My Dear ChildrenMy Dear ChildrenMay 2013, First Edition

Happy MothersDay!

Featuring: AscensionPentecost

Saint Joseph the Worker

Saint Joan of Arc

Our Lady of Fatima

Our Lady of the Apostles

Sunday Gospel

Pope Francis

Happy MothersDay!

Featuring: AscensionPentecost

Saint Joseph the Worker

Saint Joan of Arc

Our Lady of Fatima

Our Lady of the Apostles

Sunday Gospel

Pope Francis

Queen of Heaven and EarthSaint Joseph the Worker

Our Lady of Medjugorje

First Friday DevotionSt Philip and James Feast of the finding of the True Cross

First Saturday DevotionFeast of the Holy Shroud St Monica

Sunday Gospel

St. John before the Latin gate

Apparition of St Michael the archangel

Ascension of Our Lord

St Damien of Molokai

Sunday GospelMother’s Day

Our Lady of Fatima

St Matthias St Isidore the FarmerSt John Baptist de la salle St Dymphna

Our Lady Queen of Apostles

Sunday GospelPentecost

St Rita St Bede

Sunday GospelMost Holy Trinity

St Augustine of Canterbury

St Joan of Arc

VisitationOur Lady of all NationsOur Lady Mediatrix of all Graces

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Mother’s Day – Prayer to the Mother of Our Lord for all MothersMary, on this day when we honor all mothers, we turn to you. We thank the Lord whom you serve for the great gift of motherhood. Never has it been known that anyone who sought your intercession was left unaided by grace. Dear Mother, thank you for your “Yes” to the invitation of the angel which brought heaven to earth and changed human history. You opened yourself to God’s word and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Dear mother, intercede for all of our mothers. Ask your Divine Son to give them the grace of surrendered love so that they could join with you in giving their own “Fiat.” May they find daily strength to say yes to the call to the sacrificial love- the very heart of the vocation of motherhood. May their love and witness be a source of great inspiration for all of us called to follow your Son. On this Mothers day, Mother of the Word Incarnate, pray for us who have recourse to you. In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Mary is the Queen of both Heaven and Earth, not only because of her Divine Motherhood of Jesus Christ but also because God the Father has willed her to have an exceptional role in the work of the eternal salvation of humanity. The Catholic teaching on this subject is expressed in the papal encyclical Ad Caeli Reginam issued by Pope Pius XII which states Mary is called Queen of Heaven because her son, Jesus Christ, is the king of Israel and heavenly king of the universe.

Hail, Holy Queen

Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy! Our life, our sweetness, and our hope!To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve, to thee do we sendup our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley, of tears. Turn, then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us; and after this our exile show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb Jesus; O clement, O loving, O sweet virgin Mary. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen.

Our Lady Queen of Heaven and Earth

May 1

Pope Pius XII instituted the feast of St. Joseph the Worker in 1955 in response to the Communist celebrations of “May Day” for workers. The relationship between Joseph and the cause of workers has a much longer history. Together with the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Child Jesus, Joseph is one of the three members of the Holy Family; Jesus is depicted as a child when with him and he was raised and trained as a carpenter by Joseph. Humanity is like God not only in thinking and loving, but also in creating. Whether building a table or a cathedral, we are called to bear fruit with our hands and mind, ultimately building up the Body of Christ.

Prayer to St. Joseph the Worker

O Glorious St. Joseph, model of all those who are devoted to labor, obtain for me the grace to work conscientiously, putting the call of duty above my natural inclinations, to work with gratitude and joy, in a spirit of penance for the remission of my sins, considering it an honor to employ and develop by means of labor the gifts received from God, to work with order, peace, moderation and patience, without ever shrinking from weariness and difficulties, to work above all with purity of intention and detachment from self, having always death before my eyes and the account that I must render of time lost, of talents wasted, of good omitted, of vain complacency in success, so fatal to the work of God.

- Pope Pius X

Feast of Saint Joseph the Worker

“Dear Children, I am calling you to love and not to judge. My Son, according to the will of the Heavenly Father, was among you to show you the way of salvation, to save you and not to judge you. If you desire to follow my Son, you will not judge but love like your Heavenly Father loves you. And when it is the most difficult for you, when you are falling under the weight of the cross do not despair, do not judge, instead remember that you are loved and praise the Heavenly Father because of His love.

My children, do not deviate from the way on which I am leading you. Do not recklessly walk into perdition. May prayer and fasting strengthen you so that you can live as the Heavenly Father would desire; that you may be my apostles of faith and love; that your life may bless those whom you meet; that you may be one with the Heavenly Father and my Son.

My children, that is the only truth, the truth that leads to your conversion, and then to the conversion of all those whom you meet - those who have not come to know my Son - all those who do not know what it means to love. My children, my Son gave you a gift of the shepherds. Take good care of them. Pray for them. Thank you.”

Our Lady of Medjugorje Queen of PeaceMay 2, 2013 message to Mirjana

Our Lady of Medjugorje

May 2

The true story of the Holy Cross is one of the longest and most fantastic legends of the ‘Golden Legend’. It is told in two separate chapters, one entitled ‘The Finding of the Holy Cross’ and the other ‘The Exaltation of the Holy Cross’. Piero della Francesco made a series of frescoes of this legend in the main chapel of the San Francesco basilica of Arezzo. The Bacci family commissioned the frescoes for their chapel, first to an artist called Bicci di Lorenzo who only painted two scenes namely the four Evangelists and a Last Judgement, then to Piero. Bicci di Lorenzo died in 1452 and Piero della Francesca was asked to finish the work from then on. Piero painted in Arezzo until around 1466 but the frescoes may have been all done long before that date. Piero painted in fresco ten episodes of the ‘Legend of the True Cross’ as told in the ‘Golden Legend’. It is the foremost example of a complete series fully based on the medieval compendium.

Adam’s son Seth was offered a shoot from the tree of mercy and ordered to plant it on the mount of Lebanon. It was a branch of the tree under which Adam had committed his sin. Adam had informed Seth that when the branch bore fruit, his father would be made healthy again. Piero painted his first scene as the ‘Death of Adam’. Adam is seen in agony and talking to Seth who is leaning on a staff. Seth planted the shoot over Adam’s grave. The shoot grew to a tree and it was still standing there in the times of Solomon G49 .

Solomon admired the beauty of the tree. He had the tree cut down for the building of his forest house of which is also written in the Old Testament. The beam never fit in a right place however, so that it was abandoned and thrown over a pond to serve as a bridge.

The Queen of Sheba was about to pass over that bridge, but she saw in a vision suddenly that the Saviour of the world would one

day hang from the wood. She therefore refused to go over it and knelt down and worshipped it. Piero’s second fresco thus was the ‘Adoration of the Holy Wood’ in which the Queen of Sheba is seen worshipping the wood after her vision of a saviour.

The Queen told her dream or vision that the kingdom of the Jews would come when a man would hang from this wood to King Solomon. ‘The Meeting of the Queen of Sheba and Solomon’ was Piero’s third scene. The ‘Queen of Sheba worshipping the Wood of the True Cross’ and the ‘Meeting of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba’ are however in the same fresco, two scenes of different moments in time caught diligently in the same picture.

