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Apr 1 – Homily – Fr Bonaventure: The Key for Living Life in this World

apostolate — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 15:25:46 +0000

Homily #080401 ( 06min) Play – “The Son of Man must be lifted up” (Jn 3:14) for eternal life tells us of the love of God the Father and the key for living life in this world.
Ave Maria! Mass readings
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Apr 7 – Homily – Fr Angelo: St John Baptist de la Salle

apostolate — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:49:44 +0000

Homily #080407 ( 06min) Play – The disciples seek Jesus but not for the right reason. They wanted more physical bread whereas Jesus wanted to feed them with heavenly food that gives eternal life, to have Faith in Him. Faith is the first of the works that enable us to do all the other works as mentioned in James. Fr. uses this to explain how St John Baptist de la Salle taught his children not only how to earn their bread, but also taught the Faith that gives them eternal life.

Ave Maria! Mass readings
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The Ineffable Joy of Heaven at the Assumption of the Blessed Mother of Christ Jesus

Sr. JosephMary f.t.i. — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 07:00:10 +0000

Ave Maria Meditations

August 15th: The Solemnity of the The Assumption

MUNIFICENTISSIMUS DEUS

Pope Pius XII

Excerpts from the Apostolic Constitution defining “ex cathedra” (from the chair of Peter) the dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin)

November 1, 1950

40. Hence the revered Mother of God, from all eternity joined in a hidden way with Jesus Christ in one and the same decree of predestination, immaculate in her conception, a most perfect virgin in her divine motherhood, the noble associate of the divine Redeemer who has won a complete triumph over sin and its consequences, finally obtained, as the supreme culmination of her privileges, that she should be preserved free from the corruption of the tomb and that, like her own Son, having overcome death, she might be taken up body and soul to the glory of heaven where, as Queen, she sits in splendor at the right hand of her Son, the immortal King of the Ages.

3. Actually God, who from all eternity regards Mary with a most favorable and unique affection, has “when the fullness of time came” put the plan of his providence into effect in such a way that all the privileges and prerogatives he had granted to her in his sovereign generosity were to shine forth in her in a kind of perfect harmony. And, although the Church has always recognized this supreme generosity and the perfect harmony of graces and has daily studied them more and more throughout the course of the centuries, still it is in our own age that the privilege of the bodily Assumption into heaven of Mary, the Virgin Mother of God, has certainly shone forth more clearly.

4. That privilege has shone forth in new radiance since our predecessor of immortal memory, Pius IX, solemnly proclaimed the dogma of the loving Mother of God’s Immaculate Conception. These two privileges are most closely bound to one another. Christ overcame sin and death by his own death, and one who through Baptism has been born again in a supernatural way has conquered sin and death through the same Christ. Yet, according to the general rule, God does not will to grant to the just the full effect of the victory over death until the end of time has come. And so it is that the bodies of even the just are corrupted after death, and only on the last day will they be joined, each to its own glorious soul.

5. Now God has willed that the Blessed Virgin Mary should be exempted from this general rule. She, by an entirely unique privilege, completely overcame sin by her Immaculate Conception, and as a result she was not subject to the law of remaining in the corruption of the grave, and she did not have to wait until the end of time for the redemption of her body.

21. Thus St. John Damascene, an outstanding herald of this traditional truth, spoke out with powerful eloquence when he compared the bodily Assumption of the loving Mother of God with her other prerogatives and privileges. “It was fitting that she, who had kept her virginity intact in childbirth, should keep her own body free from all corruption even after death. It was fitting that she, who had carried the Creator as a child at her breast, should dwell in the divine tabernacles. It was fitting that the spouse, whom the Father had taken to himself, should live in the divine mansions. It was fitting that she, who had seen her Son upon the cross and who had thereby received into her heart the sword of sorrow which she had escaped in the act of giving birth to him, should look upon him as he sits with the Father. It was fitting that God’s Mother should possess what belongs to her Son, and that she should be honored by every creature as the Mother and as the handmaid of God.”

