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. 

CELEBRATING DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY IN GOA

The Mother Church  celebrates Divine Mercy Sunday on the Second Sunday of Easter. 

Pope Saint John Paul II decreed on  May 5 2000, that the Second Sunday of Easter, the Octave of Easter, would be known as Divine Mercy Sunday. 

The feast was established by the Pope after he canonized Saint Faustina, a humble Polish nun to whom Jesus revealed his message of divine mercy.

Saint Faustina, born in 1905,  became a member of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy at age 20.  While at the convent, beginning in February 1931, she received several revelations from Jesus, who communicated to her the depth of his mercy and his desire that all be merciful to one another.

The Lord Jesus also shared with her his desire that a feast day be dedicated to Divine Mercy and that it be celebrated on the Sunday after Easter. 

Saint Faustina's diary, in which she details the revelations, includes 14 occasions on which the Lord asks that a feast day be established.

The  celebration of Mercy is a celebration  and summation of God’s love. 

The Holy week Triduum, along with the entire Easter season, focuses on various aspects of the paschal mystery. Holy Thursday  celebrates the Institution of Priesthood, Institution of the Eucharist and the act of love and service. Good Friday commemorates the passion and death of Jesus on the Cross.   The Easter vigil, the pinnacle  of the paschal mystery, celebrates the fulfilment of the prophecies of the Redeemer who is our light  and salvation which brings us  new life by water and salvation.

The celebration of God’s mercy focusses on God’s continuing action of mercy through salvation history, culminating in His loving plan to have mercy on all.  This celebration shows his mercy is active in our lives now. We have forgiveness of sins and new life as children of God.  This needs to be celebrated.

Pope Francis announced the Extrordinary  Jubilee Year of Mercy  which commenced on  December 8 2015 and concluded on November 20 2016.  Pope Francis, at the beginning of the Year of Mercy presenting  an Apostolic Exhortation, ‘Misericordiae Vutlus’ (Face of Mercy) urged all the faithful to be  merciful like the Father. 

While concluding the Year of Mercy, Pope gave another exhortation, ‘Misericordia et Misera’ ( Mercy and Misery).  He had cautioned us saying that the year of  mercy is closed but the mercy of God continues.He wants every faithful to be merciful.

The Extraordinary  Jubilee Year of Mercy was celebrated in the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman   with Fr. Socoro Mendes, heading  a committee  appointed for the same. 

Archbishop wrote a special Pastoral Letter  highlighting the true meaning of mercy and appealed to the faithful to be merciful through the acts of Mercy (Corporal and Spiritual). Novena, retreats, recollections and other spiritual exercises were based on the theme ‘mercy’.

Divine Mercy Sunday 2016 was celebrated at the diocesan level at the Carmelite Monastery Margao and Carmelite Seminary, Mapusa.

Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrão presided over the Eucharistic celebration  held at the Carmelite Monastery, Margao. was present on the occasion.  Fr. Denis Fernandes, Episcopal Vicar for North, was the chief celebrant at the Eucharistic celebration held at the Carmelite Seminary, Mapusa.

Concluding the celebration, Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao, appealed the Carmelite Friars in Goa in the presence of Fr. Charles Serrão, Provincial Superior of the Karnataka Goa Province of the Order of the Discalced Carmelites and Fr. Archibald Gonsalves, Superior  of the Carmelite Monastery Margao, to promote Divine Mercy devotion in the Archdiocese. Carmelite Friars, accepted the suggestion  to conscientise about the devotion and promote the same in the Archdiocese of Goa. 

Accordingly a letter signed by the Convenor Fr. Socorro  Mendes was sent to all the Parish Priests requesting them  to avail the services of the Carmelite Friars to conscentise  about the devotion and continue the same in the parishes.

Many families/and individuals in Goa do have divine Mercy devotion. But  the feast of Divine Mercy was celebrated for the first time at the Carmelite Monastery Margao in the year 1983.  It  was the initiative of Late Fidelis Bonamis. 

Fr. Anastacio Gomes, a Carmelite Friar, promoted this devotion through his writings, calls Bonamis as the Pioneer of Mercy Devotion in Goa in his book titled ‘Celebrating Divine Mercy Sunday.’ Where ever since then it has been celebrated with the participation of the faithful from the whole of South Goa at the Carmelite Monastery. 

Fr. Antonio D’silva, yet another Carmelite friar, a well-known preacher of the Word of God, promoted the mercy of God through his thought-provoking sermons.

Acknowledging the contribution made by the Carmelite friars and also the celebration of the Divine Mercy Sunday for many years, the Archbishop asked the Carmelites and also gave permission  (CP/2967/2017)  to promote this devotion in the Churches and Chapels of the Archdiocese.

Accordingly, a letter was sent by the Carmelites in June 2017 to all the Parish Priests and the resident Chaplains   requesting them to contact Carmelite friar Bro. John Malvino Alfonso, co-ordinator of the Promotion of Divine Mercy to express their wish to have  this devotion in their parishes/chapels.

Accordingly, 112  Divine Mercy Parish/ Chapel groups were formed.

The celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday is an opportunity to reflect on the theme of how God’s mercy can overcome sin and, as the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments states, “a perennial invitation to the Christian world to face, with confidence in divine benevolence, the difficulties and trials that mankind will experience in the years to come.” (Decree, Divine Mercy Sunday)

This Article was written by Brother John Malvino Alfonso OCD a Carmelite Friar with the Carmelite Friary in Margao, Goa.

Credits : Herald Goa News Paper

Here are some Links regarding the Celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday From Herald Goa.

1) Celebrating Divine Mercy Sunday

https://www.heraldgoa.in/Review/Celebrating-Divine-Mercy-Sunday/145532.html

2)  Divine Mercy Sunday Celebrated

https://www.heraldgoa.in/Goa/Divine-Mercy-Sunday-celebrated/145563.html