Solomon feared the prophecy. So the wood

was thrown into the pond. Sacred animals came here to bath and the sick were healed at the pond. Piero made another fresco of this, ‘The Transfer of the Holy Wood’.

When Jesus’s time of passion was drawing near, the wood floated up and the Jews remarked it and used it to make Jesus’s cross. After Jesus’s Crucifixion, the cross laid hidden underground.

The East-Roman Emperor Constantine was attacked by hordes of Barbarians along the Danube. He could only beat the Barbarians back when an angel showed him a sign of a cross in flaming light. This was the occasion for Piero della Francesco’s fifth painting, ‘The Dream of Constantine’. An angel falls down from the sky at night over the tent of the emperor. Constantine is sleeping and so is his servant, but guards in heavy armour stand to the watch. Piero had an example of the cycle of the ‘Legend of the True Cross’. Already around 1380 to 1390 Agnolo Gaddi had made frescoes of certain scenes of the legend in the church of Santa Croce of Florence. The ‘Dream of Constantine’ is Piero’s fresco that resembles most Gaddi’s. Piero has used almost the same composition but reversed the scene. Gaddi’s paintings are more gentle and elegant than Piero’s. In the

Feast and Legend of the True Cross

May 3

comparison we feel the stern geometric, systematic hand of Piero at work instead of a warmer feeling hearth like Gaddi.

Constantine won the battle and believed in Christ. He converted to Christianity and due to the grandeur of the Constantines Byzantium would be renamed Constantinople, thus also indicating the transition from heathen gods to Christianity of the East-Roman empire. Piero diverted from the ‘Golden Legend’ to follow another tale of Emperor Constantine. A biography of the emperor written by Lactantius told that Constantine was asked in a dream to put the sign of Christ, the chi-rho letters on his shield. The next day Constantine won a battle against Maxentius. Piero painted the fresco of ‘The Battle at the Bridge’ as the battle between the emperors Constantine and Maxentius. In the two battle scenes of the frescoes Piero slightly deviated from the original story of the ‘Golden Legend’. This battle scene is one of the most admired frescoes. Powerful horses and the armies with flying pavilions and frightful long lances held high are poised for battle. Constantine indicates the direction of Maxentius whose army is seen fleeing on the other side of the river.

At the death of his father, the younger Constantine sent his mother Helena to Jerusalem to recuperate the cross.

The Queen asked the Jewish scholars about the place where Christ had been crucified. But the Jews refused to answer for fear of the Emperor. Helena threatened them all to die by fire. The Jews then handed over one of them, Judas, and said that he would answer since he was the son of a just man and a prophet. But the Jews had told Judas to yield nothing to the foreign Queen unless forced to. So Helena had to threaten again and she threw Judas in a dry well. Judas was tortured and of this scene Piero again made a panel in the chapel, his ‘Torture of Judas’.

After seven days without food and drink, Judas promised Helena to show where the cross was. Judas took Helena to a place where stood a pagan temple of Venus. Helena had the temple razed and the site ploughed up. Then Judas himself started to dig and found three crosses, which he showed to the Queen. A way had to be found to prove which of the three crosses was the one on which Jesus had been crucified. The crosses were placed in the centre of the town. A body of a young man was being carried past and Judas halted the cortege. When Judas held the third cross over the corpse, the young man came back to life. The true cross was thus identified. This became one of the most important scenes of Piero della Francesca, the ‘Finding and the Proof of the True Cross’.

Judas was later baptised and given the name Quiriacus. Still later he was ordained bishop of Jerusalem.

Helena also wanted to have the nails of the cross. Quiriacus went to the place of the burial, prayed and the nails appeared miraculously on the surface. Helena brought a piece of the cross and the nails to her son Constantine who had one nail inserted in his crown. Other parts of the cross remained in Jerusalem.

Still later, Emperor Julian the Apostate had Saint Quiriacus tortured and put to death.

In 615 Chosroës, king of the Persians, subjected all the earth’s kingdoms to his rule. When he came to Jerusalem, he took the part of the Holy Cross that Helena had left there, built himself a huge tower and stayed there with the piece of the wood. He relented power to his son and decreed that he himself was God now.

The Christian Emperor Heraclius of Constantinople marshalled a large army and laid battle to Chosroës’ son near the river Danube. The two men agreed to fight in single combat on a bridge over the river, the victor to take over the empire and thus sparing both armies. Piero della Francesca made a panel of the battle between Heraclius and Chosroës’ son, usually explained as the battle between Heraclius and Chosroës himself. This battle scene shows an old, defeated Chosroës knelt before his throne. Piero della Francesca has, as happened in many medieval pictures, shown two scenes of different moments: the battle on the left and Chosroës’ demise on the right. This battle scene is better preserved so again it is an image of Renaissance armies that has been reproduced many times. The black eagle flag of Heraclius prevails and also a flag with the cross of the Resurrection is held above the armies.

Heraclius won, so all the people of Chosroës acknowledged Hera-clius as their Emperor and all were baptised.

Heraclius now journeyed to Jerusalem to confront Chosroës himself. He found the ‘god’ seated on his golden throne and decapitated him.

Heraclius brought the rests of the Holy Cross back to the Mount of Olives, mounted on his royal palfrey and arrayed in all his imperial regalia. He rode through the same gate through which Jesus had passed on his way to Crucifixion. But the stones of the gateway fell down and blocked the road. An angel carrying a cross in its arms came down and announced that when Jesus had passed here he wore no royal pomp. Whereupon the angel disappeared. Heraclius now shed tears, took off his royal garments and stepped forward thus humbled. The gateway raised itself from the ground to allow passage. The truly devote Emperor thus praised the Holy Cross and brought it back to its rightful place. This was the subject of Piero’s last fresco, the ‘Exaltation of the True Cross’ in which the angel suggests the Emperor to enter the gate in humility.

Feast and Legend of the True Cross (continued)

May 3

Piero della Francesco added a magnificent ‘Annunciation’ on a fresco of the left wall of the basilica, which only apparently has no connection to the other stories. The Queen of Sheba saw a saviour on the Cross. The whole story of the New Testament is the life of Jesus, which ended on the Cross and started with the Annunciation. The Cross is the everlasting symbol of Jesus’s life, and Jesus’s life was announced by an angel to Mary.

All the frescoes of the legend in Arezzo’s basilica are fabulous. They are the images filled with the wonder of centuries, an ode to the main symbol of Christendom. The ‘Finding and Proof of the True Cross’ is one of the largest frescoes in the church. Two scenes are depicted in the same one picture. To the left, Judas has indicated the place of the burial of the crosses. Judas stands next to the hole that was dug. He shows the Cross to Queen Helena who is accompanied by her court, which includes a dwarf. Men with shovels stand next to the pit and a man heaves the Cross from the ground, out of the earth, to Helena and Judas. Behind the rocks of the Mount of Olives rises Jerusalem, which is an idealised view of Arezzo.

In the scene on the right Helena has knelt in the middle of the town. A deceased youth is brought forward in his coffin. Judas holds the True Cross over the corpse and the young man is seen to come miraculously to life again, to exalt the Cross. Helena is accompanied by her ladies in waiting whereas the funeral party consists of men mostly.

Piero della Francesco’s paintings are a good example of the tremendous frescoes, or ‘affreschi’, that adorned Italy’s churches. One recognises the separate areas painted in one colour each. These effects are natural in the fresco technique, in which it was almost impossible to paint one colour over the other to obtain all kinds of hues of various colours within each other. The areas of one sole colour had to be juxtaposed in frescoes, adding to the impression of quiet dignity that emanates from the paintings. And Piero painted in light colours, with shadows only to be seen on the ground. Although filling the enormous surfaces was a long work, Piero della Francesca cared for every detail. He painted many figures, all his figures are different, all are variously dressed, and all wear different hats or headdresses. Piero della Francesca’s scenes are always static and remain so also in this panel, even though a story is told. Piero succeeded in showing the story in a lively manner without leaving his personal style. Action is mainly indicated by the two oblique lines, on the left and right, formed by the Cross. In both subscenes the Cross is heaven from the ground and rises out of the mass of figures and these lines bring the liveliness in the composition. In other scenes also such as the battle scenes, the oblique lines that rise out of the mass of figures give an impression of nervousness, of movement, energy and epic exaltation.

Piero della Francesca’s style is very apparent in the Arezzo paintings. Piero is the artist of tranquil dignity, of quiet force, of powerful silent expression, and of static testimony. He was a painter of strict geometric lines as can also be seen in the horizontality of his composition, and in the exact perspective demonstrated in the receding lines of the buildings on the right. This strictness is also present in the pure forms of the façade behind the scene of the proof of the True Cross. The façade is made up of rectangles, of triangles and of circles alone without any ornament. This is one of the best expressions of Piero’s mathematical and ordered mind. Piero’s light colours, his judicious creation of space in the picture and the all-pervading eery light of his scenes make him stand out from all other major Italian artists of his time.

Piero placed his figures in front of an austere city scene thus confronting people with an almost alien environment of cold marble. He pictured flesh and blood in front of cold stone. Only the people are in soft round forms, which contrast with the hard lines of their background. The coolness that is thus generated lends the viewer an impression of the heavenly eternal within which move the human figures.

Piero della Francesca’s frescoes in the basilica of Arezzo can be considered to be among the major works of art of the past centuries. Among these we can name the ‘Holy Lamb’ of the Van Eyck brothers, the San Marco murals by Fra Angelico, the altarpiece of Matthias Grünewald in Colmar, the Maestà altarpiece of Duccio di Buoninsegna in the cathedral of Pisa, the frescoes of the Arena Chapel in Padua made by Giotto and the Sistine Chapel frescoes by Michelangelo.

In the thirteenth century Saint Louis, king of France, bought a large piece of the cross and the thorn crown of Jesus from Emperor Balduin II of Constantinople. The King built a chapel for the relics, which is now the splendour of Gothic art of Paris, the ‘Sainte Chapelle’ or Holy Chapel. The relics are still in Paris, in the Notre Dame cathedral not far from the Sainte Chapelle. A special French Order, called the ‘Knights of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem’, jealously guards them.

Image:Piero della Francesca (ca. 1410-1492).The Basilica of San Francesco. Arezzo. (ca. 1450-1460).

Feast and Legend of the True Cross (continued)

May 3

Saint Philip was also one of the 12 pillars of the New Israel chosen by Jesus. He was known to being recorded in the gospel of John (John 6:6-7) as saying “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little bit”. Jesus knew what he was going to do when saw the great multitude following him and wanted to give them food but he asked Philip where they should buy bread for the people to eat as a test.

Saint James, son of Alphaeus, is also known as James the Lesser to avoid confusing him with James the son of Zebedee, also an apostle and known as James the Greater. He is; however, known as one of the 12 pillars of the New Israel chosen by Jesus.

Feast of Saint Philip and James Apostles

May 3

Prayer to Saint Philip

O Glorious Saint Philip, at the Last Supper you said to Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father and it will be enough for us.” Help us to make this our prayer also and to seek God in all things. Obtain for us the grace to know the Father and Jesus Christ whom he has sent - for in this does eternal life consist. Amen.

Prayer to Saint James

O Glorious Saint James, you were our Lord’s cousin and at the same time his friend and follower. You wrote that every good and perfect gift comes to us from the Father of lights, and that faith without works is useless. You preached the divinity of Jesus until your death as a martyr. Obtain for us from the Father of lights the great gift of a living faith in Jesus’ divinity which will inspire us to unstinting labor in the service of God and our fellow human beings and enable us to reach our heavenly destiny. Amen.

The First Friday Devotions recognize the Sacred Heart of Jesus and through it offer reparations for sins.

The devotions are performed on the first Friday of nine consecutive months. On these days a person is to attend Holy Mass and receive communion.

In the visions of Christ reported by Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque in the 17th century several promises were made to those people that practiced the First Friday Devotions.

1. I will give them all of the graces necessary for their state of life.

2. I will establish peace in their houses.

3. I will comfort them in all their afflictions.

4. I will be their strength during life and above all during death.

5. I will bestow a large blessing upon all their undertakings.

6. Sinners shall find in My Heart the source and the infinite ocean of mercy.

7. Tepid souls shall grow fervent.

8. Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection.

9. I will bless every place where a picture of my heart shall be set up and honored.

10. I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.

11. Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart, never to be blotted out.

12. I promise you in the excessive mercy of My Heart that My all powerful love will grant all to those who com-municate on the First Friday in nine consecutive months the grace of final penitence; they shall not die in My disgrace nor without receiving their sacraments; My Divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.

First Friday Devotion

May 3

The Great Promise of the First Saturdays Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Our Lady promised “to assist at the hour of death with all the graces necessary for salvation” those who make Five First Saturdays of Reparation to Her Immaculate Heart by receiving Holy Communion and “Keeping me company for fifteen minutes while meditating on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary, with the intention of making reparation to me.”

Our Lady also promises: “My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God.”

Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

First Saturday Devotion

May 4

This is the day appointed by Pope Julius II for the Feast of the Holy Shroud with its proper Mass and office. The shroud is the clean linen cloth in which Joseph of Arimathea wrapped the body of Jesus Christ. - Matthew 27:59.

The very burial cloth of our Lord and Savior that not only shows us His Passion and Resurrection, but the actual Blood and Water that gushed forth as a Fountain of Mercy for us. Pope Julius wrote, “Almighty eternal God you have left us the Holy Shroud on which His image is imprinted.”

Feast of the Holy Shroud

Saint Monica is the patron saint of victims of difficult marriages, disappointing children, victims of adultery or unfaithfulness, victims of abuse and conversion of relatives. Saint Monica was the mother of Saint Augustine of Hippo.

Parents’ Prayer to Saint Monica

Saint Monica, patron of Christian parents, we entrust to your protection, the children whose names you can read in our hearts. Pray for them, that they may be granted strength to combat weakness, victory over temptation, guidance to resolve their doubts and success in all their undertakings. May they enjoy good health of mind and body, see beauty and worth in all created things, and serve the Lord with firm faith, joyful hope and enduring love. Amen.

Prayer for Our Children

Dear Saint Monica, patroness of all parents, please take our children, especially those who have turned from the ways of Christ and His Church, under your protection. Let them always remain faithful to their Baptis-mal vows. Give them the strength to walk always in the ways of the Lord, despite the temptations and false val-ues they find in the world today. Pray for them that they may share with you the joys of eternal life. Amen.

Prayer of Petition

Dear Saint Monica, once sorrowing mother of a wayward son, be pleased to present our petition to the Lord God of heaven and earth. Look down upon our anxieties and needs and intercede for us, as you did so fervently for Augustine, your firstborn. We have full confidence that your prayers will gain a favor-able hearing in heaven. Mother of a sinner-turned saint; obtain for us patience, perseverance and total trust in God’s perfect timing. In His appointed hour, in His merciful way, may He respond to your prayer and ours, which we offer through you. Amen.

Feast of Saint Monica

May 4

Sunday Gospel - Holy Trinity - May 26

Jesus said to his disciples:“I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.”

- John 16:12–15

Sunday Gospel

May 5

Sunday Gospel - May 5

Jesus said to his disciples:“Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me.

“I have told you this while I am with you. The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. You heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe.”

- John 14:23–29

Sunday Gospel - Ascension - May 12

Jesus said to his disciples:“Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God. But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.

- Mark 16:15–20

Sunday Gospel - Pentecost - May 19

Jesus said to his disciples:“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always.

“Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. Those who do not love me do not keep my words; yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me.

“I have told you this while I am with you. The Advocate, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.”

- John 14:15–16, 23b–26

Saint John before the Latin Gate is one of the 12 pillars of the New Israel chosen by Jesus. As the youngest of the 12 Apostles, where in the year 95, Saint John, being the sole surviving apostle and with his ministry of Christ reaching as far as Asia. As governor of all the churches of Asia, was arrested at Ephesus and extradited as prisoner to Rome. Then Emperor Domitian condemned him to be cast into a cauldron of boiling oil even though John was a venerable old man. The martyr accepted this barbarous sentence and fate with great joy as it would unite him forever to his divine Master and Savior, Jesus Christ. But God accepted his will and conferred on him the honor of martyrdom, but suspended the operation of the fire, as He had formerly preserved the three children from hurt in the Babylonian furnace. The seething oil was changed in his regard into an invigorating bath, and the Saint came out more refreshed

than when he had entered the caldron. The emperor’s cruelty was foiled, and John, a martyr , was to be left to the Church for a few more years. Exiled to the rugged Isle of Patmos, God revealed to him the future of the Church even to the end of time.

Prayer of St John before the Latin gate

Sacred Heart of Jesus, my Redeemer! Exercise, I beseech Thee, Thy office of mediator with me, and permit not that Thy sufferings and cruel death be in vain for my salvation, but let them bring forth, for Thy glory, fruits of salvation in me, that my heart may love, praise, and glorify Thee for ever and ever. Amen.

- Musée Carnavalet / Roger-Viollet

Feast of Saint John before the Latin Gate

May 6

Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.

Salve Regina - Hail Holy Queen

Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us; and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. Pray for us O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen.

In the Roman Catholic teachings Saint Michael has four main roles or offices. His first role is the leader of the Army of God and the leader of heaven’s forces in their triumph over the powers of hell and evil. He is viewed as the angelic model for the virtues of the spiritual warrior, with the conflict against evil at times viewed as the battle within. The second and third roles of Michael in Catholic teachings deal with death. In his second role, Michael is the angel of death, carrying the souls of all the deceased to heaven. In this role, at the hour of death, Michael descends and gives each soul the chance to redeem itself before passing, thus consternating the devil and his minions. Catholic prayers often refer to this role of Michael. In his third role, he weighs souls in his perfectly balanced scales (hence Michael is often depicted holding scales). In his fourth role, St Michael, the special patron of the Chosen People in the Old Testament, is also the guardian of the Church; it was thus not unusual for the angel to be revered by the military orders of knights during the Middle Ages. This role also extends to his being the patron saint of a number of cities and countries. Roman Catholicism includes traditions such as the Prayer to Saint Michael which specifically asks for the faithful to be “defended” by the saint against evil. The Chaplet of Saint Michael consists of nine salutations, one for each choir of angels.

The feast day to honor St. Michael the Archangel is the 8th of May. St. Michael the Archangel is the protector of the Catholic Church in Kiev and of the Jewish people. He is the patron saint of police officers, the military, grocers, mariners, and paratroopers.

Prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel.

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan, and all the evil spirits, who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Feast of the Apparition of Saint Michael the Archangel

May 8

For forty days after his resurrection, Jesus revealed himself alive to his disciples. On the fortieth day, he ascended to heaven to take his place as Lord and Christ at God’s right hand. This day is also known as the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. Ascension Day is traditionally celebrated on a Thursday, the fortieth day of Easter. (Reference: in Acts 1:3). The Roman Catholic Church in a number of countries that do not observe the feast as a public holiday has obtained permission from the Vatican to move observance of the Feast of the Ascension from the traditional Thursday to the following Sunday, the Sunday before Pentecost. This is in keeping with a trend to move Holy Days of Obligation from weekdays to Sunday, to encourage more Catholics to observe feasts considered important.

The Ascension of Our Lord - Acts of the Apostles 1.1-11

After rising from the dead as he testified to his apostles (whom he had chosen), Jesus gave them commands by the Holy Spirit, presenting himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs. He appeared to them for forty days after his rising from the dead, and spoke to them regarding the Kingdom of God. He ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the Father, that they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit very shortly. In answer to their questions about the timing of the Kingdom, Jesus told them it was not for them to know times or seasons of the Kingdom’s climax, since the Father had fixed that time by his own authority. He did assure them, however that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they would be his witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. As our Lord had declared these things to them, and as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. As they gazed into heaven as Jesus ascended, two men stood by them in white robes, saying “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” The risen Lord has ascended to God’s right hand, with all power and authority now subject to him.

Solemnity of the Ascension of Our Lord

May 9

Father Damien or Saint Damien of Molokai,(January 3, 1840 – April 15, 1889), born Jozef De Veuster, was a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium and member of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, a missionary religious institute. He won recognition for his ministry in the Kingdom of Hawai’i, to people with leprosy (also known as Hansen’s disease), who had been placed under a government-sanctioned medical quarantine on the island of Molokai.

After sixteen years caring for the physical, spiritual and emotional needs of those in the leper colony, he eventually contracted and died of the disease, and is considered a “martyr of charity”. He was the tenth person recognized as a saint by the Catholic Church to have lived, worked, and/or died in what is now the United States.

Damien is considered the spiritual patron for leprosy and outcasts. As the patron saint of the Diocese of Honolulu and of Hawaii, Father Damien Day is celebrated statewide. Upon his beatification by Pope John Paul II in Rome on June 4, 1995, Blessed Damien was granted a memorial feast day, which is celebrated on May 10. Father Damien was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday October 11, 2009. The Catholic Encyclopedia calls him “the Apostle of the Lepers”, and elsewhere he is known as the “leper priest.”

The Feast of Saint Damien of Molokai is celebrated on the 10th of May. He is the Patron Saint of people with leprosy.

Prayer to Saint Damien.

Damien, brother on the journey, happy and generous missionary, who loved the Gospel more than your own life, who for love of Jesus left your family, you homeland, your security and your dreams.Teach us to give our live with a joy like yours, to be in solidarity with the outcasts of our world, to celebrate and contemplate the Eucharist as the source of our own commitment. Help us to love to the very end and, in the strength of the Spirit, to persevere in compassion for the poor and forgotten so that we might be good disciples of Jesus and Mary. Amen.

Feast of Saint Damien of Molokai

May 10

“God has sent me among you so that I may help you. If you so wish, grasp for the Rosary. Even the Rosary alone can work miracles in the world and in your lives.”

Our Lady of the RosaryOur Lady of the Rosary

Prayer to the Mother of Our Lord for all Mothers

Mary, on this day when we honor all mothers, we turn to you. We thank the Lord whom you serve for the great gift of motherhood. Never has it been known that anyone who sought your intercession was left unaided by grace. Dear Mother, thank you for your “Yes” to the invitation of the angel which brought heaven to earth and changed human history. You opened yourself to God’s word and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Dear mother, intercede for all of our mothers. Ask your Di-vine Son to give them the grace of surrendered love so that they could join with you in giving their own “Fiat.” May they find daily strength to say yes to the call to the sacrificial love- the very heart of the vocation of motherhood. May their love and witness be a source of great inspiration for all of us called to follow your Son. On this Mothers day, Mother of the Word Incarnate, pray for us who have recourse to you. In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Mother’s Day

May 12

Between May 13 and October 13, 1917, three Portuguese children received apparitions of Our Lady at Cova da Iria, near Fatima, a city 110 miles north of Lisbon. Mary asked the children to pray the rosary for world peace, for the end of World War I, for sinners and for the conversion of Russia. The third visionary, Lucia dos Santos, became a Carmelite nun and died in 2005 at the age of 97.

Mary gave the children three secrets. Since Francisco died in 1919 and Jacinta the following year, Lucia revealed the first secret in 1920. The secret called for the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The second secret was a vision of hell. The feast of Our Lady of Fatima was approved by the local bishop in 1930; it was added to the Church’s worldwide calendar in 2002.

Feast of Our Lady of Fatima

May 13

Prayer to Our Lady of Fatima.

O Most Holy Virgin Mary, Queen of the most holy Rosary, you were pleased to appear to the children of Fatima and reveal a glorious message. We implore you, inspire in our hearts a fervent love for the recitation of the Rosary. By meditating on the mysteries of the redemption that are recalled therein may we obtain the graces and virtues that we ask, through the merits of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Redeemer. Amen.

Saint Matthias according to the Acts of the Apostles was the apostle chosen by the remaining eleven apostles to replace Judas Iscariot following Judas’ betrayal of Jesus and suicide. His calling as an apostle is unique in that his appointment was not made personally by Jesus, who had already ascended to heaven, and, it was made before the descending of the Holy Spirit upon the early Church.

There is no mention of a Matthias among the lists of disciples or followers of Jesus in the three synoptic gospels. According to Acts 1, in the days following the Ascension of Jesus, to the assembled disciples, who numbered about one hundred and twenty, that they nominated two men to replace Judas: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles. (Acts 1:23-26).

Prayer to Saint Matthias the Apostle.

O Glorious Saint Matthias, in God’s design it fell upon you to take the place of the unfortunate Judas who betrayed his Master. You were selected by the twofold sign of the uprightness of your life and the call of the Holy Spirit.

Obtain for us the grace to practice the same uprightness of life and to be called by that same Spirit to wholehearted service of the Church. Then after a life of zeal and good works let us be ushered into your company in heaven to sing forever the praises of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Feast of Saint Matthias the Apostle

May 14 & 15

Saint Isidore was born at Madrid, Spain, in the latter half of the 12th century. For the greater part of his life he was employed as a laborer on a farm outside the city. Many marvelous happenings accompanied his lifelong work in the fields and continued long after his holy death. He was favored with celestial visions and, it is said, the angels sometimes helped him in his work in the fields. St. Isidore was canonized in 1622. In 1947, he was proclaimed the patron of the National Rural Conference in the United States.

The feast day to honor St. Isidore is the 15th of May. Saint Isidore is the patron saint of farmers.

Prayer of Saint Isidore.

God, who taught Adam the simple art of tilling the soil, and who through Jesus Christ, the true vine, revealed Yourself the husbandman of our souls, deign, we pray, through the merits of Blessed Isidore, to instill into our hearts a horror of sin and a love of prayer, so that working the soil in the sweat of our brow, we may enjoy eternal happiness in heaven. Through the same Christ our Lord.. Amen.

Feast of Saint Isidore the Farmer

Live Jesus in our hearts forever!Saint John Baptist de la Salle, educational pioneer, founder of the world-wide Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, commonly called the Christian Brothers, was born in the cathedral town of Rheims, France, on April 30, 1651. His parents were people of standing, his father holding a judicial post. From childhood he gave evidence of such unusual piety that he was designated for the priesthood. At eleven he received the tonsure and at sixteen became a canon of the cathedral chapter at Rheims. Later he was sent to the seminary of St. Sulpice to complete his studies. The young canon, handsome in appearance and scholarly in his tastes, seemed destined for high ecclesiastical preferment. Soon after his return to Rheims he was to discover his true life work—the education of the poor. It was to be a long, hard struggle, with few tangible rewards, but he unquestionably started a movement which was to result in furthering free elementary instruction.

The feast day to honor St. John Baptist de La Salle is the 15th of May. John Baptist de La Salle is the patron saint of teachers of youth, (May 15, 1950, Pius XII), patron to the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, Lasallian educational institutions, educators, school principals, and teachers.

Prayer of Saint John Baptist de la SalleFather in heaven, God of love, all I have and am is yours. Grant that I may become a living sign of your compassion in this world. Grant me the faith to live my life always in the awareness of your loving presence. Grant me zeal to serve without thought of reward, those to whom you send me. Grant me charity to bear the burdens of my brothers and sisters. Teach me to seek your Son’s face, in the last, the lost, and the least. In whatever undertake, may I seek above all things, to procure your glory, as far as I able, and as you will require of me. Strengthen me by your Holy Spirit, to follow Jesus by living the commitment I make this day. Amen . St. John Baptist de la Salle, pray for us. Live Jesus in our hearts forever!

Feast of Saint John Baptist de la Salle

May 14 & 15

Saint Dymphna was martyred as a teenager for her purity when she resisted the advances of a powerful figure. In Saint Dymphna’s case it an Irish pagan King named Damon, her own father, in the Seventh. Apparently, Saint Dymphna’s mother, who was quite beautiful, died when the child was only about 14. This so distressed King Damon that he sought to have his own daughter, who was Christian, take her place. (Talk about someone with a mental disorder!) Before this occurred, Saint Dymphna had taken a vow of chastity, consecrating her virginity to Christ. Saint Dymphna then fled Ireland with Saint Gerebernus, her confessor, along with two others to escape the king. They landed in Belgium where they settled in the town of Gheel, but he caught up with them. Damon then killed Saint Gerebernus and Saint Dymphna as well, when she refused to return to Ireland with him. St. Dymphna’s relics were placed in a church built in her honor in Gheel, where she was martyred, as miraculous cures of mental disorders took place there in the centuries after her death. The town itself became a model of humane treatment for the mentally ill.

The feast day to honor Saint Dymphna is the 15th of May. Saint Dymphna is the patron saint of those suffering from mental disorders and neurological disorders as well as runaways and victims of incest.

Prayer of Saint DymphnaGood Saint Dymphna, great wonder-worker in every affliction of mind and body, I humbly implore your powerful intercession with Jesus through Mary, the Health of the Sick, in my present need. Saint Dymphna, martyr of purity, patroness of those who suffer with nervous and mental afflictions, beloved child of Jesus and Mary, pray to them for me and obtain my request. Amen.

Feast of Saint Dymphna

Don’t be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious and fight for your friends, your families and your homes!- Nehemiah 4:14 And they said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.- Acts 16:31

Praise ye the Lord. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed.- Psalm 112:1-2

And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.- Isaiah 54:13

But thus saith the Lord, I will contend with him that contendeth with thee and I will save thy children.- Isaiah 49:25

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.- Proverbs 22:6

The children of the godly will go free.- Proverbs 11:21

The children of the godly stand firm.- Proverbs 12:7

Prayers for parents and children

A Christian prayer approved in 1587 by Pope Sixtus and also known as the Litany of Loreto.

V. Lord, have mercy on us.R. Christ, have mercy on us.V. Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us.R. Christ, graciously hear us.God, the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, pray for us.Holy Mother of God, pray for us.Holy Virgin of virgins, pray for us.Mother of Christ, pray for us.Mother of divine grace, pray for us.Mother most pure, pray for us.Mother most chaste, pray for us.Mother inviolate, pray for us.Mother undefiled, pray for us.Mother most amiable, pray for us.Mother most admirable, pray for us.Mother of our Creator, pray for us.Mother of our Savior, pray for us.Virgin most prudent, pray for us.Virgin most venerable, pray for us.Virgin most renowned, pray for us.Virgin most powerful, pray for us.Virgin most merciful, pray for us.Virgin most faithful, pray for us.Mirror of justice, pray for us.Seat of wisdom, pray for us.Cause of our joy, pray for us.Spiritual vessel, pray for us.Vessel of honor, pray for us.Singular vessel of devotion, pray for us.Mystical rose, pray for us.

The Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Tower of David, pray for us.Tower of ivory, pray for us.House of gold, pray for us.Ark of the covenant, pray for us.Gate of heaven, pray for us.Morning star, pray for us.Health of the sick, pray for us.Refuge of sinners, pray for us.Comforter of the afflicted, pray for us.Help of Christians, pray for us.Queen of Angels, pray for us.Queen of Patriarchs, pray for us.Queen of Prophets, pray for us.Queen of Apostles, pray for us.Queen of Martyrs, pray for us.

Queen of Confessors, pray for us.Queen of Virgins, pray for us.Queen of all Saints, pray for us.Queen conceived without original sin, pray for us.Queen of the most holy Rosary, pray for us.

V. Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world,R. Spare us, O Lord.V. Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world,R. Graciously hear us, O Lord!V. Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world,

R. Have mercy on us.V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.Let us pray. Pour forth, we beseech You, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that as we have known the Incarnation of Christ Thy Son by the message of an angel, so, by His Passion and cross, we may be brought to the glory of His Resurrection; through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.V. May the divine assistance remain always with us.R. Amen.

Even before the death and resurrection of Jesus, the apostles came to know Mary, the Mother of Jesus as their Queen and Mother. The Apostles were closely associated with the Blessed Mother during the public life of Christ and with her through the suffering of our Lord. Finally they persevered with Mary in prayer in the upper room, waiting for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer to MaryRemember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help, or sought your intercession, was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto you, O Virgin of Virgins, my Mother. To you I come; before you I stand sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word incarnate! Despise not my petition but in your mercy hear and answer me. Amen.

Feast of Our Lady Queen of Apostles

May 18

Pentecost commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Mary, the Apostles and other followers of Jesus as described in the Acts of the Apostles 2:1–31.

Pentecost is known as the birthday of the Church.

The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

Peter Addresses the Crowd

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

“‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and

you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.

David said about him:

“‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest in hope, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, you will not let your holy one see decay. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.’

“Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay.

Acts 2:1-31

Solemnity of Pentecost

May 19

The prayer to Saint Rita of Cascia (1381-1457) show below might help with a difficult or insurmountable problem. Early in life, she had a strong desire to be a nun, but got married instead, following her parents’ wishes. By all accounts, her husband was Mr. Wrong, an abusive man with whom she bore two sons of similar temperament. Apparently she had the patience of a saint because she prayed for them all and tried to be a dutiful wife and mother! After 18 years of marriage, her husband was murdered and her sons died of natural causes the following year. After that, St. Rita finally got her wish and was admitted to the convent of Augustinian nuns at Cascia. Tradition has it that the nuns there initially refused to let St. Rita join because she was a widow. One night Saint John the Baptist, St. Augustine and St. Nicholas of Tolentino opened gates that had been bolted shut and left her in the chapel of the convent. When the nuns found St. Rita there the next morning they understood God’s designs for her and accepted her unanimously. Talk about prayer opening doors! Many other miracles were attributed to St. Rita, both during her life and after her death. As an example, her devotion to Jesus in His Passion was such that a thorn from the crucifix in her room pierced her forehead one day while she was praying!

The feast day to honor Saint Rita is the 15th of May. Saint Rita is the patron saint of lost and impossible causes, sickness, wounds, marital problems, abuse, and to mothers.

Prayer to Saint Rita.

Holy Patroness of those in need, Saint Rita, so humble, pure and patient, whose pleadings with thy Divine Spouse are irresistible, obtain for me from thy Crucified Christ my request (mention it here). Be kind to me, for the greater glory of God, and I promise to honor thee and to sing thy praises forever. Oh glorious St. Rita, who didst miraculously participate in the sorrowful Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, obtain for me the grace to suffer with resignation the troubles of this life, and protect me in all my needs. Amen.

Feast of Saint Rita

May 22

Regina CaeliQueen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia.For He whom you did merit to bear, alleluia.

Has risen, as He said, alleluia.Pray for us to God, alleluia.

V: Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia.R: For the Lord has truly risen, alleluia.

