Ad Iesum per Mariam: Feastday of Our Lady of Lourdes

Prayer to the Immaculate Heart

Prayer to the Immaculate Heart

O Heart of Mary, mother of God, and our mother; heart most worthy of love, in which the adorable Trinity is ever well-pleased, worthy of the veneration and love of all the angels and of all men; heart most like to the Heart of Jesus, of which thou art the perfect image; heart full of goodness, ever compassionate toward our miseries; deign to melt our icy hearts and grant that they may be wholly changed into the likeness of the Heart of Jesus, our divine Saviour. Pour into them the love of thy virtues, enkindle in them that divine fire with which thou thyself dost ever burn. In thee let Holy Church find a safe shelter; protect her and be her dearest refuge, her tower of strength, impregnable against every assault of her enemies. Be thou the way which leads to Jesus, and the channel, through which we receive all the graces needful for our salvation. Be our refuge in time of trouble, our solace in the midst of trial, our strength against temptation, our haven in persecution, our present help in every danger and especially at the hour of death, when all hell shall let loose against us its legions to snatch away our souls, at that dread moment, that hour so full of fear, whereon our eternity depends. Ah, then most tender virgin, make us to feel the sweetness of thy motherly heart, and the might of thine intercession with Jesus, and open to us a safe refuge in that very fountain of mercy, whence we may come to praise Him with thee in Paradise, world without end. Amen.

prayer for priests

prayer for priests

O Almighty and Eternal God, look upon the face of Thy Christ and for love of Him, Who is the Eternal High Priest, have pity oon Thy priests. Remember O most compassionate God that they are but weak and frail human beings. Stir up in them the grace of their vocation which is in them by the imposition of the Bishop's hands. Keep them close to Thee, lest the enemy prevail against them, so that they may never do anything in the slightest degree unworthy of their sublime vocation. O Jesus, I pray for Thy faithful and fervent priests; for Thy unfaithful and tepid priests; for Thy priests labouring at home or abroad - in distant mission fields; for Thy tempted priests; for Thy lonely and desolate priests; for Thy young priests; for Thy aged priests; for Thy sick priests; for Thy dying priests; for the souls of Thy priests in Purgatory. But above all I commend to Thee the priests dearest to me. The priest who baptized me, the priests who absolved me from my sins, the priests at whose masses I assisted and who gave me Thy Body and Blood in Holy Communion, the priests who taught and instructed me; or helped me and encouraged me, all the priests to whom I am indebted in any other way, particularly ____. O Jesus, keep them all close to Thy Heart and bless them abundantly in time and in eternity. Amen.

prayer for vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life

prayer for vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life

Lord Jesus Christ, Saviour of the world, show forth, we beseech Thee, in Thy Church the Holy Spirit with whose power the apostles were so abundantly filled. We thank Thee for the blessings bestowed upon the work of priests and religious; and we pray that Thou wilt add to the number of those who now pray, labour, and sacrifice themselves for Thy glory and the salvation of souls. Give them unselfish zeal for Thy glory. O good Jesus, give us more priests and religious after Thine own Heart! Amen.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Feastday of Our Lady of Lourdes

Today we commemorate the feastday of Our Lady of Lourdes .

In anticipation of this beautiful Marian feastday, we watched Song of Bernadette last weekend, an excellent movie about this apparition of Our Lady to St Bernadette (Soubirous) in 1858. I am ashamed to say I could only keep awake for about 3/4 of the movie (it went for 2 1/2 hours!! Yes, I promised myself and the kids that I'd watch the end of it, maybe even tonight.), but I received reports from hubby the next day that the kiddos remained absorbed until the very end of the story!

Today the children enjoyed drawing and colouring in beautiful pictures of Our Lady of Lourdes and her humble French visionary, St Bernadette, because they are reminded of the story, as manifested by bits of conversation overheard during their colouring session. :)

A nice and simple craft project we worked on was a little grotto (see above feature photo) that we made out of a shoe box, laminated printed pictures, and some foam cups. Using some scrunched up scrap paper stuck to the box, we created the "rocky" effect for the niche - inside and out, painting it with rich hues of greys, browns and olives which our little artists thoroughly enjoyed.

I am still kicking myself, however, for not being better prepared at school this afternoon that made us miss out on Mass. For some reason, I simply lost track of time! Chad and I were finishing off our last session for the day when I looked at the clock to see that it was 5:15 pm!! And we were hoping to get to the 5:30 Mass. Not to disappoint the kiddies, and of course to anchor our celebration on a more substantial devotion (i.e. Eucharistic), we decided to go to our Lord exposed at the Perpetual Adoration Chapel instead. Yes, that was the next best thing (to attending Mass)..

So this is basically how Our Lady's special feastday panned out for us.

Drawing and colouring session:

Raw materials for "Our Lady of Lourdes" craft project:

Painting the niche:

Finished product:

Cleaning up afterwards:

"Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us!"

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Cyndee

Wife to LL since 02/98; Mom to 7 blessings, namely: Webster 11/01, Roadrunner 02/05, Curlytop 04/06, Brighteyes 03/08, Bobbles 11/10, P-nut 06/12, and Miracles 11/13 (obviously not their real names).

