7 Lessons From Jesus In The Blessed Sacrament -- For Straight Catholic Men

Of all the gifts that God has given his Church, the greatest is without question the Blessed Sacrament, for it is nothing less than the body, blood, soul and Divinity of Jesus himself. In the Eucharistic host, our Divine Savior dwells among men in his fullness. He is truly God with us—what could be greater than this?

If the Blessed Sacrament is Jesus himself, and holiness is found in imitating Christ, then the Blessed Sacrament is a school of holiness. Today, I want to spend a few moments reflecting on the characteristics of Jesus in the Eucharist and what his presence can teach us about both holiness and masculinity.

1. Humility

In the Blessed Sacrament, we see the profound humility of Jesus Christ. Here, the Eternal Wisdom of God who made all things, the brightness of the Eternal Father, condescends to come among us in the form of the most ordinary food. After all, bread is simple fare, the food of the poor. Unlike a fine cut of meat, bread is almost always eaten as a side that is hardly noticed.

If we are to imitate Christ, we must first and foremost practice humility. The servant is not greater than his Master. We must be content to be unnoticed, unpraised, and unappreciated. We must give all glory to God, choosing to be humble and unassuming—like a piece of bread.

2. Silence

Men have always cherished quiet strength, strength that is demonstrated more by deeds than empty words. In the Eucharistic host, Jesus greets us with complete silence. He is ready to listen to all that we have to say, and he only speaks in return when we have quieted our hearts and are completely silent as he is. And finally, he is ready to act on our behalf if we only have confidence in his promises.

The saints constantly praise the virtue of silence, and we are warned that we will be judged for every idle word. Do we waste words? More than this, do we hear what others are saying? As men, we often struggle to listen, and yet listening is an act of love. Listen to your wife or those others around you who may be desperate for someone to pay attention.

3. Love

Almost every Eucharistic miracle on record has the host turning into the flesh of a human heart. This is not random. In the Blessed Sacrament, Christ’s beating heart burns with love for us, and he longs for our love in return. On the cross, Christ literally died of a broken heart for love of sinful humanity, pouring out his precious blood to win our affection. Yes, more than anything, it is love that Jesus desires most from those whom he has redeemed, and if he could have done anything more to secure it, he would have done so.

Do you love Christ? If so, you will obey him and carry your cross after him. You will imitate him by laying down your life for others in sacrificial love.

4. Vulnerability

In the host, Christ is completely and totally vulnerable. Far too often, he is mistreated and abused, ignored and maligned, treated casually and without dignity. Yet, this is the price he willing to pay to live among his people. No matter how many times he is profaned and trampled upon, literally or figuratively, he continues to come to us again and again, saying “I will never leave you or forsake you.”

Do we love in this way? Do we open our hearts to others, even though it may mean the pain of rejection? Do we forgive 70 times 7? We cannot love if we close our hearts in fear. We must be courageously vulnerable—like Christ.

5. Patience

Christ waits patiently for you and I in tabernacles and monstrances around the world. He would wait an eternity for a single visit. He waits for us to repent when we stray; he waits for our words of allegiance and affection; he waits to hear of our joys and sorrows; he waits to answer our deepest desires.

Like Christ, we too must be patient with others, especially with those who least deserve it or who try our patience the most. We must also wait with forgiving hearts for those who have harmed or abandoned us to return.

6. Poverty

During his life on earth, Christ was completely poor. He came to earth with nothing and left with nothing. In the Eucharistic host, he who created the galaxies again comes to us poor and naked. And yet, this poverty is only material, for Jesus comes to us rich in grace and in love. He ardently desires to give us all that we need if only we ask with confidence. He wants to bless us with an abundance of graces, which are the true riches of the soul.

Materialism and greed creep into our hearts so easily. Yet, we are called to follow Christ in poverty and detachment, giving generously to others of all that we have received. Give, and it will be given to you—more than you can ask or hope.

7. Presence

The gift of God’s presence is the greatest gift. To the ancient Israelites, there was no greater calamity than the withdrawing of the presence of the Lord. Likewise, there was no greater comfort than the assurance of his presence.

It is the same today. If we have Jesus, we possess all things; without him, we have nothing. Yet, we do not have to travel far to find the presence of Christ—he is as close as the nearest parish, the fulfillment of the ancient “bread of the presence” in the Jewish temple. Nor is his presence an abstraction or an idea, it is real and tangible to our senses. We Catholics can joyfully and truthfully say, “The Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge.”