39. We must remember especially that, since the second century, the Virgin Mary has been designated by the holy Fathers as the new Eve, who, although subject to the new Adam, is most intimately associated with him in that struggle against the infernal foe which, as foretold in the protoevangelium,would finally result in that most complete victory over the sin and death which are always mentioned together in the writings of the Apostle of the Gentiles.Consequently, just as the glorious resurrection of Christ was an essential part and the final sign of this victory, so that struggle which was common to the Blessed Virgin and her divine Son should be brought to a close by the glorification of her virginal body, for the same Apostle says: “When this mortal thing hath put on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory.”

44. For which reason, after we have poured forth prayers of supplication again and again to God, and have invoked the light of the Spirit of Truth, for the glory of Almighty God who has lavished his special affection upon the Virgin Mary, for the honor of her Son, the immortal King of the Ages and the Victor over sin and death, for the increase of the glory of that same august Mother, and for the joy and exultation of the entire Church; by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own authority, we pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma:?

that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.

45. Hence if anyone, which God forbid, should dare willfully to deny or to call into doubt that which we have defined, let him know that he has fallen away completely from the divine and Catholic Faith.

Mary’s Assumption shows us the route we must follow in our spiritual ascent : detachment from the earth, flight toward God, and union with God.

Our Lady was assumed body and soul into heaven because she was Immaculate; she was all- pure-free not only from every shadow of sin, but even from the slightest attachment to the things of earth, so that she” never had the form of any creature imprinted in her soul, nor was moved by such, but was invariably guided by the Holy Spirit”

The first requirement for attaining God is this total purity, the fruit of total detachment. The Blessed Virgin, who lived her earthly life in absolute detachment from every created thing, teaches us not to allow ourselves to be captivated by the fascination of creatures, but to live among them, occupying ourselves with them with much charity, but without ever letting our heart become attached to them, without ever seeking our satisfaction in them.

In her Assumption Mary speaks to us of flight toward heaven, toward God. It is not enough to purify our heart from sin and all attachment to creatures, we must at the same time direct it toward God, tending toward Him with all our strength. The Church has us pray in today’s Mass, “0 Lord, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary who was assumed into heaven, may our hearts be enkindled by the fire of Thy love, continually aspire toward Thee” (Secret). Our earthly life has value for eternal life insofar as it is a flight toward God, a continual seeking after Him, a continual adherence to His grace. When this flight fails, the supernatural value of our existence lessens.

Mary has been taken up to heaven because she is the Mother of God. This is the greatest of her privileges and the root of all the others and the reason for them; it speaks to us in a very special way, of intimate union with God, as the fact of her Assumption speaks to us of the beatific union vision of heaven. Mary’s Assumption thus confirms us in this great and beautiful truth: we are created and called to union with God. Mary herself stretches out her maternal hand to guide us to the attainment of this high ideal. If we keep our eyes fixed on her, we shall advance more easily; she will be our guide, our strength, and our consolation in every trial and difficulty.

Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene OCD (Divine Intimacy)

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Aug 19 – Homily – Fr Ignatius: The Danger of Riches

apostolate — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:09:28 +0000

Homily #080819 ( 10min) Play – Our Lord warns us that riches can be a serious obstacle to entering into eternal life. Hear Fr Ignatius explain why Christ warns us of this danger. Ave Maria! Mass readings +++

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Oct 06 – Homily – Fr Angelo: Who is Our Neighbor?

apostolate — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 11:58:58 +0000

Homily #081006 ( 12min) Play – Twenty-seventh Monday in Ordinary Time – Fr. Angelo Geiger preaches on the Good Samaritan and the need to show charity and mercy to our fellow man in order to gain eternal life.
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Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary

Sr. JosephMary f.t.i. — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 05:00:11 +0000

Ave Maria Meditations

Oct. 7 – Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary

Promises to those who pray the Rosary and the History of the Feast

“Devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and devotion to the Holy Rosary… [are] the unparalleled solution to ‘fight’ Satan, renew our faith, convert sinners, save souls,?and? bring peace into our lives and into the world.”

