Divine Mercy Sunday: March 30th

Source: RelevantRadio.com --- Jesus further asked that this Feast of the Divine Mercy be preceded by a Novena of Chaplets to the Divine Mercy which would begin on Good Friday. Say one chaplet each day following the novena intention. In her diary, St. Faustina wrote that Jesus told her: "On each day of the novena you will bring to My Heart a different group of souls and you will immerse them in this ocean of My mercy... On each day you will beg My Father, on the strength of My passion, for the graces for these souls. By this novena I will grant every possible grace to souls." (Diary 1209, 796)

First Day "Today bring to Me All Mankind, especially all sinners and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. In this way you will console Me in the bitter grief into which the loss of souls plunges Me." Most Merciful Jesus, whose very nature it is to have compassion on us and to forgive us, do not look upon our sins, but upon our trust which we place in Your infinite goodness. Receive us all into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart, and never let us escape from It. We beg this of You by Your love which unites You to the Father and the Holy Spirit. Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon all mankind and especially upon poor sinners, all enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. For the sake of His Sorrowful Passion show us Your mercy, that we may praise the omnipotence of Your mercy for ever and ever. Amen. Pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy

Second Day "Today bring to Me the Souls of Priests and Religious and immerse them in My unfathomable mercy. It was they who gave Me strength to endure My bitter Passion. Through them as through channels My mercy flows out upon mankind." Most Merciful Jesus, from whom comes all that is good, increase Your grace in men and women consecrated to Your service, that they may perform worthy works of mercy, and that all who see them may glorify the Father of Mercy who is in heaven. Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the company of chosen ones in Your vineyard - upon the souls of priests and religious; and endow them with the strength of Your blessing. For the love of the Heart of Your Son in which they are enfolded, impart to them Your power and light, that they may be able to guide others in the way of salvation, and with one voice sing praise to Your boundless mercy for ages without end. Amen. Pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy

Third Day "Today bring to Me All Devout and Faithful Souls and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. These souls brought Me consolation on the Way of the Cross. They were that drop of consolation in the midst of an ocean of bitterness." Most Merciful Jesus, from the treasury of Your mercy, You impart Your graces in the great abundance to each and all. Receive us into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart and never let us escape from It. We beg this of You by that most wondrous love for the heavenly Father with which Your Heart burns so fiercely. Eternal Father, turn Your Merciful gaze upon faithful souls, as upon the inheritance of Your Son. For the sake of His Sorrowful Passion, grant them Your blessing and surround them with Your constant protection. Thus may they never fail in love or lose the treasure of the holy faith, but rather, with all the hosts of Angels and Saints, may they glorify Your boundless mercy for endless ages. Amen. Pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy

Fourth Day "Today bring to Me Those Who Do Not Believe In God and Those Who Do Not Yet Know Me. I was thinking also of them during My bitter Passion, and their future zeal comforted My heart. Immerse them in the ocean of My mercy." Most Compassionate Jesus, You are the Light of the whole world. Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who do not believe in God and of those who as yet do not know You. Let the rays of Your grace enlighten them that they, too, together with us, may extol Your wonderful mercy; and do not let them escape from the abode which is Your Most Compassionate Heart. Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls of those who do not believe in You, and of those who as yet do not know You, but who are enclosed in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. Draw them to the light of the Gospel. These souls do not know what great happiness it is to love You. Grant that they, too, may extol the generosity of Your mercy for endless ages. Amen. Pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy

Fifth Day "Today bring to Me the Souls of those who have separated themselves from My Church and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. During My bitter Passion they tore at My Body and Heart, that is My Church. As they return to unity with the Church My wounds heal and in this way they alleviate My Passion." Most Merciful Jesus, Goodness Itself, You do not refuse light to those who seek it of You. Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who have separated themselves from Your Church. Draw them by Your light into the unity of the Church, and do not let them escape from the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart; but bring it about that they, too, come to glorify the generosity of Your mercy. Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls of those who have separated themselves from Your Son's Church, who have squandered Your blessings and misused Your graces obstinately persisting in their errors. Do not look upon their errors, but upon the love of Your Own Son and upon His bitter Passion, which He underwent for their sake, since they, too, are enclosed in His Most Compassionate Heart. Bring it about that they also may glorify Your great mercy for endless ages. Amen. Pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy

Sixth Day "Today bring to Me The Meek and Humble Souls and the Souls of Little Children and immerse them in My mercy. These souls most closely resemble My Heart. They strengthened Me during My bitter agony. I saw them as earthly Angels who will keep vigil at My altars. I pour out upon them whole torrents of grace. Only the humble soul is capable of receiving My grace I favor humble souls with My confidence." Most Merciful Jesus, You Yourself have said, "Learn from Me for I am meek and humble of heart." Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart all meek and humble souls and the souls of little children. These souls send all heaven into ecstasy, and they are the heavenly Father's favorites. They are a sweet-smelling bouquet before the throne of God; God Himself takes delight in their fragrance. These souls have a permanent abode in Your Most Compassionate Heart, O Jesus, and they unceasingly sing out a hymn of love and mercy. Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon meek souls, upon humble souls and upon little children, who are enfolded in the abode of the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. These souls bear the closest resemblance to Your Son. Their fragrance rises from the earth and reaches Your very throne. Father of mercy and of all goodness, I beg You by the love You bear these souls and by the delight you take in them: Bless the whole world, that all souls together may sing out the praises of Your mercy for endless ages. Amen. Pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy

Seventh Day "Today bring to Me The Souls Who Especially Venerate and Glorify My Mercy and immerse them in My mercy. These souls sorrowed most over my Passion and entered most deeply into My spirit. They are living images of My Compassionate Heart. These souls will shine with a special brightness in the next life. Not one of them will go into the fire of hell. I shall particularly defend each one of them at the hour of death." Most Merciful Jesus, whose Heart is Love Itself, receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who particularly extol and venerate the greatness of Your Mercy. These souls are mighty with the very power of God Himself. In the midst of all afflictions and adversities they go forward, confident in Your Mercy; and united to You, O Jesus, they carry all mankind on their shoulders. These souls will not be judged severely, but Your mercy will embrace them as they depart from this life. Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls who glorify and venerate Your greatest attribute, that of Your fathomless mercy, and who are enclosed in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. These souls are a living Gospel; their hands are full of deeds of mercy and their hearts, overflowing with joy, sing a canticle of mercy to You, O Most High! I beg You O God: Show them Your mercy according to the hope and trust they have placed in You. Let there be accomplished in them the promise of Jesus, who said to them that during their life, but especially at the hour of death, the souls who will venerate this fathomless mercy of His, He Himself, will defend as His glory. Amen. Pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy

Eighth Day "Today bring to Me The Souls Who Are Detained in Purgatory and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy. Let the torrents of My Blood cool down their scorching flames. All these souls are greatly loved by Me. They are making retribution to My justice. It is in your power to bring them relief. Draw all the indulgences from the treasury of My Church and offer them on their behalf. Oh, if you only know the torments they suffer, you would continually offer for them the alms of the spirit and pay off their debt to My justice." Most Merciful Jesus, You Yourself have said that You desire mercy; so I bring into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls in Purgatory, souls who are very dear to You, and yet who must make retribution to Your justice. May the streams of Blood and Water which gushed forth from Your Heart put out the flames of Purgatory, that there, too, the power of Your mercy may be celebrated. Eternal Father, turn Your most merciful gaze upon the souls suffering in Purgatory, who are enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. I beg You, by the sorrowful Passion of Jesus Your Son, and by all the bitterness with which His most sacred Soul was flooded, manifest Your mercy to the souls who are under Your just scrutiny. Look upon them in no other way but only through the Wounds of Jesus, Your dearly beloved Son; for we firmly believe that there is no limit to Your goodness and compassion. Amen. Pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy

Ninth Day "Today bring to Me The Souls Who Have Become Lukewarm and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy. These souls wound My Heart most painfully. My soul suffered the most dreadful loathing in the Garden of Olives because of lukewarm souls. They were the reason I cried out: 'Father, take this cup away from Me, if it be Your will.' For them the last hope of salvation is to run to My mercy." Most Compassionate Jesus, You are Compassion Itself. I bring lukewarm souls into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart. In this fire of Your pure love let these tepid souls, who, like corpses, filled You with such deep loathing, be once again set aflame. O Most Compassionate Jesus, exercise the omnipotence of Your mercy and draw them into the very ardor of Your love; and bestow upon them the gift of holy love, for nothing is beyond Your power. Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon lukewarm souls who are nonetheless enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. Father of Mercy, I beg You by the bitter Passion of Your Son and by His three-hour agony on the Cross: let them, too, glorify the abyss of Your mercy. Amen Pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy

Diary, Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, Divine Mercy in My Soul (c) 1987 Congregation of Marians of the Immaculate Conception, Stockbridge, MA 01263. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission.

