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Novena to Padre Pio: Day 5

raphael

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September 19, 2020

Long live Jesus! Your wounds are my merits!

Padre Pio’s feast is September 23. Let us grow closer to God through the writings and reflections of this great saint.Name your petition for this novena and then consider the following reflection from St. Pio:

I spent a terrible night, the night before last. Those Cossacks [the saint’s nickname for Satan] did nothing but strike me continually from towards 10 o’clock, when I went to bed, until 5 o’clock in the morning. They put many diabolical suggestions before me: thoughts of desperation, of a lack of trust in God. But long live Jesus! I protected myself by saying again and again to Jesus: ‘vulnera tua, merita mea‘ [your wounds are my merits].

~ From Words of Light

A powerful collection of prayers to the Holy Wounds of Christ

raphael

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September 19, 2020

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A powerful collection of prayers to the Holy Wounds of Christ

Enter into Jesus’ bitter pain with these prayers.

Starting in the 12th and 13th centuries, there arose an increase in devotion to the wounds Jesus’ endured during his passion. It was promoted by many saints as a way to foster a renewed love of Jesus, seeing how much he suffered on account of our sins.Most recently Pope Francis has promoted this devotion, reflecting on it at the Angelus address of March 18:

Do not forget this: look at the crucifix, but to look within it. There is this beautiful devotion to pray an Our Father for each one of the five wounds: when we pray that Our Father, we seek to enter through Jesus’ wounds inside, inside, right to His heart. And there we will learn the great wisdom of Christ’s mystery, the great wisdom of the cross.

Below and on the next several pages is one way to enter into the many wounds of Christ. It is called “Prayers to the Holy Wounds of Christ” found in the Raccolta, a collection that dates to the early 19th century.

Act of Contrition

As I kneel before Thee on the cross, most loving Savior of my soul, my conscience reproaches me with having nailed Thee to that cross with these hands of mine, as often as I have fallen into mortal sin, wearying Thee with my monstrous ingratitude. My God, my chief and most perfect Good, worthy of all my love, for the many blessings Thou hast ever bestowed upon me; I cannot now undo my misdeeds as I would most willingly; but I will loathe them, grieving greatly for having offended Thee who art Infinite Goodness! And now, kneeling at Thy feet, I will try at least to console Thee, to give Thee thanks, to ask of Thee pardon and contrition; wherefore with heart and lips I say:

To the First Wound – Left Foot

Holy wound of the Left Foot of my Jesus! I adore Thee, I console Thee for the most bitter pain which Thou didst suffer. I thank Thee for the love whereby Thou wast wearied in overtaking me on the way to ruin, and didst bleed amid the thorns and brambles of my sins. I offer to the Eternal Father the pain and love of Thy most holy humanity, in atonement for my sins, all which I detest with sincere and bitter contrition.

Recite an Our Father. Hail Mary and Glory Be.

Holy Mother, pierce me through,

In my heart each wound renew

Of my Savior crucified.

To the Second Wound – Right Foot

Holy wound of the Right Foot of my Jesus! I adore Thee, I console Thee for the bitter pain which Thou didst suffer. I thank Thee for that love which pierced Thee with such torture and shedding of blood in order to punish my wanderings and the guilty pleasures I have granted to my unbridled passions. I offer the Eternal Father all the pain and love of Thy most holy humanity, and I pray unto Thee for grace to weep over my transgressions with burning tears, and to enable me to persevere in the good which I have begun, without ever swerving again from my obedience to the commandments of my God.

Recite an Our Father. Hail Mary and Glory Be.

Holy Mother, pierce me through,

In my heart each wound renew

Of my Savior crucified.

To the Third Wound – Left Hand

Holy wound of the Left Hand of my Jesus! I adore Thee, I console Thee for the bitter pain which Thou didst suffer. I thank Thee for having, in Thy love, spared me the scourges and eternal damnation which my sins had merited. I offer to the Eternal Father the pain and love of Thy most holy humanity, and I pray Thee to teach me how to turn to good account my span of life, and bring forth in it worthy fruits of penance, and so disarm the justice of God, which I have provoked.

Recite an Our Father. Hail Mary and Glory Be.

Holy Mother, pierce me through,

In my heart each wound renew

Of my Savior crucified.

To the Fourth Wound – Right Hand

Holy wound of the Right Hand of my Jesus! I adore Thee, I console Thee for the bitter pain which Thou didst suffer. I thank Thee for Thy graces lavished on me with such love, in spite of all my most perverse obstinacy. I offer to the Eternal Father all the pain and love of Thy most holy humanity, and I pray Thee to change my heart and its affections, and make me do all my actions in accordance with the will of God.

Recite an Our Father. Hail Mary and Glory Be.

Holy Mother, pierce me through,

In my heart each wound renew

Of my Savior crucified.

To the Fifth Wound – Sacred Side

Holy wound in the side of my Jesus! I adore Thee, I console Thee for the cruel insult Thou didst suffer. I thank Thee, my Jesus, for the love which suffered Thy side and heart to be pierced, that so the last drops of blood and water might issue forth, making my redemption to abound. I offer to the Eternal Father this outrage, and the love of Thy most holy Humanity, that my soul may enter once for all into that most loving Heart, eager and ready to receive the greatest sinners, and never more depart.

Recite an Our Father. Hail Mary and Glory Be.

Holy Mother, pierce me through,

In my heart each wound renew

Of my Savior crucified.

Prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows

Mary, Virgin Mother of God, Martyr of love and sorrow, in witnessing the pains and torments of Jesus: truly didst thou concur in the great work of my redemption, first by thy innumerable afflictions, and then by the offering thou didst make to the Eternal Father of His and thy Only-begotten for a holocaust and victim of propitiation for my sins. I console thee for the bitter pain which thou didst suffer, I thank thee for that love, well-nigh infinite, through which thou didst bereave thyself of the fruit of thy womb, very God and very Man, to save me, a sinner; let thy intercession, which never returneth to thee void, be ever interposed with the Father and the Son for me; that I may steadily amend my evil ways, and never, by further faults, crucify afresh my loving Saviour; that so, persevering in His grace until death, I may obtain eternal life, through the merits of His dolorous Passion and Death upon the cross.

Recite 3 Hail Marys …

Let us pray.

O Lord Jesus Christ,

who at the sixth hour of the day didst,

for the redemption of the world,

mount the gibbet of the cross,

and shed Thy Precious Blood for the remission of sins;

we humbly beseech Thee to grant us,

after our deaths, a joyful entrance into the gates of Paradise.

Grant, we beseech Thee,

O Lord Jesus Christ, that now,

and at the hour of our death,

blessed Mary ever Virgin, Thy Mother,

may intercede for us,

through whose most holy soul

the sword passed in the hour of Thy Passion.

Through Thee, Jesus Christ, Savior of the world,

who with the Father and the Holy Spirit

livest and reignest for ever and ever.

Amen.

AND TODAY WE CELEBRATE… Saint of the Day: St. Januarius (SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19)

raphael

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September 19, 2020

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AND TODAY WE CELEBRATE… Saint of the Day: St. Januarius (SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19)

Celebrated for the Miracle of the Liquification of His Blood. Bishop and Martyr (d. ca. 305)

His life

+ Although we know little of the life of this early bishop of Naples, it is recorded that he died in the early Fourth Century.

+ According to tradition, Saint Januarius (San Gennaro) was born into a noble family and became the priest of the Christian community in Benevento, Italy. He was later elected bishop of Naples.

+ During the persecution of Christians by the Emperor Diocletian, Januarius helped hide his fellow Christians, protecting them from persecution.

+ Januarius was arrested as a leader of the Church and condemned to death. He was martyred around the year 305.

+ This saint is best known because of the miraculous liquification of the vials of his blood kept in the cathedral of Naples. Since the 17^th century, it has been recorded that the blood of Saint Januarius has liquified on certain feasts of the Church year and during visits of the Holy Father. Although scientists have sought explanations of the miracle, the liquification of the blood of Saint Januarius remains unexplained. This holy bishop and martyr is honored as the patron saint of those honored with diseases of the blood.

For prayer and reflection

“Blessed is the man who perseveres in temptation, for when he has been proved he will receive the crown of life that he promised to those who love him.”—James 1:12

Spiritual bonus

On this day we also remember the apparition of the Blessed Mother to two shepherd children nearly La Salette, France, in 1851. In the apparition, Christians were asked to focus on conversion and to focus on prayer and reparation to appease divine justice. Ultimately, the message of the apparition is a “message of hope, for our hope is nourished by the intercession of her who is the Mother of humankind.” The apparitions of Our Lady at La Salette were approved by Blessed Pope Pius IX in in 1851. Since 1852, the priests and brothers of the Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette have promoted the message of reconciliation and forgiveness promoted by the Blessed Mother in this miraculous encounter.

Prayer

O God, who grant us to venerate

the memory of the Martyr Saint Januarius,

give us, we pray, the joy of his company

in blessed happiness for all eternity.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

(from The Roman Missal)

Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.

PRAYER FOR THIS MORNING (SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19)

raphael

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September 19, 2020

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PRAYER FOR THIS MORNING (SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19)

Saint Januarius; Blessed Virgin Mary

Prayer for the Morning

In honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary,

let us praise God from age to age.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,

and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning,

is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia!

HYMN

O Lady, Queen of glory bright,

Set high above the stars in light,

You fed from your most holy breast

Your own Creator, ever blest.

The loss unhappy Eve has earned,

By this kind shoot you have returned,

That those who dwelt in dark dismay

Might rise and walk your starry way.

O doorway to the King of might,

And gateway to the gleaming light,

Let us who are redeemed applaud,

And through the Virgin live for God.

PSALM 45:11-18

A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. (Rv 12:1)

Mary, Queen of heaven and earth, is the figure of the Church, Spouse and Mother, brought to fulfillment in Christ.

Listen, O daughter, give ear to my words:

forget your own people and your father’s house.

So will the king desire your beauty:

He is your lord, pay homage to him.

And the people of Tyre shall come with gifts,

the richest of the people shall seek your favor.

The daughter of the king is clothed with splendor,

her robes embroidered with pearls set in gold.

She is led to the king with her maiden companions.

They are escorted amid gladness and joy;

they pass within the palace of the king.

Sons shall be yours in place of your fathers:

you will make them princes over all the earth.

May this song make your name for ever remembered.

May the peoples praise you from age to age.

Glory to the Father….

Word of God (Hosea 2:21-22)

I will espouse you to me forever:/ I will espouse you in right and in justice,/ in love and in mercy;/ I will espouse you in fidelity,/ and you shall know the Lord.

Behold, your mother. (Jn 19:27)

CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH

To the one who sits on the throne and to the Lamb/ be blessing and honor, glory and might,/ forever and ever. (Rv 5:13)

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;

he has come to his people and set them free.

He has raised up for us a mighty savior,

born of the house of his servant David.

Through his holy prophets he promised of old

that he would save us from our enemies,

from the hands of all who hate us.

He promised to show mercy to our fathers

and to remember his holy covenant.

This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:

to set us free from the hands of our enemies,

free to worship him without fear,

holy and righteous in his sight

all the days of our life.

You, my child, shall be called the prophet

of the Most High;

for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,

to give his people knowledge of salvation

by the forgiveness of their sins.

In the tender compassion of our God

the dawn from on high shall break upon us,

to shine on those who dwell in darkness

and the shadow of death,

and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Glory to the Father…

INTERCESSIONS

God has desired that the Church grow in beauty as we mirror the fidelity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in paying to him the homage of our obedience and praise. Through her, let us pray:

R/Hear our prayer.

You have given Mary to your people as queen:

– through her intercession, teach us to live according to the rule of your Kingdom. R/

You have given Mary to your people as the sign of our hope:

– through her intercession, grant us perseverance in growing toward the life to come. R/

You have given Mary to your people as Mother:

– through her intercession, bring us to eternal life. R/

(Personal intentions)

Our Father….

O God, by the fruitful virginity of Blessed Mary, you have given to the human race the reward of eternal life. Grant, we beseech you, that through the intercession of the Mother of the Author of Life, the Church may become the mother of many children who will take their place before your throne to sing your praises for all eternity, through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

PRAYER FOR THIS MORNING (SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19)

raphael

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September 18, 2020

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Prayer for the Evening

He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified,

died, and was buried:

let us worship him in grateful prayer!

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,

and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning,

is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia!

HYMN

In the Lord’s atoning grief

Be our rest and sweet relief;

Store we deep in heart’s recess

All the shame and bitterness.

Thorns, and cross, and nails, and lance,

Wounds, our treasure that enhance,

Vinegar, and gall, and reed,

And the pang his soul that freed.

May these all our spirits sate,

And with love inebriate;

In our souls plant virtue’s root,

And mature its glorious fruit.

PSALM 22:2-3, 17-19

He was pierced for our offenses,/ crushed for our sins,/ by his stripes we were healed. (cf. Is 53:5)

The Lord wept over the incurable wound which sin had inflicted on his people, seen in the reading as the virgin daughter. Yet he cured the wound by making it his own. He assumed our wounded humanity and healed it through the wounds he suffered on the cross.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

You are far from my plea and the cry of my distress.

O my God, I call by day and you give no reply;

I call by night and I find no peace.

Many dogs have surrounded me,

a band of the wicked beset me.

They tear holes in my hands and my feet

and lay me in the dust of death.

I can count every one of my bones.

These people stare at me and gloat;

they divide my clothing among them.

They cast lots for my robe.

Glory to the Father….

Word of God (Jeremiah 14:15a, 17)

Thus says the Lord: Speak to them this word:

Let my eyes stream with tears/ day and night, without rest,/ Over the great destruction which overwhelms/ the virgin daughter of my people,/ over her incurable wound.

Why is my pain continuous,/ my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? (Jer 15:18)

CANTICLE OF MARY

Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be un-believing, but believe.” (Jn 20:27)

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,

my spirit rejoices in God my Savior

for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:

the Almighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him

in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,

he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,

and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel

for he has remembered his promise of mercy,

the promise he made to our fathers,

to Abraham and his children for ever.

Glory to the Father…

INTERCESSIONS

Christ in glory bears the wounds he made his own and offers them to us as the pledge of his transforming love. In faith we pray:

R/Heal us, O Lord!

You knew the pain of torture:

– have mercy on those who suffer torture and death in our day. R/

You knew the unbearable burden of the cross:

– have mercy on those who fall under the burden of

life. R/

You knew the anguish of abandonment:

– have mercy on those who have been abandoned

by loved ones. R/

(Personal intentions)

Our Father….

May the God who is rich in mercy, because of his great love for us, bring us to life in Christ when we are dead in sin! Amen. (cf. Eph 2:4-5)

MARIAN ANTIPHON

Antiphon for the Feast of the Nativity

of the Blessed Virgin Mary,

8 September

With joy let us celebrate the nativity of blessed Mary,

that she may intercede for us

before the Lord Jesus Christ.

Salve, Regina, mater misericordiae;

vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve.

Ad te clamamus, exsules filii Evae.

Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes

in hac lacrimarum valle.

Eia ergo, advocata nostra,

illos tuos misericordes oculos

ad nos converte.

Et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui,

nobis post hoc exsilium ostende.

O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria.

Hail, holy Queen, mother of mercy,

our life, our sweetness, and our hope.

To you do we cry,

poor banished children of Eve.

To you do we send up our sighs,

mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.

Turn then, O most gracious advocate,

your eyes of mercy toward us,

and after this our exile

show unto us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus.

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

V/ Pray for us, O holy Mother of God,

R/ That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

PRAYER FOR THIS MORNING (FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18)

raphael

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September 18, 2020

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PRAYER FOR THIS MORNING (FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18)

Prayer for the Morning

Our God is a forgiving God: let us come before him

in humble supplication.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,

and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning,

is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia!

HYMN

With broken heart and contrite sigh,

A trembling sinner, Lord, I cry:

Thy pardoning grace is rich and free:

O God, be merciful to me.

I smite upon my troubled breast,

With deep and conscious guilt oppressed,

Christ and his cross my only plea:

O God, be merciful to me.

