whole octave. Hence, every pious Christian should be solicitous to conform to the ordinances of the Church, and not only assist in the procession and all other devout exercises, but also endeavour to contribute to render them what the Church desires.


Those who are not Catholics disapprove of every thing that we do today in honor of the blessed Sacrament, and accuse us of idolatry, as we according to them, worship bread. They say also that all that we do in this regard cannot be agreeable to God, because it was not ordained by Him. We, Catholics, are, however, not disturbed by this, for we know that we do not worship bread, but Him whom three wise men worshipped in the manger, namely, Jesus Christ, true God and Man. 

We know also that though what we do this day in honor of the blessed Sacrament is not especially and expressly ordained in Holy Writ, still we are assured that a voluntary worship of it is in accordance with reason and the laws of God, pleasing and agreeable to His Majesty. And this is made clear to us from the above-mentioned example of the three Wise Men, and from the acts with which King David honored the Most High, on the solemn return of the Ark of the Covenant; not to mention that Christ gave us a general command to worship God, in the words: “The Lord thy God shalt thou adore and him only shalt thou serve.” (Matth. iv.) This command we fulfil today by our actions, as they all aim at one end, namely, the honor of the Lord, who is concealed in the Blessed Sacrament. The more we are blamed and derided by the heretics for our adoration of the Holy Eucharist, the more fervent should we become in our zeal. 

When King David was derided by Michol, on account of his devotion at the return of the Ark of the Covenant, he said: “Before the Lord who chose me . . . . I will both play and make myself meaner than I have done, and I will be little in my own eyes.” (II. Kings vi.)

 We will still add in a few words, what the true Church further demands of us. We today give humble thanks to the Lord for the institution of the Blessed Eucharist. This is no more than our duty: for if we are obliged to thank God for the smallest benefit He confers upon us, we are surely under much greater obligation when the benefit is great and of especial importance. 

Who can tell, who can comprehend the greatness of the benefit, which Christ our Saviour and Lord bestowed upon us by the institution of the Blessed Eucharist. It is as great as it is unfathomable: great as He who devised it; as Christ our Lord, true God and man, the King of all Kings, the Lord of all who reign. Great and inconceivable is the miracle by which the substance of bread and wine is changed into the substance of the body and blood of Christ, and the miraculous presence of the Lord in the form of bread and wine. St. Thomas of Aquinas calls the Blessed Sacrament a miracle, and the greatest that Christ ever wrought.
Inexpressibly great must have been the love which induced the Saviour not only to institute it at the time He chose for it, namely, the evening before His Passion. Since the world was created, there has never been found a parent willing to nourish his children with his own body, much as he may have loved them. Such excess of love Christ alone manifested. 

“Having loved His own, He loved them unto the end,” writes St. John (John, xiii.). Already had He loved them and had given them many indubitable proofs of His love; but at the end of His life, He gave them one which surpassed all others, namely, having nourished them with His own body and blood, He instituted a sacrament, by means of which all the faithful might partake of this divine food. And when did He institute this?

 St. Paul writes: “In the night when He was delivered into the hands of the embittered Jews.” The last night of His life was approaching, and the time when his enemies would seize Him, scourge Him most cruelly, crown Him with thorns, and nail Him like the greatest malefactor to the Cross. All this was known to the Lord. He knew also the wrong which would be done to Him in the Blessed Eucharist to the end of time: and yet this was not sufficient to prevent Him from instituting it.

Truly, a love which surpasses all the bounds, not only of human, but angelic understanding. Love seeks to be always with the loved ones and to enjoy their presence. Jesus Christ, who out of love to us had descended from heaven upon earth, had remained with us for 33 years: and it was the will of His heavenly Father that, after having accomplished our Redemption, He should return to heaven. This also took place; but His infinite love for us found a means by which He will remain with us in the world until the end of time. This means is the Blessed Sacrament, which He instituted before the commencement of His bitter passion. In it He is God and Man, as He is in heaven, truly and substantially present in every Church where the Blessed Sacrament is kept. 

