Prayer to Our Lady

Prayer by St Alphonsus 

Most holy Virgin Immaculate,
my Mother Mary,
to you who are the Mother of my Lord,
the Queen of the Universe,
the Advocate,
the hope,
the refuge of sinners,
I who am the most miserable of all sinners,
have recourse this day.
I venerate you,
great queen,
and I thank you for the many graces
you have bestowed upon me
even unto this day;

I love you, my dearest Lady;
and because of that love,
I promise to serve you willingly for ever
and to do what I can
to make you loved by others also.

I place in you all my hopes for salvation;
accept me as your servant
and shelter me under your mantle,
you who are the Mother of Mercy.
And since you are so powerful with God,
deliver me from all temptations,
or at least obtain for me
the strength to overcome them until death.

From you I implore a true love for Jesus Christ.
Through you I hope to die a holy death.
My dear Mother,
by your love for Almighty God,
I pray you to assist me always,
but most of all at the last moment of my life.
Forsake me not then,
until you shall see me safe in heaven,
there to bless you
and sing of your mercies through all eternity.
Such is my hope.
Amen

 Prayer to Our Lady

Prayer by St Alphonsus 

Most holy Virgin Immaculate,
my Mother Mary,
to you who are the Mother of my Lord,
the Queen of the Universe,
the Advocate,
the hope,
the refuge of sinners,
I who am the most miserable of all sinners,
have recourse this day.
I venerate you,
great queen,
and I thank you for the many graces
you have bestowed upon me
even unto this day;

I love you, my dearest Lady;
and because of that love,
I promise to serve you willingly for ever
and to do what I can
to make you loved by others also.

I place in you all my hopes for salvation;
accept me as your servant
and shelter me under your mantle,
you who are the Mother of Mercy.
And since you are so powerful with God,
deliver me from all temptations,
or at least obtain for me
the strength to overcome them until death.

From you I implore a true love for Jesus Christ.
Through you I hope to die a holy death.
My dear Mother,
by your love for Almighty God,
I pray you to assist me always,
but most of all at the last moment of my life.
Forsake me not then,
until you shall see me safe in heaven,
there to bless you
and sing of your mercies through all eternity.
Such is my hope.
Amen

A homily for the feast of St. Gerard Majella C.Ss.R., ...

A kind confrere offers us the following reflection...

SAINT GERARD MAJELLA C.Ss.R.

Writing or reading the lives of the saints is a challenging occupation.

Accounts of their lives can be so remote from our ordinary human experience that we find them so unattractive and de-humanised that there is no incentive to follow them. 

Gerard Majella's experience and living of the Christian and religious life was so out of the ordinary; yet he is an outstanding example of the Alphonsian tradition that has animated generations of Redemptorists:

the imitation of Christ the Redeemer;

in recalling his' infancy, his passion death and resurrection;

his abiding presence in the Eucharist;

a devotion to his Blessed Mother and the compelling desire to share these with ordinary people as we journey together.

In some ways Gerard is the most medieval of our saints, full of crazy gestures, even as a child yet moulded in the traditional devotions of  his contemporaries, the ordinary people of Muro.

The popular piety of Southern Italy at that time and even to this day is characterised by a profound sense of the supernatural, boundless confidence in the goodness of God and his providence; the mystery of the cross and a childlike attachment to our Blessed Lady and the intercession of the saints. It has been described as the poor peoples alternative to the liturgy. Some would describe this popular piety as an inferior state of faith, tinged with slight superstition, when in fact it is relating to the divine or supernatural in a different way.

Read more: A homily - St Gerard Majella C.Ss.R.

