2. The Apostles Creed: I BELIEVE in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day He rose again. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

3. The Lord's Prayer: OUR Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

4. (3) Hail Mary: HAIL Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and in the hour of our death. Amen. (Three times)

5. Glory Be: GLORY be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Fatima Prayer: Oh, my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of your mercy.

Announce each mystery, then say 1 Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, 1 Glory Be and 1 Fatima prayer. Repeat the process with each mystery.

End with the 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 send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears! Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards 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.

Final step -- The Sign of the Cross

The Mysteries of the Rosary

By tradition, Catholics meditate on these Mysteries during prayers of the Rosary.
The biblical references follow each of the Mysteries below.

The Joyful Mysteries
(Mondays and Saturdays)
1. The Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38) [Spiritual fruit - Humility]
2. The Visitation (Luke 1: 39-56) [Spiritual fruit - Love of Neighbor]
3. The Nativity (Luke 2:1-20) [Spiritual fruit - Poverty of Spirit]
4. The Presentation (Luke 2:21-38) [Spiritual fruit - Purity of mind & body]
5. The Finding of Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41-52) [Spiritual fruit - Obedience ]

~ PRAYER ~

St. Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle
Be our protection against the wickedness
and snares of the devil;
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God,
Cast into hell Satan and all evil spirits
who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen
+

Change Worth Praying For

March Devotion: Saint Joseph

Since the 16th century Catholic piety has assigned entire months to special devotions. Due to the solemnity of Saint Joseph on March 19, this month is devoted to this great saint, the foster father of Christ. "It greatly behooves Christians, while honoring the Virgin Mother of God, constantly to invoke with deep piety and confidence her most chaste spouse, Saint Joseph. We have a well grounded conviction that such is the special desire of the Blessed Virgin herself." --Pope Leo XIII

FOR OUR WORK
Glorious Saint Joseph, pattern of all who are devoted to toil, obtain for me the grace to toil in the spirit of penance, in order thereby to atone for my many sins; to toil conscientiously, putting devotion to duty before my own inclinations; to labor with thankfulness and joy, deeming it an honor to employ and to develop, by my labor, the gifts I have received from Almighty God; to work with order, peace, moderation, and patience, without ever shrinking from weariness and difficulties; to work above all with a pure intention and with detachment from self, having always before my eyes the hour of death and the accounting which I must then render of time ill-spent, of talents unemployed, of good undone, and of my empty pride in success, which is so fatal to the work of God. All for Jesus, all through Mary, all in imitation of thee, 0 Patriarch Joseph! This shall be my motto in life and in death. Amen.

OFFERING TO SAINT JOSEPH
O great Saint Joseph, thou generous depositary and dispenser of immortal riches, behold us prostrate at thy feet, imploring thee to receive us as thy servants and as thy children. Next to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, of which thou art the faithful copy, we acknowledge that there is no heart more tender, more compassionate than thine.

What, then, have we to fear, or, rather, for what should we not hope, if thou dost deign to be our benefactor, our master, our model, our father and our mediator? Refuse not, then, this favor, O powerful protector! We ask it of thee by the love thou hast for Jesus and Mary. Into thy hands we commit our souls and bodies, but above all the last moments of our lives.

May we, after having honored, imitated, and served thee on earth, eternally sing with thee the mercies of Jesus and Mary. Amen.

FOR THE INTERCESSION OF SAINT JOSEPH
O Joseph, virgin-father of Jesus, most pure spouse of the Virgin Mary, pray every day for us to the same Jesus, the Son of God, that we, being defended by the power of His grace and striving dutifully in life, may be crowned by Him at the hour of death.

Prayer Source: Prayer Book, The by Reverend John P. O'Connell, M.A., S.T.D. and Jex Martin, M.A., The Catholic Press, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 1954

St. Joseph
St. Joseph was an ordinary manual laborer although descended from the royal house of David. In the designs of Providence he was destined to become the spouse of the Mother of God. His high privilege is expressed in a single phrase, "Foster-father of Jesus." About him Sacred Scripture has little more to say than that he was a just man-an expression which indicates how faithfully he fulfilled his high trust of protecting and guarding God's greatest treasures upon earth, Jesus and Mary.

The darkest hours of his life may well have been those when he first learned of Mary's pregnancy; but precisely in this time of trial Joseph showed himself great. His suffering, which likewise formed a part of the work of the redemption, was not without great providential import: Joseph was to be, for all times, the trustworthy witness of the Messiah's virgin birth. After this, he modestly retires into the background of holy Scripture.

Of St. Joseph's death the Bible tells us nothing. There are indications, however, that he died before the beginning of Christ's public life. His was the most beautiful death that one could have, in the arms of Jesus and Mary. Humbly and unknown, he passed his years at Nazareth, silent and almost forgotten he remained in the background through centuries of Church history. Only in more recent times has he been accorded greater honor. Liturgical veneration of St. Joseph began in the fifteenth century, fostered by Sts. Brigid of Sweden and Bernadine of Siena. St. Teresa, too, did much to further his cult.

At present there are two major feasts in his honor. On March 19 our veneration is directed to him personally and to his part in the work of redemption, while on May 1 we honor him as the patron of workmen throughout the world and as our guide in the difficult matter of establishing equitable norms regarding obligations and rights in the social order.

Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch.

St. Joseph is invoked as patron for many causes. He is the patron of the Universal Church. He is the patron of the dying because Jesus and Mary were at his death-bed. He is also the patron of fathers, of carpenters, and of social justice. Many religious orders and communities are placed under his patronage.

Patron: Against doubt; against hesitation; Americas; Austria; Diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana; California; Belgium; Bohemia; bursars; cabinetmakers; Canada; Carinthia; carpenters; China; Church; confectioners; craftsmen; Croatian people (in 1687 by decree of the Croatian parliament) dying people; emigrants; engineers; expectant mothers; families; fathers; Florence, Italy; happy death; holy death; house hunters; immigrants; interior souls; Korea; laborers; Diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin; Archdiocese of Louisville, Kentucky; Diocese of Manchester, New Hampshire; Mexico; Diocese of Nashville, Tennessee; New France; New World; Oblates of Saint Joseph; people in doubt; people who fight Communism; Peru; pioneers; pregnant women; protection of the Church; Diocese of San Jose, California; diocese of Sioux Falls, South Dakota; social justice; Styria, Austria; travelers; Turin Italy; Tyrol Austria; unborn children Universal Church; Vatican II; Viet Nam; Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston West Virginia; wheelwrights; workers; working people.

Symbols: Bible; branch; capenter's square; carpenter's tools; chalice; cross; hand tools; infant Jesus; ladder; lamb; lily; monstrance; old man holding a lily and a carpenter's tool such as a square; old man holding the infant Jesus; plane; rod.

Things to Do:

You must have a table that is simply overflowing with good Italian food on this day! The feast of San Giuseppe began in the Middle Ages when Sicily was suffering from a severe drought and the desperate people begged St. Joseph for rain. When they received rainy weather in response, they held a huge "feste" in Saint Joseph's honor. Even today, Sicilians go to Mass before their St. Joseph's day dinner and then process to their festive tables, decked out in flowers, breads, and all sorts of Italian foods. The priest blesses the food, and everyone shouts "Viva la tavola di San Giuse!" (which your children will readily do with great gusto). After the meal is done, everyone present is given something to take home, in the generous spirit of this day. Try some of our delicious recipes linked here. We especially recommend the traditional Minestrone. Italian sausage is always a favorite, as well. And you should have bread of all kinds — this recipe for Italian Decorative Breads can provide the traditional shape of your choice (St. Joseph's staff, his beard, etc). Also a traditional must with children is St. Joseph's Sfinge, (Cream Puffs), for which we have several recipes on this site. Plan a St. Joseph's potluck for this day with other Catholic families — invite a parish priest and ask his blessing over the food before you begin the meal. If you do not have the time or resources to do this, plan a smaller affair with your own family, complete with prayers to St. Joseph, a little procession with candles for the older children and your favorite hymns, and then the father of the family ought to say a special blessing over the food before you begin.