By this same blessed Sacrament, He unites Himself most closely with us, when we partake of it, because He gives Himself to us as food, and nourishment. And this union with us is, according to the opinion of the Holy Fathers, a still greater proof of His love for us, than His presence in the Sacrament. It is the property of love to unite closely those who love one another: can there be a more intimate union than ours is with Christ, by virtue of the Holy Sacrament?

When Christ became man, He united His divine nature, in an incomprehensible manner, with humanity. When we partake of the Blessed Eucharist, He unites His divine and human natures with our nature, although not in the same manner as when He became Man. “He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood,” says He, “abideth in me, and I in him.” (John, vi.) How wonderful a union! How incomprehensibly great a love!

Besides the love which induced our Lord to institute the Most Holy Sacrament, the end for which He instituted it, and with which we have already become partly acquainted, is also great and most excellent. Our adorable Saviour would leave us in it an eternal memorial of His love and of His bitter passion and death, as His own words make clear to us: “Do this for a commemoration of me.” (Luke, xxn.) He desired to remain constantly with us, in order that we might, in all our cares, go to Him with greater confidence, and opening our hearts to Him, request and receive from Him, comfort, strength and help. It was His wish that His holy flesh and blood should nourish and strengthen our souls. 

This was the intention, the end and aim of our Lord in instituting the Most Holy Eucharist. As the religion He founded is holy and most perfect, and as no true religion can exist without sacrifice, He would leave us for evermore the most divine sacrifice, namely, His own flesh and blood that we might sacrifice it in holy Mass in honor of the Majesty of God, as a thanks-offering for all graces and benefits bestowed upon us; for the pardon of our sins, for the obtaining of new grace, and for the comfort of all, living and dead. 

How high, how admirable an end and aim! Had Christ been willing to remain among us, in the Blessed Eucharist, only in one place on earth, in order that we might there lay our burdens more trustingly at His feet, He would then have conferred on us a favor, which we could never sufficiently esteem, and for which we could never be sufficiently thankful. How much greater, therefore, is the grace that He dwells among us in so many different places of the world, to nourish our souls and to serve as sacrifice, and this not once only, but as often as we desire. How inexpressibly great a favor! How wonderful an invention of truly Divine love!

 Just as great and excellent are the results of the Blessed Sacrament. Our Lord expressed it all in a few words when He said: “If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever.” (John, vi.) Which means: Whoever worthily partakes of this holy Sacrament, shall receive the special grace of God to preserve the life of his soul, or to remain in the sanctifying grace of God, and hence obtain life everlasting. By virtue of this Sacrament, man receives strength to abstain from sin, to resist temptation and to serve the Most High with constant fidelity. Therefore it is called by the Council of Trent, a medicine, by the strength of which we are freed from our daily iniquities, and protected and guarded against great crimes. 

“This divine mystery,” says Albert the Great, “strengthens man in grace and succors him when he is in danger of committing sin.” The pious Thomas a Kempis writes: “This most holy and venerable Sacrament conduces to the well-being of body and soul. It is the remedy for spiritual weakness. It heals the wounds of vice, it keeps within bounds all evil inclination, it conquers temptations, gives more abundance of grace, multiplies virtue, strengthens faith, augments hope, and inflames love.”

Other teachers say, that Christ instituted the Blessed Sacrament under the form of a bodily food, that we might more easily perceive its effects. For, as bodily food preserves the life of the body, renews strength, refreshes man: thus is the spiritual life of the soul preserved by the holy Eucharist, the soul is strengthened, and all the inner faculties of man inflamed with new zeal in the service of the Almighty. The true Church has not hesitated, for causes already mentioned, to call it a pledge of future glory, so that those who worthily partake of Holy Communion, receive, so to speak, an assurance of eternal salvation. 

I say, who partake worthily of the Holy Communion; for, one who receives it when not in the state of grace, will not only fail to share in the benefits it imparts, but becomes guilty of eternal punishment, according to the words of St. Paul: “For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself” (i Cor. xi.) that is, as St. Chrysostom and other holy fathers teach, damnation.

