Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 02-11-13, OM, Our Lady of Lourdes

USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 02-11-13 | Revised New American Bible

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February 11, 2013

 

Monday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

 

Reading 1 Gn 1:1-19

In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth,
the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss,
while a mighty wind swept over the waters.

Then God said,
“Let there be light,” and there was light.
God saw how good the light was.
God then separated the light from the darkness.
God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.”
Thus evening came, and morning followed–the first day.

Then God said,
“Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters,
to separate one body of water from the other.”
And so it happened:
God made the dome,
and it separated the water above the dome from the water below it.
God called the dome “the sky.”
Evening came, and morning followed–the second day.

Then God said,
“Let the water under the sky be gathered into a single basin,
so that the dry land may appear.”
And so it happened:
the water under the sky was gathered into its basin,
and the dry land appeared.
God called the dry land “the earth,”
and the basin of the water he called “the sea.”
God saw how good it was.
Then God said,
“Let the earth bring forth vegetation:
every kind of plant that bears seed
and every kind of fruit tree on earth
that bears fruit with its seed in it.”
And so it happened:
the earth brought forth every kind of plant that bears seed
and every kind of fruit tree on earth that
bears fruit with its seed in it.
God saw how good it was.
Evening came, and morning followed–the third day.

Then God said:
“Let there be lights in the dome of the sky,
to separate day from night.
Let them mark the fixed times, the days and the years,
and serve as luminaries in the dome of the sky,
to shed light upon the earth.”
And so it happened:
God made the two great lights,
the greater one to govern the day,
and the lesser one to govern the night;
and he made the stars.
God set them in the dome of the sky,
to shed light upon the earth,
to govern the day and the night,
and to separate the light from the darkness.
God saw how good it was.
Evening came, and morning followed–the fourth day.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 104:1-2a, 5-6, 10 and 12, 24 and 35c

R. (31b) May the Lord be glad in his works.
Bless the LORD, O my soul!
O LORD, my God, you are great indeed!
You are clothed with majesty and glory,
robed in light as with a cloak.
R. May the Lord be glad in his works.
You fixed the earth upon its foundation,
not to be moved forever;
With the ocean, as with a garment, you covered it;
above the mountains the waters stood.
R. May the Lord be glad in his works.
You send forth springs into the watercourses
that wind among the mountains.
Beside them the birds of heaven dwell;
from among the branches they send forth their song.
R. May the Lord be glad in his works.
How manifold are your works, O LORD!
In wisdom you have wrought them all—
the earth is full of your creatures;
Bless the LORD, O my soul! Alleluia.
R. May the Lord be glad in his works.

Gospel Mk 6:53-56

After making the crossing to the other side of the sea,
Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret
and tied up there.
As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him.
They scurried about the surrounding country
and began to bring in the sick on mats
to wherever they heard he was.
Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered,
they laid the sick in the marketplaces
and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak;
and as many as touched it were healed.

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Information: Our Lady of Lourdes

Feast Day:

February 11

[Salvation]

Interactive Saints for Kids

February 11: Our Lady of Lourdes

It was on February 11, 1858, that a beautiful lady first appeared to Bernadette Soubirous of Lourdes, France. Bernadette was a sickly girl. Her family was so poor they lived in a cellar that had once been a jail. Even though she was fourteen, Bernadette still could not read or write. She never could remember her catechism lessons, but she was a good girl. She loved God very much. Although her memory was poor, Bernadette kept trying hard to learn all she could about God. She was pure and obedient, too.

The beautiful lady Bernadette saw wore a white dress and a light blue sash. A white veil covered her head and fell over her shoulders to the ground. On her feet were two lovely golden roses. Her hands were joined and a rosary hung from her right arm. Its chain and cross shone like gold. The lovely lady encouraged Bernadette to say the Rosary. She appeared eighteen times to St. Bernadette. She asked her to tell the people to pray, to do penance and to recite the Rosary for sinners.

During the last apparition, Bernadette asked the beautiful lady who she was. The lady replied, "I am the Immaculate Conception." She was Mary, the Mother of God.

A large church called a basilica was built where Bernadette saw Our Lady. Although the apparitions took place over a hundred years ago, miracles still happen there. Many people are cured of sicknesses. Crippled people walk again. Blind people see again. Lonely, broken people find hope again. There, where she once appeared to St. Bernadette, Our Lady still shows her love for us.

Reflection: As we celebrate this feast day of the Blessed Mother, we ask her prayers to "help us rise above our human weakness."

[annalex]

Mark
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Mark 6
53.	And when they had passed over, they came into the land of Genezareth, and set to the shore.	Et cum transfretassent, venerunt in terram Genesareth, et applicuerunt.	και διαπερασαντες ηλθον επι την γην γεννησαρετ και προσωρμισθησαν
54.	And when they were gone out of the ship, immediately they knew him:	Cumque egressi essent de navi, continuo cognoverunt eum :	και εξελθοντων αυτων εκ του πλοιου ευθεως επιγνοντες αυτον
55.	And running through that whole country, they began to carry about in beds those that were sick, where they heard he was.	et percurrentes universam regionem illam, cœperunt in grabatis eos, qui se male habebant, circumferre, ubi audiebant eum esse.	περιδραμοντες ολην την περιχωρον εκεινην ηρξαντο επι τοις κραββατοις τους κακως εχοντας περιφερειν οπου ηκουον οτι εκει εστιν
56.	And whithersoever he entered, into towns or into villages or cities, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought him that they might touch but the hem of his garment: and as many as touched him were made whole.	Et quocumque introibat, in vicos, vel in villas aut civitates, in plateis ponebant infirmos, et deprecabantur eum, ut vel fimbriam vestimenti ejus tangerent, et quotquot tangebant eum, salvi fiebant.	και οπου αν εισεπορευετο εις κωμας η πολεις η αγρους εν ταις αγοραις ετιθουν τους ασθενουντας και παρεκαλουν αυτον ινα καν του κρασπεδου του ιματιου αυτου αψωνται και οσοι αν ηπτοντο αυτου εσωζοντο

[annalex]

53. And after they had passed over, they came into the land of Gennesaret, and drew to the shore.
54. And when they were come out of the ship, straightway they knew him,
55. And ran through that the region round about, and began to carry about in beds those that were sick, where they heard he was.
56. And whithersoever he entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought him that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment: and as many as touched him were made whole.

GLOSS. The Evangelist, having shown the danger which the disciples had sustained in their passage, and their deliverance from it, now shows the place to which they sailed, saying, And when they had passed over, they came into the land of Gennesaret, and drew to the shore.

THEOPHYL. The Lord remained at the above-mentioned place for some time. Therefore the Evangelist subjoins, And when they had come out of the ship, straightway they knew him, that is, the inhabitants of the country.

BEDE; But they knew Him by report, not by His features; or through the greatness of His miracles, even His person was known to some. See too how great was the faith of the men of the land of Gennesaret, so that they were not content with the healing of those who were present, but sent to other towns round about, that all might hasten to the Physician; wherefore there follows, And ran through the whole region round about, and began to carry about in beds those that were sick, where they heard he was.

THEOPHYL. For they did not call Him to their houses that He might heal them, but rather the sick themselves were brought to Him. Wherefore it also follows, And whithersoever he entered into villages, or cities, or country try, &c. For the miracle which had been wrought on the woman with an issue of blood, had reached the ears of many, and caused in them that great faith, by which they were healed. It goes on, And as many as touched him were made whole.