If we are to imitate Christ, we must be present to those who need us. How many absentee fathers and husbands there are! How many wives and children have been abandoned by the man who is called to lay down his life for them. Are you present to your family? Are your wife and children your priority? If you are a husband and father, your presence is an irreplaceable gift. Be present.

Conclusion

If we imitated Christ in the Blessed Sacrament perfectly, we would be saints. But doing so is not easy. It requires constant repentance and conversion of life; a putting off of the old man and putting on of the new. This is our calling.

I encourage all of you to find an adoration chapel and to contemplate the Blessed Sacrament. Visit Jesus and adore him, asking for the grace to follow and imitate him completely. Pour out your heart to him, tell him your hopes and fears, your wants and needs—and hear him say in return those words of sacrament and salvation, “Lo, I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.”

Credits : The Catholic Gentleman 

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

While most Catholics are familiar with the annual feast reverently called the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi), we sometimes need reminding as to the purpose of the celebration.

Origins:

The Feast of Corpus Christi was inspired by God through the heart of a 16-year-old Augustinian nun, St. Juliana (1192-1258), in the diocese of Liege, Belgium. Beginning in 1208, Juliana experienced frequent visions that included a full moon with a stripe across it. Jesus appeared to Juliana and told her that the moon symbolized the Church and the stripe represented the lack of a special feast day to honor the Eucharist. According to Father Michael Muller’s book, “The Blessed Eucharist,” our Lord had four reasons for asking Juliana to pursue adding such a feast day onto the Church calendar: 1. “In order that the Catholic doctrine might receive aid from the institution of this festival at a time when the faith of the world was growing cold and heresies were rife.” 2. “That the faithful who love and seek truth and piety may be enabled to draw from this source of life new strength and vigor to walk continually in the way of virtue.” 3. “That irreverence and sacrilegious behavior towards the Divine Majesty in this adorable Sacrament may, by sincere and profound adoration be extirpated and repaired.” 4) “He bade her announce to the Christian world His will that this feast be observed.”

When, after 20 years, Juliana told others about her visions, many scoffed at and rejected her. A notable exception was the local bishop, Bishop Robert de Thorete (d. 1246), who recognized that the world would benefit from such a celebration and, in 1246, authorized the feast of Corpus Christi within his diocese. Before the first feast day could occur, Bishop de Thorete died, and the potential widespread enthusiasm quickly waned. But nevertheless such a feast would become part of the universal liturgical calendar.

Pope Urban IV:

At the time Juliana made her vision public, there was an archdeacon in the Liege diocese named Jacques Panatleon. Jacques, who favored the feast day, would become Pope Urban IV (r. 1261-64) and as pope in 1264 promoted the celebration. Some at the time argued against a special feast day, while others thought such a celebration should be combined with Holy (Maundy) Thursday. Pope Urban would address both these concerns and lay out the merits for a separate feast day (see sidebar).

In his papal bull Transiturus, the pope decreed that the feast of Corpus Christi would be celebrated annually on the first Thursday after Trinity Sunday. He wrote: “Therefore, upon this holy day, let the faithful with heart and voice sing hymns of joy; upon this memorable day let faith triumph, hope increase, charity burn: let the pious rejoice ... and pure souls leap with joy.” Many parts of the world indeed celebrate Corpus Christi as a holy day of obligation on Thursday after Trinity Sunday. In the United States, the bishops moved the annual feast to the next Sunday.

Processions Begin:

The 12th and 13th centuries were times of increased adoration of the Eucharist. The laity wanted to extend their adoration of the Blessed Sacrament outside the Mass. This was a period centuries before the Church introduced Eucharistic Adoration, the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament that we have today. A procession of the Eucharist, outside the Church, outside the Mass, was a way for Catholics to publicly adore the Eucharist and demonstrate their love to the world. The feast of Corpus Christi was considered an ideal day for such a procession.

Corpus Christi Today:

Although not mandated, some parishes today continue to demonstrate their adoration for the Eucharist by carrying the Blessed Sacrament down city streets and into neighborhoods. Cardinal Francis Arinze, writing about Eucharistic processions, noted:

“They [Christians] should not allow angry demonstrators, supporters of political factions, and sports fans to have the monopoly of processions. They should not hesitate to get up and be counted for Christ.” The Corpus Christi procession is a unique opportunity to demonstrate our core belief and expose our most cherished possession to people who have no idea about Christ in the Eucharist.