Check out this wonderful site that explains the St. Joseph Altar more in detail, includes recipes, history, and allows virtual offerings.

For further reading:

Viva San Giuseppe: A guide for Saint Joseph Altars. This wonderful booklet is available

The St. Joseph Altar Traditions of South Louisiana (Louisiana Life Series; No. 4) by Ethelyn Gay Orso, small booklet with photographs, available for purchase at online bookstores.
Brand new beautifully illustrated hardcover book, Saint Joseph Altars by Kerri McCaffety (Photographer), also available at bookstores.
Read the section of Directory on Popular Piety and Liturgy on St. Joseph.
Read Pope Leo XIII's encyclical on Devotion to St. Joseph.
Interested in history? Read this article on the history of devotions to St. Joseph, Finding St. Joseph, by Sandra Miesel.
Pray this prayer and litany in honor of St. Joseph with your family rosary tonight.
Here is a link to several meditations on St. Joseph — choose the one that is perfect for you and your family!
Here are some ideas for teaching children about St. Joseph.
Young girls ought to pray to St. Joseph for their future spouse.

Prayer to St. Joseph

Pope Pius X composed this prayer to St. Joseph, patron of working people, that expresses concisely the Christian attitude toward labor. It summarizes also for us the lessons of the Holy Family's work at Nazareth.

Glorious St. Joseph, model of all who devote their lives to labor, obtain for me the grace to work in the spirit of penance in order thereby to atone for my many sins; to work conscientiously, setting devotion to duty in preference to my own whims; to work with thankfulness and joy, deeming it an honor to employ and to develop by my labor the gifts I have received from God; to work with order, peace, moderation, and patience, without ever shrinking from weariness and difficulties; to work above all with a pure intention and with detachment from self, having always before my eyes the hour of death and the accounting which I must then render of time ill spent, of talents wasted, of good omitted, and of vain complacency in success, which is so fatal to the work of God.

All for Jesus, all through Mary, all in imitation of you, O Patriarch Joseph! This shall be my motto in life and in death, Amen.

Another prayer to St. Joseph:
To thee, O blessed Joseph, do we fly in our tribulation, and, having implored the help of thy most holy Spouse, we confidently invoke thy holy patronage also. Through that charity which bound thee to the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God, and through the paternal love with which thou didst embrace the Child Jesus, we humbly beseech the graciously to regard the inheritance which Jesus Christ has purchased by His Blood, and with thy power and strength aid us in our necessities.

O most watchful Guardian of the Holy Family, defend the chosen children of Jesus Christ; O most loving Father, ward off from us every contagion of error and corrupting influence; O our most mighty protector, be propitious to us, and from Heaven assist us in this our struggle against the power of darkness; and as once thou didst rescue the Child Jesus from death, so now protect God’s Holy Church from the snares of Her enemies and from all adversity.

Shield too, each one of us by thy constant protection, so that, supported by thine example and strengthened by thine aid, we may be able to live a holy life, to die a holy death, and to obtain eternal happiness in Heaven. Amen.

St. Joseph, Patron of a Peaceful Death [Catholic Caucus]
Octave: St. Joseph, A 'Man’s Man', Calling Men to Jesus

St. Teresa de Avila's Devotion to St. Joseph (Catholic Caucus)
Octave: St. Joseph, A 'Man’s Man', Calling Men to Jesus
Catholic Men's National Day of Prayer, MARCH 15, 2008, The Solemnity of St. Joseph (Catholic Caucus)
The Role and Responsibility of Fatherhood - St. Joseph as Model
St. Joseph - Foster Father of Jesus

Nothing Will Be Denied Him (St. Joseph)
The Heart of a Father [St. Joseph]
Quemadmodum Deus - Decree Under Blessed Pius IX, Making St. Joseph Patron of the Church
Father & Child (An Evangelical Minister preaches on St. Joseph)
March 19 - Feast of St. Joseph - Husband of Mary - Intercessor of civil leaders

St. Joseph's Spirit of Silence
St. Joseph's Humility (By St. Francis de Sales)
St. Joseph [Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary], Solemnity, March 19
The Heart of St. Joseph
MORE THAN PATRON OF HOMES, IT'S TIME FOR ST. JOSEPH TO GAIN HIGHEST OF RECOGNITION [Fatherhood]

The Importance of Devotion to St. Joseph
St. Francis de Sales on St. Joseph (Some Excerpts for St. Joseph's Day 2004)
St. Joseph: REDEMPTORIS CUSTOS (Guardian Of The Redeemer)
(Saint) Joseph the Patriarch: A Reflection on the Solemnity of St. Joseph
How I Rediscovered a "Neglected" Saint: Work of Art Inspires Young Man to Rediscover St. Joseph

Holy Father's Prayer Intentions For March 2009

General: That the role of women may be more appreciated and used to good advantage in every country in the world.

Mission: That in the light of the letter addressed to them by Pope Benedict XVI, the Bishops, priests, consecrated persons, and lay faithful of the Catholic Church in the Popular Republic of China may commit themselves to being the sign and instrument of unity, communion and peace.

From: Daniel 9:4b-10

Daniel’s Penitentional Prayer

[4b] “O Lord, the great and terrible God, who keepest covenant and steadfast
love with those, who love him and’ keep his commandments, [5] we have sinned
and done wrong’ and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from thy com-
mandments and ordinances; [6] we have not listened to thy servants the prophets,
who spoke in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the
people of the land. [7] To thee, O LORD, belongs righteousness, but to us confu-
sion of face, as at this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
and to all Israel, those that are near and those that are far away, in all the lands to
which thou hast driven them,because of the treachecy which they have committed
against thee. [8] To us, O LORD, belongs confusion of face, to, our kings, to our
princes, and to our fathers; because we have sinned against thee. [9] To the Lord
our God belong mercy and forgiveness; because we have rebelled against him,
[10] and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God by following his laws,
which he set before us by his servants the prophets.”

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

9:4-19. This is a penitential prayer in which Daniel speaks in solidarity with his
people and intercedes on their behalf. He acknowledges that God has acted just-
ly in punishing the people by driving them out of the chosen land (vv. 4-8), but he
reminds God that he is also forgiving and merciful (v. 9). They have been punished
in line with the Law of Moses (v. 13), but God, who delivered them from Egypt (v.
15), will surely listen to his servants when they appeal to him, for his mercy is
great (v. 18). If he forgives them, it will redound to the honor of God’s name (vv.
17, 19). Commenting on v. 18, St Jerome observes: “Daniel expresses himself in
human terms: when we are listened to, it seems as if God has inclined his ear to
us; when he turns to look at us, it seems as if he has opened his eyes; and when
he turns his face away, it is as if we are not worthy of being heard or to appear in
his sight” (”Commentarii in Danielem”, 9, 18). St Basil, on another point, notes
that Daniel’s fasting prepares the ground for the revelation that follows: “Daniel
would not have seen the vision if he had not first refined his soul by fasting” (”De
Jejunio”, 1,9). For penitential prayers similar to this, see Ezra 9:6-15; Neh 9; Ps
51; Bar 1:15-3:8. Although Daniel’s prayer is about the ordeal of exile, it is valid
at all times. The Church, too, “embracing in her bosom sinners, at same time
holy and always in need of being purified, always follows the way, of penance
and renewal” (Vatican II, “Lumen Gentium”, 8).