The Eucharist and The Rosary: The Power to Change the World

OCTOBER – MONTH OF THE ROSARY

Promises of Mary to Christians who Recite the Rosary:??????????

Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the rosary, shall receive signal graces.
I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the rosary.
The rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.
It will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.
The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the rosary, shall not perish.
Whoever shall recite the rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its sacred mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just he shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of eternal life
Whoever shall have a true devotion for the rosary shall not die without the sacraments of the Church.
Those who are faithful to recite the rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plenitude of His graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the merits of the saints in paradise.
I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the rosary.
The faithful children of the rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in heaven.
You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the rosary.
All those who propagate the holy rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.
I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death.
All who recite the rosary are my sons, and brothers of my only son Jesus Christ.
Devotion of my rosary is a great sign of predestination.
(Given to St. Dominic and Blessed Alan) Imprimatur:
+PATRICK J. HAYES. D.D. Archbishop of New York

WHY the daily rosary?

Our Lady has 117 titles. She selected this title at Fatima:? “I am the Lady of the Rosary.”

St. Francis de Sales said the greatest method of praying IS – Pray the Rosary.

St. Thomas Aquinas preached 40 straight days in Rome, Italy on just the Hail Mary.

St. John Vianney, patron of priests, was seldom seen without a rosary in his hand.

“The rosary is the scourge of the devil” – Pope Adrian VI.

“The rosary is a treasure of graces” – Pope Paul V.

St. Padre Pio the stigmatic priest said:? “The rosary is THE WEAPON.”

Pope Leo XIII wrote 9 encyclicals on the rosary.

Pope John XXIII spoke 38 times about our Lady and the Rosary. He prayed 15 decades daily.

St. Louis de Montfort wrote:
“The rosary is the most powerful weapon to touch the
Heart of Jesus, Our Redeemer, who so loves His Mother.”

The Rosary defeated the Muslims at the Battle of Lepanto…

The story of the Battle of Lepanto…

Almost from the very beginning of Islam, there were wars upon wars between Christians and Muslims. We remember the Crusade wars, seven major and several minor, which lasted for centuries. This is the story of the Battle of Lepanto, which marked the end of the Crusades and was a turning point in the history of Christianity.?

Charles Martel’s victory at Poitiers definitely stopped the Moslem invasion of western Europe. In the east Christians held firm against attacks of the Muslims until 1453. In that year, Mohammed II threw huge assaults against Constantinople and by the evening of May 29 the Byzantine capital fell. By 1571 the Muslims were firmly installed in Europe. Their ships ruled the Mediterranean Sea from the Strait of Bosporus to the Strait of Gibraltar and constantly preyed on Christian vessels unless they flew the French flag. ?

Pope Pius V, in the last year of his papacy in 1571, tried to rally the nations of Europe to join in a Holy League to stop and roll back the Moslem enemy which threatened the entire continent. Spain, whose King Philip II was also King of Austria, responded favorably. The Muslims were then engaged in the conquest of Cyprus, an island belonging to the Republic of Venice. ?

Leading Venetian officials would have preferred to have worked out some peaceful-coexistence agreement with the Sultan, but under the crusading influence of Saint Pius V, they decided to join the Holy League along with the republics of Genoa and Lucca and the dukes of Savory, Parma, Ferrara and Urbino. ?

The Papal fleet was of course part of the Holy Alliance. Pius V asked Philip to appoint Don John of Austria, the 25-year old son of Emperor Charles V, as commander-in-chief of a planned expedition against the Muslims. After receiving the banner of the Holy League from the Pope, through Cardinal Granvalla, Don John’s fleet set sail from Genoa for Naples on June 26, 1571. ?