We live in a world of sense and reality; the Eucharist is both reality and a divine mystery. We might not be able to explain the mystery, but we know in our heart and in our soul that here is Jesus. He is reality. He is with us. Through the Eucharist he assures us of eternity, a heavenly place beyond our world of sense. On Corpus Christi we are called to renew our belief in this mystery, to praise, adore and even publicly acclaim our Eucharistic Jesus in a special way.

Credits : Our Sunday Visitor 

Low Sunday Is Now Divine Mercy Sunday

All These Years, Decades, and Centuries -- The Second Sunday After Easter was known as Low Sunday.

But, Not Anymore it is now known as Divine Mercy Sunday.

Here is the Low Down as to how that happened.

Now, we have Divine Mercy Sunday and that brings along with it another whole set of expectations and devotionals.

What happened? Where’s our break? Why a Divine Mercy Sunday?

The answer isn’t too complicated. It only involves two world wars, rampant nihilism, a Polish religious, a pope of mercy, and the third Christian millennium!

Two world wars. In the Great War of the early twentieth century, the entire world found itself in an historically unparalleled state of worldwide combat. The nationalism that was driving the conflict and its accompanying trench warfare, chemical attacks, and nascent air bombings only brought unprecedented destruction to the human family.

Peace was attempted in 1918 but an intemperate diplomacy, still driven by nationalism and a desire to punish the vanquished, only led to further tension and a second worldwide conflict seemingly hell bent on surpassing the first in the devastation it would inflict upon the human race.

The Second World War would ignobly conclude with the ghastly dropping of two atomic bombs on two cities full of homes and parks, families, and children.

Rampant nihilism. Such overwhelming wreckage and slaughter of human life traumatized the human spirit. People were both numb and in denial over what had happened, what they had participated in, or what they refused to denounce.

In a false comfort to weary souls, many concluded that the appalling series of events were just an evil without reason. And so, in the absence of rational explanation, nihilism pervaded as its own poisonous gas and humanity desperately breathed it in.

Nihilism convinced the survivors of humanity’s evils: There is no explanation, no meaning, no purpose, and no value. It’s all nothing.

The person intoxicated by such a nihilism runs the risk of living as an empty soul, moved only by momentary pleasure or self-interest. Transcendental experiences are explained away and relationships are marked by tension and a will to power. Life is just a flow of subjective satisfactions lacking any real sense of rationality.

A Polish Religious. In the throws of these world wars and within the arena of the competitive spirits of nationalism and nihilism that sought to possess the human soul, a simple Catholic religious sister, hidden away from the world, received a liberating message for the human family.

The mystic, Faustina Kowalska, was given a powerful answer “ever ancient, ever new” to the turmoil and sufferings of humanity. Jesus appeared to her in her moments of prayer and shared with her the proclamation of Divine Mercy. For a desert, it would have been an ocean. For shadows, it would have been the sun. For humanity, the Divine Mercy was (and is) a declaration of love and a hope.

As Pope St. John Paul II taught: “It is this love which must inspire humanity today, if it is to face the crisis of the meaning of life, the challenges of the most diverse needs and, specially, the duty to defend the dignity of every human person.”

A pope of mercy. It would be exactly John Paul who would reveal and heavily endorse this message of Divine Mercy to the universal church. This backing included changing Low Sunday to the Divine Mercy Sunday. The pontiff even purposely waited to canonize Faustina so that she would be the first saint of the twenty-first century.

The third Christian millennium. In the Mass proclaiming her a saint, John Paul explained: “Sister Faustina’s canonization has a particular eloquence: by this act I intend today to pass this message on to the new millennium.”

And so, the third Christian millennium began with a canonization of the Divine Mercy.

In asking why we lost our Low Sunday, therefore, the response is painfully obvious. The human family is still in tremendous need of healing and hope, of both receiving mercy and sharing compassion with one another.

As good things often require sacrifice, so the comfort of a quiet and relaxing post-Easter Sunday now gives way to the celebration of a Divine Mercy Sunday with all its appropriate fanfare and devotions.

Low Sunday now bows to the Divine Mercy Sunday so that forgiveness and tenderness are proclaimed and the world hears a different message than one of emptiness or hate and is shown a path to reconciliation and peace.

Credits : Crux Now


Note : A Gorgeous Web Page On The Divine Mercy

http://www.thethirdhour.com/

Thirty Day Prayer To The Blessed Mother In Honor Of The Sacred Passion Of Our Lord Jesus Christ

By devoutly reciting this prayer to the Blessed Virgin
Mary for thirty days, we may mercifully hope to obtain
our prayer intention. This prayer is recommended as a
proper devotion for every day in Lent, and all the
Fridays throughout the year.