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: Luke 6:36-38

Love of Enemies (Continuation)

(Jesus said to His disciples,) [36] “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
[37] Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be
condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; [38] give, and it will be given to
you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put
into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

36. The model of mercy which Christ sets before us is God Himself, of whom St.
Paul says: ‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father
of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our afflictions” (2 Corin-
thians 1:3-4). “The first quality of this virtue”, Fray Luis de Granada explains, “is
that it makes men like God and like the most glorious thing in Him, His mercy
(Luke 6:36). For certainly the greatest perfection a creature can have is to be like
His Creator; and the more like Him he is, the more perfect he is. Certainly one of
the things which is most appropriate to God is mercy, which is what the Church
means when it says that prayer: ‘Lord, God, to whom it is proper to be merciful
and forgiving...’. It says that this is proper to God because just as a creature,
as creature, is characteristically poor and needy (and therefore characteristically
receives and does not give), so, on the contrary, since God is infinitely rich and
powerful, to Him alone does it belong to give and not to receive, and therefore it is
appropriate for Him to be merciful and forgiving” (”Book of Prayer and Meditation”,
Third Part, Third Treatise).

This is the rule a Christian should apply: be compassionate towards each other
people’s afflictions as if they were one’s own, and try to remedy them. The Church
spells out this rule by giving us a series of corporal works of mercy (visiting and
caring for the sick, giving food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty...) and spiritual
works of mercy (teaching the ignorant, correcting the person who has erred,
forgiving injuries...): cf. “St. Pius X Catechism”, 944f.

We should also show understanding towards people who are in error: “Love and
courtesy of this kind should not, of course, make us indifferent to truth and good-
ness. Love, in fact, impels the followers of Christ to proclaim to all men the truth
which saves. But we must distinguish between the error (which must always be
rejected) and the person in error, who never loses his dignity as a person even
though he flounders amid false or inadequate religious ideas. God alone is the
judge and the searcher of hearts; He forbids us to pass judgment on the inner
guilt of others” (Vatican II, “Gaudium Et Spes”, 28).

38. We read in Sacred Scripture of the generosity of the widow of Zarephath,
whom God asked to give food to Elijah the prophet even though she had very little
left; He then rewarded her generosity by constantly renewing her supply of meal
and oil (1 Kings 17:9ff). The same sort of thing happened when the boy supplied
the five loaves and two fish which our Lord multiplied to feed a huge crowd of
people (cf. John 6:9)—a vivid example of what God does when we give Him whatever
we have, even if it does not amount to much.

God does not let Himself be outdone in generosity: “Go, generously and like a
child ask Him: ‘What can You mean to give me when You ask me for “this”?’”
(St. J. Escriva, “The Way”, 153). However much we give God in this life, He will
give us more in life eternal.

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Mass Readings

First reading	Daniel 9:4-10 ©
O Lord, God great and to be feared, you keep the covenant and have kindness for those who love you and keep your commandments: we have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly, we have betrayed your commandments and your ordinances and turned away from them. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, our ancestors, and to all the people of the land. Integrity, Lord, is yours; ours the look of shame we wear today, we, the people of Judah, the citizens of Jerusalem, the whole of Israel, near and far away, in every country to which you have dispersed us because of the treason we have committed against you. To us, Lord, the look of shame belongs, to our kings, our princes, our ancestors, because we have sinned against you. To the Lord our God mercy and pardon belong, because we have betrayed him, and have not listened to the voice of the Lord our God nor followed the laws he has given us through his servants the prophets.

First reading

Daniel 9:4-10 ©

O Lord, God great and to be feared, you keep the covenant and have kindness for those who love you and keep your commandments: we have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly, we have betrayed your commandments and your ordinances and turned away from them. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, our ancestors, and to all the people of the land. Integrity, Lord, is yours; ours the look of shame we wear today, we, the people of Judah, the citizens of Jerusalem, the whole of Israel, near and far away, in every country to which you have dispersed us because of the treason we have committed against you. To us, Lord, the look of shame belongs, to our kings, our princes, our ancestors, because we have sinned against you. To the Lord our God mercy and pardon belong, because we have betrayed him, and have not listened to the voice of the Lord our God nor followed the laws he has given us through his servants the prophets.

Psalm or canticle: Psalm 78:8-9,11,13

Gospel	Luke 6:36-38 ©
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not be judged yourselves; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned yourselves; grant pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and there will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap; because the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given back.’

Gospel

Luke 6:36-38 ©

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not be judged yourselves; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned yourselves; grant pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and there will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap; because the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given back.’

Monday, March 9, 2009
Lenten Weekday (Total Consecration - Day 18)

First Reading:
Psalm:
Gospel:

Daniel 9:4-10
Psalm 79:8-9, 11, 13
Luke 6:36-38

No one should judge that he has greater perfection because he performs great penances and gives himself in excess .... Merit consists in the virtue of love alone, flavored with the light of true discretion, without which the soul is worth nothing.

-- St. Catherine of Sienna

The Angelus

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:
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.

Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.

Hail Mary . . .

And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.

Hail Mary . . .

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

Let us pray:

Pour 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.

Novena for the Protection of the Unborn

Office of Readings

If this is the first Hour that you are reciting today, you should precede it with the Invitatory Psalm.

O God, come to my aid.

– O Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.

Psalm 30 (31)
Trustful prayer in time of adversity
Turn your ear to me, Lord, and rescue me.
In you, Lord, I put my trust: may I never be put to shame. In your justice, set me free, Turn your ear to me, make haste to rescue me. Be my rampart, my fortification; keep me safe. For you are my strength and my refuge: you will lead me out to the pastures, for your own name’s sake. You will lead me out of the trap that they laid for me – for you are my strength. Into your hands I commend my spirit: you have redeemed me, Lord God of truth. You hate those who run after vain nothings; but I put my trust in the Lord. I will rejoice and be glad in your kindness, for you have looked on me, lowly as I am. You saw when my soul was in need: you did not leave me locked in the grip of the enemy, but set my feet on free and open ground. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Turn your ear to me, Lord, and rescue me.

Psalm 30 (31)
Let your face shine upon your servant, O Lord.
Take pity on me, Lord, for I am troubled: my eyes grow weak with sorrow, the very centre of my being is disturbed. For my life is worn out with distress, my years with groaning; my strength becomes weakness, my bones melt away. I am a scandal and a disgrace, so many are my enemies; to my friends and neighbours, I am a thing to fear. When they see me in the street, they run from me. I have vanished from their minds as though I were dead, or like a pot that is broken. I know this – for I have heard the scolding of the crowd. There is terror all around, for when they come together against me it is my life they are resolved to take. But I put my trust in you, Lord; I say: “You are my God, my fate is in your hands.” Tear me from the grip of my enemies, from those who hound me; let your face shine upon your servant, in your kindness, save me. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Let your face shine upon your servant, O Lord.

Psalm 30 (31)
Blessed be the Lord, for he has shown me his wonderful kindness.
How very many are the pleasures, Lord, that you have stored up for those who fear you. You have made these things ready for those who trust in you, to give them in the sight of all men. Far away from the plottings of men you hide them in your secret place. You keep them safe in your dwelling-place far from lying tongues. Blessed be the Lord, for he has shown me his wonderful kindness within the fortified city. In my terror, I said “I am cut off from your sight”; but you heard the voice of my prayer when I called to you. Love the Lord, all his chosen ones. The Lord keeps his faithful ones safe, heaps rich revenge on the arrogant. Be brave, let your hearts be strong, all who trust in the Lord. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Blessed be the Lord, for he has shown me his wonderful kindness.

Repent and believe in the Good News,

– for the kingdom of God is close at hand.

