Eternal Proof

"I love you," He said.

"Prove it!" we sneered.

And He did.

O Jesus, Heart of my heart,

the wound in your side,
forever throbbing
and without a cure,

inflicted by my shallow,

 doubting mind,

is eternal proof of your love.

How regretful am I

to have required this sign.

Deepen my trust, I pray.

Never let me question You again.

For Your open side reveals

 Your Love

which is stronger

than death
and You are with me,
loving me,
even now,
even now.

Amen.

For more contributions on the Sacred Heart of Jesus for the First Friday link-up at O Most Sacred Heart blog, visit here.  This month's theme is:   "The Love of the Sacred Heart is stronger than death."  

The Chotki

"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’"  ~Luke 18:13

my chotki, a treasured and much used gift from a dear friend

My friend, Christi Jentz, who writes a beautiful blog, Lumen Christi, shares the background of the chotki as she learned from our mutual friend, Mary Anne Urlakis, here in this post.  The chotki, a traditional prayer rope in the Orthodox tradition upon which one prays the "Jesus Prayer," is a favored prayer form of Pope Francis.  Fr. Robert Barron teaches that when praying the Jesus Prayer, one should breath in, as in taking in the Holy Spirit, while praying, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God," and then exhale, as though releasing our sins, while praying, "have mercy on me, a sinner."  When you are through, you may use the tassel to dry your tears. Such prayerful meditation, while counting the knots of the chotki, is sure to bring peace to the soul.

Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Kneeling Pilgrimage

Old St. Mary Church-photo credit:  panoramio

I'm fascinated by stories of pilgrims who visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe or the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, and, for various reasons, such as a greater sacrifice or in atonement for their sins, perhaps, walk to the Shrine on their knees, often while praying the rosary.  Even though many wear knee pads for this kneeling pilgrimage, the pain must still be quite difficult to endure.  Although I like the idea of such a drastic form of prayer, I'm not sure that I could muster up the resolve to make a pilgrimage of that nature.  But now, I've found my own little form of making a kneeling pilgrimage which is not too difficult too endure, and which brings immediate rewards of satisfaction, and hopefully, many spiritual rewards as well.

As I help to clean Old St. Mary Parish each week, one of the tasks I have taken on is polishing the name plates at the end of each pew.  Back in the 1980's, when the church was renovated, memorial donations were made, and to honor those people on whose behalf donations were made, brass name plates were made and attached to both sides of the pews in church.  Over time, the name plates become tarnished and the names are hard to read.  So, I get down on my knees, and walk from pew to pew with a bottle of brass polish and an old rag, to bring those brass plates back to the gleam and shine they once knew when they were first installed.

photo credit:  panoramio

My pilgrimage is hardly difficult as I kneel on soft carpeting, inside a warm and beautiful church, beneath the soft glow of the antique lights, always under the watchful and loving eyes of Jesus in the tabernacle.  As I make my way down the aisle, I offer a prayer for each of those parishioners who who have gone before me and who are forever memorialized in brass, as well as for their families.  It's both a prayer of gratitude for their example of faith, and of petition of trust for the needs of their soul.  I can't help but reflect deeply upon the fact that the very walls of the church are soaked with so many whispered prayers offered throughout the long history of the church until they are drenched with faith, hope and love.  It is an honor to make that walk of faith upon my knees, in prayer for so many holy people whose perseverance built the very church that I have come to love, and to join my own prayers to those that have gone before me.

photo credit:  panoramio

A Very Special Consecration

On Sunday, October 13th, when Pope Francis consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Rome, Roses for Our Lady in Milwaukee, joined the Pope in spirit with our own consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary during our holy hour for vocations with Fr. Jim Kubicki, SJ, the National Director of the Apostleship of Prayer, with nearly 100 Roses for Our Lady members and friends in attendance.

Fr. Jim shared the story of when Pope John Paul II had been shot by a would-be assassin on May 13th, 1981, the 64th anniversary of the original visions of Our Lady of Fatima by Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco in 1917.  Regarding the fact that his life was spared, Pope John Paul II proclaimed that "one hand held the gun and another guided the bullet."  The hand that guided the bullet was that of the Blessed Mother whose intercession kept the bullet from fatally wounding the pope.  Later, the bullet that shot Pope John Paul II was inserted into the crown of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima.  It was a perfect fit, as if the crown, made in 1946, was created to hold the bullet shot in 1981!

Following the picture of the crown below, are the pictures from the holy hour with Fr. Jim in Christ King Chapel at Saint Francis de Sales Seminary.  All of the holy hour photos are courtesy of Mary Anne Urlakis. Below the pictures, you will find the consecration prayer of Pope Pius XII that we prayed at the holy hour, and then the prayer that Pope Francis prayed at the Vatican.

Crown of Our Lady of Fatima (source)

A Solemn Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Most Holy Virgin Mary, tender Mother of men, to fulfill the desires of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the request of the Vicar of Your Son on earth, we consecrate ourselves and our families to your Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart, O Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, and we recommend to You, all the people of our country and all the world.

Please accept our consecration, dearest Mother, and use us as You wish to accomplish Your designs in the world.

O Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, and Queen of the World, rule over us, together with the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, Our King. Save us from the spreading flood of modern paganism; kindle in our hearts and homes the love of purity, the practice of a virtuous life, an ardent zeal for souls, and a desire to pray the Rosary more faithfully.

We come with confidence to You, O Throne of Grace and Mother of Fair Love. Inflame us with the same Divine Fire which has inflamed Your own Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart. Make our hearts and homes Your shrine, and through us, make the Heart of Jesus, together with your rule, triumph in every heart and home.

Amen.

~Venerable Pope Pius XII

Consecration Prayer of Pope Francis

Holy Mary Virgin of Fatima,

with renewed gratitude for your maternal presence

we join our voice to that of all the generations

who call you blessed.

We celebrate in you the works of God,

who never tires of looking down with mercy

upon humanity, afflicted with the wound of sin,

to heal it and save it.

Accept with the benevolence of a Mother

the act of consecration that we perform today with confidence,

before this image of you that is so dear to us.

We are certain that each of us is precious in your eyes

and that nothing of all that lives in our hearts is unknown to you.

We let ourselves be touched by your most sweet regard

and we welcome the consoling caress of your smile.

Hold our life in your arms:

bless and strengthen every desire for good;

revive and nourish faith;

sustain and enlighten hope;

awaken and animate charity;

guide all of us along the path of holiness.

Teach us your own preferential love

for the little and the poor,

for the excluded and the suffering,

for sinners and the downhearted:

bring everyone under your protection

and entrust everyone to your beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus.

Amen.

[Translation by Joseph Trabbic]

~source:  Zenit

Glory to God for All Things

"I kiss the soil as if I placed a kiss on the hands of a mother, for the homeland is our earthly mother."  

~Pope John Paul II

"Nature, therefore, becomes a gospel that speaks to us of God."  ~Pope John Paul II

Akathist Hymn:  Glory to God for All Things

O Lord, how lovely it is to be Thy guest. Breeze full of scents; mountains reaching to the skies; waters like boundless mirrors, reflecting the sun's golden rays and the scudding clouds. All nature murmurs mysteriously, breathing the depth of tenderness. Birds and beasts of the forest bear the imprint of Thy love. Blessed art thou, mother earth, in thy fleeting loveliness, which wakens our yearning for happiness that will last for ever, in the land where, amid beauty that grows not old, the cry rings out: Alleluia!

Thou hast brought me into life as into an enchanted paradise. We have seen the sky like a chalice of deepest blue, where in the azure heights the birds are singing. We have listened to the soothing murmur of the forest and the melodious music of the streams. We have tasted fruit of fine flavour and the sweet-scented honey. We can live very well on Thine earth. It is a pleasure to be Thy guest.

Glory to Thee for the Feast Day of life
Glory to Thee for the perfume of lilies and roses
Glory to Thee for each different taste of berry and fruit
Glory to Thee for the sparkling silver of early morning dew
Glory to Thee for the joy of dawn's awakening
Glory to Thee for the new life each day brings
Glory to Thee, O God, from age to age

Why Mary?

Mary, Queen of Hearts and St. Louis de Montfort

There are times, more frequent than I care to admit, when my faith waivers, when I feel stuck in my spiritual growth, when I'm tempted to give up, to just quit everything and cry out "What's the use?" And then God leads me to someone whose words and example offer me inspiration and allow me to carry on with the work that He has called me to in His service.   Fr. Matthew Widder, pastor of St. Clement and Holy Name Parishes in Sheboygan, Wisconsin,  recently led the 60th Marian Day of Consecration at Mother of Good Counsel Parish in Milwaukee, home of the Mary, Queen of Hearts Shrine.  Each year, Mary Ann Ristow, whose mother raised the funds for the shrine in the 1940's in gratitude for prayers answered through a novena to Mary, Queen of Hearts, hosts this inspirational day, and I am so grateful to have been blessed to attend this annual event for the fifth time.  Perhaps, like me,  you are also in need of a spiritual boost.  If so, my notes on Fr. Matthew's talk are below.  Read on and be inspired by the example of the Blessed Mother to persevere in whatever it is that God wills for your life.

Fr. Matthew Widder (image from Heart of the Nation television Mass)

"Why Mary?" by Fr. Matthew Widder

A mother is someone who pushes us, nags us, and loves us unconditionally.  Whenever I meet with a mother or a grandmother, she doesn't like to talk about herself, instead, she spends her time telling me about her children and her grandchildren.  They are all that matter to her.  So it is with the Blessed Mother.  She wants to share Jesus with us, to talk about Him, to help us to know Him.  In all she does, she leads us to Jesus.

St. Joseph accepted Mary into his home upon the word of an angel in his dream, and we, too, should not be afraid to accept Mary into our homes.   Just as most earthly mothers have a decorative flair and know how to make a home attractive, Mary does the same thing with our prayers.  When we pray with Mary, she places our prayers on a golden platter and adds her heavenly fragrance to them before presenting them to Jesus.  With Mary in our home, everything we do becomes more beautiful.

It's frustrating to be locked out of our homes or cars.  During my teen years there was a time when I arrived home late from a night out with my friends and found the door locked.  I had to ring the bell and knock on the door until my mom let me in.  We need our Mother Mary to unlock the door for us.  She is on the inside with God and when we pray with her she unlocks the door to God's grace and allows us to enter.

Mary, Untier of Knots

Mary is always humble, and she teaches us to be humble.  During the Visitation, Mary pointed to God's greatness with her Magnificat.  She didn't point to herself.  Pope Francis likes the image of "Mary, Untier of Knots."  Her obedience and humility untie the knots of our sins.  She keeps nothing for herself but lets our prayers pass through her to God.

This was God's last plan to redeem us:  Mary obediently accepting God's will.  Mary is "full of grace."  Grace is the perfect presence of God, the absence of sin.  What the devil lost by his pride, Mary redeemed by humbly accepting God's will.  The most beautiful creature in the entire world is the creation of a saint.  Mary is that beautiful creature leading us to paradise.

Be open to the surprises of God.  Pope Francis often tells us that the spiritual life is full of surprises.  But we don't like surprises.  We like things to be planned out.  But God surprises us.  The scriptures are full of sudden detours.  I think of the saying that there are two seasons in Wisconsin-winter and road construction.   Everytime I see that my normal route is closed due to construction, I don't want to believe the "road closed" sign the first time I see it and I'll try to somehow get around it.  But it doesn't work and I have to retrace my steps.  We do this in the spiritual life as well, we try to do things our own way, the same way we've always done it, not being open to change.  But Mary was always open to the surprises of God.  She was open to God's detour.  We need to accept the detours in our lives, because where there is a detour, so there is Jesus.

Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament

 Mary teaches us about outreach to others with her trip to the hill country to visit Elizabeth.   My favorite image of Mary, the one I chose for my ordination, is the image of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament.  Mary is holding Jesus out to us and she is looking out.  We all like to hold a baby close and to not let go, unless they're crying.  Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament is holding Jesus out and asking, "Will you accept my Son?"  It's symbolic of the New Evangelization.  Don't keep Jesus to yourself, pass Him on.  Don't be content to keep your Marian devotion to yourself.  We need to share what Mary has done for us, we have to pass on our devotion, to be on the lookout for the poor and those in need.  Accept Mary as the Queen of your heart, spread your love for her and give testimony.

How do we live out that devotion?  We obey Mary's words to the waiters at Cana, we "do whatever He tells you."  St. Louis de Montfort teaches a radical devotion to Mary, he tells us to be a "slave" of Mary.  He contrasts the word "slave" with the word "servant."  A servant has time off, but for a slave there is no getting away, there is always work to be done.  We are challenged to give our lives to Mary with our eyes fixed on Jesus.  Give Mary everything-our works, sacrifice, prayers, penance-entrust them to our Lady because she knows best how to use our prayers.  Allow Mary to open the door from within and trust that she will make the best use of our graces and good acts.

The best way to honor Mary is through the rosary.  Pope Francis tells us not to pray like a parrot, speaking words without understanding their meaning.  Sometimes when we pray the rosary, the words click by and we're not really praying them with meaning.  I once heard someone pray the rosary in ten minutes.  We need to slow down our prayers.  I heard a speaker on relevant radio say that as we pray the rosary we should treat the name "Jesus" as a speed bump.  Say His name with reverence and meaning.  Another way to pray the rosary is to bring the name of the mystery into each Hail Mary we are praying following the name of Jesus.  For example:  "Jesus in the Annunciation" or "Jesus in the Resurrection" or "Jesus, in the Agony in the Garden" or "Jesus at the Baptism."  When we pray the rosary, we should picture Mary taking us by the hand and leading us into the crescendo of the Glory Be at the end of each mystery.

How do we pray at Mass?  Give Mary our Holy Communion.  When we receive the Eucharist, introduce Mary to her Son.  Say to Mary, "Behold your son."  Our souls are a home for Christ.  When we visit someone in their homes, we encounter them in a sacred way.  We see how they live, and learn things about them that we didn't know.  Before we receive Communion we pray, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed."  During Communion we are inviting Jesus with Mary into our home so that He may really know us.

God knew that we would need a helper in the spiritual life and so He gave us a beautiful gift in our Blessed Mother Mary.  Mary leads us to Jesus, she teaches us humility and obedience.  She shows us how to be open to God's surprises and to pass grace on to others.  Our prayer is to make Mary the Queen of our Hearts.  Give your heart to Marian devotion.  Speak about your devotion to others.  Don't be afraid to tell the story of your devotion to Mary, to give witness to the blessing of Mary in your life.

Efficacious Prayer  to Mary, Queen of our Hearts
 

O Mary, Queen of All Hearts,
Advocate of the most hopeless cases;
Mother most pure, most compassionate;
Mother of Divine Love,
full of divine light,
we confide to your care the favors which we ask of you today.

Consider our misery, our tears,
our interior trials and sufferings!
We know that you can help us 
through the merits of your Divine Son, Jesus.
We promise, if our prayers are heard,
to spread your glory, 
by making you known under the title of 
Mary, Queen of the Universe.

Grant, we beseech you,
hear our prayers,
for every day you give us so many proofs of your love
and your power of intercession to heal both body and soul.

We hope against all hope:
Ask Jesus to cure us, pardon us,
and grant us final perseverance.

O Mary, Queen of all Hearts, help us,
we have confidence in you. (3 times)

St. Margaret Mary

It's the feast of one of my favorite saints today so I'm celebrating with a picture and a poem that I love....

St. Margaret Mary

There were so many thorns

about his brow, 

so many red lips 

to prove the reality 

of His love, 

so little fertility 

in the soil of

His creature's affections,

so much of winter everywhere:

need we be surprised that

when the Gardener

found a rose

fragrant with remembrance

He should lift it

to His Heart?

~Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP 

Paths from Bethlehem