Ever glorious and blessed Mary,
Queen of Virgins,
Mother of Mercy,
hope and comfort of dejected and desolate souls,
through that sword of sorrow
which pierced thy tender heart
whilst thine only Son,
Christ Jesus, our Lord,
suffered death and ignominy on the cross;
through that filial tenderness
and pure love He had for thee,
grieving in thy grief,
whilst from His cross He recommended thee
to the care and protection
of His beloved disciple, St. John,
take pity, I beseech thee,
on my poverty and necessities;
have compassion on my anxieties and cares;
assist and comfort me
in all my infirmities and miseries,
of what kind soever.

Thou art the Mother of Mercies,
the sweet comforter
and only refuge of the needy and the orphan,
of the desolate and afflicted.
Cast, therefore,
an eye of pity on a miserable,
forlorn child of Eve,
and hear my prayer;
for since,
in just punishment of my sins,
I find myself encompassed by a multitude of evils,
and oppressed with much anguish of spirit,
wither can I fly for more secure shelter,
O amiable Mother of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
than under the wings of thy maternal protection?

Attend, therefore,
I beseech thee,
with an ear of pity and compassion,
to my humble and earnest request.

I ask it,
through the bowels of mercy of thy dear Son;
Through that love and condescension wherewith
He embraced our nature, when,
in compliance with the divine Will,
thou gavest thy consent, and whom,
after the expiration of nine months
thou didst bring forth
from the chaste enclosure of thy womb,
to visit the world,
and bless it with His presence.

I ask it,
through that anguish of mind
wherewith thy beloved Son,
our dear Saviour,
was overwhelmed on the Mount of Olives,
when He besought His eternal Father
to remove from Him, if possible,
the bitter chalice of His future passion.

I ask it,
through the threefold repetition
of His prayers in the garden,
whence afterwards,
with dolorous steps and mournful tears,
thou didst accompany Him to the doleful theatre
of His death and sufferings.

I ask it,
through the welts and bruises of His virginal flesh,
occasioned by the cords and whips
wherewith He was bound and scourged,
when stripped of His seamless garment,
for which His executioners afterwards cast lots.

I ask it,
through the scoffs and ignominies
by which He was insulted;
the false accusations and unjust sentence
by which He was condemned to death,
and which He bore with heavenly patience.

I ask it,
through His bitter tears and bloody sweat;
His silence and resignation;
His sadness and grief of heart.

I ask it,
through the blood which trickled
from His royal and Sacred Head,
when struck with the scepter of a reed
and pierced with His crown of thorns.

I ask it,
through the excruciating torments He suffered,
when His hands and feet were fastened
with gross nails to the tree of the cross.

I ask it,
through His vehement thirst,
and bitter potion of vinegar and gall.

I ask it,
through His dereliction on the cross
when He exclaimed,
"My God! my God! why hast Thou forsaken me?"

I ask it,
through His mercy extended to the good thief,
and through His recommending
His precious soul and spirit
into the hands of His eternal Father
before He expired, saying, "It is consummated."

I ask it,
through the blood mixed with water,
which issued from His Sacred Side
when pierced with a lance,
and whence a flood of grace
and mercy has flowed to us.

I ask it,
through His immaculate life,
bitter passion and ignominious death on the cross,
at which nature itself was thrown into convulsions,
by the bursting of rocks,
rending of the veil of the Temple,
the earthquake,
and the darkness of the sun and moon.

I ask it,
through His descent into hell,
where He confronted the Saints
of the old law with His presence,
and led the captivity captive.

I ask it,
through His glorious victory over death,
when He arose again to life on the third day,
and through the joy
which His appearance for forty days after gave thee,
His blessed Mother,
His Apostles,
and the rest of His Disciples;
when in thine and their presence
He miraculously ascended into heaven.

I ask it,
through the grace of the Holy Spirit,
infused into the hearts of His Disciples,
when He descended upon them
in the form of fiery tongues,
and by which they were inspired with zeal
in the conversion of the world,
when they went to preach the gospel.

I ask it,
through the awful appearance of thy Son,
at the last dreadful day,
when He shall come to judge
the living and the dead,
and the world, by fire.