Whoever reflects on what we have said, cannot but come to the conclusion, that the Lord, by instituting the Blessed Eucharist, has bestowed upon us an inexpressibly great gift. Hence, it is only our duty to give Him our most humble thanks, to which effect the Church has ordained today's festival, demanding of us to give thanks to the Lord for the institution of this Blessed Gift.

So much for the reason which gave rise to the ordinance of the festival of Corpus Christi. 

Credits : Regina Magazine With Editions By Me 

Today Friday May 24, 2019 Is The Feast Of Our Lady Help Of Christians

Today is the Feast of Our Lady Help of Christians.

Pope Pius VII, after he returned to Rome in 1815 from several years of captivity imposed by the emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, instituted this feast day in honor of the assistance which the Blessed Virgin had accorded the Church. The occasion of the Pope's exile and captivity was the emperor's resistance to the authority of the Vicar of Christ, superior before God to his own.

From the Liturgical Year by Dom Gueranger, 1880:

Ever since our entrance upon the joys of the Paschal season, scarcely a day has passed without the Calendar's offering us some grand Mystery or saint to honor; and all these have been radiant with the Easter sun. 

But of our Blessed Lady, there has not been a single Feast to gladden our hearts by telling us of some mystery or glory of this august Queen. The Feast of her Seven Dolors is sometimes kept in April,–that is, when Easter Sunday falls on or after the 10th of that month; but May and June pass without any special solemnity in honor of the Mother of God. It would seem as though Holy Church wished to honor, by a respectful silence, the forty days during which Mary enjoyed the company of her Jesus, after His Resurrection. 

We, therefore, should never separate the Mother and the Son, if we would have our Easter meditations be in strict accordance with truth,–and that, we surely must wish. During those forty days, Jesus frequently visited His disciples, weak men and sinners as they were: could He, then, keep away from His Mother, when He was so soon to ascend into heaven, and leave her for several long years here on earth? Our hearts forbid us to entertain the thought. We feel sure that He frequently visited her, and that, when not visibly present with her, she had Him in her soul, in a way more intimate and real and delicious than any other creature could have.

No Feast could have given expression to such a mystery; and yet the Holy Ghost, who guides the spirit of the Church, has gradually led the faithful to devote the entire month of May to the special honor of Mary, the whole of which comes, almost every year, under the glad season of Easter. 

No doubt the loveliness of the May month would, some time or other, suggest the idea of consecrating it to the Holy Mother of God; but if we reflect on the divine and mysterious influence which guides the Church in all she does, we shall recognize, in this present instance, a heavenly inspiration, which prompted the faithful to unite their own joy with that of Mary's, and spend this beautiful month, which is radiant with their own Easter joy, in commemorating the maternal delight experienced, during that same period, by the Immaculate Mother when on earth.

Today, however, we have a Feast in honor of Mary. True, it is not one of those Feasts which are entered on the general Calendar of the Church; yet it is so widely spread, and this with the consent of the holy See, that our Liturgical Year would have been incomplete without it. 

Its object is to honor the Mother of God as the Help of Christians,–a title she has justly merited by the innumerable favors she has conferred upon Christendom. Dating from that day, whose anniversary we have so lately celebrated, on which the Holy Ghost descended upon Mary in the Cenacle, in order that she might begin to exercise over the Church Militant her power as Queen,–who could tell the number of times that she has aided, by her protection, the kingdom of her Son on earth?

Heresies have risen up, one after the other; they were violent; they were frequently supported by the great ones of this world; each of them was resolved on the destruction of the true Faith; and yet, one after the other, they have dwindled away, or fallen into impotency, or are gradually sinking by internal discord; and holy Church tells us that it is “Mary alone who destroys all heresies throughout the whole world.” 