BEDE; Again, in a mystical sense, do they understand by the hem of His garment the slightest of His commandments, for whoever shall transgress it shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven, or else His assumption of our flesh, by which we have come to the Word of God, and afterwards, shall have the enjoyment of His majesty.

PSEUDO-JEROME; Furthermore that which is said, And as many as touched him were made whole, shall be fulfilled, when grief and mourning shall fly away.

Catena Aurea Mark 6

[annalex]

On the Gennesaret Lake

Vassily Polenov

1888
Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

[Salvation]

 

Catholic

Almanac:

Monday, February 11
Liturgical Color: Green
Today is the optional memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes. Here Our Lady made 18 appearances to St. Bernadette in 1858. A basilica was built over the grotto where Mary appeared. More than 200 million pilgrims have visited the site since 1860.

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Catholic Culture

Daily Readings for: February 11, 2013
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: Grant us, O merciful God, protection in our weakness, that we, who keep the Memorial of the Immaculate Mother of God, may with the help of her intercession, rise up from our iniquities. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

RECIPES

• Minced Chicken (or Turkey) a la King

ACTIVITIES

• ’Tis Said of Our Dear Lady
• A Single Branch Three Roses Bore
• Ave Maria Dear
• Beautiful, Glorious
• Mary Garden
• Salve Regina
• Stella Matutina
• Virgin Blessed, Thou Star the Fairest

PRAYERS

• Parental Blessing
• Table Blessing for the Feasts of the Mother of God
• Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes

LIBRARY

• The Shrine: Memory, Presence and Prophecy of the Living God | Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People
• Two Lourdes Miracles and a Nobel Laureate: What Really Happened? | Rev. Stanley L. Jaki

Ordinary Time: February 11th

Optional Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes

Old Calendar: Apparition of Our Lady at Lourdes

Today marks the first apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1858 to fourteen-year-old Marie Bernade (St. Bernadette) Soubirous. Between February 11 and July 16, 1858, the Blessed Virgin appeared eighteen times, and showed herself to St. Bernadette in the hollow of the rock at Lourdes. On March 25 she said to the little shepherdess who was only fourteen years of age: "I am the Immaculate Conception." Since then Lourdes has become a place of pilgrimage and many cures and conversions have taken place. The message of Lourdes is a call to personal conversion, prayer, and charity.

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Our Lady of Lourdes
The many miracles which have been performed through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin at Lourdes prompted the Church to institute a special commemorative feast, the "Apparition of the Immaculate Virgin Mary." The Office gives the historical background. Four years after the promulgation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception (1854), the Blessed Virgin appeared a number of times to a very poor and holy girl named Bernadette. The actual spot was in a grotto on the bank of the Gave River near Lourdes.

The Immaculate Conception had a youthful appearance and was clothed in a pure white gown and mantle, with an azure blue girdle. A golden rose adorned each of her bare feet. On her first apparition, February 11, 1858, the Blessed Virgin bade the girl make the sign of the Cross piously and say the rosary with her. Bernadette saw her take the rosary that was hanging from her arms into her hands. This was repeated in subsequent apparitions.   

With childlike simplicity Bernadette once sprinkled holy water on the vision, fearing that it was a deception of the evil spirit; but the Blessed Virgin smiled pleasantly, and her face became even more lovely. The third time Mary appeared she invited the girl to come to the grotto daily for two weeks. Now she frequently spoke to Bernadette. On one occasion she ordered her to tell the ecclesiastical authorities to build a church on the spot and to organize processions. Bernadette also was told to drink and wash at the spring still hidden under the sand.

Finally on the feast of the Annunciation, the beautiful Lady announced her name, "I am the Immaculate Conception."

The report of cures occurring at the grotto spread quickly and the more it spread, the greater the number of Christians who visited the hallowed place. The publicity given these miraculous events on the one hand and the seeming sincerity and innocence of the girl on the other made it necessary for the bishop of Tarbes to institute a judicial inquiry. Four years later he declared the apparitions to be supernatural and permitted the public veneration of the Immaculate Conception in the grotto. Soon a chapel was erected, and since that time countless pilgrims come every year to Lourdes to fulfill promises or to beg graces.

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

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February 11 was proclaimed World Day of the Sick by Pope John Paul II. Therefore, it would be appropriate to celebrate the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick on this day during a Mass or Liturgy of the Word. (The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick is only to be given to "those of the faithful whose health is seriously impaired by sickness or old age", Roman Ritual. This Sacrament must not be given indiscriminately to all who take part in Masses for the sick.)

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We pilgrims to Lourdes
Anyone who has made a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Lourdes will not have missed the opportunity to pray at the Grotto where the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared on the 11th of February 1858. A mystical place, similar to the welcoming “bosom” of a mother, almost a baptismal font, in which to immerse ourselves and rediscover the unrivalled beauty of being Christians: having God as our Father and Mary as our Mother!

Lourdes is one of the most important “places of grace” known to the Church. It is like a vast basin of purity where countless souls have removed the clothes of sin and put on the snow white garments of spiritual rebirth! Some, like the author, found the light necessary to embrace the call to the priesthood, others, the strength to remain faithful to this commitment.

How can we deny that the Mother is the one who knows the Will of the Son better than anyone else and that turning to Her we understand better the mysterious plan God has for each one of us? No one better than Mary can convince us to “do whatever he tells you”!

In Lourdes, like the servants at Cana, we too sincerely open our hearts to the presence of the Mother and, attentive to her words, we are captivated by the mystery of the Son. Then we see His Will for what it truly is: our path to happiness!

Bernardette actually saw the Lady dressed in white, whereas we see her not with our eyes but with our heart, which is aware in faith of her presence on our journey. In front of the Grotto of Massabielle the pilgrim's interior vision is illuminated with a light typical of that place of grace: the light of the spiritual motherhood of Mary who gives Jesus to us as at Christmas, again and again.

Those apparitions have sustained countless souls, encouraging them on the path of conversion and personal sanctification. And their change has helped improve the world because the whole world benefits from the conversion of even one heart.

For us, pilgrims to Lourdes, Mary's universal motherhood is a mystery to discover again and again, so she may accompany us all through life. In Lourdes this Marian light is present everywhere: when we bathe in the waters, in the evening when we mingle with thousands of others to pray the rosary at the torchlight procession; in the afternoon when we join crowds of sick persons taking part in the Blessed Sacrament Procession …

Her presence is a mystery to savor in our soul and to learn, with Mary, to honour her Son, especially in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

The first to witness Our Lady's presence at Lourdes was little Bernardette Soubirous, who became her intrepid messenger. Although she is buried far away in Nevers in the north of France, her body totally incorrupt, as if she were asleep, you can "meet" Saint Bernadette everywhere in Lourdes.

It is sweet to remember her and read the humble words she addressed to Our Lady: “Yes, gentle Mother, you lowered yourself, you came down to earth to appear to a helpless little girl… You, the Queen of Heaven and earth, deigned to make use of what was most humble for the world” (from her Journal dedicated to the Queen of Heaven, 1866).

The Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, recalling that “this year (2008) the beginning of Lent coincides providentially with the 150th anniversary of the first apparition of Our Lady at Lourdes”, said in his Angelus reflection on the 1st Sunday of Lent “the message which Our Lady still offers at Lourdes recalls the words Jesus said at the beginning of his public mission and that we hear so often in these first days of Lent: ‘Convert and believe in the Gospel, pray and do penance. Let us respond to the call of Mary who echoes that of Christ and let us ask Her to help us ‘enter’ Lent with faith and live this season of grace with deep joy and generous commitment” (Benedict XVI, Angelus 10 February 2008). (Agenzia Fides 13/2/2008; righe 47, parole 662)

— Mgr. Luciano Alimandi

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Patron: Bodily ills.

Symbols: The Blessed Virgin ("The Immaculate Conception") who wears a white dress, blue belt, and a rose on each foot.

Things to Do:

• Watch The Song of Bernadette, a masterpiece filmed in 1943.

• Bring flowers (roses would be appropriate) to your statue of Our Lady at your home altar, especially if you have a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes.

• Obtain some Lourdes holy water and give the parental blessing to your children (see link).

• Give extra care to the sick in your community — cook dinner for a sick mother's family, bring your children to the local nursing home (the elderly love to see children), send flowers to a member of your parish community who is ill.

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The Word Among Us

Meditation: Genesis 1:1-19

Our Lady of Lourdes

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1)

When you think about the marvel of creation, do you ever think about ducks? Well, maybe you should. You see, one amazing fact about ducks is that when they hatch, they become neurologically bonded to the first moving person or object that they see. Scientists call this “imprinting.” This instant connection creates a permanent attachment to the object and is immediately “imprinted” into the duckling’s neurological processing.

Usually the duckling imprints on a mother duck and will follow her around and mimic her actions, thus learning important survival tactics. However, if there is no mother duck to imprint upon, the duckling will imprint on something else it happens to see: like a human—or even a ball. It will then follow that human or object around and mimic its actions. Sadly, the duck will not learn how to survive in the wild unless it is retrained.

Unlike ducks, we were designed in God’s image. We were created to seek him and follow him. You might even say that we were designed to imprint upon his face. Yet as a duck might erroneously imprint on a human, we also tend to imprint on the wrong things. Maybe we have lost our focus. Maybe we have consciously or subconsciously started imprinting on more earthly items: a job promotion, success for our kids, or a self-focused life.

Nevertheless, God created us with a desire for him, and we won’t find true rest until we put him first in our lives—until we imprint upon him. When we do, we will find all our desires being met. And not only will we find ourselves satisfied, we will also learn all the “survival” techniques we need to live in this fallen world.

Try to stop a few times today, and check where you are placing your heart, time, and attention. You may be battling traffic or dealing with kids, but take a moment to realign your heart with God. Imprint yourself back to him. God is in charge of us, and if we follow him, he will safely lead us wherever he wants us to go.

“Lord, help me remember that you are not just the Creator of the universe. You are my Father as well. Help me to fix my heart and mind on you so that I can walk through my life reflecting your image to everyone I meet.”

Psalm 104:1-2, 5-6, 10, 12, 24, 35; Mark 6:53-56

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Daily Gospel Commentary

Monday of the Fifth week in Ordinary Time

Commentary of the day
Saint Leo the Great (?-c.461), Pope and Doctor of the Church
Letter 28, to Flavian, 3-4 ; PL 54, 763-767 (trans. cf Breviary 25/03)

"As many as touched it were healed"

Human lowliness was taken by majesty, weakness by strength, mortality by eternity. To pay the debt of our fallen state, nature which was inviolable was united with a nature which was passible. Thus, in accordance with our needs, “one and same mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus” (1Tim 2,5) was able to die in the one nature and incapable of death in the other.

True God, then, was born in the complete and perfect nature of true man... He took the form of a servant without stain of sin. He enhanced our humanity but did not thereby diminish his divinity. By emptying himself (Phil 2,7) the invisible one made himself visible. The Lord and Creator of all things willed to be one with mortal men, but this was a bending down in pity not a failure of power... Begotten into a new order by a new birth... he was in his own nature invisible, but was made visible in ours; he is incomprehensible yet he willed to be comprehended; enduring before time began, he began to be in time. The Lord of the universe took on the form of a slave (Phil 2,7), veiling his infinite majesty. The God who cannot suffer did not disdain to be a man who can, and, immortal though he is, to subject himself to the laws of death. For he who is true God is also true man... He is true God insofar as “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”; and he is man insofar as “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn 1,1.14).

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Marriage = One Man and One Woman

Til' Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for February 11, 2013:

Laughter is one of the best stress reducers. Spouses can do this for each other by bringing a little comic relief when your beloved feels overworked or stressed out. You don’t have to be laugh-out-loud funny, just your usual corny self.

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Vultus Christi

Akathist to Our Lady of Lourdes

By

Father Mark

 on February 11, 2013 5:18 AM |

The Akathist to Our Lady of Lourdes is the work of a faithful servant of the Mother of God belonging to the Ukrainian Church. Traditionally, the Akathist is prayed standing throughout in front of an image of the Mother of God.

Akathist to Our Lady of Lourdes

Kontakion 1

To you, our Champion Leader and Mother of Christ our God, do we, your children, sing a hymn of praise and thanksgiving for your appearance and miracles that you continue to send down on us as showers of Divine Grace at Lourdes. As through the waters of Baptism we were made new in Christ, so through the waters that gushed forth from the grotto of your appearance we are enlivened by the Grace of God, as we sing:

Rejoice, O Radiant Fountain All Immaculate, bedewing our souls with Life-giving
Springs!

Ikos 1

At Lourdes, you appeared as a new Forerunner, O Most Holy Mother of God, telling us to make straight the way of the Lord Jesus and washing us in the miraculous laver of the waters that you caused to pour out upon us. You anoint us with it, have us drink it, and transform us thereby, making us fertile in faith, good works and communion with God in Christ, as we sing:

Rejoice, new Noah, through whom the Holy Spirit moves over the waters of regeneration!
Rejoice, New Elias, causing the clouds to drop saving Waters on the parched earth of our hearts!
Rejoice, New Moses, sending refreshing drink from the dry rock!
Rejoice, New Baptist and Forerunner, for you call all to repentance in the water of heavenly unction!
Rejoice, for you invite us to a feast where the thirst of all is quenched!
Rejoice, for as our loving Mother, you wash away the dirt of our sins!
Rejoice, for you anoint us with the Gift of the Holy Spirit!
Rejoice, for you gladden our hearts by turning our sorrows into gladness!
Rejoice, for as at Cana in Galilee, the Lord Jesus grants your entreaties on our behalf!
Rejoice, for you came to remind us to do all He tells us!
Rejoice, for you teach us to pray for the living springs that God will cause to rise up within us!
Rejoice, for your love for us is like the trickling of droplets from the mountains that fall into the River of Life, leading to the Divine Ocean!
Rejoice, O Radiant Fountain All Immaculate, bedewing our souls with Lifegiving
Springs!

Kontakion 2

O Most Holy Mother of God, you appeared to your servant, Bernadette, in a grotto and asked her to return there fifteen times. Like St Andrew of old, only she could see your miraculous and light- filled manifestation, singing the praises of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Everyone who saw the Divine transformation in the face of your servant, however, could plainly see who it was that she beheld, and they all cried:
Alleluia!