I ask it,
through the compassion He bore thee in His life,
and the unspeakable joy
thou didst feel at thine assumption into heaven,
where thou art eternally absorbed
in the sweet contemplation of His divine perfections.

O glorious and ever blessed Virgin!
comfort the heart of thy supplicant,
by obtaining for me,

(Mention your prayer intention here...)

And as I am persuaded my Divine Saviour
doth honour thee as His beloved Mother,
to whom He refuses nothing,
because thou asketh nothing contrary to His honour,
so let me speedily experience
the efficacy of thy powerful intercession,
according to the tenderness of thy maternal affection,
and His filial loving heart,
who mercifully granteth the requests
and complieth with the desires
of those that love and fear Him.

Wherefore, O most blessed Virgin,
beside the object of my present petition,
and whatever else I may stand in need of,
obtain for me also of thy dear Son,
our Lord and our God,
a lively faith,
firm hope,
perfect charity,
true contrition of heart,
unfeigned tears of compunction,
sincere confession,
condign satisfaction,
abstinence from sin,
love of God and my neighbour,
contempt of the world,
patience to suffer affronts
and ignominies, nay, even,
if necessary,
an opprobrious death itself,
for love of thy Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ.

Obtain likewise for me,
O sacred Mother of God,
perseverance in good works,
performance of good resolutions,
mortification of self-will,
a pious conversation through life,
and, at my last moments,
strong and sincere repentance,
accompanied by such a lively
and attentive presence of mind,
as may enable me to receive the last Sacrament
of the Church worthily,
and die in thy friendship and favour.

Lastly, obtain through thy Son,
I beseech thee,
for the souls of my parents,
brethren,
relatives and benefactors,
both living and dead,
life everlasting,
from the only Giver of every good and perfect gift,
the Lord God Almighty,
to Whom be all power now and forever.

Amen.

Credits : Catholic Online 

The Sufferings Of The Blessed Mother

"Stabat mater dolorosa juxta Crucem lacrimosa dum pendebat Filius."  "At the Cross her station keeping, stood the mournful Mother weeping, close to her Son to the last."

This 13th century Catholic hymn, sung between the Stations of the Cross and as the Sequence for the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, expresses the sentiments of the saddest moment in the history of salvation.  "Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother." (John 19: 25).

I differ with those who assume that the Blessed Mother stood at the Cross of Jesus in a stoic manner without expressing profound emotion.  Years ago, many were the critics who disagreed with Franco Zeffirelli's depiction of an inconsolable Mary at the foot of the Cross in his celebrated film "Jesus of Nazareth."  I concur with Zeffirelli.

"Stabat mater dolorosa juxta Crucem lacrimosa dum pendebat Filius."

Sometimes people seem to have difficulty identifying with Mary's steadfast faith and fidelity. They have the impression that everything was very easy for Mary because she was conceived without Original Sin.

Not everything was clear for the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Just as in any manifestation of the divine, each profound moment of light is followed by long and trying times of darkness.

Yes, Mary was enveloped in the light of God's presence during the Annunciation.  However, this brilliance of clarity was followed by the night of faith.

She fulfilled her unconditional "yes" by embracing the many trials and difficulties of her journey towards eternity.  The Passion of Jesus Christ was the greatest trial of them all.

Mary's fidelity was heroic because her faith was heroic.

"When everything seemed absurd, she responded 'Amen' to what was so absurd and the absurdity disappeared.  To the silence of God she answered, 'Let it be," and silence was transformed into presence.  Instead of demanding a guarantee of veracity, Mary clung indefatigably to the will of God; she remained in peace, and doubt turned into sweetness" (Ignacio Larra'aga, The Silence of Mary, p. 92).

"Stabat mater dolorosa juxta Crucem lacrimosa dum pendebat Filius."

The Mother standing at the foot of the Cross seems absurd and incomprehensible.

How could the Father permit such suffering?

"To believe is to trust.  To believe is to let go.  To believe, above all, is to adhere, to surrender.  In a word, to believe is to love" (Ignacio Larra'aga, The Silence of Mary, p. 63).

It is precisely in difficult and challenging times that we must look to the witnesses of faith.  Mary is the greatest of them all.  Through her pilgrimage of faith, she walked into the night of faith.  Not everything was clear for Mary, but she continued to trust and she continued to obey.  She abandoned herself entirely into God's loving and providential care.  Full understanding only came to her at Pentecost.  It was there that she understood all the things that she had cherished in her heart.

"Stabat mater dolorosa juxta Crucem lacrimosa dum pendebat Filius."