Reading	Exodus 14:10-31 ©
And as Pharaoh approached, the sons of Israel looked round – and there were the Egyptians in pursuit of them! The sons of Israel were terrified and cried out to the Lord. To Moses they said, ‘Were there no graves in Egypt that you must lead us out to die in the wilderness? What good have you done us, bringing us out of Egypt? We spoke of this in Egypt, did we not? Leave us alone, we said, we would rather work for the Egyptians! Better to work for the Egyptians than die in the wilderness!’ Moses answered the people, ‘Have no fear! Stand firm, and you will see what the Lord will do to save you today: the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. The Lord will do the fighting for you: you have only to keep still.’ The Lord said to Moses, ‘Why do you cry to me so? Tell the sons of Israel to march on. For yourself, raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and part it for the sons of Israel to walk through the sea on dry ground. I for my part will make the heart of the Egyptians so stubborn that they will follow them. So shall I win myself glory at the expense of Pharaoh, of all his army, his chariots, his horsemen. And when I have won glory for myself, at the expense of Pharaoh and his chariots and his army, the Egyptians will learn that I am the Lord.’ Then the angel of God, who marched at the front of the army of Israel, changed station and moved to their rear. The pillar of cloud changed station from the front to the rear of them, and remained there. It came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. The cloud was dark, and the night passed without the armies drawing any closer the whole night long. Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove back the sea with a strong easterly wind all night, and he made dry land of the sea. The waters parted and the sons of Israel went on dry ground right into the sea, walls of water to right and to left of them. The Egyptians gave chase: after them they went, right into the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. In the morning watch, the Lord looked down on the army of the Egyptians from the pillar of fire and of cloud, and threw the army into confusion. He so clogged their chariot wheels that they could scarcely make headway. ‘Let us flee from the Israelites,’ the Egyptians cried. ‘The Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians!’ ‘Stretch out your hand over the sea,’ the Lord said to Moses, ‘that the waters may flow back on the Egyptians and their chariots and their horsemen.’ Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and, as day broke, the sea returned to its bed. The fleeing Egyptians marched right into it, and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the very middle of the sea. The returning waters overwhelmed the chariots and the horsemen of Pharaoh’s whole army, which had followed the Israelites into the sea; not a single one of them was left. But the sons of Israel had marched through the sea on dry ground, walls of water to right and to left of them. That day, the Lord rescued Israel from the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. Israel witnessed the great act that the Lord had performed against the Egyptians, and the people venerated the Lord; they put their faith in the Lord and in Moses, his servant.

Reading

Exodus 14:10-31 ©

And as Pharaoh approached, the sons of Israel looked round – and there were the Egyptians in pursuit of them! The sons of Israel were terrified and cried out to the Lord. To Moses they said, ‘Were there no graves in Egypt that you must lead us out to die in the wilderness? What good have you done us, bringing us out of Egypt? We spoke of this in Egypt, did we not? Leave us alone, we said, we would rather work for the Egyptians! Better to work for the Egyptians than die in the wilderness!’

Moses answered the people, ‘Have no fear! Stand firm, and you will see what the Lord will do to save you today: the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. The Lord will do the fighting for you: you have only to keep still.’

The Lord said to Moses, ‘Why do you cry to me so? Tell the sons of Israel to march on. For yourself, raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and part it for the sons of Israel to walk through the sea on dry ground. I for my part will make the heart of the Egyptians so stubborn that they will follow them. So shall I win myself glory at the expense of Pharaoh, of all his army, his chariots, his horsemen. And when I have won glory for myself, at the expense of Pharaoh and his chariots and his army, the Egyptians will learn that I am the Lord.’

Then the angel of God, who marched at the front of the army of Israel, changed station and moved to their rear. The pillar of cloud changed station from the front to the rear of them, and remained there. It came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. The cloud was dark, and the night passed without the armies drawing any closer the whole night long.

Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove back the sea with a strong easterly wind all night, and he made dry land of the sea. The waters parted and the sons of Israel went on dry ground right into the sea, walls of water to right and to left of them. The Egyptians gave chase: after them they went, right into the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.

In the morning watch, the Lord looked down on the army of the Egyptians from the pillar of fire and of cloud, and threw the army into confusion. He so clogged their chariot wheels that they could scarcely make headway. ‘Let us flee from the Israelites,’ the Egyptians cried. ‘The Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians!’

‘Stretch out your hand over the sea,’ the Lord said to Moses, ‘that the waters may flow back on the Egyptians and their chariots and their horsemen.’

Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and, as day broke, the sea returned to its bed. The fleeing Egyptians marched right into it, and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the very middle of the sea. The returning waters overwhelmed the chariots and the horsemen of Pharaoh’s whole army, which had followed the Israelites into the sea; not a single one of them was left. But the sons of Israel had marched through the sea on dry ground, walls of water to right and to left of them.

That day, the Lord rescued Israel from the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. Israel witnessed the great act that the Lord had performed against the Egyptians, and the people venerated the Lord; they put their faith in the Lord and in Moses, his servant.

Reading	From the Catecheses by Saint John Chrysostom, bishop
Christ and Moses
The Israelites witnessed marvels; you also will witness marvels, greater and more splendid than those which accompanied them on their departure from Egypt. You did not see Pharaoh drowned with his armies, but you have seen the devil with his weapons overcome by the waters of baptism. The Israelites passed through the sea; you have passed from death to life. They were delivered from the Egyptians; you have been delivered from the powers of darkness. The Israelites were freed from slavery to a pagan people; you have been freed from the much greater slavery to sin. Do you need another argument to show that the gifts you have received are greater than theirs? The Israelites could not look on the face of Moses in glory, though he was their fellow servant and kinsman. But you have seen the face of Christ in his glory. Paul cried out: We see the glory of the Lord with faces unveiled. In those days Christ was present to the Israelites as he followed them, but he is present to us in a much deeper sense. The Lord was with them because of the favour he showed to Moses; now he is with us not simply because of your obedience. After Egypt they dwelt in desert places; after your departure you will dwell in heaven. Their great leader and commander was Moses; we have a new Moses, God himself, as our leader and commander. What distinguished the first Moses? Moses, Scripture tells us, was more gentle than all who dwelt upon the earth. We can rightly say the same of the new Moses, for there was with him the very Spirit of gentleness, united to him in his inmost being. In those days Moses raised his hands to heaven and brought down manna, the bread of angels; the new Moses raises his hands to heaven and gives us the food of eternal life. Moses struck the rock and brought forth streams of water; Christ touches his table, strikes the spiritual rock of the new covenant and draws forth the living water of the Spirit. This rock is like a fountain in the midst of Christ’s table. so that on all sides the flocks may draw near to this living spring and refresh themselves in the waters of salvation. Since this fountain, this source of life, this table surrounds us with untold blessings and fills us with the gifts of the Spirit, let us approach it with sincerity of heart and purity of conscience to receive grace and mercy in our time of need. Grace and mercy be yours from the only-begotten Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; through him and with him be glory, honour and power to the Father and the life-giving Spirit, now and always and for ever. Amen.

Reading

From the Catecheses by Saint John Chrysostom, bishop

Christ and Moses

The Israelites witnessed marvels; you also will witness marvels, greater and more splendid than those which accompanied them on their departure from Egypt. You did not see Pharaoh drowned with his armies, but you have seen the devil with his weapons overcome by the waters of baptism. The Israelites passed through the sea; you have passed from death to life. They were delivered from the Egyptians; you have been delivered from the powers of darkness. The Israelites were freed from slavery to a pagan people; you have been freed from the much greater slavery to sin.

Do you need another argument to show that the gifts you have received are greater than theirs? The Israelites could not look on the face of Moses in glory, though he was their fellow servant and kinsman. But you have seen the face of Christ in his glory. Paul cried out: We see the glory of the Lord with faces unveiled.

In those days Christ was present to the Israelites as he followed them, but he is present to us in a much deeper sense. The Lord was with them because of the favour he showed to Moses; now he is with us not simply because of your obedience. After Egypt they dwelt in desert places; after your departure you will dwell in heaven. Their great leader and commander was Moses; we have a new Moses, God himself, as our leader and commander.

What distinguished the first Moses? Moses, Scripture tells us, was more gentle than all who dwelt upon the earth. We can rightly say the same of the new Moses, for there was with him the very Spirit of gentleness, united to him in his inmost being. In those days Moses raised his hands to heaven and brought down manna, the bread of angels; the new Moses raises his hands to heaven and gives us the food of eternal life. Moses struck the rock and brought forth streams of water; Christ touches his table, strikes the spiritual rock of the new covenant and draws forth the living water of the Spirit. This rock is like a fountain in the midst of Christ’s table. so that on all sides the flocks may draw near to this living spring and refresh themselves in the waters of salvation.