If public scandals or persecutions, or the tyranny of secular interference, have, at times, threatened to stay the progress of the Church, Mary has stretched forth her arm, the obstacles were removed, and Jesus' Spouse continued her onward march, leaving her foes and her fetters behind her. All this was vividly brought before the mind of the saintly Pontiff, Pius the Fifth, by the victory of Lepanto, gained, by Mary's intercession, over the Turkish fleet, and he resolved to add one more title to the glorious ones given to Our Lady in the Litany: the title he added was, “Auxilium Christianorum,” Help of Christians.

Our present century, the 19th, has had the happiness of seeing another Pontiff, also named Pius, institute a Feast under this same title–a Feast which is intended to commemorate the help bestowed on Christendom, in all ages, by the Mother of God. Nothing could be happier than the choice of the day on which this Feast was to be kept. On the 24th of May, in the year 1814, there was witnessed in Rome the most magnificent triumph that has yet been recorded in the annals of the Church. That was a grand day, being the anniversary of the date whereon Constantine marked out the foundations for the Vatican Basilica, in honor of the Prince of the Apostles; Sylvester stood by and blessed the Emperor, who had just been converted to the true Faith: but important as was this event, it was but a sign of the last and decisive victory won by the Church in the then recent persecution of Dioclesian. 

That was a memorable day whereon Leo the Third, Vicar of the King of kings, crowned Charlemagne with the imperial diadem, and, by his apostolic power, gave continuance to the long interrupted line of emperors: but Leo the Third, by this, did but give an official and solemn expression to the power which the Church had already frequently exercised in the newly constituted nations, which received from her the idea of Christian government, the consecration of their rights, and the grace that was to enable them to fulfil their duties. That was a joyous day, whereon Gregory the Ninth took back to the City of Peter the Papal throne, which had been pent up at Avignon for seventy sad years; but Gregory the Ninth, in this, did but fulfil a duty, and his predecessors, had they willed it, might have effected this return to Rome, which the necessities of Christendom so imperatively called for.

 Yes, these were all glorious days; but the 24th of May, of 1814, surpasses them all. Pius the Seventh re-entered Rome amidst the acclamations of the Holy City, whose entire population went forth to meet him holding palm branches in their hands, and greeting him with their hosannas of enthusiastic joy. He had been a captive for five years, during which the spiritual government of the Christian world had suffered a total suspension. It was not the Allied Powers, who had made common cause against his oppressor, that broke the Pontiffs fetters; the very tyrant who kept him from Rome, had given him permission to return at the close of the preceding year; but the Pontiff chose his own time, and did not leave Fontainebleau till the 25th of January. Rome, whither he was about to return, had been made a part of the French Empire five years previously, and by a Decree in which was cited the name of Charlemagne. 

The city of Peter had been reduced to a head-town of a department, with a Prefect for its administrator; and, with a view to making men forget that it was the City of the Vicars of Christ, its name was given as a title to the heir-presumptive of the Imperial crown of France. What a day that 24th of May, which witnessed the triumphant return of the Pontiff into the Holy City, whence he had been dragged, during the night, by the soldiers of an ambitious tyrant! He made the journey in short stages, meeting on his way the allied armies of Europe, which recognized his right as King. This right is superior, both in antiquity and dignity, to that of all other monarchs; and all, no matter whether they be heretics, schismatics, or Catholics, must admit it, were it only on the strength of its being an historical fact.

 But what we have so far said is not sufficient to give an adequate idea of the greatness of the prodigy thus achieved by Our Lady, the Help of Christians. In order to have a just appreciation of it, we must remember that the miracle was not wrought in the age of Sylvester and Constantine, or of St. Leo the Third and Charlemagne, or of the great prophetess Catharine of Siena, who made known the commands of God to the people of Italy and to the Popes of Avignon. 

The age that witnessed this wondrous event was the 19th, and that, too, when it was under the degrading influence of Voltairianism, and there were still living the authors and abettors of the crimes and impieties that resulted from the principles taught in the 18th century. Everything was adverse to such a glorious and unexpected triumph; Catholic feeling was far from being roused as it now is; the action of God's providence had to show itself in a direct and visible manner; and to let the Christian world know that such was the case, Rome instituted the annual Feast of the 24th of May as an offering of acknowledgment to Mary, the Help of Christians.