Let us turn to Mary, our Mother most Sorrowful.  Let us allow her to embrace us with her love.  Let us run to her and seek in her the maternal strength and consolation that we all need to walk through the things in our lives that seem absurd and incomprehensible.

Credits : Catholic Online 

Preparing For Lent -- PRAYING THE HOLY ROSARY

The season of Lent and the start of the preparation for Easter begins on Ash Wednesday which is March 6th, and the call for increases in prayer, fasting, and almsgiving (charity) will be central to Catholics around the world.

The season of Lent is a time for developing new prayer patterns or spiritual growth patterns that can become a habit, because as scientists have proven the human brain needs to repeat an activity for 30 days in order for it to become a habit.

I got to thinking that in the thirty days leading up to the start of Lent, we could all dedicate ourselves to forming a new prayer habit ahead of time by praying the Holy Rosary daily. I know that some Catholics may already dedicate time in prayer of the Rosary in this way in a daily fashion, but others have not.

The biggest obstacle to praying this important ritual of the Catholic faith is the same reason why we do not generally get to do most things in life: time. The frequent expression, “I don’t have time” or “how can I find the time” to pray the Rosary are common reasons why many people struggle with this prayer devotion.

The days from now until Ash Wednesday present an opportunity to find the time to begin this devotion to the Holy Rosary, because prayer, especially of the Rosary, is sorely needed with the utter despair and darkness in our world. The Holy Rosary has been credited with healing broken people, suspending natural law, and finding peaceful solutions to conflicts throughout our history.

The devotion to the Rosary takes anywhere from fifteen minutes to twenty-five minutes depending on your individual pace and level of reflection on the Mysteries of the Holy Rosary, the events in the life of Jesus Christ which serve as the “road map” for each respective day of this ritual prayer. It is to be prayed reverently and the repetition of the devotion has been known to bring comfort to those who pray it daily.

The time can be found either early in the morning before your day begins, in the evening when your day has finally calmed down, or in the spaces between depending on your lifestyle, vocation, or obligations. The timing might have to be different for part of the week versus the weekend, or vice versa. It might require you to find different time intervals based on the day of the week. It is important that you stick with whatever routine time you select.

In my own faith journey, my dedication to prayer of the Holy Rosary has shifted. I had some jobs that required driving for long periods of time in the car where I would pray the Rosary in the car. I have held other jobs where I would pray the Rosary on my lunch hour, or while commuting on a train where some days that would be the morning focus, and other days it was part of my evening commute prayer routine.

I have had other points in my life where the mornings were too busy, so I would dedicate time in the late afternoon to the Rosary. It has to be what works for you based upon your unique situation, but the calm and the serenity that it brings to me is irreplaceable.

I know those who have a daily devotion to the Rosary as I do will read this and think that they already have a routine down that works. I would challenge those people to think about how they can utilize their time praying the Rosary and “level up”. That can be by dedicating the Rosary to a different intention daily. It could be by a deeper meditation on the Mysteries, or by utilizing scripture and executing a Scriptural Rosary. It can also be that you expand that time to an hour of prayer or 90 minutes of prayer and include the Stations of The Cross or a Novena to one of the saints during that time of ritual prayer.

The Holy Rosary is a powerful prayer devotion which will connect you to the Gospel messages in a profound way. It will enlighten you to know the love that the Virgin Mother Mary has for you and your family. The daily devotion to the Holy Rosary will help you to remain at peace amidst the chaos of our daily lives. The devotion will bring you closer to Jesus through Our Blessed Mother.

The dedication to daily prayer of the Rosary now in the days leading up to Lent will provide you with a much more profoundly enriching preparation for the Resurrection of Our Lord on Easter Sunday. It will help you to prepare for the days of fasting, the ordering of your time for additional prayer, and to fill your heart with a dedication to charity for others.

It is my sincere hope that you will make the commitment to daily prayer of the Holy Rosary for the Church, your parish, your community, your family, and the whole world. Our fallen world needs your prayers now more than ever.

I pray that Our Blessed Mother brings you the maternal love you need to make this dedication to the Holy Rosary. I pray that Our Lady Queen of the Rosary blesses you and your families and brings you closer to Jesus, Our Savior and Redeemer. May God bless you.

Credits : Frank J. Maduri From Catholic 365. 

40 Days At The Foot Of The Cross - A GREAT DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR LENT

FYI -- A Must Read.

https://mycatholic.life/books/40-days-at-the-foot-of-the-cross/