Since this fountain, this source of life, this table surrounds us with untold blessings and fills us with the gifts of the Spirit, let us approach it with sincerity of heart and purity of conscience to receive grace and mercy in our time of need. Grace and mercy be yours from the only-begotten Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; through him and with him be glory, honour and power to the Father and the life-giving Spirit, now and always and for ever. Amen.

Concluding Prayer
O God, you tell us to mortify our bodies to cure our sick souls. Grant us the ability to abstain from all sin and the power to obey wholeheartedly all your holy commandments. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen.

St. Frances of Rome, Religious

Saint Frances of Rome, Religious
Optional Memorial
March 9th

traditional prayer card

A married woman, she brought up her three children in the love and fear of God. She performed every household duty as though they were sacraments of love. "A married woman, "she said, "must often leave God at the altar to find Him in her household care." She founded an order of oblates.
Source: Daily Roman Missal, Edited by Rev. James Socías, Midwest Theological Forum, Chicago, Illinois ©2003

Collect:
Merciful Father,
in Frances of Rome
You have given us a unique example of love in marriage
as well as in religious life.
Keep us faithful in Your service,
and help us to see and follow You
in all the aspects of life.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns
with You and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. +Amen.

First Reading: Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31
A good wife who can find?
She is far more precious than jewels.
The heart of her husband trusts in her,
and he will have no lack of gain.
She does him good, and not harm,
all the days of her life.
She seeks wool and flax,
and works with willing hands.

She puts her hands to the distaff,
and her hands hold the spindle.
She opens her hand to the poor,
and reaches out her hands to the needy.

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands,
and let her works praise her in the gates.

Gospel Reading: Matthew 22:34-40
But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they came together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, to test Him. "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" And He said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets."

Catholic Culture

Daily Readings (on USCCB site):
» March 09, 2009
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Collect: Merciful Father, in Frances of Rome you have given us a unique example of love in marriage as well as in religious life. Keep us faithful in your service and help us to see and follow you in all the aspects of life. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

« March 09, 2009 »

Optional Memorial of St. Frances of Rome, religious; Feast of Blessed John Ogilvie, priest and martyr (Scotland)
Old Calendar: St. Frances of Rome #cal_links li { padding: 0px; }

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"I give you a new commandment: Love one another as I have loved you, says the Lord (Jn 13:34)." In the fifteenth century St. Frances, among the noble ladies of Rome, showed herself an example of what a Christian wife should be. After the death of her husband she retired from the world and lived in a monastery of Oblates that she had founded under the Rule of St. Benedict. God favored her with the visible presence of her guardian angel with whom she conversed familiarly.

Today Catholics in Scotland celebrate the Feast of Blessed John Ogilvie, who was educated as a Calvinist and was received into the Church at Louvain by Father Cornelius a Lapide. After becoming a Jesuit at the age of seventeen, he was ordained to the priesthood in 1613, and at his own request was sent on a perilous Scottish mission. He was eventually betrayed, but during a long imprisonment no tortures could force him to name any fellow Catholics. Though his courage was admired by the judges he was condemned as a traitor and hanged at Glasgow. The customary beheading and quartering were omitted owing to undisguised popular sympathy, and his body was hurriedly buried in the churchyard of Glasgow cathedral.

Stational Church

St. Frances of Rome

St. Frances of Rome founded the institute known as the "Oblati di Tor de Specchi" in the Holy City. She was a wealthy patrician and after her husband died, she gave up all her wealth to live a life of abject poverty. Her special privilege from heaven was familiar conversation with her guardian angel. Reading the life of St. Frances, one gains the impression that she moved and lived in the spiritual world more than on earth; in fact, that which gives her life its unique character is her intimate relationship with the blessed world of holy spirits.

During the three periods of her life, three angels of different rank accompanied her, ready to protect her soul against any onslaught of hell and to lead her step by step to spiritual perfection. Day and night the saint saw her angel busy at a mysterious task. With three little golden spindles he unceasingly spun golden threads, strung them around his neck, and diligently wound them into balls. A half year before her death he changed his work. Instead of spinning more golden thread, he began to weave three carpets of varying size with the golden thread he had spun. These carpets symbolized her lifework as virgin, mother, and religious.

Shortly before her death, she noticed how the angel was hurrying his work, and his face was unusually fresh and happy. At the very moment when the last carpet had reached its required length, her soul departed into eternal bliss.

Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch.

Patron: automobile drivers, automobilists, cab or taxi drivers, death of children, lay people, motorists, people ridiculed for their piety, Roman housewives, widows.

Symbols: often depicted as a woman habited in black with a white veil, accompanied by her guardian angel, and sometimes carrying a basket of food; Nun with her guardian angel dressed as a deacon. Monstrance and arrow; book; angel with a branch of oranges; receiving the veil from the Christ Child in the arms of the Blessed Virgin.

Things to Do:

Today's Gospel is often used by Protestants to challenge the Catholic practice of calling our priests "Father." Learn how to defend this practice — begin by reading Art Kelly's apologetics article, Call No Man Father?. Discuss this custom and the reasoning behind it with your children.
Invoke St. Frances' protection as you are getting in your car to drive somewhere today.
St. Frances was certain that she had a vocation to the religious life from the age of eleven. However, her father forced her to marry, and so she instead joyfully loved and served her husband until his death enabled her to enter the religious life when she was fifty-two years old. Even when you may have certainty that God is calling you to walk a certain path, His timing may be different from your own. Reflect on your own vocation: regardless of any doubts you may have, or seemingly unfulfilled desires to do more for God, abandon yourself to His will of the present moment, and joyfully focus on fulfilling the small duties which your vocation asks of you. Read about sanctification through the present moment in Rev. Jean-Pierre de Caussade's excellent little work, Abandonment to Divine Providence (online version).
Bl. John Ogilvie
Born in 1579 at Drum, Keith, Scotland. Walter Ogilvie was a Scottish noble who raised his son John in the state religion of Scotland, Calvinism. John converted to Catholicism at the age of 17 in Louvain, Belgium. Blessed John joined the Jesuits soon after in 1597, and was ordained in Paris in 1610. He was sent to work in Rouen, France.
He repeatedly requested assignment to Scotland where wholesale massacres of Catholics had taken place, but by this point the hunters were searching more for priests than for those who attended Mass.
The Jesuits were determined to minister to the oppressed Catholic laity. When captured, they were tortured for information, then hanged, drawn, and quartered.
Ogilvie's request was granted, and he returned to Scotland in November 1613. He worked as an underground missionary in Edinburgh and Glasgow, dodging the Queen's priest-hunters, disguising himself as a soldier named Watson. After 11 months in the field, John was betrayed, imprisoned, interrogated, then tortured for the names of active Catholics. He suffered in silence.
He is the Church's only officially recorded Scottish martyr. He died hanged on March 10, 1615 in Glasgow, Scotland and was canonized by Paul VI on October 17, 1976.
Things to Do:
- Read more about the life of Bl. John Ogilvie.
The Station today is at St. Clement's. The oldest level is thought to be the titulus Clementis, one of the first parish churches in Rome, and probably belonged to the family of Titus Flavius Clemens, consul and martyr and a contemporary of Pope St. Clement. Set right next to a pagan temple, a Mithraeum or Temple of Mithras, it was one of the first churches in Rome.

Lauds -- Morning Prayer

Morning Prayer (Lauds)

If this is the first Hour that you are reciting today, you should precede it with the Invitatory Psalm.

O God, come to my aid.

– O Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.