Far off I stand with tearful eyes,

Nor dare uplift them to the skies;

But thou dost all my anguish see:

O God, be merciful to me.

Nor alms, nor deeds that I have done,

Can for a single sin atone;

To Calvary alone I flee:

O God, be merciful to me.

PSALM 31:10-13, 15, 17

I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.” (Lk 15:18)

The story of the prodigal son is the story of each one of us when we choose, foolishly, to cast away the home we have with God for a cold and hungry exile. Let us never hesitate to return and confess our sins, for we will always find the prodigal’s welcome from a Father who loves us more than we can ever imagine.

Have mercy on me, O Lord,

for I am in distress.

Tears have wasted my eyes,

my throat and my heart.

For my life is spent with sorrow

and my years with sighs.

Affliction has broken down my strength

and my bones waste away.

In the face of all my foes

I am a reproach,

an object of scorn to my neighbors

and of fear to my friends.

Those who see me in the street

run far away from me.

I am like a dead man, forgotten,

like a thing thrown away.

But as for me, I trust in you, Lord,

I say: “You are my God.

Let your face shine on your servant.

Save me in your love.”

Glory to the Father….

Word of God (Luke 15:1-2)

The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to [Jesus], but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

Happy the man whose offense is forgiven,/

whose sin is remitted. (Ps 32:1)

CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH

Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found. (Lk 15:23-24)

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;

he has come to his people and set them free.

He has raised up for us a mighty savior,

born of the house of his servant David.

Through his holy prophets he promised of old

that he would save us from our enemies,

from the hands of all who hate us.

He promised to show mercy to our fathers

and to remember his holy covenant.

This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:

to set us free from the hands of our enemies,

free to worship him without fear,

holy and righteous in his sight

all the days of our life.

You, my child, shall be called the prophet

of the Most High;

for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,

to give his people knowledge of salvation

by the forgiveness of their sins.

In the tender compassion of our God

the dawn from on high shall break upon us,

to shine on those who dwell in darkness

and the shadow of death,

and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Glory to the Father…

INTERCESSIONS

With contrite hearts, let us pray to our loving Father:

R/Lord, have mercy on us!

When we foolishly squander the heritage of grace that is ours in Christ: R/

When we wander away from our true home in you to seek illusory pleasures that leave us lonely and hungry of heart: R/

When we recognize our sin but fear to turn to you: R/

(Personal intentions)

Our Father….

O God of mercy and of love, hear us in our sin and grant us your forgiveness through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

PRAYER FOR THIS EVENING (THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17)

raphael

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September 17, 2020

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PRAYER FOR THIS EVENING (THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17)

Prayer for the Evening

Your love, Lord, reaches to heaven;/

your truth to the skies: to you we pray. (cf. Ps 36:6)

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,

and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning,

is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia!

HYMN

Close beside the heart that loves me

Would I rest in sorrow’s hour,

With a Father’s smile above me,

And beneath—an arm of power.

Weak and worthless, worn and weary,

Welcome bids my faith be strong;

Sorrow’s hour is short, if dreary,

Joy shall last through ages long.

Dark the hour, but comes the morrow,

Dawn shall waken by and by;

Light shall gild the clouds of sorrow

When the sun is in the sky.

Rest, my soul: that love unfailing

Strengthens in the hour of woe—

For the pain your life assailing

Found him when he dwelt below.

PSALM 18:2-7, 14, 17-20

Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit. (Rom 5:5)

In the evening, when our strength is worn low by the day behind us and the darkness of night awaits us, it is easy to grow downcast. Let us put our hope in Christ our Savior, our strength and our joy.

I love you, Lord, my strength,

my rock, my fortress, my savior.

My God is the rock where I take refuge;

my shield, my mighty help, my stronghold.

The Lord is worthy of all praise:

when I call I am saved from my foes.

The waves of death rose about me;

the torrents of destruction assailed me;

the snares of the grave entangled me;

the traps of death confronted me.

In my anguish I called to the Lord;

I cried to my God for help.

From his temple he heard my voice;

my cry came to his ears.

