Ave Maria!

Fr. Joseph Michael McShane the Vocations Director for the Franciscans of the Immaculate in N. America delivers his first episode of our new weekly series on vocations. This will be dedicated to discerning what God is calling us to do with our lives, focussing on the very special calling to the priesthood and religious life. It will be based on our very popular book Come & Follow Me which has many spiritual treasures from the lives and sayings of the saints to help inspire young men and women to give themselves totally to God. This episode will discuss what is a vocation and the importance of taking time to discern what you are being called to.

Come & Follow Me By Fr. Stefano Maneli, Founder the Franciscans of the Immaculate. Help get this book distributed in Parishes, adoration chapels, CCD classes, vocation directors, for the renewal of the Church. Volume discounts available.

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Ave Maria!

Thursday will be a great day for the Franciscans of the Immaculate and the Church in America because the National Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe will be didicated in a Mass which will be broadcast live on EWTN from 1-4pm, Thursday, July 31.

Look for friars in gray habits. Fr. Angelo Geiger, Fr. Peter Fehlner, Fra Joseph and Fr. Louis Maximilian will be there from America and Fr. Stefano Manelli, our founder, Fr. Giovanni Manelli, Sr. Celicia Manelli and Fra Angelo Lozzer will be there from Italy.

Fr. Peter, Fra Joseph and Fr. Louis Maximilian will form the initial staff of FIs at the shrine. On Sunday some of the FIs from Italy will give a special dedicatory recital, Fr. Giovanni (Violin), Sr. Celicia (organ and piano) and Fra Angelo (organ).

But don’t get confused. There will be other Franciscans in gray habits at the shrine like Fr. Benedict Groeschel of the CFRs and other famous people, including Raymond Arroyo, and of course, Archbishop Raymond Burke who founded the shrine. So tune into EWTN and be there yourself!

Ave Maria!

The post FiNews – Dedication Mass on EWTN Thursday first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Rorate Caeli has an article on Fr. Stefano Manelli our Founder celebrating the Tridentine Mass at our chapel in Fatima, Portugal. The extraordinary form of the Mass will be offered once a week at the chapel which is just a five minute walk from the Basillica.

Fr. Stephano and the Bishop of Leiria-F?tima, D. Ant?nio Marto who was present:

Fra Solanus who stayed at our friary in New Bedford, MA for several years serves another Tridentine Mass at his new home in Fatima:

More photos here (text is in Portuguese)

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Homily #090427 ( 08min) Play – Today is the feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel which is very dear to us here at the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate because it was in the shrine to Our Lady of Good Counsel in Frigento, Italy that our order was started by Fr. Stefano Manelli and Fr. Gabriele Pellettieri. Listen as Fr. Angelo explains how this happened under the wise council of Our Lady.

Ave Maria! Mass readings

Audio (MP3)
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Mary Vitamin for July 21st

Topic: Prayer makes for a profitable day

Quote:
Father Stefano Manelli, FI
When we entrust everything to our sweet Mother, nothing but profit comes of
it — in virtue, in grace, in love.
Devotion to Our Lady, (Academy of the Immaculate), 103.

Meditation:
Fr. Charles M. Mangan,
A deep interior life is very “practical” because it gives the person a real
clarity and calm when making decisions. Those who pray frequently and desire to
love and serve God above all else are blest with the ability to understand the
most important realities and to choose well with tranquility and peace.
Catechism on Redemptoris Custos, (Eternal Life: 2003), 11. [ q#43]

Resolution:
Persevering with my prayer life not only helps with the problems of today but
will lead to good choices in the future. Today when I say my usual prayers I
will remember that I am laying a path of gold for my future and my family.
Nothing but profit comes from praying to God through Our Lady.

Marian Vow:
The final entry of the Marian Seraphic Pathways, handbook to the MIM, includes
the blessing of Holy Father St. Francis.
And may anyone observing these things be filled in heaven with the blessings of
the most High Father, and on earth be filled with the blessings of the most
beloved Son with the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, and with all the powers of
heaven and with all the Saints. And I, Brother Francis, least of the brethren,
your servant, as much as I can, confirm for you, inwardly and outwardly, this
most holy blessing. Amen. (SFT).
Marian Seraphic Pathways, #72

I give this resolution to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Thanks be to God for graces received.

Related sites: Castle of the Immaculate

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Mary Vitamin is a daily Email support for Marian mental prayer. Each day (Monday through Friday) members will receive a brief Marian quote with a corresponding Marian meditation and resolution. The Mary Vitamin is designed to make mental prayer a little simpler and bring Our Lady into your day in a systematic way.

The post Mary Vitamin- Profitable Day first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Mary Vitamin for August 5th

Topic: The Woman of the Bible and Our Mother

Quote:

Father Stefano Manelli, FI, All Generations Shall Call Me Blessed, (Academy of the Immaculate: 1989), 356.

Meditation:

Fr. Stefano Manelli, FI

On this subject, a passage interesting and rich in insight, accurate as it is delicate, has been written by I. de La Potterie:

A very important insight of modern exegesis has brought to light how the mystery of Mary in some way forms a synthesis of all of the preceding revelation about the people of God, about all that which God, through his salvific action, wishes to realize for his people. In Mary are accomplished all of the important aspects of the promises of the Old Testament to the Daughter of Sion, and in her concrete person is anticipated that which will be realized for the new people of God, which is the Church. Now, the history of revelation regarding the theme of the Woman Sion concretized in the person of Mary, and extended to the Church, constitutes a doctrinal bastion, an unshakeable, well-structured ensemble for understanding the history of salvation, from its origins to the last times.

Father Stefano Manelli, FI, All Generations Shall Call Me Blessed, (Academy of the Immaculate: 1989), 361.

Resolution:

The simple devotion to the Mother of God opens the mysteries of the Old Testament, is a symbol of the church, encourages appreciation of the True God/True Man reality of the Messiah, sheds light on the profound mystery of the Blessed Trinity and finally provides one with a greater and more profound desire to worship the Blessed Sacrament, the Son of God who is also the Son of Mary.

I will try to cultivate a deeper love for my Heavenly Mother, the Queen of Heaven. The more childlike I become in her presence the more the mysteries of heaven and God will be revealed.

Today I will call upon the Queen of Heaven with the word "mother" and realize so much is contained in this one simple word.

Marian Vow:

St. Maximilian Kolbe

She is queen also of earth because she is the Mother of God himself, but she both desires and has a right to be freely acknowledged by every heart, be loved as the Queen of every heart, so that through her that heart might become immaculate, similar to her heart and more worthy of union with God, with the love of God, with the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Will to Love, (Marytown Press: 1998), 138.

I give this resolution to the Blessed Virgin Mary

Thanks be to God for graces received.

Related sites: Castle of the Immaculate

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Mary Vitamin is a daily Email support for Marian mental prayer. Each day (Monday through Friday) members will receive a brief Marian quote with a corresponding Marian meditation and resolution. The Mary Vitamin is designed to make mental prayer a little simpler and bring Our Lady into your day in a systematic way.

The post Mary Vitamin – The Woman of the Bible and Our Mother first appeared on AirMaria.com.