Psalm 41 (42)
Longing for the Lord and his temple
When shall I come and stand before the face of God?
Like a deer that longs for springs of water, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, the living God: when shall I come and stand before the face of God? My tears are my food, by day and by night, and everyone asks, “where is your God?.” I remember how I went up to your glorious dwelling-place and into the house of God: the memory melts my soul. The sound of joy and thanksgiving, the crowds at the festival. Why are you so sad, my soul, and anxious within me? Put your hope in the Lord, I will praise him still, my saviour and my God. My soul is sad within me, and so I will remember you in the lands of Jordan and Hermon, on the mountain of Mizar. Deep calls to deep in your rushing waters: and all your torrents, all your waves have flowed over me. By day the Lord sends his kindness upon me; by night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life. I will say to God: “You are my support, why have you forgotten me? Why must I go in mourning, while the enemy persecutes me?.” As my bones break, my persecutors deride me, all the time saying “where is your God?.” Why are you so sad, my soul, and anxious within me? Put your hope in the Lord, I will praise him still, my saviour and my God. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
When shall I come and stand before the face of God?

Canticle	Ecclesiasticus 36
A prayer for Jerusalem, the holy city
Lord, show me the light of your mercies.
God of all, have mercy on us, take notice of us, and show us the light of your mercies. Make the nations fear you, who have not sought you out, make them know that there is no God except you, let them tell of your wonders. Lift up your hand over foreign nations, that they may see your power – for just as in their sight you have been sanctified in us, so in our sight you will be magnified in them. Lift up your hand so that they may know, as we know, that there is no God but you, Lord. Bring forth new signs and repeat your wonders; glorify your hand, show the strength of your arm. Gather together all the tribes of Jacob, give them back the inheritance they had from the beginning. Take pity on your people, over whom we invoke your name, and on Israel, whom you have made equal to your firstborn. Take pity on the city you have sanctified, Jerusalem, the place of your rest. Fill Zion with your majesty; fill your temple with your glory. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Lord, show me the light of your mercies.

Psalm 18 (19)
Praise of God the creator
Blessed are you, Lord, in the firmament of heaven.
The skies tell the story of the glory of God, the firmament proclaims the work of his hands; day pours out the news to day, night passes to night the knowledge. Not a speech, not a word, not a voice goes unheard. Their sound is spread throughout the earth, their message to all the corners of the world. At the ends of the earth he has set up a dwelling place for the sun. Like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, it rejoices like an athlete at the race to be run. It appears at the edge of the sky, runs its course to the sky’s furthest edge. Nothing can hide from its heat. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Blessed are you, Lord, in the firmament of heaven.

Short reading	Romans 12:1-2 ©
Think of God’s mercy, my brothers, and worship him, I beg you, in a way that is worthy of thinking beings, by offering your living bodies as a holy sacrifice, truly pleasing to God. Do not model yourselves on the behaviour of the world around you, but let your behaviour change, modelled by your new mind. This is the only way to discover the will of God and know what is good, what it is that God wants, what is the perfect thing to do.

Short reading

Romans 12:1-2 ©

Think of God’s mercy, my brothers, and worship him, I beg you, in a way that is worthy of thinking beings, by offering your living bodies as a holy sacrifice, truly pleasing to God. Do not model yourselves on the behaviour of the world around you, but let your behaviour change, modelled by your new mind. This is the only way to discover the will of God and know what is good, what it is that God wants, what is the perfect thing to do.

Canticle	Benedictus
The Messiah and his forerunner
Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has come to his people and brought about their redemption. He has raised up the sign of salvation in the house of his servant David, as he promised through the mouth of the holy ones, his prophets through the ages: to rescue us from our enemies and all who hate us, to take pity on our fathers, to remember his holy covenant and the oath he swore to Abraham our father, that he would give himself to us, that we could serve him without fear – freed from the hands of our enemies – in uprightness and holiness before him, for all of our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High: for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his path, to let his people know their salvation, so that their sins may be forgiven. Through the bottomless mercy of our God, one born on high will visit us to give light to those who walk in darkness, who live in the shadow of death; to lead our feet in the path of peace. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate.

Prayers and Intercessions	?
Blessed be God the Father. By his gift we offer him a sacrifice of praise on this Lenten day. Let us pray to him: – Teach us, Lord, the ways of heaven. Almighty and compassionate God, give us a spirit of prayer and penitence: make us burn with love for God and man. – Teach us, Lord, the ways of heaven. Let us work with you to restore all things in Christ and spread justice and peace through all the world. – Teach us, Lord, the ways of heaven. Teach us the nature and value of the whole of creation: may we be united with it as we sing your praises. – Teach us, Lord, the ways of heaven. Forgive us for not seeing Christ’s presence in the poor, the unfortunate, in those who suffer: for not revering your Son in them. – Teach us, Lord, the ways of heaven.

Prayers and Intercessions

?

Blessed be God the Father. By his gift we offer him a sacrifice of praise on this Lenten day. Let us pray to him:

– Teach us, Lord, the ways of heaven.

Almighty and compassionate God, give us a spirit of prayer and penitence:

make us burn with love for God and man.

– Teach us, Lord, the ways of heaven.

Let us work with you to restore all things in Christ

and spread justice and peace through all the world.

– Teach us, Lord, the ways of heaven.

Teach us the nature and value of the whole of creation:

may we be united with it as we sing your praises.

– Teach us, Lord, the ways of heaven.

Forgive us for not seeing Christ’s presence in the poor, the unfortunate, in those who suffer:

for not revering your Son in them.

– Teach us, Lord, the ways of heaven.

Our Father, who art in Heaven,

hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come,

thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our trespasses

as we forgive those who trespass against us,

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

O God, you tell us to mortify our bodies to cure our sick souls.

Grant us the ability to abstain from all sin

and the power to obey wholeheartedly all your holy commandments.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God for ever and ever.

Amen.

May the Lord bless us and keep us from all harm; and may he lead us to eternal life.

A M E N

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Luke 6:36-38

Stop judging and you will not be judged. (Luke 6:37)

Stop judging and you will not be judged.

If you’re a defendant on trial in most democratic countries, you are presumed innocent until proven guilty. It’s up to the prosecution to find you guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. But even in lengthy trials with hours of testimony, mounds of evidence, and twelve jurors weighing all the facts, wrongful convictions can still get handed down. It shouldn’t surprise us, either. How many times have we made a snap judgment about someone and condemned them without a second thought—and been dead certain we were correct?

Jesus knew from experience just how wrong people can be. He himself was called a drunkard, a glutton, and a blasphemer. We can’t read someone’s heart to understand their motives, yet we make judgments in matters that have little or nothing to do with us. We criticize the people we see on the news and inwardly judge even our friends and neighbors if we hear some juicy gossip about them. It’s as if we’ve judged them without a fair trial.

But even if we do get it right from time to time, what good is that? In fact, our judgments on others do nothing but reveal our own hearts. When we cast stones, we show that our own hearts are stony (John 8:7). And what’s worse, we call down judgment on ourselves when we do so. To receive God’s forgiveness, we have to be aware of our own capacity to sin and be able to forgive it in others. We have to learn to deal with our own weaknesses and failings so we can be instruments of compassion rather than condemnation.

With Jesus’ help, we can recognize and root out our pride and judgmental attitudes. At every Mass, he is present in the Eucharist to bring us his mercy, so that we in turn can show it to others. When we partake of his body and blood, we receive the grace to see people as God sees us: as his children in need of patience, understanding, and love. As we sow these seeds of compassion and forgiveness into our relationships, we’ll reap them in our own lives—and we will see the kingdom of God spring up all around us!

“Lord, sometimes I fail to recognize your mercy, and then I cannot share it with others. Fill me anew with your Spirit, so I can witness to your saving love.”

Daniel 9:4-10; Psalm 79:8-9,11,13

Vultus Christi

To Thee Belong Mercy and Forgiveness

By

Father Mark

on March 9, 2009 4:28 PM | Pierced%20Side.jpg

Monday Within the Second Week of Lent

Daniel 9:4-10
Luke 6: 36-38

I Set My Face to the Lord

I don't know why the editors of the Lectionary did not begin today's First Reading with Daniel 9, verse 3. In few words it sets the tone and describes the context for the magnificent act of contrition that follows. The missing verse is this:

And I set my face to the Lord my God to pray and make supplication with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes (Dn 9:3).