Few historians mention that just before the departure, Philip II presented Don John with a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe which she had caused to be miraculously imprinted on the cloak of the Indian peasant Juan Diego in Mexico 40 years before. Don John placed the picture in the chapel of the admiral-vessel, the Genoese John Andrew Doria, asking for Mary’s protection of his expedition. ?

On September 16, the Christian fleet put to sea. Don John anchored off of Corfu where he learned that the Muslims had leveled entire towns and villages and then retreated to the coast of Lepanto in the Gulf of Corinth.

At dawn on October 7, at the entrance to the Gulf of Patras, the Christian and Moslem fleets finally came face to face for the battle of Lepanto.?

The wind and all military factors favored the Muslims, but Don John was confident. He boarded a fast ship for a final review of his fleet. He shouted encouraging words to the men and they shouted back. After Don John returned to his own position, the wind mysteriously changed to the advantage of the Christian fleet. First-hand witnesses wrote about this moment as a most dramatic turn-of-events resulting from an “unknown factor”. ?

At that very moment, at dawn on October 7, 1571– as Vatican Archives later revealed–Pope Pius V, accompanied by many faithful, was praying the Rosary in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.? From dawn to dusk the prayers continued in Rome as the Christians and the Muslims battled at Lepanto.? When it was all over the Muslims had been defeated. Of some 270 Moslem ships, at least 200 were destroyed.? The Turks also lost 30,000 men while Christian casualties numbered between 4,000 and 5,000.?

The Rosary had won a great military victory. Like all truly great military leaders who hate war and love peace, Don John retired after his victory at Lepanto. He died a few years later at the age of 31. Another who took part in the great battle of Lepanto, Miguel de Cervantes, lived longer to write his famous tribute to Christian chivalry, Don Quixote.?

The origin of the Feast of the Most Holy Rosary on October 7th …

Following the great Christian victory at Lepanto, Pope St. Pius V declared that henceforth a commemoration of the Rosary would be a part of the Vatican’s Mass on every October 7.? His successor, Pope Gregory XIII, went further. In 1573 he established the Feast of the Most Holy Rosary–to be celebrated at all Churches which had specific altars dedicated to the Rosary.?

In 1671 Pope Clement X extended observance of the feast to all of Spain.

Only 12 years later in 1683 the Muslims again swept into Europe. With 200,000 men, they laid siege to Vienna. After months of valiant resistance by a small garrison, the city was relieved by an army under John Sobieski, King of Poland. The Rosary, to which the King was dedicated, was again instrumental in a military victory. Pope Innocent XI consecrated September 12 of that year to the Holy Name of Mary. The Moslem hordes were hurled back yet again at Peterwardein in Hungary by Prince Eugene on the Feast of Out Lady of the Snows, August 5, 1716. As a result of this victory, Pope Clement XI extended the Feast of the Rosary to the Universal Church.

?

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(Pontiff) Pontem Facere: To Make a Bridge

Sr. JosephMary f.t.i. — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 20:00:23 +0000

Ave Maria Mediations

“But in order that you should have life, it is not enough that My Son should have become the Bridge, unless you pass over this Bridge.” God the Father to St. Catherine of Siena in the Dialogue

“The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” The Virgin replies: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word”. (Lk 1: 36-38)

At this moment, the Word is made flesh. The Word is for ever united, by an ineffable union, to our humanity. Through the Incarnation, the Word enters into our race: He becomes authentically one of ourselves, like unto us in all things, excepting sin. He can, then, become High Priest and Mediator, since being God and Man He can bind man to God: He was taken from among men.