Ikos 2

You are a Mountain Uncut, O Virgin Mother, from Whom came the Cornerstone! You are the densely wooded Mount Thaeman from whom the Prophet announced the coming of the Messiah. Through your prayers and intercession, make soft the hardness of our hearts, so that we may sing:

Rejoice, Holy Mountain, pointing the way to Heaven!
Rejoice, O Rock Unquarried!
Rejoice, Hilltop in which God Himself is pleased to dwell!
Rejoice, High Place, leading all to your Son!
Rejoice, Marble Throne on which the Lord Jesus sits as King!
Rejoice, densely wooded fulfillment of prophecy, revealed in the gentle breeze!
Rejoice, for you come to soften the hardness of our hearts!
Rejoice, for you attune our spiritual hearing to the Voice of God!
Rejoice, for you write the Laws of God on the stone tablets of our spirits!
Rejoice, for you dash our sins on the rocks!
Rejoice, for you have power to move the mountain of our unbelief!
Rejoice, for, like Moses, you came down from the Lord's Mountain to crush idols!
Rejoice, O Radiant Fountain All Immaculate, bedewing our souls with Lifegiving
Springs!

Kontakion 3

You appeared to your servant, Bernadette, in a robe of white, with a white veil, girdled with a blue sash, O Holy Mother of God. Roses shined at your feet and you held a prayer cord with gold chain on your arm on which we say your Psalter, your Rule of Prayer, revealed to a monk of the Thebaid long ago. As we meditate on the mysteries of the life, death and resurrection of your Son, in union with you, we sing: Alleluia!

Ikos 3

The Angel Gabriel of old appeared to you to announce that you would become the Mother of our Saviour, the Lord Jesus. As the Mother of God, you are the Mother of His Body that is the Church and so nurture us all on the Milk of His Grace. Singing the Angelic hymn of your praise, we glorify Christ singing:

Rejoice, who said, 'May it be so according to your word!'
Rejoice, whose soul magnifies the Lord!
Rejoice, who gave birth to Christ at Bethlehem!
Rejoice, whose soul was pierced with a sword of sorrow!
Rejoice, for your Son teaches in the Temple!
Rejoice, for He is the Son of the Father, in Whom He is well-pleased!
Rejoice, for your Son agonizes over our salvation in the Garden!
Rejoice, for He accepts the Cup of suffering through scourging, mocking and carrying His Cross!
Rejoice, for from the Wounded Side of your Crucified Son flows Blood and Water!
Rejoice, for your Son has risen from the dead and ascended to the Right Hand of the Father!
Rejoice, for He sends into the world the Comforter, the Spirit of Peace!
Rejoice for He has taken you into His Kingdom and has crowned you as our Holy
Protection!
Rejoice, O Radiant Fountain All Immaculate, bedewing our souls with Lifegiving
Springs!

Kontakion 4

After repeated entreaties from your servant Bernadette, you revealed your name to her saying, "I am the Immaculate Conception." Not understanding what this meant, your servant joyfully repeated this so as to remember to tell the priest, who at first refused to believe in your appearance to her. Upon hearing the poor and simple girl repeat this name, the priest humbly cried: Alleluia!

Ikos 4

O Most Immaculate Mother of God, the Holy Spirit sanctified you at the moment of your Conception in the womb of your mother, Saint Anne. Not even a shadow of an imperfection dared approach her who was to serve in the dread mystery of the Incarnation of our Lord, God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, as deigned by God, the Father of Lights. Praising your holy parents, Joachim and Anne, we sing:

Rejoice, Ever-Immaculate Virgin Mary!
Rejoice, Most Immaculate Mother of God the Word!
Rejoice, Ever Pure Vessel into which the Bread of Heaven deigned to make His abode!
Rejoice, for a great Sign appeared in Heaven!
Rejoice, for you are the Woman clothed with the Sun!
Rejoice, for the Lord crowns you with stars!
Rejoice, for the moon is at your feet!
Rejoice, for you have crushed the head of the serpent of old!
Rejoice, for the Rod of Jesse has conquered him!
Rejoice, Holy Temple of the Spirit!
Rejoice, for you are highly favoured by God!
Rejoice, for you held in your arms Him Who holds the universe!
Rejoice, O Radiant Fountain All Immaculate, bedewing our souls with Lifegiving
Springs!

Kontakion 5

O Holy Virgin Mother, you bade your servant, Bernadette, to "Go, drink and wash in the fountain." As she searched for the spot, she soon found a spring flowing from the same rock in which you appeared. Although the people thought her a fool, they soon came to acknowledge your servant to be a fool for Christ's Sake, and yours, singing: Alleluia!

Ikos 5

You also invite us to come, drink and wash in the fountain of your miraculous water, O Mother of God. Ailments are cured, sight is restored, cancers are healed and souls rancid with the stench of great sinfulness are washed clean in your source of heavenly refreshment. And what can we ever do or say to thank you for all your love for us? Accept our cries of wonder and gratitude, as we sing:

Rejoice, Holy Physician, applying needful remedies for all our ailments!
Rejoice, for you cure the blind!
Rejoice, for those in sin have seen a great Light!
Rejoice, for the despairing obtain new hope!
Rejoice, for those stricken with cancers are made whole!
Rejoice, for sinful stains are washed away!
Rejoice, for with you nothing is impossible!
Rejoice, for we hurry at your command to "Come, drink and wash!"
Rejoice, for we come to you to fill the empty vessels of our souls!
Rejoice, for your Son forgives us our sins!
Rejoice, for you forbid us to worry, but command us to pray!
Rejoice, for demons are seized with dread at the flowing Rivers of Grace!
Rejoice, O Radiant Fountain All Immaculate, bedewing our souls with Lifegiving
Springs!

Kontakion 6

You asked your servant, Bernadette, O Most Holy Theotokos, to have a chapel built where you appeared to her. Weeping tears of compunction, she held a lit candle in her hand as a sign of her enduring faith and trust in your intercession as she prayed and joyfully praised you. Favouring the praise that comes from God, rather than that that comes from people, she set out courageously on her mission, crying: Alleluia!

Ikos 6

"The Lady of the Grotto has ordered me to tell the priests that she wishes a chapel built at Massabieille!" cried your servant. "She is a very beautiful Lady who appeared to me on the rock." Not yet knowing your name, Bernadette could not tell the priest who asked her. Praising thy great spiritual beauty, we join with her in acclaiming you, singing:

Rejoice, Mother of the Lord Jesus Christ!
Rejoice, Mother of His Church!
Rejoice, Virgin before, during and after His Birth!
Rejoice, Mother of God the Word!
Rejoice, Most Immaculate Theotokos!
Rejoice, Queen of heaven and earth!
Rejoice, our Holy Protection!
Rejoice, our Defender!
Rejoice, Jar of the Heavenly Manna!
Rejoice, Ark of the New Covenant!
Rejoice, who prays ceaselessly for the salvation of our souls!
Rejoice, the Joy of all our Joys!
Rejoice, O Radiant Fountain All Immaculate, bedewing our souls with Lifegiving
Springs!

Kontakion 7

Your servant, Bernadette endured many calumnies from those who refused to
acknowledge the presence of the Mother of Christ among them. She rejoiced at having been found worthy to suffer for the Name of Christ and your name, O Most Holy Mother of God! Pray for us that we may also be found worthy to bear reproach for the sake of our Lord Jesus, as we sing: Alleluia!

Ikos 7

As Christ sent His Apostles into the world, so too did you send your servant, Bernadette,and those that would follow her to witness to repentance and prayer, O Holy Mother of God. Intercede for us that we may have the grace to bear God in our bodies and perform the works of light and children of the light so that people may see and glorify God in Heaven, as we sing:

Rejoice, for these things have not been revealed to the wise of this world, but to children!
Rejoice, for Christ bids the little children to come to Him!
Rejoice, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven!
Rejoice, for blessed are those when men say all manner of evil about them for the sake of Christ and yours!
Rejoice, for great is their reward in Heaven!
Rejoice, for so were the Prophets and Apostles treated!
Rejoice, for no student is greater than his Master!
Rejoice, for there is much suffering in the world!
Rejoice, for Christ has overcome the world!
Rejoice, you promise to make us happy not in this world, but in the next!
Rejoice, for we run to our reward with the feet of athletes!
Rejoice, for who may separate us from the love of God in Christ?
Rejoice, O Radiant Foundation All Immaculate, bedewing our souls with Lifegiving
Springs!

Kontakion 8

More and more people came to the Grotto to see your servant, Bernadette. Although you were invisible to their eyes, it was enough for all to see your Light shining on her innocent face, in the fullness of heavenly joy and happiness. Intercede for us, O Most Holy Mother of God, that we may also bear the imprint of your heavenly Light and Peace, bringing your blessing to everyone we meet and to every place we visit, singing:
Alleluia!

Ikos 8

"Acquire the Spirit of Peace, and a thousand souls will be converted around you!" cry the Saints. And where better to acquire it, if not from the Spouse of the Holy Spirit? May your miraculous water from Lourdes be to us a true inner anointing so that the waters quietly running within us may moisten the spiritual dryness of the world, as we sing:

Rejoice, leading us to Lourdes as to another Mount Tabor to see your Son transfigured!
Rejoice, for it is good for us to be at the Grotto!
Rejoice, for we desire our souls to be tents in which your Son and you might dwell!
Rejoice, for you restore calmness to the turbulent waves of our lives!
Rejoice, for you bid the storms besetting us, "Peace, be still!"
Rejoice, for we ask you to save us as we sink in our disbelief!
Rejoice, for your Radiance outshines that of the sun!
Rejoice, for in your brightness all is made clear!
Rejoice, for you dispel our gloom with the beams of your joyful mercy!
Rejoice, for you lift our spirits on high!
Rejoice, for you anoint us with water as with the Oil of Gladness!
Rejoice, for you cool our passions and satisfy our spiritual thirst!
Rejoice, O Radiant Fountain All Immaculate, bedewing our souls with Lifegiving
Springs!

Kontakion 9

A rosebush hung from the grotto of your apparitions at Lourdes, Mother of God, a fitting tribute heralding the presence of the Rose of Sharon! Its thorns remind us of the pain and suffering we have in this life, while its aromatic flower signify the joys of heaven that we obtain through your intercession and guidance, as we always sing: Alleluia!

Ikos 9

You are the New Staff of Aaron, O Lady of the Grotto, that budded forth the Author of Life, Christ our Saviour. You are the King's Daughter who is led into His Chambers and all your beauty is within. We praise your fruitfulness and cry:

Rejoice, Enclosed Garden of Mystical Delights!
Rejoice, O Flower of Sharon, perfuming all with heavenly myrrh!
Rejoice, O Lily of the Valley, anointing us with the grace of holiness!
Rejoice, O wondrous Rose, in which the Divine Word became Flesh!
Rejoice, O Marigold, filling our poverty with holy virtues!
Rejoice, Violet of Modesty, handmaid of the Lord!
Rejoice, Snowdrop of Holy Purity!
Rejoice, Holy Lavender, drying the effluvium of our sins!
Rejoice, Divine Thistle, nourishing us with the Milk of Divine Grace!
Rejoice, Sacred Hyacinth, knitting our lives to conform to your Son's commands!
Rejoice, Sweet Bee Balm, leading us to the land of Milk and Honey!
Rejoice, Morning Glory, our Mantle of Protection!
Rejoice, O Radiant Fountain All Immaculate, bedewing our souls with Lifegiving
Springs!

Kontakion 10

You appeared one final time to your servant, Bernadette, on your feast of the Protection of Mount Carmel, O Mother of God, thereby showing yourself to be a constant source of protection to her and all of us throughout our lives. Cover us with your Mantle always and may we ever live beneath its protecting wings, singing: Alleluia!

Ikos 10

Your mantle of Holy Protection was prefigured in the Cloak of Elias the Prophet, O Lady of the Grotto. He it was who established a chapel in honour of the "Messiah to come" on Mount Carmel, the fruitful Mountain that prefigured your coming. His mantle was rent in two as he ascended on fiery chariots to heaven and came to rest on Eliseus, his disciple. May we always find comfort and help in your mantle of Protection, as we sing:

Rejoice, Garment without seam!
Rejoice, Robe of salvation!
Rejoice, Mantle of protection!
Rejoice, who, like Elias, brings us to heaven with the two-part cloak!
Rejoice, covering us with the wings of Divine Grace!
Rejoice, our defender in the day of battle!
Rejoice, for your Grotto has become another Mount Carmel!
Rejoice, for in it we find the Sword of the Spirit and the Helmet of Salvation!
Rejoice, for you turn away the darts of the evil one cast against us!
Rejoice, you are a fruitful Vine on which grew the Cluster of Grapes exuding the Mystic Wine!
Rejoice, for the Oil of Divine Grace is poured over us as over the beard and down to the edges of the garments of Aaron!
Rejoice, for we are invincible under the covert of the wings of your Protection!
Rejoice, O Radiant Fountain All Immaculate, bedewing our souls with Lifegiving
Springs!

Kontakion 11

Your servant, Bernadette, witnessed to your visitation all the days of her life, O Mother of God. She suffered greatly in both body and soul. She drew her strength from her prayer to you and her close union with your Son, remembering always your promise that she would not be happy in this life, but in the next. We also ask for the grace to be happy with you in the Kingdom of your Son, crying: Alleluia!

Ikos 11

"You will not allow your Holy One to see corruption!" sang the Psalmist. The body of your servant, Bernadette, is still incorrupt, bearing silent witness, even now, to the transfiguring power of the rays of Grace emanating from your hands, O Holy Mother of God, as we exclaim:

Rejoice, bestowing on us the Gifts of the Holy Spirit!
Rejoice, sanctifying us in His Grace!
Rejoice, Vessel through which the Comforter pours on us His deifying power!
Rejoice, for your Grotto at Lourdes has become another Mount Tabor!
Rejoice, for you are a Cloud in which we see Christ, the Word of God!
Rejoice, for your Radiance fills the earth!
Rejoice, Rainbow of the New Covenant, heralding an enduring Testament of
Reconciliation!
Rejoice, for we are transfigured in Christ Who took flesh from you!
Rejoice, for we participate in His Body in Holy Communion!
Rejoice, for, through you, we shall be as gods!
Rejoice, God has made us a little lower than the Angels!
Rejoice, for, in you, we have become partakers in the Divinity of Christ!
Rejoice, O Radiant Fountain All Immaculate, bedewing our souls with Lifegiving
Springs!

Kontakion 12

O Most Holy Theotokos and Lady of the Grotto! Pilgrims from the far corners of the earth attend your Shrine and come to drink and wash at the New Siloam at which they find health in both body and soul. Anoint us also with your miraculous waters and may we become bedewed with the heavenly moisture that dries out the effluvium of our sinfulness and sorrows, as we sing: Alleluia!

Ikos 12

May the drinking and anointing of your holy and miraculous water at Lourdes, O Lady of the Grotto, make us fruitful in Christ, helping us imitate the Wise Virgins who presented themselves to the Bridegroom, when He came unexpectedly, with lamps filled with good Oil. May we prepare all our lives to greet Him when he comes, singing:

Rejoice, our Good Defense at the awful judgment Seat of Christ!
Rejoice, for you are a New Jacob's Ladder, leading us to Heaven!
Rejoice, for you are a Mountain which we climb to meet God!
Rejoice, for you rain down on the earth the waters of Divine Grace!
Rejoice, for you wash away our sins, though they be as scarlet!
Rejoice, for you make our souls as white as snow!
Rejoice, for you are a Good Mother to all your children!
Rejoice, for you help us stand upright in the life in Christ!
Rejoice, for you hold us by the hand as our constant Guide!
Rejoice, for you protect us from all dangers and temptations!
Rejoice, for you indicate to us the Divine Sun of salvation!
Rejoice, for you are the Star of the Sea!
Rejoice, O Radiant Fountain All Immaculate, bedewing our souls with Lifegiving
Springs!

Kontakion 13

O Most Holy Theotokos, Lady of the Grotto! Accept from us this hymn of praise and thanksgiving to you for your constant Motherly care for us, your children. And as at Lourdes you brought great consola tions to us through your miraculous streams of holy water, so always intercede for us as we take refuge in you. Ever sprinkle and bedew us with these lifegiving droplets and we will always sing of your glory and invoke your aid, O Lady of the Grotto, crying: Alleluia (Kontakion 13 is read three times).

Ikos 1 and Kontakion 1 are repeated here.

Prayer to Our Lady of Lourdes

May your Holy Water that flows from your miraculous Grotto at Lourdes, O Virgin
Mother, be for us who partake of it and who are anointed by it, a pledge of your constant intercession for and assistance to us! May it be a constant reminder to us of our calling as followers of Christ that we received in the waters of our Baptism. And may it serve to enlighten our spiritual eyes, bring health to body and soul, and strengthen us always. With you, may we always glorify your Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, together with His Father, Who is without beginning, and His Most Holy and Good and Lifegiving Spirit, now and ever and to the ages of ages! Amen!

[Salvation]

Vultus Christi

The Holy Face of Christ Recognized in the Sick

By

Father Mark

 on February 11, 2013 5:24 AM |

How vitally important it is to receive the messages of the Holy Father in hearts that are humble and open! The Holy Father teaches indefatigably, offering the Church the splendour of the truth, presented with the oil of consolation and the wine of hope. The images are (from top to bottom) Rembrandt's Good Samaritan, Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face, Venerable Luigi Novarese, the founder of the Silent Workers of the Cross, and Saint Anna Schäffer of Mindelstetten.

"Go and do likewise" (Luke 10:37)

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

You Are Christ's Living and Transparent Image

1. On 11 February 2013, the liturgical memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes, the Twenty-first World Day of the Sick will be solemnly celebrated at the Marian Shrine of Altötting. This day represents for the sick, for health care workers, for the faithful and for all people of goodwill "a privileged time of prayer, of sharing, of offering one's sufferings for the good of the Church, and a call for all to recognize in the features of their suffering brothers and sisters the Holy Face of Christ, who, by suffering, dying and rising has brought about the salvation of mankind" (John Paul II, Letter for the Institution of the World Day of the Sick, 13 May 1992, 3). On this occasion I feel especially close to you, dear friends, who in health care centres or at home, are undergoing a time of trial due to illness and suffering. May all of you be sustained by the comforting words of the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council: "You are not alone, separated, abandoned or useless. You have been called by Christ and are his living and transparent image" (Message to the Poor, the Sick and the Suffering).

Draw from the Infinite Love of God

2. So as to keep you company on the spiritual pilgrimage that leads us from Lourdes, a place which symbolizes hope and grace, to the Shrine of Altötting, I would like to propose for your reflection the exemplary figure of the Good Samaritan (cf. Luke 10:25-37). The Gospel parable recounted by Saint Luke is part of a series of scenes and events taken from daily life by which Jesus helps us to understand the deep love of God for every human being, especially those afflicted by sickness or pain. With the concluding words of the parable of the Good Samaritan, "Go and do likewise" (Luke 10:37), the Lord also indicates the attitude that each of his disciples should have towards others, especially those in need. We need to draw from the infinite love of God, through an intense relationship with him in prayer, the strength to live day by day with concrete concern, like that of the Good Samaritan, for those suffering in body and spirit who ask for our help, whether or not we know them and however poor they may be. This is true, not only for pastoral or health care workers, but for everyone, even for the sick themselves, who can experience this condition from a perspective of faith: "It is not by sidestepping or fleeing from suffering that we are healed, but rather by our capacity for accepting it, maturing through it and finding meaning through union with Christ, who suffered with infinite love" (Spe Salvi, 37).

The Oil of Consolation and the Wine of Hope

3. Various Fathers of the Church saw Jesus himself in the Good Samaritan; and in the man who fell among thieves they saw Adam, our very humanity wounded and disoriented on account of its sins (cf. Origen, Homily on the Gospel of Luke XXXIV,1-9; Ambrose, Commentary on the Gospel of Saint Luke, 71-84; Augustine, Sermon 171). Jesus is the Son of God, the one who makes present the Father's love, a love which is faithful, eternal and without boundaries. But Jesus is also the one who sheds the garment of his divinity, who leaves his divine condition to assume the likeness of men (cf. Phil 2:6-8), drawing near to human suffering, even to the point of descending into hell, as we recite in the Creed, in order to bring hope and light. He does not jealously guard his equality with God (cf. Phil 2:6) but, filled with compassion, he looks into the abyss of human suffering so as to pour out the oil of consolation and the wine of hope.

Saints and Friends of God

4. The Year of Faith which we are celebrating is a fitting occasion for intensifying the service of charity in our ecclesial communities, so that each one of us can be a good Samaritan for others, for those close to us. Here I would like to recall the innumerable figures in the history of the Church who helped the sick to appreciate the human and spiritual value of their suffering, so that they might serve as an example and an encouragement.

Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, "an expert in the scientia amoris" (Novo Millennio Ineunte, 42), was able to experience "in deep union with the Passion of Jesus" the illness that brought her "to death through great suffering" (Address at General Audience, 6 April 2011).

The Venerable Luigi Novarese, who still lives in the memory of many, throughout his ministry realized the special importance of praying for and with the sick and suffering, and he would often accompany them to Marian shrines, especially to the Grotto of Lourdes.

Raoul Follereau, moved by love of neighbour, dedicated his life to caring for people afflicted by Hansen's disease, even at the world's farthest reaches, promoting, among other initiatives, World Leprosy Day.

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta would always begin her day with an encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist and then she would go out into the streets, rosary in hand, to find and serve the Lord in the sick, especially in those "unwanted, unloved, uncared for".

Saint Anna Schäffer of Mindelstetten, too, was able to unite in an exemplary way her sufferings to those of Christ: "her sick-bed became her cloister cell and her suffering a missionary service. Strengthened by daily communion, she became an untiring intercessor in prayer and a mirror of God's love for the many who sought her counsel" (Canonization Homily, 21 October 2012).

The Blessed Virgin Mary

In the Gospel the Blessed Virgin Mary stands out as one who follows her suffering Son to the supreme sacrifice on Golgotha. She does not lose hope in God's victory over evil, pain and death, and she knows how to accept in one embrace of faith and love, the Son of God who was born in the stable of Bethlehem and died on the Cross. Her steadfast trust in the power of God was illuminated by Christ's resurrection, which offers hope to the suffering and renews the certainty of the Lord's closeness and consolation.

5. Lastly, I would like to offer a word of warm gratitude and encouragement to Catholic health care institutions and to civil society, to Dioceses and Christian communities, to religious congregations engaged in the pastoral care of the sick, to health care workers' associations and to volunteers. May all realize ever more fully that "the Church today lives a fundamental aspect of her mission in lovingly and generously accepting every human being, especially those who are weak and sick" (Christifideles Laici, 38).

The Apostolate of Mercy

I entrust this Twenty-first World Day of the Sick to the intercession of Our Lady of Graces, venerated at Altötting, that she may always accompany those who suffer in their search for comfort and firm hope. May she assist all who are involved in the apostolate of mercy, so that they may become good Samaritans to their brothers and sisters afflicted by illness and suffering. To all I impart most willingly my Apostolic Blessing.

From the Vatican, 2 January 2013

[Salvation]

Vultus Christi

Praying in the rain at Lourdes

By

Father Mark

 on February 11, 2013 5:55 AM | 

 

A Holy Priest

Born at Annecy-le-Vieux in 1914, Monsieur le Chanoine Louis François CROSET was ordained to the priesthood in the Cathedral of Annecy on 7 June 1941. He exercised the sacred ministry in the diocese of Annecy from 1941 until 1952, and in the diocese of Bayonne from 1952-1990. He died on the Vigil of the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, 7 December 1990.

A Father to Many Souls

Père Croset's priestly life was marked by great suffering, by an extraordinary love for the Blessed Virgin Mary, and by a wonderful spiritual fruitfulness. I was privileged to be numbered among the many souls touched by his priesthood. At the end of his life Père Croset lived in a residence for elderly priests in Pau, not far from Lourdes.

At Lourdes

A number of years ago he drove me to Lourdes where, together in the February rain, we stood before the grotto and prayed this Act of Abandonment to the Blessed Virgin. Père Croset composed it sixty years ago in 1952, in a moment of intense moral suffering and darkness.

Père Croset's Act of Abandonment

O Marie, ma Reine et ma Mère,
reçois en tes mains mon Acte d'Abandon
à la volonté du Père de notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ,
afin qu'à l'exemple de son Fils bien aimé
et par le secours de ta Tendresse,
je laisse conduire ma vie par l'Esprit-Saint
selon les mysterieux desseins de la Trinité.

O Mary, my Queen and my Mother,
receive into thy hands
my Act of Abandonment
to the will of the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
so that, following the example of His beloved Son
and with the help of thy tenderness,
I may let my life be directed by the Holy Spirit
according to the mysterious designs of the Trinity.

Aide-moi à livrer sans réserve tout mon être à Dieu
dans la clarté obscure de la foi,
l'élan austère de l'Espérance
et l'étreinte crucifiante de l'Amour.

Help me to surrender without reserve
my whole being to God
in the dark brightness of Faith,
the austere élan of Hope,
and the crucifying embrace of Love.

Je veux m'enfoncer en ton Coeur Immaculé
pour y devenir l'hostie que tu donneras à Jésus,
afin qu'en son sacrifice
Il me consacre à la gloire de son Père
et à la fécondité de l'Eglise son Épouse.
Amen.

I want to hide myself within thy Immaculate Heart
to become there the host
that thou wilt give to Jesus,
so that He may consecrate me in His sacrifice
to the glory of His Father
and to the fruitfulness of His Spouse the Church.
Amen.

[Salvation]

Vultus Christi

Praying for the sick

By

Father Mark

 on February 11, 2013 6:20 AM |

 

Icon of Our Lady of Lourdes written by the hand of Brother Claude Lane, Monk of Mount Angel

The Comfort of the Mystical Body

Nearly every day people come to the monastery asking us to pray for the sick. This is a request that I take to heart. I know well that, apart from physical discomfort, weakness, and pain, sickness often brings fear, a sense of foreboding, and the impression of being useless, or even a burden to others. I know, too, that when one is sick, one may have the desire to pray. but the incapacity to do so. It becomes difficult to concentrate. One experiences an aching need for God and, at the same, one has the impression of being totally incapable of reaching out to Him. At times like this, the doctrine of the Mystical Body of Christ becomes immensely comforting; while one member of the Body suffers, another prays, and this, in such wise, that suffering and prayer are united in each.

Temptations of the Sick

Three days before she died, I saw her in such pain that I was heartbroken. When I drew near to her bed, she tried to smile, and, in a strangled sort of voice, she said: "If I didn't have faith, I could never bear such suffering. I am surprised that there aren't more suicides among atheists. (Saint Thérèse, as reported by Sister Marie of the Trinity)

The sick are especially vulnerable to temptations against hope; the sick are often tempted to despair, to blasphemy against the Will of God, and to disbelief. For this reason it is important to pray for the sick -- not only for their physical healing, but also that, in their weakness, they may be protected and sustained by the loving hand of God. Pray for the sick! So often they cannot pray for themselves, or have the impression of being unable to pray, which is itself a terrible suffering.

Discretion

It is important not to assault the sick with pious recommendations to say this prayer or that. Although this may be done with the best intentions, it often has the effect of oppressing the sick person with yet another experience of the inability to measure up to unrealistic expectations. The intemperate zeal of the pious can, unwittingly, push a sick person over the edge into a kind of despondency. It is better to pray quietly and peacefully, while offering the comfort of a gentle and compassionate presence.

Our Lady

I know of no better way of praying for the sick than by entrusting them to the care of the Immaculate Virgin Mary. Her maternal Heart overflows with tenderness for all who are weak, diminished, and fearful in the face of suffering. There is no suffering with which she is not familiar. The resources of her compassion are inexhaustible.

[Salvation]

Vultus Christi

A Face Sometimes Revealed and Sometimes Veiled

By

Father Mark

 on February 11, 2013 9:17 AM | 

 

"The consecrated life is a pilgrimage of the spirit in quest of a Face that is sometimes revealed and sometimes veiled: Faciem tuam, Domine, requiram."

The Holy Father's description of the consecrated life as a search for the Face of Christ spoke directly to my heart. It was in the context of his homily for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, that the Holy Father affirmed this, and also summoned the religious of the Church to three resolutions during this Year of Faith. Here are his words:

Through the Door of Faith

I would like to address three invitations to you, so that you may fully enter through that "door of faith" which is always open to us (Apostolic Letter, Porta Fidei, n. 1).

The Memory of the "First Love"

I invite you in the first place to nourish a faith that can illuminate your vocation. For this I urge you to treasure, as on an inner pilgrimage, the memory of the "first love" with which the Lord Jesus Christ warmed your hearts, not out of nostalgia but in order to feed that flame. And for this it is necessary to be with him, in the silence of adoration; and thereby reawaken the wish to share -- and the joy of sharing -- in his life, his decisions, the obedience of faith, the blessedness of the poor and the radical nature of love. Starting ever anew from this encounter of love, you leave everything to be with him and like him, to put yourselves at the service of God and your brothers and sisters (cf. Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata, n. 1).

The Wisdom of Weakness

In the second place I invite you to have a faith that can recognize the wisdom of weakness. In the joys and afflictions of the present time, when the harshness and weight of the cross make themselves felt, do not doubt that the kenosis of Christ is already a paschal victory. Precisely in our limitations and weaknesses as human beings we are called to live conformation with Christ in an all-encompassing commitment which anticipates the eschatological perfection, to the extent that this is possible in time (ibid., n. 16). In a society of efficiency and success, your life, marked by the "humility" and frailty of the lowly, of empathy with those who have no voice, becomes an evangelical sign of contradiction.

In Quest of a Face

Lastly, I invite you to renew the faith that makes you pilgrims bound for the future. By its nature the consecrated life is a pilgrimage of the spirit in quest of a Face that is sometimes revealed and sometimes veiled: Faciem tuam, Domine, requiram (Psalm 26:8). May this be the constant yearning of your heart, the fundamental criterion that guides you on your journey, both in small daily steps and in the most important decisions.

Be Not Prophets of Doom

Do not join the ranks of the prophets of doom who proclaim the end or meaninglessness of the consecrated life in the Church in our day; rather, clothe yourselves in Jesus Christ and put on the armour of light -- as St Paul urged (cf. Rom 13:11-14) -- keeping awake and watchful. St Chromatius of Aquileia wrote: "Distance this peril from us so that we are never overcome by the heavy slumber of infidelity. Rather may he grant us his grace and his mercy, that we may watch, ever faithful to him. In fact our fidelity can watch in Christ (Sermon 32, 4).

The Pierced Heart of Mary

Dear brothers and sisters, the joy of consecrated life necessarily passes through participation in the cross of Christ. This is how it was for Mary Most Holy. Hers is the suffering of the heart that is one with the Heart of the Son of God, pierced by love. From this wound God's light flows and also from the suffering, sacrifice and self-giving of consecrated people who live through their love for God and for others, that shines the very light that evangelizes nations. On this feast I express in a special way to you, consecrated people, the hope that your lives may always have the flavour of evangelical parresia, so that in you the Good News may be lived, witnessed to, and proclaimed and may shine out as a word of truth (cf. Apostolic Letter Porta Fidei, n. 6). Amen.

[Salvation]

Regnum Christi

Faith and Christ’s Healing Power

| SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

Monday of the Fifth Week of Ordinary Time

 

Mark 6:53-56

After making the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret and tied up there. As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him. They scurried about the surrounding country and began to bring in the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak; and as many as touched it were healed.

Introductory Prayer: I believe in your power of healing grace, in your capacity to heal both physically and spiritually. I come to you in spiritual illness and weakness, confident in your desire to heal and strengthen me. I humbly offer you my soul, wounded and aching from the spiritual cancer of self-love, pride and self-sufficiency. I abandon myself to your loving mercy. Thank you, Lord, for watching over me and loving me unconditionally.

Petition: Lord, heal my heart and soul, and help me to do what I must do to maintain my spiritual health.

1. “People recognized him, and started hurrying all through the countryside.” For the most part, the people in this Gospel were not “hurrying throughout the countryside” to invite others to come and seek forgiveness and spiritual healing from Jesus. They were in haste, yes, but in haste to bring the sick so that the Lord would heal them from their physically infirmities. How blind is the human heart that often fears physical illness more than spiritual infirmities and falling out of God’s grace! The gravest ills we can suffer are those that come from within us: “For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, unchastity, theft, false witness, blasphemy. These are what defile a person” (Matthew 15:19-20).

2. “They laid down the sick in the open spaces, begging him to let them touch even the fringe of his cloak.” Holy men and women throughout the centuries have firmly believed that “touching” Christ through receiving the sacraments brings about spiritual healing and redemption. “My heart has been wounded by many sins,” St. Ambrose used to pray before he celebrated Mass, “my mind and tongue carelessly left unguarded. Lord of kindness and power, in my lowliness and need I am turning to you, the fountain of mercy; I am hurrying to you to be healed; I am taking refuge under your protection. I am longing to meet you, not as my Judge but as my Savior. Lord, I am not ashamed to show you my wounds. Only you know how many and how serious my sins are, and though they could make me fear for my salvation, I am putting my hope in your mercies, which are beyond count. Look on me with mercy, then, Lord Jesus Christ, eternal King, God and man, crucified for our sake. I am putting my trust in you, the fountain that will never stop flowing with merciful love: hear me and forgive my sins and weaknesses.”

3. “All those who touched him were cured.” All those who touched Jesus Christ with the touch of faith were cured: the Canaanite woman, the blind man, the ten lepers, the man with a withered hand, the paralytic, Jairus’ daughter, the woman with the hemorrhage, the boy with a demon, the Gerasene demoniac, the deaf man. All these people in the Gospel had something in common: it was their faith that allowed the Lord to heal them. The phrase used in the case of the woman with the hemorrhage is telling: “power had gone out from him” (Mark 5:30). Faith is one of the most powerful acts of the human person, since God himself chooses to be moved by it. How strong is my faith in the power of our Lord Jesus Christ? Do I reach out and touch him in faith every day? Do I allow him to act in my life through faith? What am I waiting for?

Conversation with Christ: Lord, you are all powerful and the source of my salvation and spiritual healing. In this prayer I am reaching out to touch you in faith, even though I am unworthy and my faith is weak. Heal me, Lord. Give me the strength to resist the power of evil in my life and to adhere to your grace and goodness. Lord, I believe; increase my faith.

Resolution: I will offer up short acts of faith in the Lord throughout the

[Salvation]

One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

 

<< Monday, February 11, 2013 >>

Our Lady of Lourdes

Genesis 1:1-19
View Readings

Psalm 104:1-2, 5-6, 10, 12, 24, 35

Mark 6:53-56

"THE WORD OF LIFE" (1 John 1:1)

"In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth..." —Genesis 1:1

 

To change a formless wasteland and a dark abyss into paradise, to change chaos into creation, "God said, 'Let there be light' " (Gn 1:2-3). To transform your dark wasteland and begin a new creation in your life, the Lord will use the light of His Word (see Ps 119:105).

After God created the light, He separated it from the darkness (Gn 1:4, 18). He also separated the waters (Gn 1:6) and separated the sea from the earth (Gn 1:9). Several separations were part of God's work of creation. To re-create our lives, families, churches, and societies, the Lord will use His Word. Like a two-edged sword, God's Word will separate bone from marrow and soul from spirit (Heb 4:12). These separations will replace confusion with clarity. We will no longer be mixed up and self-deceived, for the Word of God will judge the thoughts and reflections of our hearts (Heb 4:12). Then we will repent and replace the dark abyss of sin with the harmony of paradise.

The world was created by God's Word; we also are re-created by God's Word (see Ps 33:6; 1 Pt 1:23). Receive God's Word. Receive re-creation.

 

Prayer: Father, may the light of Your Word burn in my heart (see Lk 24:32). May those who read and share One Bread, One Body be new creations and co-creators with You.

Promise: "All who touched Him got well." —Mk 6:56

Praise: By wondrously providing for the trip, Our Lady of Lourdes built up Robert's faith even before he and his ill wife visited Lourdes.