Only then does the prophet Daniel give us the fruit of his compunction: a prayer of confession and an act of contrition.

Compunction

What is compunction? It is the cutting awareness of our sins. Compunction is not something that we can produce in ourselves and of ourselves. Compunction is a grace: it is a fruit of the combined action of the Word of God and of the Holy Ghost within the soul.

Sword and Fire

What do we read in the Letter to the Hebrews? "The Word of God is living and effectual, and more piercing than any two edged sword" (Hb 4:12), and in another place, "Our God is a consuming fire" (Hb 12:29). It is a perilous thing to expose oneself to the Word of God because one risks being pierced through and purified by fire. This is why so many people turn a deaf ear to the Word, or hide from it, or say, "Ah, this is not meant for me, but it perfectly suits so and so. It is just what he (or she) needs to hear."

Compunction, Confession, Contrition

One who, on the other hand, actively seeks the grace of compunction by hearing the Word of God and invoking the fire of the Holy Spirit, will be compelled to confess his sins and to express real sorrow for them.

Forgiveness and Detachment

That being said, all our confessions and acts of contrition can be rendered fruitless -- utterly sterile -- if we are without mercy toward others, if we judge, or if we condemn. True compunction softens the heart. Compunction makes one quick to forgive. It makes us detached from self-will, from seeking our creature comforts, and from being avaricious of our time. This three-fold detachment renders us capable of acts of generosity: generosity first towards God, and then, towards our neighbour.

Generosity

Generosity is a sure sign of God's grace. Legalism (conforming merely to the letter of the law), minimalism (doing merely what is required), stinginess and greed are infallible indicators of a deficit of Divine Grace. It is a good rule always to go beyond what is asked or required. Bishop Fulton J. Sheen used to say, "If you have difficulty spending one hour before the Blessed Sacrament, spend two." Our Lord says, "If a man take away thy coat, let go thy cloak also unto him" (Mt 5:40).

An Immeasurable Mercy

To sum up: compunction, confession and contrition lead to a readiness to show mercy, to the refusal to judge and to condemn and, finally, to generosity. "The measure you give will be the measure you get back." A measured mercy is no mercy at all.

Vultus Christi

Saint Francesca of Rome

By

Father Mark

on March 9, 2009 8:30 AM |

This painting, attributed to Antonio da Viterbo the Elder (1450-1516), depicts Saint Francesca being clothed by the Blessed Virgin in the great white veil that, even today, characterizes the Olivetan Benedictine Oblates of Mary she founded in 1433.

Our Lady wears a golden mantle, which Saint Paul at the left wraps around Francesca Romana. Saint Paul also holds a scroll. The mystical scene takes place on a cloud; fiery seraphim accompany the Madonna and Child. Saint Mary Magdalene, in red vesture, and Saint Benedict, in the foreground, drape a protective mantle around twenty Oblates.

Note the angel below the Gothic windows at left. He is busy carding golden threads with a warp and loom. Nearby are two frisky dogs and two cats. Francesca's Oblate Congregation, it is said, was woven together by heavenly graces and harassed by evil spirits in the form of cats and dogs. The grace of Christ prevailed and the Oblates flourished.

Married Life and Monastic Conversion

Saint Frances of Rome (1384-1440),more properly called by her own name, Francesca, is the patroness of Benedictine Oblates. The Collect for her feast tells us why. The Church has us pray:

O God, Who in Saint Frances of Rome, have given us a model of holiness in married life and of monastic conversion, make us serve Thee perseveringly, so that in all circumstances we may set our gaze upon Thee and follow Thee.

It is not often that we mention both married life and monastic conversion in the same Collect! Francesca is there to tell us that it can be done.

Patronness of Rome

I find it extraordinary that the Romans should be so proud of their Francesca, even to the point of considering her their special patron. They can lay claim, after all, to Saints Peter and Paul, to innumerable martyrs and glorious Popes, and yet, with all that spiritual richness, they remain attached to Francesca, a married woman, a servant of the poor, a mother to the sick, a spiritual daughter of Holy Father Benedict, and a mystic.

Enthusiasm for Holiness

Francesca did nothing by half-measures. Being Roman, she lived life with a kind of reckless enthusiasm -- not for the usual things Romans get excited over -- but for holiness! Her life was extraordinary in some ways. She went in for fasting, austerities, and almsgiving in a huge way. The devil bothered her continually, not as he bothers us with boring, nagging temptations, but with spectacular assaults. Francesca was in the same league as Saint Anthony of Egypt and the Curé d'Ars.

Intensely Alive

For me, Francesca's appeal is in her warm and very human personality. She was no dried up prune of a saint. She was intensely alive to everything human and capable of the grand passions without which life is bleak and dreary. She suffered struggles, endured sorrows, and bore with every manner of disappointment and hurt. One cannot say that Francesca's holiness was of the tidy sort. One might even say that Francesca's life was a mess. Her desire to serve God and live for him was continually frustrated by persons and circumstances. It was precisely in the midst of these conditions that Francesca grew in holiness, "setting nothing before the love of Christ" (RB 4:21), and "never despairing of God's mercy" (RB 4:74).

Married at Thirteen

As a young girl, Francesca did not want to marry. She lived, after all, in the city of the Church's shining virgin martyrs: Agnes, Cecilia, and so many others. Like them she wanted to consecrate her virginity to Christ, but her parents had other plans. The first big decision in her life was out of her hands. At the age of thirteen she gave in to her parents and married Lorenzo Ponziano, the wealthy nobleman they had chosen for her.

Francesca was expected to be the perfect socialite, charming, beautiful, witty, and worldly as only Romans know how to be worldly. In her heart she longed for the cloister, but the will of God had placed her, concretely, in a setting far removed from it.

They Never Once Had A Quarrel

Lorenzo, Francesca's husband treated her always with love and respect. He accepted that he had married an unusual woman, that she would never be like other Roman wives, and that there was something in her that he, try as he might, would never be able to satisfy. Francesca loved Lorenzo. She recognized his qualities and accepted that loving Lorenzo was part of God's plan for her. It is said that through all their married life, Francesca and Lorenzo never once had a quarrel. For that alone they should both be canonized!

Devotion in a Married Woman

Francesca is best known for a sagacious remark, one that two centuries later Saint Francis de Sales would echo. "Devotion in a married woman," she said, "is most praiseworthy, but she must never forget that she is a housewife. Sometimes she must leave God at the altar, to serve Him in her housekeeping". An indication of Francesca's Benedictine vocation was in her devotion to the Divine Office. One day in praying the Hours she was interrupted five times in succession. Each time she closed her book, attended to what was asked of her, and then returned to her prayer. After the last interruption she found the words of the antiphon she had been trying to pray written in letters of gold. God rewarded her patience as much as her zeal for the Divine Office.

Her Guiding Light

If you have ever seen a painting of Saint Francesca, you may have noticed a little angel standing near her. Francesca had lost her little eight-year-old boy, Evangelista, to the plague. After his death he appeared to her announcing the death of yet another child, her daughter Agnese. I cannot help but relate Francesca;s grief to the passage in Isaiah: "Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you" (Is 49:15). Francesca never forgot the little ones taken from her by death. In exchange for these terrible losses, she was given an unusual grace: that of always seeing her guardian angel. Her angel took on the appearance of a little boy of about eight years (like her son Evangelista); he wore a dalmatic like the deacon at Solemn Mass. Francesca's guardian angel was with her visibly at every moment, assuring her of the love of Christ, giving her counsel and providing her, even visibly, with a guiding light. It was this fact that made Pope Pius XI declare Francesca the patroness of motorists!