In the Holy Trinity, the Second Person, the Word, is the infinite glory of[the Father, His essential glory: the brightness of his glory and the figure of his substance. (Heb. 1:3) But as Word before the Incarnation, He does not offer sacrifice to His Father. Why is this? Because sacrifice supposes homage and adoration, that is to say the acknowledgment of our own abasement in presence of the Infinite Being; the Word being in all things equal to His Father, being God with Him and like Him, cannot then offer Him sacrifice. Christ’s Priesthood could only begin at the moment when the Word was made flesh. At that moment when the Word became Incarnate, He united in Himself two natures: the divine nature whereby He was able to say: “I and the Father are one” (Jn. 10:30), one in the unity of the Divinity, one in equality of perfections; the other, the human nature by reason of which He said: “The Father is greater than I” (Jn.14:28). It is therefore inasmuch as He is God-Man that Jesus is Pontiff

Learned authors derive the word ‘pontiff’ from pontem facere: to establish or to make a bridge. Whatever be the value of this etymology, the idea is just when applied to Christ. In the Dialogue of St. Catherine of Siena, we read that God the Father, vouchsafed to explain to her how, by the union of the two natures, Christ threw a bridge over the abyss that separated us from heaven: “I would that thou shouldst look at the Bridge that I have built for thee in My Only-begotten Son, and that thou shouldst see the greatness thereof for it reaches from heaven to earth, that is, the greatness of the Divinity is joined to the earth of your humanity … That was necessary in order to restore the road which was broken and make it possible for man to pass through this world’s bitterness and attain (eternal) life; but the bridge could not be made of earth large enough to span the abyss and reach eternal life, since the earth of human nature was incapable of itself to satisfy for sin and remove the stain of Adam’s sin which has corrupted and infected the whole human race. It was, then, necessary to join human nature with the height of My nature, the Eternal Deity, so that it might satisfy for the whole human race. It was necessary that the human nature should bear the punishment and that the divine nature, united with the human, should make acceptable the sacrifice that My Son offered to Me in order to destroy death and restore life to you. So the height of the Divinity, humbled to the earth of your humanity, built the Bridge and made the road … But in order that you should have life, it is not enough that My Son should have become the Bridge, unless you pass over this Bridge.”

The sacrifice of this one Pontiff is on a par with His priesthood; it was likewise the moment of His incarnation that Jesus inaugurated it.

Blessed Dom Columba Marmion OSB (Christ in His Mysteries)

MEDIATOR DEI

ENCYCLICAL OF POPE PIUS XII
ON THE SACRED LITURGY
TO THE VENERABLE BRETHREN, THE PATRIARCHS, PRIMATES,
ARCHBISHOPS, BISHIOPS, AND OTHER ORDINARIES
IN PEACE AND COMMUNION WITH THE APOSTOLIC SEE

Venerable Brethren,
Health and Apostolic Benediction.

Mediator between God and men and High Priest who has gone before us into heaven, Jesus the Son of God quite clearly had one aim in view when He undertook the mission of mercy which was to endow mankind with the rich blessings of supernatural grace. Sin had disturbed the right relationship between man and his Creator; the Son of God would restore it. The children of Adam were wretched heirs to the infection of original sin; He would bring them back to their heavenly Father, the primal source and final destiny of all things. For this reason He was not content, while He dwelt with us on earth, merely to give notice that redemption had begun, and to proclaim the long-awaited Kingdom of God, but gave Himself besides in prayer and sacrifice to the task of saving souls, even to the point of offering Himself, as He hung from the cross, a Victim unspotted unto God, to purify our conscience of dead works, to serve the living God. Thus happily were all men summoned back from the byways leading them down to ruin and disaster, to be set squarely once again upon the path that leads to God. Thanks to the shedding of the blood of the Immaculate Lamb, now each might set about the personal task of achieving his own sanctification, so rendering to God the glory due to Him.

18. But it is His will, besides, that the worship He instituted and practiced during His life on earth shall continue ever afterwards without intermission. For he has not left mankind an orphan. He still offers us the support of His powerful, unfailing intercession, acting as our “advocate with the Father.” He aids us likewise through His Church, where He is present indefectibly as the ages run their course: through the Church which He constituted “the pillar of truth”and dispenser of grace, and which by His sacrifice on the cross, He founded, consecrated and confirmed forever.

MYSTICI CORPORIS CHRISTI

Encyclical of Pope Pius XII “On the Mystical Body of Christ” on June 29, 1943

40. But we must not think that He rules only in a hidden or extraordinary manner. On the contrary, our Divine Redeemer also governs His Mystical Body in a visible and normal way through His Vicar on earth. You know, Venerable Brethren, that after He had ruled the “little flock” Himself during His mortal pilgrimage, Christ our Lord, when about to leave this world and return to the Father, entrusted to the Chief of the Apostles the visible government of the entire community He had founded. Since He was all wise He could not leave the body of the Church He had founded as a human society without a visible head. Nor against this may one argue that the primacy of jurisdiction established in the Church gives such a Mystical Body two heads. For Peter in virtue of his primacy is only Christ’s Vicar; so that there is only one chief Head of this Body, namely Christ, who never ceases Himself to guide the Church invisible, though at the same time He rules it visibly, through him who is His representative on earth. After His glorious Ascension into heaven this Church rested not on Him alone, but on Peter too, its visible foundation stone. That Christ and His Vicar constitute one only Head is the solemn teaching of Our predecessor of immortal memory Boniface VIII in the Apostolic Letter Unam Sanctam; and his successors have never ceased to repeat the same.

41. They, therefore, walk in the path of dangerous error who believe that they can accept Christ as the Head of the Church, while not adhering loyally to His Vicar on earth. They have taken away the visible head, broken the visible bonds of unity and left the Mystical Body of the Redeemer so obscured and so maimed, that those who are seeking the haven of eternal salvation can neither see it nor find it.

50. Christ enlightens His whole Church, as numberless passages from the Sacred Scriptures and the holy Fathers prove. “No man hath seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” Coming as a teacher from God to give testimony to the truth, He shed such light upon the nascent apostolic Church that the Prince of the apostles exclaimed: “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life”; from heaven He assisted the evangelists in such a way that as members of Christ they wrote what they had learnt, as it were, at the dictation of the Head. And for us today, who linger on in this earthly exile, He is still the author of faith as in our heavenly home He will be its finisher. It is He who imparts the light of faith to believers; it is He who enriches pastors and teachers and above all His Vicar on earth with the supernatural gifts of knowledge, understanding and wisdom, so that they may loyally preserve the treasury of faith, defend it vigorously, and explain and confirm it with reverence and devotion. Finally it is He who, though unseen, presides at the Councils of the Church and guides them.

51. Holiness begins from Christ; and Christ is its cause. For no act conducive to salvation can be performed unless it proceeds from Him as from its supernatural source. “Without me,” He says, “you can do nothing.”

92. But lest we be deceived by the angel of darkness who transforms himself into an angel of light, let this be the supreme law of our love: to love the Spouse of Christ as Christ willed her to be, and as He purchased her with His blood

110. Venerable Brethren, may the Virgin Mother of God hear the prayers of Our paternal heart — which are yours also — and obtain for all a true love of the Church — she whose sinless soul was filled with the divine Spirit of Jesus Christ above all other created souls, and who “in the name of the whole human race” gave her consent “for a spiritual marriage between the Son of God and human nature.” Within her virginal womb Christ our Lord already bore the exalted title of Head of the Church; in a marvelous birth she brought Him forth as the source of all supernatural life, and presented Him, newly born, as Prophet, King, and Priest to those who, from among Jews and Gentiles, were the first to come to adore Him. Furthermore, her only Son, condescending to His mother’s prayer in “Cana of Galilee,” performed the miracle by which “his disciples believed in him.” It was she, the second Eve, who, free from all sin, original or personal, and always most intimately united with her Son, offered Him on Golgotha to the Eternal Father for all the children of Adam, sin-stained by his unhappy fall, and her mother’s rights and mother’s love were included in the holocaust. Thus she who, according to the flesh, was the mother of our Head, through the added title of pain and glory became, according to the Spirit, the mother of all His members. She it was who through her powerful prayers obtained that the Spirit of our Divine Redeemer, already given on the Cross, should be bestowed, accompanied by miraculous gifts, on the newly founded Church at Pentecost; and finally bearing with courage and confidence the tremendous burden of her sorrows and desolation, she, truly the Queen of Martyrs, more than all the faithful “filled up those things that are wanting of the sufferings of Christ . . . for His Body, which is the Church”; and she continues to have for the Mystical Body of Christ, born of the pierced Heart of the Saviour, the same motherly care and ardent love with which she cherished and fed the Infant Jesus in the crib.