For news on the Pope's Visit to the US

Go to the USCCB Papal Visit Site.

Only 21 days to go!

Triduum at St. Augustine

So a lot has happened between my last post and now. I am on Spring Break, but between all the catching up I said I would do during this class-free period, art projects, and Triduum preparations, I feel more busy than ever.

But.....I was just informed.....Fr. Z, yes, the ever-inspiring Fr. Z, will be subdeacon for Fr. Altier on Holy Thursday, and celebrant for Good Friday and Easter Vigil! I'm soooooooooo excited. In 3 days, I will be most excited to sing 'Gloria!' and celebrate Jesus' rising from the dead - but it will be very cool to do so with Fr. Z. :-D I will be in the choir loft, however, so hopefully I will be able to see everything(and hear..and smell...)!

The Easter Triduum in the extraordinary form of the Mass, in my opinion, is definitely the most beautiful celebration of the year, and rightly so, as the highest point of the liturgical calendar (many still believe it's Christmas- which is also beautiful, but not the MOST beautiful, liturgically speaking). The Triduum IS the foundation of Christianity! We contemplate the sacrifice Jesus made - out of pure love for us - to save our souls. In the next 3 days we will share in the last supper, wait with Him in the altar of repose, walk the road to calvary, suffer with Him the agony and suffering He bore on the cross, and await His glorious resurrection. May we be renewed with fervor, comtemplating the Paschal mystery. May we realize the profundity of this mystery, the incredible gift of the Eucharist - that we, though unworthy, are invited to the Lord's table every time we attend Mass.

I have this problem thinking too much sometimes (those of you that know me well - well, you know) to the point where I overwhelmed with fear that there's too much to know and understand, that I'll never the time and energy to unravel all these questions I have about God's mysteries.

Then I realize that some of the best spiritual nourishment comes from the simplest of meditations - to just think for 5 minutes about how Jesus is present in the Eucharist, and how He remains with us in the tabernacle - or in perpetual adoration around the world. How incredible it is for the God of the Universe to love us so much, that he would want to be with us this way. The thought of the intimacy He offers to us if we choose to take it...wow, it gives me shivers.

Fr. Z visits my parish !

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2008/03/a-field-trip-to-st-augustines-in-s-st-paul-mn/

...and mentions my other favorite church in the twin cities, St. Agnes.

If I only knew he was there...

I was sitting on the left side middle...

:)

Chuck Norris on "Oprah's New Easter"

An insightful commentary, on Oprah's latest BookThatWillChangeYourLifeForever promotion. As the mouthy publicist in Mr. Woodcock so delicately put it, "This is Oprah! She farts on a book and it magically sells a million copies." Pardon the bathroom humor, but in all seriousness, it's a true phenomenon that continues to baffle me. So far, since Oprah's official touting of Tolle's 'Miracle solutions' over 3 million copies have been sold, and over half a MILLION people around the globe have signed up for the 'Webinar' in which she and Tolle will discuss the ways you can Find Your Inner Peace. All these books seem to have the same formula: ecumenical and friendly, appealing to both "religiously-oriented" or more frequently used "Spiritual" types and humanists, who perhaps felt the sudden urge to formalize the Meaning of Life in some non-confrontational way. They also seem to feature "Steps" highlighting the simplicity and the freedom of the described method(s) so that one is not affronted by the possibilty of having to really overhaul feel-good stuff in their lives in order for the Method to work for them. Despite the overt relativistic babble, the fundamentals of what they say about Peace and Love and Honestly, etc etc (NOT all, but a lot) can be derived straight out of - you guessed it- the Bible. Yet the books are promoted loudly like the latest AsSeenOnTV gadget, promising that it's the latest and greatest thing we've all been waiting for.

To continue my rant, I am amazed that this whole thing is happening during the Lent and Easter season.

I cannot agree more with this:
"With this live webcast running through the very heart of one of Christendom's most sacred seasons of the year (including Lent, Palm Sunday, Easter and Pentecost), the queen of daytime talk is preaching from a primetime pulpit, from which she is heralding to the world community, "Get ready to be awakened!"But is it merely a coincidence that Winfrey's and Tolle's spiritual quest aligns with this special religious time of year?"

Norris puts it beautifully: "It is yet one more evidence of the paradigm shift in our culture from its moral absolute and Judeo-Christian basis to a relativistic worldview in which anything goes and everything is tolerated."

Just a curious thought: What do you think might happen if Oprah let's say, decided to endorse the writings of, say, St. Ignatius of Loyola?