Rival Popes

Francesca lived in troubled times. There were two rival Popes, making for schism and Civil War. Lorenzo was wounded fighting on behalf of the true Pope. In the aftermath of the conflicts, he lost his estates. Their home was destroyed and their one surviving son taken hostage. As if that were not enough Rome was beset with looting, famine, and plague. And we think we have troubles!

Mother of the Poor, the Sick, and the Brokenhearted

Francesca rose to the occasion. She fixed up the ruins of her home and opened a hospital. With poor and suffering people all around her, Francesca became a kind of Mother Teresa, compassionate and wonderfully effective. She fed and housed the poor sick picked up on the streets. She arranged for priests to minister to the dying. She reconciled enemies and calmed the rage of those plotting revenge. After the troubles caused by the schism, Lorenzo came home to her, but he was a broken man both physically and mentally. Francesca cared for him with every tenderness.

Benedictine Oblates

Francesca's activities did not go unnoticed. Other Roman ladies, many of them war widows, were drawn to her. Little by little a new form of Benedictine life emerged: women living under the Rule of Saint Benedict, not as enclosed nuns, but as Oblates of the Roman monastery of the Olivetans at Santa Maria Nuova. Francesca's Oblates were free to go out to serve the poor and sick. Their life was shaped to a great extent by the first part of Chapter Four of the Holy Rule, the Instruments of Good Works:

To relieve the poor, to clothe the naked, to visit the sick, to bury the dead, to give help in trouble, to console the sorrowful, to avoid worldly behaviour, and to set nothing before the love of Christ (RB 4:14-21).

Francesca's Oblates survive to the present day, not only in Rome, but also at Le Bec-Hellouin in France, at Abu-Gosh in Israel, and elsewhere. They wear unchanged the distinctive black habit and long white veil dating from the time of Saint Francesca.

Lorenzo's Deathbed Declaration of Love

Lorenzo died in 1436. His last words were for his darling Francesca. They are worth quoting. "I feel," he said, "as if my whole life has been one beautiful dream of purest happiness. God has given me so much in your love." A husband's deathbed confession of undying love! No wife could ask for more.

The Angel Beckons

After Lorenzo's death, Francesca was free to take a fuller role in the Benedictine community she had established. Her sister Oblates elected her prioress. Four years later, on the evening of March 9th her face became radiant with a strange light. "The angel has finished his task," she said; "he beckons me to follow him". Francesca was 56 years old. Her death plunged all of Rome into mourning. Miraculous healings abounded. Rome had another saint.

Acceptance of Things As They Are

Francesca's life tells us that the plan of God for our holiness us unfolds in ways that often contradict our own projects and desires. Our endless planning can be no more than an attempt to control life, to manipulate people and events. Francesca challenges us to detachment from life as we would have it be, and to the acceptance of things as they are. Each of us has unexpected elements that, thrown into the mix, unsettle our plans, making life untidy and somehow bearable at the same time. And each of us has a guardian angel, a light in life's obscurity, a faithful friend and spiritual counselor.

Vespers -- Evening Prayer

Vespers (Evening Prayer)

O God, come to my aid.

– O Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.

Psalm 44 (45)
The wedding of the King
You have been given more than human beauty, and grace is poured out upon your lips.
My heart cries out on a joyful theme: I will tell my poem to the king, my tongue like the pen of the swiftest scribe. You have been given more than human beauty, and grace is poured out upon your lips, so that God has blessed you for ever. Strap your sword to your side, mighty one, in all your greatness and splendour. In your splendour go forth, mount your chariot, on behalf of truth, kindness and justice. Let your right hand show you marvels, let your arrows be sharp against the hearts of the king’s enemies – the peoples will fall before you. Your throne is firm, O God, from age to age, your royal sceptre is a sceptre of justice. You love uprightness, hate injustice – for God, your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness, above all your companions. Myrrh and aloes and cassia anoint your garments. From ivory palaces the sound of harps delights you. In your retinue go the daughters of kings. At your right hand, the queen is adorned with gold of Ophir. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
You have been given more than human beauty, and grace is poured out upon your lips.

Psalm 44 (45)
The King's bride
Look, the Bridegroom is coming: go out to greet him.
Listen, my daughter, and understand; turn your ears to what I have to say. Forget your people, forget your father’s house, and the king will desire you for your beauty. He is your lord, so worship him. The daughters of Tyre will bring you gifts; the richest of your subjects will beg you to look on them. How great is the king’s daughter, within the palace! She is clothed in woven gold. She will be taken to the king in coloured garments, her maidens will escort her to your presence. In gladness and rejoicing they are brought and led to the house of the king. Instead of your fathers you will have sons: you will make them rulers over all the world. I will remember your name from generation to generation. And so your people will do you honour for ever and for ever. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Look, the Bridegroom is coming: go out to greet him.

Canticle	Ephesians 1
God the Saviour
God planned, in the fullness of time, to found everything in Christ.
Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us, in Christ, with every spiritual blessing in heaven. In love, he chose us before the creation of the world, to be holy and spotless in his sight. He predestined us to be his adopted children through Jesus Christ, simply because it pleased him to do so. This he did for the praise of the glory of his grace, of his free gift of us in his Beloved, in whose blood we have gained redemption, and the forgiveness of our sins. This he did according to the riches of his grace, which he gave us in abundance, with all wisdom and discernment, revealing to us the mysteries of his will, because it pleased him to do so. In this action he has planned, in the fulfilment of time, to bring all things together in Christ, from the heavens and from the earth. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
God planned, in the fullness of time, to found everything in Christ.

Short reading	Romans 12:1-2 ©
Think of God’s mercy, my brothers, and worship him, I beg you, in a way that is worthy of thinking beings, by offering your living bodies as a holy sacrifice, truly pleasing to God. Do not model yourselves on the behaviour of the world around you, but let your behaviour change, modelled by your new mind. This is the only way to discover the will of God and know what is good, what it is that God wants, what is the perfect thing to do.

Short reading

Think of God’s mercy, my brothers, and worship him, I beg you, in a way that is worthy of thinking beings, by offering your living bodies as a holy sacrifice, truly pleasing to God. Do not model yourselves on the behaviour of the world around you, but let your behaviour change, modelled by your new mind. This is the only way to discover the will of God and know what is good, what it is that God wants, what is the perfect thing to do.

Canticle	Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
Do not judge, and you will not be judged yourselves; because the judgements you give are the judgements you will get.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God, my salvation. For he has shown me such favour – me, his lowly handmaiden. Now all generations will call me blessed, because the mighty one has done great things for me. His name is holy, his mercy lasts for generation after generation for those who revere him. He has put forth his strength: he has scattered the proud and conceited, torn princes from their thrones; but lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things; the rich he has sent away empty. He has come to the help of his servant Israel, he has remembered his mercy as he promised to our fathers, to Abraham and his children for ever. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Do not judge, and you will not be judged yourselves; because the judgements you give are the judgements you will get.

Prayers and Intercessions	?
God is great: through his Son he gave us his promise that when we prayed together he would give us whatever we asked. Trusting in his promise, let us ask him: – Look with kindness, Lord, on your people. Lord, you gave the Law to Moses on Sinai, but perfected it through your Anointed: grant that all may recognise the law written in their hearts, and carry the imprint of your covenant. – Look with kindness, Lord, on your people. To those who have been given authority over their brethren, give the gifts of watchfulness and care; to those under them, give a spirit of cooperation. – Look with kindness, Lord, on your people. Strengthen with your strength the hearts and minds of missionaries: through the example of their work, bring them followers and companions. – Look with kindness, Lord, on your people. Give your grace to children, let it grow as they grow; in the young, let your love develop in uprightness and purity. – Look with kindness, Lord, on your people. Remember our brethren who have fallen asleep in you; bring them to share in eternal life. – Look with kindness, Lord, on your people.

Prayers and Intercessions

?

God is great: through his Son he gave us his promise that when we prayed together he would give us whatever we asked. Trusting in his promise, let us ask him: