WE ENTRUST, O MARY, AND CONSECRATE THE WHOLE WORLD TO YOUR IMMACULATE HEART!

Pope John Paul II

On Thursday, 13 May 1982, after the con-celebrated Mass in Fatima, Pope John Paul II made the following act of consecration of the modern world to Our Lady of Fatima. 1. "We have recourse to your protection, holy Mother of God." As I utter the words of this antiphon with which the Church of Christ has prayed for centuries, I find myself today in this place chosen by you, O Mother, and by you particularly loved. I am here, united with all the Pastors of the Church in that particular bond whereby we constitute a body and a college, just as Christ desired the Apostles to be in union with Peter. In the bond of this union, I utter the words of the present Act, in which I wish to include, once more, the hopes and anxieties of the Church in the modern world. Forty years ago and again ten years later, your servant Pope Pius XII, having before his eyes the painful experience of the human family, entrusted and consecrated to your Immaculate Heart the whole world, especially the peoples for which you had particular love and solicitude. This world of individuals and nations I too have before my eyes today, as I renew the entrusting and consecration carried out by my Predecessor in the See of Peter: the world of the second millennium that is drawing to a close, the modern world, our world today! The Church, mindful of the Lord's words: "Go... and make disciples of all nations... and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age" (Mt 28:19-20), renewed, at the Second Vatican Council, her awareness of her mission in this world. And therefore, O Mother of individuals and peoples, you who "know all their sufferings and their hopes", you who have a mother's awareness of all the struggles between good and evil, between light and darkness, which afflict the modern world, accept the cry which we, as though moved by the Holy Spirit, address directly to your Heart. Embrace, with the love of the Mother and Handmaid, this human world of ours, which we entrust and consecrate to you, for we are full of disquiet for the earthly and eternal destiny of individuals and peoples. In a special way we entrust and consecrate to you those individuals and nations which particularly need to be entrusted and consecrated. We have recourse to your protection, holy Mother of God: reject not the prayers we send up to you in our necessities. Reject them not! Accept our humble trust and our act of entrusting! 2. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (Jn 3:16). It was precisely by reason of this love that the Son of God consecrated himself for all mankind: "And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth" (Jn 17:19). By reason of that consecration the disciples of all ages are called to spend themselves for the salvation of the world, and to supplement Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is the Church (cf. 2 Cor 12:15; Col 1:24). Before you, Mother of Christ, before your Immaculate Heart, I today, together with the whole Church, unite myself with our Redeemer in this his consecration for the world and for people, which only in his divine Heart has the power to obtain pardon and to secure reparation. The power of this consecration lasts for all time and embraces all individuals, peoples and nations. It overcomes every evil that the spirit of darkness is able to awaken, and has in fact awakened in our times, in the heart of man and in his history. The Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, unites herself, through the service of Peter's successor, to this consecration by our Redeemer. Oh, how deeply we feel the need for consecration on the part of humanity and of the world—our modern world—in union with Christ himself! The redeeming work of Christ, in fact, must be shared in by the world by means of the Church. Oh, how pained we are by all the things in the Church and in each one of us that are opposed to holiness and consecration! How pained we are that the invitation to repentance, to conversion, to prayer, has not met with the acceptance that it should have received! How pained we are that many share so coldly in Christ's work of Redemption! That "what is lacking in Christ's afflictions" is so insufficiently completed in our flesh. And so, blessed be all those souls that obey the call of eternal Love! Blessed be all those who, day after day, with undiminished generosity accept your invitation, O Mother, to do what your Jesus tells them (cf. Jn 2:5) and give the Church and the world a serene testimony of lives inspired by the Gospel. Above all blessed be you, the Handmaid of the Lord, who in the fullest way obey the divine call! Hail to you, who are wholly united to the redeeming consecration of your Son! Mother of the Church! Enlighten the People of God along the paths of faith, of hope and love! Help us to live with the whole truth of the consecration of Christ for the entire human family of the modern world. 3. In entrusting to you, O Mother, the world, all individuals and peoples, we also entrust to you the consecration itself, for the world's sake, placing it in your motherly Heart. Oh, Immaculate Heart! Help us to conquer the menace of evil, which so easily takes root in the hearts of the people of today, and whose immeasurable effects already weigh down upon our modern world and seem to block the paths towards the future! From famine and war, deliver us. From nuclear war, from incalculable self-destruction, from every kind of war, deliver us. From sins against the life of man from its very beginning, deliver us. From hatred and from the demeaning of the dignity of the children of God, deliver us. From every kind of injustice in the life of society, both national and international, deliver us. From readiness to trample on the commandments of God, deliver us. From attempts to stifle in human hearts the very truth of God, deliver us. From sins against the Holy Spirit, deliver us, deliver us. Accept, O Mother of Christ, this cry laden with the sufferings of all individual human beings, laden with the sufferings of whole societies. Let there be revealed, once more. in the history of the world your infinite power of merciful Love. May it put a stop to evil. May it transform consciences. May your Immaculate Heart reveal for all the light of Hope. Resource: http://www.ewtn.com

INFERTILE but not without HOPE

Elisabeth Leseur (Servant of God) suffered many pains, one of them being infertility and a childless home. Her other great sufferings were her husband's unbelief in God.  She by her great love for God and the Church offered her physical, emotional and spiritual sufferings to Christ Jesus Crucified to win back her husbands soul from the great errors of atheism.  She united her heart to our Trinitarian God.  She never once questioned the unique call that she was given by Our Lord.  She embraced her cross with humility and love, just as Christ Jesus did for all of us.  She learned through her pains to follow her shepherd, Christ Jesus, and remained close to Him in Holy Eucharist.  This is the great secret to all of our own sufferings that is hiding ourselves within the Eucharistic Heart of Christ.

Happy Feast of Our Lady of Fatima

We Need to do MORE!

This email was perfect timing to me as I was feeling the same way in my own heart.  Is anyone else hearing this call?  I hadn't heard this about the Holy Father until today so it was truly a confirmation of the Holy Spirit to read this cry for more.  

The Holy Father is trying to prepare the army of faithful, let us awaken our weary hearts and do what we are being called to do today.  

I am not just saying this to you, but to myself as I've had my own struggles with prayer these days.  We must and should do what we can, so, let's pull out those rosaries and begin for it truly is our weapon of choice as it leads us into the life of Christ.

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Dear Little hearts,

The Spirit is calling us into the garden, calling us into solitude and silence!!  Calling us to prayer... The Spirit is calling us to Mary, to Jesus... the Gospels... God has created gardens among things to be havens of peace, replenishment and rest.... and for prayer... It is a space where the Spirit can be free.  Our Holy Father Pope Benedict calls us to renew our focus on praying the Rosary, works of art are achieved by continuing practice, failures and successes, and it is just the same with prayer. 

So let us try and respond to the call from our Holy Father which comes from his heart to ours, but primarily the Holy Spirit gives Holy Father the words he wants us all to hear... Let us meet in the Rose garden of Mary, within the Garden of God.

Lovingly,

Your Poor Clare Colettines TMD

Wales, UK

Benedict XVI: Pray the Rosary With More Intensity

VATICAN CITY, MAY 11, 2011 (Zenit.org).-

 

Benedict XVI is encouraging all to "intensify" the practice of praying the rosary during May, the month the Church dedicates to the Mother of God.

At the end of today's general audience, the Pope urged the youth present "to value this traditional Marian prayer, which helps to understand better and to assimilate the central moments of the salvation realized by Christ."

To the sick, he exhorted them to "to turn with confidence to the Virgin Mary through this pious exercise, entrusting all your needs to her."

Finally, to the newlyweds, he invited them to "make the praying of the rosary in the family, a moment of spiritual growth under the gaze of the Virgin Mary."

St. Damien of Molokai pray for us...

Let Fr. Damien's lesson of hope and endurance be an example in your own life.  No matter what your cross, lift it to Jesus uniting your pain, suffering and misunderstanding to HIM.  He has endured everything you are going through; let HIM heal you, and teach you what you need to learn through this journey.  

The light will come, for Christ Jesus is the LIGHT who shines in the darkness.  May His light also shine through you.

Feastday: May 11

St. Damien, brother on the journey,
Happy and generous missionary,
who loved the Gospel more than your life,
who for love of Jesus left your family,
your homeland, your security, your dreams,
Teach us to give our lives with a joy like yours,
to be in solidarity with the outcasts of the world,
to celebrate and contemplate the Eucharist
as the source of our commitment.
Help us to love to the very end
and, in the strength of the Spirit,
to persevere in compassion
for the poor and forgotten
so that we might be good disciples of 
Jesus and Mary.
Amen.

-- From the Diocese of Honolulu.

Bishop Sheen on Marriage & Elisabeth Leseur

Listen to Archbishop Sheen tell the story of (click on her name and then press the play button above the Time Magazine picture) Elisabeth Leseur who also has a cause for canonization.  Her current status in the process of canonization is that of a Servant of God. Elisabeth was born in Paris to a wealthy bourgeois French family of Corsican descent.   

Resource:  http://www.op-stjoseph.org/blog/30th_anniversary_of_death_of_fulton_sheen

Book Tour - "Framing Faith: A Pictorial History of Communities of Faith"

Take a look at this beautiful book that lifts the culture of our FAITH for generations.

Framing Faith: A Pictorial History of Communities of Faith

 written by Sarah Piccini -  photography by Ivana Pavelka & ARTS Engage!

Framing Faith tells the story of the faith of immigrants and their descendants, spotlighting 10 Catholic churches in the Diocese of Scranton that were closed due to restructuring.

The churches are:

• SACRED HEART, MAYFIELD

• ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA, SCRANTON

• ST. JOSEPH, SCRANTON

• HOLY FAMILY, SCRANTON

• ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST, SCRANTON

• ST. MARY OF THE ASSUMPTION, SCRANTON

• ST. MARY CZESTOCHOWA, SCRANTON

• ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, TAYLOR

• IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, TAYLOR

• ST. MICHAEL, OLD FORGE 

The churches have rich ethnic heritages. They are Polish, Slovak, Italian, German, and Lithuanian parishes with long traditions and deep roots. Each church was founded by immigrant groups who came to the coal fields of the Lackawanna Valley with little more than their faith in God. Their churches served as the center of the community and touchstones of the Old Country. Framing Faith traces their histories from small beginnings through baptisms, weddings and funerals to their final celebrations. Throughout the text are images from each church, visual reminders of what was for many an important part of their lives.

-- Nicole Langan

Tribute Books

P.O. Box 95

Archbald, PA  18403

Phone: 570-876-2416

Email: info@tribute-books.com

 Web Site: www.tribute-books.com

Another Childless Saint

Saint Catherine of Genoa

A pious and prayerful girl, she early felt a call to religious life, tried to enter a convent at age 13, was turned away because of her youth. At 16 she entered into an arranged marriage with a young Genoese nobleman, Giuliano Adorno. They were a childless couple, he was careless and unsuccessful as a husband and provider, often cruel, violent and unfaithful, and reduced them to bankruptcy. Catherine became indifferent to her faith, and fell into a depression.

Saint Catherine of Genoa

(1447-1510)

I consider all that befalls me, except sin, as coming from the hand of God.  Sin is mine alone just as is all concern with the self.   

-- St. Catherine of Genoa

---

Let every suffering and pain be welcome that comes from God's will, for you have illuminated me, O Lord, for the last thirty-six years or so. For your sake I have always sought to suffer, within as well as without.  And this desire has never let me suffer greatly.  On the contrary, all those things that I have undergone that seemed intense suffering were, because of your will, sweet and consoling.   