Prayer to Obtain Final Perseverance

Eternal Father, I humbly adore Thee, and thank Thee for having created me, and for having redeemed me through Jesus Christ. I thank Thee most sincerely for having made me a Christian, by giving me the true faith, and by adopting me as Thy son, in the sacrament of baptism. I thank Thee for having, after the numberless sins I had committed, waited for my repentance, and for having pardoned (as I humbly hope) all the offences which I have offered to Thee, and for which I am now sincerely sorry, because they have been displeasing to Thee, who art infinite goodness. I thank Thee for having preserved me from so many relapses, of which I would have been guilty if Thou hadst not protected me. But my enemies still continue, and will continue till death, to combat against me, and to endeavor to make me their slave. If Thou dost not constantly guard and succor me with thy aid, I, a miserable creature, shall return to sin, and shall certainly lose Thy grace. I beseech Thee, then, for the love of Jesus Christ, to grant me holy perseverance unto death. Jesus, Thy Son, has promised that Thou wilt grant whatsoever we ask in his name. Through the merits, then, of Jesus Christ, I beg, for myself and for all the just, the grace never again to be separated from Thy love, but to love Thee forever, in time and eternity. Mary, Mother of God, pray to Jesus for me. 

 

Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

Prayer to Obtain Final Perseverance

Eternal Father, I humbly adore Thee, and thank Thee for having created me, and for having redeemed me through Jesus Christ. I thank Thee most sincerely for having made me a Christian, by giving me the true faith, and by adopting me as Thy son, in the sacrament of baptism. I thank Thee for having, after the numberless sins I had committed, waited for my repentance, and for having pardoned (as I humbly hope) all the offences which I have offered to Thee, and for which I am now sincerely sorry, because they have been displeasing to Thee, who art infinite goodness. I thank Thee for having preserved me from so many relapses, of which I would have been guilty if Thou hadst not protected me. But my enemies still continue, and will continue till death, to combat against me, and to endeavor to make me their slave. If Thou dost not constantly guard and succor me with thy aid, I, a miserable creature, shall return to sin, and shall certainly lose Thy grace. I beseech Thee, then, for the love of Jesus Christ, to grant me holy perseverance unto death. Jesus, Thy Son, has promised that Thou wilt grant whatsoever we ask in his name. Through the merits, then, of Jesus Christ, I beg, for myself and for all the just, the grace never again to be separated from Thy love, but to love Thee forever, in time and eternity. Mary, Mother of God, pray to Jesus for me. 

 

Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

Meditation on the Blessed Sacrament

Meditation, wherever it is made,

pleases God.

But it seems that Jesus

especially delights in prayer

made before the Blessed Sacrament.

Did he not leave himself for us

in this sacrament

to be food for our spirit,

and to be present

for all who seek him?

We cannot all make pilgrimages

to the places where Jesus lived,

but the Lord who died for us

on the cross of Calvary

now dwells in person,

in the tabernacle – waiting.

We need not await a command

as we would of an earthly king,

to enter his presence –

He is waiting for us

to lay before him our wants

and to seek his help.

So that we may taste

the sweetness of his presence,

it is good to empty ourselves

of earthly desires.

   Be still and know

   That I am God. Psalm 46: 10

What pleasure is found in spending

a long time before the altar

where the Lord dwells!

What heavenly sweetness the Lord

allows us to taste and enjoy!

What should we do in the presence

of the Lord in the Eucharist?

We should stay there, not to enjoy

sweetness and consolation,

but to give pleasure to God

by making acts of love, saying

   O my God, I love

   and desire nothing but you.

   Grant that I may always love you;

   then do with me and all I possess

   as you please.

These acts of love,

even when made without sensible delight,

please god greatly.

For good people often have to bear

with distractions and dryness in prayer.

As for distractions,

of these we must not make much account.

It is enough to drive them away

when they come.

Do not on this account leave off prayer.

Saint Francis de Sales said:

   If, in meditation, we do nothing

   but drive away distractions,

   our meditation would be of great profit.

And as for dryness:

this is the greatest pain

for those given to prayer,

for we find ourselves without

any sensible desire of loving God.

Added to this, at times, is the fear

of being separated from God

because of our sins.

There is the feeling

of being in utter darkness

without any way of escape.

At such times let us unite our desolation

with that which Jesus suffered

on the cross.

If we can say nothing else,

it is enough to say,

at least by an act of the will:

   My God, I desire to love you.

   Have pity on me;

   Leave me not.

PRAYER of one in deep affliction.

My God, I love you tenderly

though I feel you far away.

I will seek you ceaselessly

lest from you I stray.

 AMEN.

Meditation on the Blessed Sacrament

Meditation, wherever it is made,

pleases God.

But it seems that Jesus

especially delights in prayer

made before the Blessed Sacrament.

Did he not leave himself for us

in this sacrament

to be food for our spirit,

and to be present

for all who seek him?

We cannot all make pilgrimages

to the places where Jesus lived,

but the Lord who died for us

on the cross of Calvary

now dwells in person,

in the tabernacle – waiting.

We need not await a command

as we would of an earthly king,

to enter his presence –

He is waiting for us

to lay before him our wants

and to seek his help.

So that we may taste

the sweetness of his presence,

it is good to empty ourselves

of earthly desires.

   Be still and know

   That I am God. Psalm 46: 10

What pleasure is found in spending

a long time before the altar

where the Lord dwells!

What heavenly sweetness the Lord

allows us to taste and enjoy!

What should we do in the presence

of the Lord in the Eucharist?

We should stay there, not to enjoy

sweetness and consolation,

but to give pleasure to God

by making acts of love, saying

   O my God, I love

   and desire nothing but you.

   Grant that I may always love you;

   then do with me and all I possess

   as you please.

These acts of love,

even when made without sensible delight,

please god greatly.

For good people often have to bear

with distractions and dryness in prayer.

As for distractions,

of these we must not make much account.

It is enough to drive them away

when they come.

Do not on this account leave off prayer.

Saint Francis de Sales said:

   If, in meditation, we do nothing

   but drive away distractions,

   our meditation would be of great profit.

And as for dryness:

this is the greatest pain

for those given to prayer,

for we find ourselves without

any sensible desire of loving God.

Added to this, at times, is the fear

of being separated from God

because of our sins.

There is the feeling

of being in utter darkness

without any way of escape.

At such times let us unite our desolation

with that which Jesus suffered

on the cross.

If we can say nothing else,

it is enough to say,

at least by an act of the will:

   My God, I desire to love you.

   Have pity on me;

   Leave me not.

PRAYER of one in deep affliction.

My God, I love you tenderly

though I feel you far away.

I will seek you ceaselessly

lest from you I stray.

 AMEN.

The Redemptorist Virtue for the month of May is...

Virtue: Poverty

Patron: St. Thomas

Text: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." Mt.5:3

Jesus identified with the poor. (See Mt 25:35-40.) Alphonsus insisted that we can begin to understand gospel poverty only when we begin to experience

"the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that for your sake he became poor although he was rich, so that by his poverty you might become rich" (2 Cor 8:9).

Alphonsus' writings and preaching reveal his conviction that gospel poverty (what he calls "poverty of spirit and a spirit of poverty " ) demands detachment of the heart from material possessions and worldly power. He encourages us to gain perspective by meditating on death as "the day of loss," when riches and possessions will be no more. He used to encourage young Redemptorists to "clean out their closets " at the time of retreat so they would not clutter up their lives with extra things. Perhaps we can all learn a lesson from this!

This month, why not go through your "riches" and choose one treasure to give away. If you find this too difficult, perhaps you can find a way to use that treasure to help another or to bring joy to someone.

Thanks to: www.redemptorists.com

The Redemptorist Virtue for the month of April is...

Virtue: Love of Neighbour

Patron: St. John

Text: "This is my commandment: love one another, as I have loved you.

A man can have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends." St John 15: 12-14

+++---+++---+++---+++---+++

The teaching of Jesus about the great law of love includes not only love for God but also, in an essential way, love for neighbour. (See Mt 22:34-40 and Lk 10:25-28.)

Alphonsus emphasized the reason for this gospel insistence on loving one's neighbour:

"Why, there-fore, must we love our neighbour? Because he or she is loved by God! We must love all whom God loves!"

On the practical level, Alphonsus provides two positive and two negative considerations for practicing this virtue.

On the positive side, he first encourages the spirit of peace. Though the followers of Jesus Christ, he noted, are from different nations and climes and are of unlike temperament and character, they can live peacefully together,

"for love would induce them to practice mutual forbearance."

