My Guardian Angel just prompted me to get this posted now, so that perhaps enough people will see it early in the day and avail themselves of the incredible grace.
I was all set to walk out the door this morning in plenty of time to make it to the 7AM Mass at the local Carmel when I realized I should stop and go to a later Mass in order that my kids would come too. As a father, I know there are few gifts I could give them that are greater than this.
Domine Jesu, Miserere Nobis!
Statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, St. Lucy’s Catholic Church (National Shrine of St. Gerard), Newark, NJ
Good morning crew! Although I neglected to post about it, I hope everyone was able to make the First Friday devotion. Today 8/ the first Saturday of the month and as always, I encourage everyone who reads this to make the “five first Saturdays”. Here is a helpful link. For me, the hardest part of this devotion is the meditation but I have searched for and come across some very good videos (sermons and the like) that do the trick. If anyone has suggestions; I would love to hear them and share them.
Our Lady of Good Counsel, mosaic, Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington
Also, today begins a novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe. I will see if I can find a text of that to share.
There is a line in the novena to St. Rita that I pray that has always carried special meaning for me.
“We promise if our petitions are granted to make known your favor and to glorify God for His gift.”
The Catholic Devotional Life
Earlier today, as I was finally cleaning off the top of my dresser after a year of collecting loose change, cuff links, and knick knacks, I happened upon a few items I did not know I had in my possession. If you have ever had a special devotion to a particular saint this will not surprise you in the least. I found that I had four separate medals of my Cascian intercessor , apparently acquired in Italy by one of my nieces who had traveled there several years ago for a semester abroad.
So let’s talk about devotions and the life of a Catholic. Prior to the middle of the 1960’s (gee, not sure what happened then) Catholics were raised to be in relationship with the saints. We were taught to pray to our guardian angel and to converse with him, to call upon our friends in heaven because they are God’s friends first. It is said that Padre Pio did not know until he was ten years-old that other people couldn’t see their angels, such was his devotion.
Devotion and Memory
And then the Catholic world forgot. To be sure there was a malicious force at work helping to suppress that memory. But memory is a beautiful gift from God. Like physical strength, it requires some exercise on our part to develop more fully. The ancients knew how to memorize epic poetry on the first hearing. They trained their memories and knew how to actively listen. Likewise the memory of our devotional life must be fostered. We must worship God in the manner He chooses (the Holy Mass) and listen in silence to Him. We must work at our devotions. Sometimes, like the occasional miraculous physical healing where the lame man regains his strength, God can intervene to remind us of what we lost and what we forgot. We must then thank God for that grace and jump back into fostering our devotional life.
Friends, remember your devotions. Make the saints and angels a part of your life. Those medals remind me to keep going and to continue to seek her prayers. I see them as a gift from God to continue in my devotion. Today in particular I see them as a nudge to continue in my novena prayers. Another nine days it is! Perhaps there are four particular people who need these prayers. Who knows? God knows.
Remembering that I will make known her favor and glorify God for his gifts, I share the days events with you and again invite any intentions that I might add to my prayer.
God bless us, the Virgin protect us, and St. Rita, pray for us!
Perhaps during your prayer, please remember to offer an Ave for me. And whatever you do, don’t forget to entrust to The Two Hearts the care of all His holy priests. We need them. We need them in good health, strong, stouthearted, and striving for perfection every day. The devil loves when he can snatch one and take him out of commission. Don’t let that happen for lack of a few moments of prayer.
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“Now, let me be clear so that people can follow me. My religion outlaws sodomy and greatly shuns gay inclinations, gay relationships, and effeminate men. And if there are any such men in existence, then they need to be converted to normalcy. My religion says that God can be a jealous God, and that all other gods are demons, and that there is only one True Religion. All others are demonic lies. There is no such thing as divorce, and remarriage is adultery. We don’t live to be “greenpeace gardeners” of the Earth; we live to know and love God and one day meet Him in Heaven. And Christ didn’t resurrect to start up an NGO. He started a proselytizing organization on a mission during wartime to save humanity’s soul from the Devil. Also in my religion, the death penalty is one of the heaven-decreed penalties for a number of crimes. That is my religion.” - Laramie Hirsch (with permission)
Harvey Millican's Blog: Musings of a Trad Dad 