Let us, then, give thanks to the Blessed Mother of God on this feast of the twenty-fourth day of May, which has been instituted in commemoration of the twofold blessing she thus brought upon the world–the preservation of the Church, and the preservation of society. 

Let us unite in the fervent acclamations of the then loyal citizens of Rome, and like them, sing with all the glad joy of our Easter Alleluia, our greetings of Hosanna to the Vicar of Christ–the Father of that dear Land, our common Country. The remembrance of St Peter's deliverance from prison, and his restoration to liberty, must have been vividly in the minds of that immense concourse of people, whose love for their Pontiff was redoubled by the sufferings he had endured. As the triumphal chariot, in which he had been placed, came near the Flaminian Gate, the horses were unyoked, and the Pontiff was conveyed by the people to the Vatican Basilica, where a solemn thanksgiving was made over the tomb of the Prince of the Apostles.

Credits : Regina Magazine With Editing By Me

MARY'S MONTH AND MUCH MUCH MORE

The Month of May is a special time for us Catholics to pay homage to our Blessed Mother Mary.

Note that I say we pay homage to her. Contrary to a distressing misconception found among Evangelicals and Protestants, we honor Mary. We do not worship her.

She has a unique role in salvation history as the Mother of God, conceived without Sin, who by her own free will agreed to bring the “Word made flesh", (John 1:14) our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ into the world.

Mary is prefigured as the one who would crush the head of the serpent (a figure of Satan) in Genesis 3:15 through her Divine Son. Still she in no way overshadows Him, nor would she ever wish to!

Her life in the Gospel years was one of service and great devotion to Jesus, from the cave in Bethlehem where she gave birth to Him, to Calvary in Jerusalem where she stood by His cross in His Crucifixion, from Crib to Cross, as it were.

While she has a somewhat low profile in the Gospels, her words there still resonate with us today and challenge us to follow her example of humility, obedience, and service to God.

We read when she gives her famous assent to becoming Jesus’ mother: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word” (Lk 1:38). A short time later she proclaims with joy in the Magnificat when visiting Elizabeth, her relative, that “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (Lk.1:46-47).

And, last but not least, what are her final words in scripture? “Do whatever he [Jesus] tells you” (John 2:5). (This is her request to the waiters at the Wedding Feast In Cana right before Jesus turns water into wine with just a thought).

Yet in creating her to be the only human being without the stain of Original Sin (outside of Jesus, of course, who had both a Human and a Divine nature), God nonetheless chose Mary specifically to play a vital role in our salvation.

Mary’s Immaculate Conception enabled her to bear her Divine Son in a womb free from any taint of sin and enabled her to devote her life to Jesus in the most loving and devoted manner possible.

(Can you imagine what might have happened if she had been prone to the kinds of weaknesses of human nature we all suffer from?

If she were somehow jealous of her Divine Son, for example, or was otherwise unwilling to bear with the great as welsorrows as the joys as the Mother of our Lord!)

Speaking of sorrows, Jesus, as He was dying on the Cross, gave us His mother to be our Mother as well when he entrusted her to St. John's care (

Numerous theologians and Saints have confirmed this.

Mary was conceived and lived a life "full of Grace" (Lk. 1:28). And she wishes very much to share the graces given her by God on our behalf.

St. Bernardine of Siena once said : "Every grace that is communicated to this world has a threefold course. For by excellent order, it is dispensed from God to Christ, from Christ to the Virgin [Mary], from the Virgin to us."

Pope Pius XII was by no means alone when he once said “Whenever we speak of Mary or speak to her, let us not forget that she is really our Mother, for through her we received divine life. She gave us Jesus himself, the source of grace. Mary is a Mediatrix and Dispenser of Graces.”

Many non-Catholic Christians may take issue with this notion, referring to the famous quote from St. Paul in his letter to Timothy that "there is one mediator between God and men, himself man, Christ Jesus" (1 Tim 2:5). Yet it is important to note  that "one" here means "first" not "only".