Let us pray. O God, who gave joy to the world through the resurrection of thy son, our

Lord Jesus Christ, grant we beseech thee, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, his mother, we may obtain the joys of everlasting life. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

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The Regina Caeli is recited everyday in place of the Angelus during Easter season from Holy Saturday through Pentecost Sunday.

V. The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.R. And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

V. Behold the handmaid of the Lord.R. Be it done unto me according to thy word.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

V. And the Word was made flesh.R. And dwelt among us.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

V. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God.R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us PrayPour forth, we beseech thee, O Lord, thy grace into our hearts, that we to whom the Incarnation of Christ thy son was made known by the message of an angel, may by his passion and cross be brought to the glory of his resurrection. Through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.

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The AngelusJean-François MilletMusée d’Orsay, Paris, France

Angelus

Bede is one of the few saints honored as such even during his lifetime. As the patron saint of scholars, his writings were filled with such faith and learning that even while he was still alive, a Church council ordered them to be read publicly in the churches. At an early age Bede was entrusted to the care of the abbot of the Monastery of St. Paul, Jarrow. The happy combination of genius and the instruction of scholarly, saintly monks produced a saint and an extraordinary scholar, perhaps the most outstanding one of his day. He was deeply versed in all the sciences of his times: natural philosophy, the philosophical principles of Aristotle, astronomy, arithmetic, grammar, ecclesiastical history, the lives of the saints and, especially, Holy Scripture. From the time of his ordination to the priesthood at 30 (he had been ordained deacon at 19) till his death, he was ever occupied with learning, writing and teaching. Besides the many books that he copied, he composed 45 of his own, including 30 commentaries on books of the Bible. Although eagerly sought by kings and other notables, even Pope Sergius, Bede managed to remain in his own monastery till his death. Only once did he leave for a few months in order to teach in the school of the archbishop of York. Bede died in 735 praying his favorite prayer: “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As in the beginning, so now, and forever.” His Ecclesiastical History of the English People is commonly regarded as of decisive importance in the art and science of writing history. A unique era was coming to an end at the time of Bede’s death: It had fulfilled its purpose of preparing Western Christianity to assimilate the non-Roman barbarian North. Bede recognized the opening to a new day in the life of the Church even as it was happening.

The Feast day to honor St. Bede is on the 25th of May. He is the Patron Saint of English writers and historians.

Prayer to St Bede.

Careful Historian and Doctor of the Church, lover of God and of truth, you are a natural model for all readers of God’s inspired Word. Move lectors to prepare for public reading by prayerfully pondering the sacred texts and invoking the Holy Spirit. Help them to read in such a way that those who hear may attain learning and edification. Amen.

Feast of Saint Bede

May 25

The Litany of the Most Holy Trinity

Blessed be the holy Trinity and undivided Unity;We will give glory to Him, because He hath shown His mercy to us.

V. O Lord our Lord, how wonderful is Thy Name in all the earth!R. O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God!

Lord, have mercy.Lord, have mercy.Christ, have mercy.Christ, have mercy.Lord, have mercy.Lord, have mercy.Blessed Trinity, hear us.Adorable Unity, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven,Have mercy on us.God the Son, Redeemer of the world,Have mercy on us.God the Holy Spirit,Have mercy on us.Holy Trinity, One God,Father from Whom are all things,Son through Whom are all things,Holy Spirt in Whom are all things,Holy and undivided Trinity,Father everlasting,Only-begotten Son of the Father,Holy Spirit Who proceedeth from the Father and the Son,Co-eternal Majesty of Three Divine Persons,Father, the Creator,Son, the Redeemer,Holy Spirit, the Comforter,Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts,Who art, Who wast, and Who art to come,God Most High, Who inhabitest eternity,To Whom alone are due all honor and glory,Who alone doest great wonders,Power infinite,Wisdom incomprehensible,Love unspeakable,

Be merciful,Spare us, O Holy Trinity.Be merciful,Graciously hear us, O Holy Trinity.

From all evil,Deliver us, O Holy Trinity.From all sin,Deliver us, O Holy Trinity.From all pride, etc.From all love of riches,From all uncleanness,From all sloth,From all inordinate affection,From all envy and malice,From all anger and impatience,From every thought, word, and deed contrary to Thy holy law,From Thine everlasting malediction,Through Thine almighty power,Through Thy plenteous loving kindness,Through the exceeding treasure of Thy goodness and love,Through the depths of Thy wisdom and knowledge,Through all Thy unspeakable perfections,We sinnersBeseech Thee, hear us.

That we may ever serve Thee alone,We beseech Thee, hear us.That we may worship Thee in spirit and in truth,We beseech Thee, hear us.That we may love Thee with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our strength, etc.That, for Thy sake, we may love our neighbor as ourselves,That we may faithfully keep Thy holy commandments,That we may never defile our bodies and souls with sin,That we may go from grace to grace, and from virtue to virtue,That we may finally enjoy the sight of Thee in glory,That Thou wouldst vouchsafe to hear us,

O Blessed Trinity,We beseech Thee, deliver us.O Blessed Trinity,We beseech Thee, save us.O Blessed Trinity,Have mercy on us.Lord, have mercy,Christ, have mercy.Lord, have mercy.

V. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, in the firmament of Heaven,R. And worthy to be praised, and glorious, and highly exalted forever.

Let Us Pray.

Almighty and everlasting God, Who hast granted Thy servants in the confession of the True Faith, to acknowledge the glory of an Eternal Trinity, and in the power of Thy majesty to adore a Unity: we beseech Thee that by the strength of this faith we may be defended from all adversity. Through Jesus Christ Our Lord. R. Amen.

Glory be to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end. Amen.

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

May 26

In the year 596, some 40 monks set out from Rome to evangelize the Anglo-Saxons in England. Leading the group was Augustine, the prior of their monastery in Rome. Hardly had he and his men reached Gaul (France) when they heard stories of the ferocity of the Anglo-Saxons and of the treacherous waters of the English Channel. Augustine returned to Rome and to the pope who had sent them— St. Gregory the Great (September 3 )—only to be assured by him that their fears were groundless.

Augustine again set out. This time the group crossed the English Channel and landed in the territory of Kent, ruled by King Ethelbert, a pagan married to a Christian, Bertha. Ethelbert received them kindly, set up a residence for them in Canterbury and within the year, on Pentecost Sunday, 597, was himself baptized. After being consecrated a bishop in France, Augustine returned to Canterbury, where he founded his see. He constructed a church and monastery near where the present cathedral, begun in 1070, now stands. As the faith spread, addi-tional sees were established at London and Rochester.

Work was sometimes slow and Augustine did not always meet with success. Attempts to reconcile the Anglo-Saxon Christians with the original Briton Christians (who had been driven into western England by Anglo-Saxon invaders) ended in dismal failure.

Augustine failed to convince the Britons to give up certain Celtic customs at variance with Rome and to forget their bitterness, helping him evangelize their Anglo-Saxon conquerors.