AD JESUM PER MARIAM is, in the main, an account of some experiences in our family life as members of the Body of Christ, particularly in our liturgical journey as a domestic church. It is largely a record of some of the highlights and struggles we face in our attempts to "swim against the tide:" striving for Marian spirituality while trying desperately to live a Eucharist-centred lifestyle in our extremely secular world.

WHY BLOG? I believe blogging fulfils different purposes for different people. For me it is an excellent way of documenting personal and family experiences which helps me become more reflective in this Journey, be more resigned to and appreciative of Divine Will and Providence, and direct all the glory to Whom it is due. It is also my hope that over time, we (especially the children) can revisit these pages and relive the experiences that are virtually immortalized herein.

Ad majorem Dei gloriam et animae salutem!

LITANY OF HUMILITY

LITANY OF HUMILITY

O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, Hear me. From the desire of being esteemed, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the desire of being loved, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the desire of being extolled, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the desire of being honored, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the desire of being praised, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the desire of being preferred to others, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the desire of being consulted, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the desire of being approved, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the fear of being humiliated, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the fear of being despised, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the fear of suffering rebukes, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the fear of being calumniated, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the fear of being forgotten, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the fear of being ridiculed, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the fear of being wronged, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the fear of being suspected, Deliver me, O Jesus. That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be esteemed more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be chosen and I set aside, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be praised and I go unnoticed, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be preferred to me in everything, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may become holier than I, provide that I may become as holy as I should, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. Amen! (Prayer of His Eminence Cardinal Merry del Val)

A Mother's Prayer for her Children

A Mother's Prayer for her Children

Holy Mary, Mother of God, help me in all my problems. Teach me patience and wisdom. Show me how to train my children to be worthy children of God. Let me be kind and loving, but keep me from foolish indulgence. Pray for my children, dear Mother. Keep them from all danger, especially from spiritual danger. help them to become virtuous citizens of their own country, but let them not forget the Kingdom of God. Jesus of Bethlehem, make my children love each other and their home. Help them to work and pray together in holy peace. Holy Family of Nazareth, be with us all - father, mother and children - everyday of our lives. I humbly greet thee, faithful Guardian Angels of my children. I give thee heartfelt thanks for all the love and goodness you show them. Someday I shall repay your care for them with thanks more worthy than I can now give, and before the whole heavenly court shall acknowledge their debt of gratitude to thy guidance and protection. Continue to watch over them. Provide for all their needs of body and soul. Pray also for me, for my husband, and for my whole family, that we may all one day rejoice in thy blessed company in Heaven. Our Lady of Providence, my Queen and my Mother, to thee I confide the children God has entrusted to me. While they are small, provide for them safety of body, mind and heart. When I shall no longer be with them, when the responsibilities and greater temptations of life shall be theirs, then, O my Lady, pray for my sons and daughters. Continue to be the Mother of Providence. Above all, my Queen, be with my children when the Angel of Death hovers near. I beg thee to take my children into eternity in the arms of thy loving providence so that forever they may praise the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

St Lorenzo Ruiz, First Filipino Saint

St Lorenzo Ruiz, First Filipino Saint

St Lorenzo Ruiz (1600-1637) was born in Binondo, Manila, Philippines. His Chinese father taught him Chinese, and his Filipino mother taught him Tagalog. Both of his parents were Catholic. Lorenzo served at the convent of Binondo church as an altar boy. After a few years Lorenzo earned the title of "escribano" (notary). He became a member of the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary. He was working as a clerk at the Binondo Church when he was falsely accused of killing a Spaniard in 1636. Prior to that, his life with his Filipino wife and 3 children was one of peace, contentment and Christ-centredness. Being falsely accused of murder, he sought asylum onboard a ship with 3 Dominican priests: St Antonio Gonzalez, St Guillermo Courtet, St Miguel de Aozaraza and a Japanese priest, St Vicente Shiwozuka de la Cruz and a layman named St Lazaro of Kyoto, a leper. The boat landed at Okinawa and the group was arrested on basis of their Christian religion. They were tortured by the Japanese, but did not denounce their faith, and died as martyrs. Lorenzo Ruiz was beatified in Manila on February 18, 1981 by Pope John Paul who canonized Lorenzo on October 18, 1987. St Lorenzo's beatification was the first one outside the Vatican and he is the first Filipino saint. (adapted)

St Pedro Calungsod, 2nd Filipino Saint

St Pedro Calungsod, 2nd Filipino Saint

St Pedro Calungsod was a young man born in the Visayan Islands in the Philippines in the 17th century. He went as a mission assistant, catechist, sacristan, to Guam, part of the first Jesuit mission expedition to the Marianas Islands. He was killed "in hatred of the faith" by the same men who were responsible for the martyrdom of the Jesuit mission-superior, Fr Diego Luis de San Vitores, declared blessed by Pope John Paul II on October 6, 1984 as the Proto-Martyr of the Marianas Island in the Pacific. Pedro Calungsod's death preceded that of Blessed Diego Luis by a few minutes on April 2, 1672. He was canonized by Pope Benedict on October 2012. His feastday is celebrated on the 2nd of April and is the 2nd Filipino saint. St Pedro Calungsod, pray for us!