Have you ever asked someone to pray for you? That's the kind of mediation we're talking about here. And Mary, as the beloved Mother of God, makes a powerful intercessor for us indeed!

Note also that Mary's many church-approved apparitions on behalf of her Son (such as Our Lady Of Guadalupe and Our Lady Of Lourdes  serve to further reinforce our faith that Jesus is indeed the Son of God and the Second Person of the Trinity functioning on a dazzling supernatural plane.

His Earthly ministry wasn't just that of some philosopher or some wise teacher!

Our Blessed Mother has shown us some amazing miracles on His behalf that can strengthen our faith.

(Think of the "Miracle of the Sun" from Our Lady Of Fatima, for example!)

In these and other such apparitions she has urged all of us “Banished Children Of Eve to adopt greater piety and devotion to God and neighbor. (But do we listen? That’s the question!)

She has also given us a great weapon in our Spiritual arsenal in the Rosary. .

St. Francis de Sales called it "the greatest method of praying".

Blessed Alan de la Roche said this prayer is "the storehouse of countless blessing."

And St. Padre Pio once remarked that "the Rosary is the weapon given us by Mary to use against the tricks of the infernal enemy." It not only brings us graces, but also is a great way to meditate on the lives of Our Lord and His Blessed Mother!

Mary herself once told Blessed Alan that "when you say your Rosary, the angels rejoice, the Blessed Trinity delights in it, my Son finds joy in it too, and I myself am happier than you can possibly guess.

After the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, there is nothing in the Church that I love as much as the Rosary."

Remember that Mary always seeks to be a bridge not a barrier to Her Divine Son our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Don't ever feel afraid to approach her in prayer for grace, strength and her intercession to Jesus for your personal intentions!

By Christopher Castagnoli

for www.ourcatholicprayers.com

 Additional Stuff On Mary worth reading in the Month Of May.

IF YOU WANT PEACE IN YOUR LIFE, PRAY THE ROSARY

https://spiritualdirection.com/2018/05/21/if-you-want-peace-in-your-life-pray-the-rosary

Our Lady of Mang Den ---- Vietnam

The statue of Our Lady of Fatima in Mang Den (also known as the statue Mother of Mang Den or Mother of amputated hand) is a monument, a Catholic pilgrimage site of the Diocese of Kon Tum, located in Mang Den village, Dak Long commune, Kon Plong district, Kon Tum province, next to Highway 24, 53 km North of Kontum city. Distance from Our Lady of Mang Den to Kontum Cathedral 

1. Origin

According to documents from the bishopric of Kon Tum, and reported by priest Joseph Nguyen Minh Kong (also known as “Cong”), this is a statue carved after image of Our Lady of Fatima, which was presented by priest Thomas Le Thanh Anh. This statue was brought to the outpost of Mang Den by helicopter. The statue was erected on a simple pillar in mid-1971. In 1974, due to the firepower of the Vietnam War, the outpost of Mang Den was removed, the statue was also damaged more or less in the deep forest.

2. Statue of  Our Lady of Mang Den is forgotten

After the war (after 1975), the statue was forgotten for a long time because there was no traffic and no residents living nearby. In the early 1980s, due to the influence of the new economic policies of the government of Vietnam, some people living in the Mang Den Forest Enterprise discovered the statue, but did not have any special interest.

As noted by Rev. Gioakim Nguyen Hoang Son, recording of the conversation with Ms. Dao Thi Huong, who is supposed to have preserved the statue, until early 1987, the statue is still intact. 

However, at the end of 1987, the statue lost its head, lost its hands, but no one knew any cause.

In 2002, the new Kon Plong district was formed by dividing the old Kon Plong district into new Kon Plong district and Kon Ray district. The new Kon Plong district is located in Mang Den. National Highway 24 is also planned to extend to serve as the main transportation route across the district and link up to Mo Duc district, Quang Ngai province. In 2004, when road construction started, road builders who saw the design accidentally crossed the statue’s location adjusted the route to avoid invasion of the statue. Among the road builders there was a Catholic named Hoang who restored the head and hands.