Laboring patiently, Augustine wisely heeded the missionary principles—quite enlightened for the times—suggested by Pope Gregory the Great: purify rather than destroy pagan temples and customs; let pagan rites and festivals be transformed into Christian feasts; retain local customs as far as possible. The limited success Augustine achieved in England before his death in 605, a short eight years after he arrived in England, would eventually bear fruit long after in the conversion of Eng-land. Augustine of Canterbury can truly be called the “Apostle of England.”

Prayer for the Feast of Saint Augustine of Canterbury

O God, Who by the preaching and miracles of blessed Augustine, Thy Confessor and Bishop, didst vouchsafe to shed upon the English people the light of the true faith; grant that, through his intercession, the hearts of those that have gone astray may return to the unity of Thy truth, and that we may be of one mind in doing Thy will. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one world without end. Amen.

Feast of Saint Augustine of Canterbury

May 27

Saint Joan of Arc (January 6, 1412 - May 30, 1431) was born to pious parents of the French peasant class, at the obscure village of Domremy, near the province of Lorraine. At the age of 12 years, whilst out alone in a field, she was visited by visions of Saint Michael, Saint Catherine, and Saint Margaret, instructing her to drive out the English and bring the Dauphin to Reims for his coronation.

On 8th of May in 1429, after overcoming obstacles consisting of her own countrymen , the seventeen year old girl was given a small army with which she raised the seige of Orleans by effectively turningthe longstanding Anglo-French conflict into a religious war. Though her actual military leadership is a subject of historical debate, historians agree that her primary effect was on morale of the troops. Recent academic scholars found that the army’s commanders esteemed her as a skilled tactician and a successful strategist despite her being an illiterate farm girl. Author and historian, Stephen W. Richey opined that, ” She proceeded to lead the army in an astounding series of victories that reversed the tide of the war.” Thus adding creditability to her claims that the voice of God was instructing her to take charge of her country’s army and lead it to victory.

On the 23rd of May 1430, she was attempting to relieve Compiegne, she was captured and trapped into making a few damaging statements during her trial. When she refused to retract the assertion that it was the saints of God who had commanded her to do what she had done, she was condemned to death as a heretic, sorceress, and adulteress, and burned at the stake. On May 30, 1431, at the age of nineteen years old, her execution was carried out.

Around thirty years later, her conviction was over turned thus exonerating her of all guilt. She was canonized in 1920, officially recording her histories for centuries to all to learn about. Her feast day is the 30th of May. St. Joan of Arc is the patroness of soldiers and of France.

Feast of Saint Joan of Arc

May 30

Magnificat

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name.He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. He has shown the strength of his arm,he has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.He has come to the help of his servant Israel for he has remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children for ever. Amen.

Feast of the Visitation

of Our Lady

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Father, send now Your Spirit over the earth. Let the Holy Spirit live in the hearts of all nations, that they may be preserved from degeneration, disaster and war.

May the Lady of All Nations, the Blessed Virgin Mary, be our Advocate. Amen.

Feast of Our Lady of All Nations

May 31

Is a special Marian title that some Roman Catholics give to the Blessed Virgin Mary as the mother of Jesus Christ, encompassing the belief that all the graces and blessings that her son gives come through her.

This attributes to her a role more extensive than the role of mediation or intercession attributed to her in Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy and for which the title “Mediatrix” is used.

The Second Vatican Council referred in its document Lumen gentium to Mary as “Advocate, Auxiliatrix, Adjutrix and Mediatrix”. It did not use the phrase “Mediatrix of all graces.”

The establishment of Mediatrix of all graces as a dogma is still being debated among Catholic theologians, given that it goes further than the use of the title Mediatrix and the doctrine of Mary having a higher level of saintly intercession (due to her special relationship with her son Jesus), but has not received Vatican approval.

In 1896, French Jesuit priest René-Marie de la Brosse interpreted Pope Leo XIII’s papal encyclical Octobri Mense as teaching that all graces from Jesus Christ are imparted through Mary. Brosse proposed that the pontiff should make a dogmatic definition about the role of Mary in the distribution of all graces, but did not require that it be in the form of declaring her to be the mediatrix of all graces.

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“Mary is the Mediatrix between her Son and us for a twofold reason: she gives Jesus to us and she brings us to Him. The Gospel tells us this several times, showing us the typically maternal attitude of Mary as she brought Jesus to mankind. Our Lady offered the Infant Jesus to the adoration of the shepherds and the Wise Men; she took Him to the Temple and presented Him to Simeon; by her intercession at Cana, she obtained the first miracle from her Son. On Calvary, Mary received into her arms the martyred, lifeless Body of her beloved Son, whom she offered to mankind as the price of its redemption. In the Cenacle, she begged the plenitude of the Holy Spirit for the Apostles and, from that day to the day of her Assumption, she sustained the infant Church by her prayers and maternal encouragement. To find Mary is to find Jesus. This is

the whole reason for her existence and her mission: to give Jesus to the world and to souls, and with Jesus, to give His grace and blessings. As St Bernard says, Mary is truly the channel which carries the living water of grace to mankind; furthermore, she brings Jesus, the very source of grace.

As Mediatrix, Mary also leads men to Jesus by teaching them the way to her Son and by showing them how to please Him. We are always poor little children incapable of making presentable gifts to God, but Mary our Mother, with maternal delicacy, arranges and embellishes our gifts, our acts, our prayers and sacrifices, and

offers them with her own hands to her divine Son. She, like a true mother, gives particular attention to our hearts, which she desires to make pleasing to Jesus: Mary wants to form in each one of us a heart which is pure, full of love and goodness, a heart which can beat in unison with the heart of her Son. Let us then, place our hearts in Mary’s hands, that she may fill them ‘with grace and truth, life and virtue’ (Roman Missal).” -- Divine Intimacy

Prayer to Our Lady Mediatrix of all Graces

“O Mary, God has given you the plenitude of all His benefits, to show us that all hope, all grace, all salvation come from your super-abundance. Grant, therefore, O Mary, you who have found grace and have given us life, that through you we may approach your divine Son, O Blessed Mother of Salvation! Grant that through you we may receive Him who was given to us through you. Let your spotless purity excuse before His eyes the faults of our malice. May your humility, so pleasing to God, obtain pardon for our pride! May your immense charity cover the multitude of our sins, and may your glorious fruitfulness make our good works faithful!

“O Lady, our Mediatrix and our advocate, reconcile us with your Son, recommend us to your Son, present us to your Son! You are blessed by the grace you have found, by the privileges you have merited, by the mercy you have brought to the world. Obtain for us that Jesus, who through you deigned to share our infirmity and our wretchedness, may grant us also through you a share in His glory and in His beatitude.”

- Saint Bernard

Our Lady Mediatrix of All Graces

May 31

Dear young people, have a great heart! Do not be afraid to dream big things!

To you, who are at the beginning of life’s journey I ask: Have you thought about the talents that God has given you? Have you thought about how you can put them at the service of others? Do not bury the talents! Bet on great ideals, ideals that expand the

heart, the ideals of service that will make your talents fruitful. Life is given to us not to jealously preserve it for ourselves, but so that we make a gift of it to others. Dear young people, have a great heart! Do not be afraid to dream big things!

- Pope Francis

Pope Francis Homily from The Vatican