The Lord thundered in the heavens;

the Most High let his voice be heard.

From on high he reached down and seized me;

he drew me forth from the mighty waters.

He snatched me from my powerful foe,

from my enemies whose strength I could not match.

They assailed me in the day of my misfortune,

but the Lord was my support.

He brought me forth into freedom,

he saved me because he loved me.

Glory to the Father….

Word of God (1 Peter 3:18)

For Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, that he might lead you to God. Put to death in the flesh, he was brought to life in the spirit.

My savior and my God! (Ps 42:6)

CANTICLE OF MARY

He leads me in right paths/ for his name’s sake. (cf. Ps 23:3)

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,

my spirit rejoices in God my Savior

for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:

the Almighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him

in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,

he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,

and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel

for he has remembered his promise of mercy,

the promise he made to our fathers,

to Abraham and his children for ever.

Glory to the Father…

INTERCESSIONS

As evening comes upon the world, we ask on behalf of all in need:

R/We hope in you, O God.

For those who have been deceived, cheated, and betrayed:

– restore their trust in others and in you. R/

For the weak and weary:

– strengthen them with the light and fidelity of

Christ. R/

For those who are tempted to take their own lives:

– renew them in hope and in courage. R/

For those who live in places where no one is permitted to go before your altar:

– grant them the freedom to worship both in their hearts and in public. R/

(Personal intentions)

Our Father….

May the God of peace himself make us perfect in holiness. May he preserve us whole and entire, spirit, soul, and body, irreproachable at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (cf. 1 Thes 5:23)

MARIAN ANTIPHON

Antiphon for the Feast of the Nativity

of the Blessed Virgin Mary,

8 September

With joy let us celebrate the nativity of blessed Mary,

that she may intercede for us

before the Lord Jesus Christ.

Salve, Regina, mater misericordiae;

vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve.

Ad te clamamus, exsules filii Evae.

Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes

in hac lacrimarum valle.

Eia ergo, advocata nostra,

illos tuos misericordes oculos

ad nos converte.

Et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui,

nobis post hoc exsilium ostende.

O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria.

Hail, holy Queen, mother of mercy,

our life, our sweetness, and our hope.

To you do we cry,

poor banished children of Eve.

To you do we send up our sighs,

mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.

Turn then, O most gracious advocate,

your eyes of mercy toward us,

and after this our exile

show unto us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus.

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

V/ Pray for us, O holy Mother of God,

R/ That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Novena to Padre Pio: Day 4

raphael

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September 17, 2020

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Hold me so closely to Thee, with a bond so tight and so sweet, that I shall never again abandon Thee …

Padre Pio’s feast is September 23. Let us grow closer to God through the writings and reflections of this great saint.Name your petition for this novena and then consider the following reflection from St. Pio:

I unite all to Thy merits, to Thy pains, Thy expiations, Thy tears, that I may cooperate with Thee for my salvation and flee from sin, which was the sole cause of making Thee sweat blood and which led Thee to death.

Destroy in me everything that does not please Thee, and with the sacred fire of Thy love write Thy sufferings into my heart.

Hold me so closely to Thee, with a bond so tight and so sweet, that I shall never again abandon Thee in Thy sufferings. May I be able to rest on Thy Heart to obtain comfort in the sufferings of life. May my spirit have no other desire but to live at Thy side in the Garden and unite itself to the pains of Thy Heart. May my soul be inebriated with Thy Blood and feed itself with the bread of Thy sufferings. Amen.

~ Taken from “The Agony of Jesus”

AND TODAY WE CELEBRATE… Saint of the Day: St. Hildegard of Bingen (THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17)

raphael

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September 17, 2020

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AND TODAY WE CELEBRATE… Saint of the Day: St. Hildegard of Bingen (THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17)

“A feather on the breath of God”, Benedictine Abbess and Doctor of the Church (1098-1179)

Her life

+ Hildegard was educated by the anchoress Blessed Jutta. As other women joined Jutta, a community of nuns developed and the sisters chose to adopt the Rule of St. Benedict as their rule of life. Hildegard officially joined this community when she was 15 years old.