3. Mang Den is a Catholic pilgrimage place

It was not until the end of August 2006 that a Catholic named Lam, who was passing by, accidentally heard the story, sought to confirm the statue and announce the existence of the statue to the Kon Tum Bishopric. On December 28, 2006, a religious delegation led by Bishop Kon Tum Micael Hoang Duc Oanh visited the statue. A year later, on December 9, 2007, Bishop Hoang Duc Oanh, priests, religious and more than 2,000 civilians celebrated the solemn Mass of Our Lady. After that, it became a pilgrimage place of the faithful in the Central Highlands and December 9th became the annual Pilgrimage date of Our Lady of Mang Den in Kon Tum diocese.

 

4. Some more information

The statue is made of reinforced concrete, about 1 meter high. The statue is placed on a pedestal made of cement with natural pebbles. The statue has the shape of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima, but the restoration has many forms of women in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. Hands are restored many times, but later kept the shape of the amputated hand. Many laypeople think that with the amputated hand figure, people think of the image of Mother, which blesses the unfortunate people with diseases such as leprosy, HIV / AIDS …

Since 2007, many parishioners have prayed here, forming a religious pilgrimage site in Mang Den. Hundreds of stone benches and pedestals stacked hundreds of tiny stone tablets engraved with the thanksgiving of the faithful for their blessings. There are pilgrims from many parts of the country come to admire, worship, They are Christian, but  there are many non-Catholics come to pray for their fortune, children, etc.

A center for pilgrimage and religious tourism is also planned to be built in the area of ​​the statue, with an area of ​​over 20 hectares.

On September 10, 2011, the Apostolic Nuncio, the non-resident representative of the Holy See in Vietnam, Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli visited and presided over the feast of Our Lady.

At the end of November, the Kon Tum Provincial Department of Home Affairs also sent a letter to the Kon Tum Bishop’s Office about officially accepting the organization of religious pilgrimage in Mang Den. The Kon Tum Bishopric also announced the establishment of Kon Xum Luh Parish, in charge of the management of the Mang Den. On December 12, 2011, a solemn ceremony was held here, presided over by the diocesan Bishop in celebration of the event.

Credits : Catholic Pilgrimage Network 

Our Lady Help Of Christians -- A Help in Tribulation

The Feast of Mary Help of Christians is celebrated on May 24.

The tradition of this advocation goes back to 1571, when  the whole of Christendom was saved by Mary Help of Christians when Catholics throughout Europe prayed the Rosary. The great battle of Lepanto occurred on October 7th 1571. For this reason this date has been chosen as the feast of the Holy Rosary.

Near the end of the 17th century, Emperor Leopold I of Austria took refuge in the Shrine of Mary
Help of Christians at Pasau, when 200,000 Ottoman Turks besieged the capital city of Vienna, but a  great victory occurred thanks to Mary Help of Christians: on September 8th, Feast of Our Lady's Birthday, plans were drawn for the battle. On September 12, Feast of the Holy Name of Mary, Vienna was finally freed through the intercession of Mary Help of Christians. All Europe had joined with the Emperor crying out "Mary, Help!" and praying the Holy rosary.

In 1809, Napoleon's men entered the Vatican, arrested Pius VII and brought him in chains to Grenoble, and eventually Fontainbleau. His imprisonment lasted five years. The Holy Father vowed to God that , if he were restored to the Roman See, he would institute a special feast in honor of Mary. Military reverses forced Napoleon to release the Pope, and on May 24th  1814, Pius VII returned in triumph to Rome. Twelve months later, the Pope decreed that the feast of Mary Help of Christians, be kept on the 24th of May.

St. John Bosco (1815 - 1888) was a dynamic priest who founded the Salesian Order in the XIX century in Italy. His many prophetic dreams, beginning at age nine, guided his ministry and gave insights on future events.

On May 14, 1862, Don Bosco dreamed about the battles the Church would face in the latter days. In his dream, the  Pope of those days anchors the 'ship' of the Church between two pillars, one with a statue of Mary (Auxilium Christianorum or 'Help of Christians') and the other with a large Eucharistic Host

St. John Bosco wrote about his congregation, the Salesians:  "The principal objective is to promote veneration of the Blessed Sacrament and devotion to Mary Help of Christians. This title seems to please the august Queen of Heaven very much."

The Salesian Sisters of St John Bosco or Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, are the sister order of the Salesians of Don Bosco.

St. John Bosco, himself, on June 9 1868, dedicated to Our Lady Help of Christians, the mother church of his congregation at Turin (Italy).

The Salesian Fathers and their Sisters have carried the devotion to their numerous establishments.

Credits : Catholic News Agency.

Note : This Article is a must read as the Feast Of Our Lady, Help of Christians is just less than a week away. 

A Glorious Meditation On Blessed Is The Fruit Of Thy Womb Jesus

The Sublime Mystery Of Mary's Greatness is that she is The Womb For God who came down to Earth to be one like us in the Flesh.

Who among us can fathom the emotions and feelings that went through the Mother Of The Messiah during the nine months that she waited for his birth.

For Every Mother, the time before childbirth is always filled with trepidation, several thoughts go through the mind of the woman sometimes even doubts and fears surface and its easy to get carried away letting the mind dream about the little one which is on the verge of being born.

It must surely have been the case with the Blessed Mother. She would have lived the wait intensely and profoundly in perfect harmony with the Lord watching and praying and listening for his voice carefully wrapped in silence.

Blessed Is Jesus Christ the Marvellous Fruit of Mary's Womb. God sent him to Earth to fulfill his saving mission.

Jesus Christ, born of the Blessed Mother grew in Wisdom and Grace in the Family of Nazareth under the precious guidance of his Mother's Spouse -- Holy Saint Joseph.

When he reached adulthood he left his beloved family tom dedicate himself to God's Plan for Salvation For The Human Race.

It is interesting at this point to reflect on some important aspects of His Life.

Jesus Christ was born in a stable and not in a sumptuous palace fit for a King.

His First Visitors were certainly not Esteemed Noble Men but the simple and humble shepherds of Bethlehem.

Now as an adult to fulfill his mission he sought out friends.

Who were the first two ??
'
James and John -- Poor Fishermen on the Lake Of Galilee.

During the tine of the Passover, He knew the time had come for him to go back to the Eternal Father.

Therefore, He Decided to treat his friends to a very special Dinner.

Before Consecrating the Bread and Wine He gave his Friends aka His Disciples a Lesson in Humility which was humbling in more ways than one.

He wrapped a towel around his waist and proceeded to wash their feet.

After this Solemn Time spent with his disciples the most tragic moments of his Passion began.

He was whipped and crowned with thorns insulted and mocked by the Pagan Roman Soldiers.

He reacted to none of them. He suffered everything without saying a word to these enemies.

Christ was a Man who felt totally abandoned by Everyone even by his Eternal Father but just before his last breath he entrusted himself intensely and totally to the Eternal Father. Then As He Promised He rose from the Dead 3 Days Later.

The Lord Jesus Christ born Of The Blessed Mother Be Praised who is the beginning and end of our existence.

The Path of a Catholic Christian is strewn with Obstacles, Thorns, and Many Varied Crosses which are a must but we need have no fear. Jesus Christ entrusted himself to God in more ways than one and through his Resurrection overcame death.

Therefore, For us There is a Light that pierces the darkness in more ways than one.

Prayer :

O Mother Mary, Intercede with God For Us that we may follow the example of Your Son that we may live in humility and walk courageously along the path of life in the hope that one day we may reach Paradise Amen.

Credits : Don Bosco's Madonna, Mumbai India

              May 2019, Volume 20, Number 1 '

             Prayer To Mary, Meditations On The Hail Mary, By Roberta Fora

             Pages 28-30.