The infinite distance between God and man, the impassable abyss, the breaking of every bond of friendship-all this was the tremendous consequence of sin. Then between God and man appeared the sweet Babe of Bethlehem; suddenly and completely the whole situation changes: distance is overcome, and across the abyss a wonderful bridge is erected which unites earth with heaven and re-establishes relations of intimacy between God and men. This bridge is Jesus, the “only Mediator between God and man,” who joins earth to heaven in a truly remarkable manner” (Mystici Corporis). In His office as Mediator, Jesus is really”at the center” : He is the point of union between divinity and humanity. His mediation has all the qualifications necessary for perfectly pleasing God, since He Himself is true God; at the same time, because He is true man and, as such, represents the whole human race, Jesus can make worthy satisfaction to God for the entire debt of sinful mankind.

The divinity possessed by Jesus as the Word is united in His Person with the humanity He possesses as man. These two natures are not merely in juxtaposition, but they embrace each other; even more, they are united in one Person, the Person of the Incarnate Word, Jesus Christ,Our Lord. In Him and through Him, all mankind is readmitted to friendship with the heavenly Father. In Him all can find again the way to reach union with the Trinity.

The eternal Father deigned to reveal this wonderful mystery to St. Catherine of Siena: ” It is My wish that you consider the bridge I have built in the Person of my only begotten Son, and that you notice that it reaches from earth to heaven, because in Him the majesty of the divinity is united with the lowliness of your human nature. It was necessary to construct this bridge in order to repair the road which had become impassable and to open a passage across the trials of this world to eternal life” (Dialogue).

2. “For it hath well pleased the Father that in [Jesus] all fullness should dwell, and that through Him He should reconcile all things unto Himself, making peace through the blood of His Cross, both as to the things that are on earth, and the things that are in heaven” (Gall, 1 9.20). Jesus accomplished His work as Mediator on Calvary, where He shed all His Blood as the price of our redemption. But His work began at Bethlehem, where the Word took, so to speak, that ineffable “giant’s step” which brought Him from heaven to earth, which made Him true Man as well as true God ..

The terrible abyss which sin had produced between God and man has been filled up by the Child who opens His arms to us from the manger. All that sin had spoiled and destroyed is now, by the will of God, saved, re-established in Christ” (Eph 1:10).

The grace which Adam had received directly from God, we now receive only through Jesus, our Mediator; our whole supernatural life always comes through Him. If we wish to be united to God, we have no other means than to attach ourselves to Jesus, to pass through Him, our Mediator, our Bridge, our Way. Jesus bas said, “I am the way” (Jn 14:6); ” I am the door. By Me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved”.

Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene OCD (Divine Intimacy)

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“I Will Draw All Men to Myself”

Sr. JosephMary f.t.i. — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 17:00:49 +0000

Ave Maria Meditations

Jesus, hatred lifted You up on a cross; hut once on it You said You would lift all lovers up to Your Heart, which is Love, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to Myself”. (John 12: 32)

You are now fulfilling that promise, for You are drawing heaven to Yourself, as You hang on the Cross, to give me the possession of it, and God, to make me His child and friend again. Oh, draw also my poor heart, so cold and ungrateful, to Yourself to inflame it with Your own love and generosity; my sinful soul as well, to cleanse and save it. You are true to me till death.

Then draw me, Lord, and make me true to You forever, both in my innermost soul by faith in Your doctrine, hope in Your Divine promises and love of Your holy Person, and in my outward behavior by daily imitation of Your crucified life and by an unceasing union of my life with Your Sacrifice on the Cross.