-- St. Catherine of Genoa

Works

• Life and Doctrine of Saint Catherine of Genoa
• Spiritual Dialogue
• Treatise of Discretion
• Treatise of Divine Providence
• Treatise on Obedience
• Treatise on Prayer
• Treatise on Purgatory

PROMOTE THE CAUSE FOR Servant of God - ELISABETH LESEUR!

Happy Feast Day!

Todays is actually in memory of Elisabeth as she is not yet a recognized saint.  So, we must promote her cause daily with our prayers and devotions.  Thank you for doing all that you can in honor of this holy woman!

Elisabeth suffered many pains, one of them being infertility and a childless home. Her other great sufferings were her husband's unbelief in God.  She by her great love for God and the Church offered her physical, emotional and spiritual sufferings to Christ Jesus Crucified to win back her husbands soul from the great errors of atheism she united her heart to our Trinitarian God.  She never once questioned the unique call that she was given by Our Lord.  She embraced her cross with humility and love, just as Christ Jesus did for all of us.

Elisabeth Leseur 

Quotes from My Spirit Rejoices

“My present trial seems to me a somewhat painful one, and I have the humiliation of knowing how badly I bore it at first. I now want to accept and to carry this little cross joyfully, to carry it silently, with a smile in my heart and on my lips, in union with the Cross of Christ. My God, blessed be Thou; accept from me each day the embarrassment, inconvenience, and pain this misery causes me. May it become a prayer and an act of reparation."

The cause for the CANONIZATIONof Elizabeth Leseur is being handled in Rome by:
Fr. Vito GomezPostulator Generalis
Curia Generalizia dei Padri Domenicani
Convento Santa Sabina (Aventino)
Piazza Pietro d'Illiria, 100153 Roma (Italia)
Telephone: (39) 6 57 941Fax: (39) 6 57 50 675
e-mail: postulatore@curia.op.org

May 3 ~ a little history of the Holy Cross

In the Gallican usage, beginning about the seventh century, the Feast of the Cross was celebrated on May 3, and called "Crouchmas" (for "Cross Mass") or "Roodmas". When the Gallican and Roman practices were combined, the September date was assigned to commemorating the rescue of the Cross from the Sassanid Persians, and the May date was kept as the Finding of the Holy Cross or Invention of the True Cross to commemorate the finding. (In this context "invention" (from Latin invenire, "to find") does not have the modern sense of creating something new.) Pope John XXIII removed this duplication in 1960, so that the Roman Calendar now celebrates the Holy Cross only on September 14.

May 3 is the date given in the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer liturgy, but the new Common Worship liturgy, following the Roman Catholic Church's lead, celebrates Holy Cross Day on September 14.




Resource:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feast_of_the_Cross

Elisabeth Leseur - Patron of the Infertile

Elisabeth and Me (1910)

By the time this volume appears, I shall have left the world, and entered the seminary.