Second, Alphonsus stresses almsgiving. This refers to the religious duty to help the poor and needy—not only out of our abundance but even, if necessary, out of what we consider essential for ourselves.

On the negative side, he strongly cautions against rash judgment.

"If you desire to practice the beautiful virtue of charity, strive to reject every rash judgment, every distrust and unfounded suspicion of your neighbour."

In addition, he warns against uncharitable speech, for there are many people

"who cannot move their tongues with-out wounding someone."

True Christians will avoid calumny and detraction and will always try to say only what is good about their neighbour.

During April, focus on how much God loves you.

In addition, become conscious of your comments about others.

Thanks to: www.redemptorists.com

Doctor Zelantissimus (Doctor Most Zealous)...

St. Alphonsus Liguori’s

50 Maxims for Attaining 

Perfection in the Love of Jesus Christ

1. To desire ardently to increase in the love of Jesus Christ

2. To make acts of love toward Jesus Christ.

Immediately on waking, and before going to sleep,

make an act of love, seeking always to unite your own will

to the will of Jesus Christ.

3. Often to meditate on His Passion.

4. Always to ask Jesus Christ for His love.

5. To communicate often and many times in the day to make spiritual communions.

6. Often to visit the Most Holy Sacrament.

7. Every morning to receive from the hands of Jesus Christ himself your own cross.

8. To desire Paradise and Death in order to be able to love Jesus Christ perfectly and for all eternity.

9. Often to speak of the love of Jesus Christ.

10. To accept contradictions for the love of Jesus Christ.

+ + +

11. To rejoice in the happiness of God.

12. To do that which is most pleasing to Jesus Christ,

and not to refuse Him anything that is agreeable to Him.

13. To desire and to endeavor that all should love Jesus Christ.

14. To pray always for sinners and for the souls in Purgatory.

15. To drive from your heart every affection

that does not belong to Jesus Christ.

16. Always to have recourse to the Most Holy Mary,

that she may obtain for us the love of Jesus Christ.

17. To honor Mary in order to please Jesus Christ.

18. To seek to please Jesus Christ in all of your actions.

19. To offer yourself to Jesus Christ to suffer any pain for His love.

20. To be always determined to die rather than commit a willful venial sin.

 + + +

21. To suffer crosses patiently, saying, “Thus it pleases Jesus Christ.”

22. To renounce your own pleasures for the love of Jesus Christ.

23. To pray as much as possible.

24. To practice all the mortifications that obedience permits.

25. To do all your spiritual exercises as if it were for the last time.

26. To persevere in good works in the time of aridity.

27. Not to do nor yet to leave undone anything through human respect.

28. Not to complain in sickness.

29. To love solitude, to be able to converse alone with Jesus Christ.

30. To drive away melancholy.

 + + +

31. Often to recommend yourself to those persons who love Jesus Christ.

32. In temptation, to have recourse to Jesus crucified, and to Mary in her sorrows.

33. To trust entirely in the Passion of Jesus Christ.

34. After committing a fault, not to be discouraged, but to repent and resolve to amend.

35. To do good to those who do evil.

36. To speak well of all, and to excuse the intention when you cannot defend the action.

37. To help your neighbor as much as you can.

38. Neither to say nor to do anything that might vex him.

And if you have been wanting in charity, to ask his pardon and to speak kindly to him.

39. Always to speak with mildness and in a low tone.

40. To offer to Jesus Christ all the contempts and persecution that you meet with.

 + + +

41. To look upon Superiors as the representatives of Jesus Christ.

42. To obey without answering and without repugnance,

and not to seek your own satisfaction in anything.

43. To like the lowest employments.

44. To like the poorest things.

45. Not to speak either good or evil of yourself.

46. To humble yourself even towards inferiors.

47. Not to excuse yourself when you are reproved.

48. Not to defend yourself when found fault with.

49. To be silent when you are disquieted.

50. Always to renew your determination of becoming a saint, saying,

“My Jesus, I desire to be all Thine, and Thou must be all mine.”