Dear Savior, draw all the world to Your crucified Self, as You promised, that all men may find in Your broken Heart, peace, consolation, and joy here, and eternal life and bliss hereafter. Let me at last learn that the Crucifix does not teach pain but sacrifice, for sacrifice is pain with love. Let me mount the cross with You so that the pain I bear in life may be joined with Yours.

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July: Month of the Most Precious Blood

Sr. JosephMary f.t.i. — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:00:40 +0000

Ave Maria Meditations

To the Precious Blood of Jesus:

O Precious Blood of Jesus, infinite price of sinful man’s redemption, both drink and laver of our souls, Thou who dost plead continually the cause of man before the throne of infinite mercy; from the depths of my heart, I adore Thee, and so far as I am able, I would requite Thee for the insults and outrages which Thou dost continually receive from human beings, and especially from those who rashly dare to blaspheme Thee.

Who would not bless this Blood of infinite value? Who doth not feel within himself the fire and love of Jesus who shed it all for us? What would be my fate, had I not been redeemed by this divine Blood? Who hath drawn it from the veins of my Savior, even to the last drop? Ah, this surely was the work of love. O infinite love, grant that every heart and every tongue may be enabled to praise Thee, magnify Thee and give Thee thanks now and for evermore. Amen.

Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus

V/ Lord, have mercy.
R/ Lord, have mercy.

V/ Christ, have mercy.
R/ Christ, have mercy.

V/ Lord, have mercy.
R/ Lord, have mercy.

V/ Jesus, hear us.
R/ Jesus, graciously hear us.

V/ God, the Father of Heaven,
R/ have mercy on us.

V/ God, the Son, Redeemer of the world,
R/ have mercy on us.

V/ God, the Holy Spirit,
R/ have mercy on us.

V/ Holy Trinity, One God,
R/ have mercy on us.

R/ for ALL: save us.

Blood of Christ, only-begotten Son of the Eternal Father,
Blood of Christ, Incarnate Word of God,
Blood of Christ, of the New and Eternal Testament,
Blood of Christ, falling upon the earth in the Agony,
Blood of Christ, shed profusely in the Scourging,
Blood of Christ, flowing forth in the Crowning with Thorns,
Blood of Christ, poured out on the Cross,
Blood of Christ, price of our salvation,
Blood of Christ, without which there is no forgiveness.
Blood of Christ, Eucharistic drink and refreshment of souls,
Blood of Christ, stream of mercy,
Blood of Christ, victor over demons,
Blood of Christ, courage of Martyrs,
Blood of Christ, strength of Confessors,
Blood of Christ, bringing forth Virgins,
Blood of Christ, help of those in peril,
Blood of Christ, relief of the burdened,
Blood of Christ, solace in sorrow,
Blood of Christ, hope of the penitent,
Blood of Christ, consolation of the dying,
Blood of Christ, peace and tenderness of hearts,
Blood of Christ, pledge of eternal life,
Blood of Christ, freeing souls from purgatory,
Blood of Christ, most worthy of all glory and honor,

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world.
R/ spare us, O Lord

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world,
R/ graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world,
R/ have mercy on us.

You have redeemed us, O Lord, in your Blood.
R/ And made us, for our God, a kingdom.

Let us pray: Almighty and eternal God, you have appointed your only-begotten Son the Redeemer of the world, and willed to be appeased by his Blood. Grant we beg of you, that we may worthily adore this price of our salvation, and through its power be safeguarded from the evils of the present life, so that we may rejoice in its fruits forever in heaven. Through the same Christ our Lord.

R/ Amen.

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Jul 17 – Homily – Fr Ignatius: Baptized into Death

apostolate — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 11:51:32 +0000

Homily #090717 ( 07min) Play – The immersion in water in Baptism is a symbol of our participation in the death and Resurrection of Christ. Let us live keeping in mind that we only live once and so be worthy of eternal life.

Ave Maria! Mass readings

Audio (MP3)

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