My beloved wife, Elisabeth, prayed incessantly for my return to the Catholic Faith. Daily for this intention, she offered up all her sacrifices, trials, sufferings, and at the end, even her death. But she did this secretly, because when we married, I was profoundly anti-religious. I had been raised Catholic but lost my faith in medical school. I searched for weapons against Catholicism. I set myself to attack Elizabeth's Faith, to deprive her of it, and — may God pardon me! — I nearly succeeded. Then, in 1913, she was struck by cancer, which for 10 months was her Calvary until she died, just 48 years old. • I have, since Elisabeth’s death, learned to appreciate the power of her silence. God heard the constant prayer it concealed, and completed the conversion begun in me by her influence and by my reading her Journal, which I found after her death, and which I present to you here. • It shows how Elisabeth endured terrible afflictions, comforted others, never complained, and looked to the Eucharist and to prayer and self-sacrifice, for the support she needed. When I think that I was foolish and criminal enough  to try to destroy the Faith that lifted her so high  and sustained her so powerfully! To what a Hell would I have reduced her  and condemned myself at the same stroke! • A great many people attended her funeral. They expressed such real and unanimous emotion that the priests assisting at the service were utterly astonished: "Who was this woman? We have never seen such a funeral before!" After Elisabeth’s death, when everything seemed to collapse around me, I came upon the Spiritual Testament  she had written for me, and her Journal, too. I read and reread them, and a revolution took place in me. There I discovered that Elisabeth had concluded with God a pact, vowing to exchange her life for my return to the Faith. I remembered that one day she had told me with absolute assurance:  "I shall die before you. And when I am dead, you will be converted; and when you are converted, you will become a religious. You will be Father Leseur." • And so from her Journal I perceived clearly the inner meaning of Elisabeth's existence, so grand in its humility. I came to appreciate the splendor of the faith of which I had seen such wonderful effects. The eyes of my soul were opened. I turned toward God, who called to me. I confessed my faults to a priest and was reconciled to the Church. • Elisabeth had led me to the truth, and even today, in my inmost being, I continue to feel her guiding my steps to a more perfect union with God. Fr. Felix Leseur, O.P.(ca. 1940) • Elisabeth's Journal is my daily reading. It is a book of rare beauty. The designs of God’s Providence are shown plainly in Elisabeth’s life and work. I am convinced that by reading these pages many torn hearts will find the means to endure with courage the sacrifices which have been imposed on them. I now, therefore, give to you these precious pages: I pray that the Holy Spirit will spread them far and wide and that they may help to work in as many souls as possible the renewal they have accomplished in my own soul.  Fr. Felix Leseur * Felix's words are adapted from In Memoriam, his 1917 introduction to Elisabeth's  Journal et pensées de chaque jour.                                         The cause for the canonization of Elisabeth Leseur is being handled in Rome by: Fr. Innocenzo Venchi, O.P. Postulator Generalis Curia Generalizia dei Padri Domenicani Convento Santa Sabina (Aventino), Piazza Pietro d’Illiria, 100153 Roma (Italia) Telephone: (39) 6 57 941 Fax: (39) 6 57 50 675  The Secret Diary of Elisabeth Leseur The Woman Whose Goodness Changed Her Husband from Atheist to Priest  336 pages pbk $19.95 1-800-888-9344 or send your check to: Sophia Institute Press Box 5284, Manchester, NH 03108

Walking in the Garden of God with Mary

Dear Little hearts,

Listen! Listen! in the Garden of God, the Spirit whispers through the trees...

Mary.... Mary..... Mary....how beautiful is the name of the Holy Mother of God! and whenever we speak, pray, look to Mary we are also speaking, praying, looking at Jesus, for never were two hearts so totally one as the hearts of Jesus and Mary! Think- reflect upon that in the silence of your own heart!

Mary has so many unclaimed graces in her hands, more numerous than the leaves upon the trees.... graces for the asking as she wants to draw you, bring you closer and closer to Jesus!

Lovingly, 

Poor Clare Colettines TMD

---

"Blessed is the man who loves thy name, O Mary," exclaims St. Bonaventure. "Yes, truly blessed is he who loves thy sweet name, O Mother of God! for," he continues, "thy name is so glorious and admirable, that no one who remembers it has any fears at the hour of death." Such is its power, that none of those who invoke it at the hour of death fear the assaults of their enemies. St. Camillus de Lellis urged the members of his community to remind the dying often to utter the holy names of Jesus and Mary. Such was his custom when assisting people in their last hour.

Oh, that we may end our lives as did the Capuchin Father, Fulgentius of Ascoli, who expired singing, "O Mary, O Mary, the most beautiful of creatures! let us depart together."

Let us conclude with the tender prayer of St. Bonaventure:

"I ask thee, O Mary, for the glory of thy name, to come and meet my soul when it is departing from this world, and to take it in thine arms."  Amen