+ At the age of 32, Hildegard began to experience visions and private revelations and, in 1136, she succeeded Jutta as abbess.

+ Encouraged by Blessed Pope Eugene III and Saint Bernard of Clarivaux, Hildegard began to dictate and artistically render her visions, creating what would come to be known as the Scivias.

+ Sometime between 1147 and 1152, she established a new community at Bingen. From this base, she counseled and corrected a number of political and church leaders.

+ Saint Hildegard died in 1179 and is celebrated for her poems, hymns, plays, as well as works on medicine and natural history.

+ In 2012, Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed Hildegard a Doctor of the Church.

For prayer and reflection

“The spiritual life must be tended with great dedication. At first the effort is burdensome because it demands the renunciation of caprices of the pleasures of the flesh and of other such things. But if she lets herself be enthralled by holiness a holy soul will find even contempt for the world sweet and lovable.”—Saint Hildegard of Bingen

Spiritual bonus

September 17 is the commemoration of another Doctor of the Church, the Jesuit cardinal Saint Robert Bellarmine (d. 1621).

Prayer

O God, by whose grace your servant Hildegard,

kindled with the Fire of your love,

became a burning and shining light in your Church:

Grant that we also may be aflame

with the spirit of love and discipline,

and walk before you as children of light;

through Jesus Christ our Lord,

who lives and reigns with you,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever.

Amen.

(from Holy Women, Holy Men)

Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.

PRAYER FOR THIS MORNING (THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17)

raphael

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September 17, 2020

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PRAYER FOR THIS MORNING (THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17)

Saint Robert Bellarmine

Prayer for the Morning

All who are thirsty, come to the living waters!

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,

and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning,

is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia!

HYMN

From all the wind’s wide quarters,

Come, see the feast is spread,

Of soul-sustaining waters,

Of true and living bread;

Of sorrows long-departed,

And joys beyond compare:

Come, poor and humble-hearted,

The feast of life to share!

Come, claim the promise spoken!

God’s purpose stands secure.

His fruitful word unbroken

Shall evermore endure.

All ancient bondage ended

To sin’s corrupting powers,

Forgiven, freed, befriended,

The feast of life is ours!

PSALM 42:2-4, 8-10, 12

Jesus said: “Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink.” (cf. Jn 7:37)

This psalm reflects the shifting moods of down-heartedness, questioning, and confident joy that can affect the committed believer in the face of the questions and taunts of a disbelieving world. Yet the tears and torrents of discouragement have no power over the waters of life with which God’s love renews us.

Like the deer that yearns

for running streams,

so my soul is yearning

for you, my God.

My soul is thirsting for God,

the God of my life;

when can I enter and see

the face of God?

My tears have become my bread,

by night, by day,

as I hear it said all the day long:

“Where is your God?”

Deep is calling on deep,

in the roar of waters:

your torrents and all your waves

swept over me.

By day the Lord will send

his loving kindness;

by night I will sing to him,

praise the God of my life.

I will say to God, my rock:

“Why have you forgotten me?

Why do I go mourning

oppressed by the foe?”

Why are you cast down, my soul,

why groan within me?

Hope in God; I will praise him still,

my savior and my God.

Glory to the Father….

Word of God (Isaiah 55:1)

All you who are thirsty,/ come to the water!/ You who have no money,/ come, receive grain and eat;/ Come, without paying and without cost,/ drink wine and milk!

Lord, give us always this water to drink! (cf. Jn 4:15)

CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH

Whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst. (Jn 4:14)

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;

he has come to his people and set them free.

He has raised up for us a mighty savior,

born of the house of his servant David.

Through his holy prophets he promised of old

that he would save us from our enemies,

from the hands of all who hate us.

He promised to show mercy to our fathers

and to remember his holy covenant.

This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:

to set us free from the hands of our enemies,

free to worship him without fear,

holy and righteous in his sight

all the days of our life.

You, my child, shall be called the prophet

of the Most High;

for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,

to give his people knowledge of salvation

by the forgiveness of their sins.

In the tender compassion of our God

the dawn from on high shall break upon us,

to shine on those who dwell in darkness

and the shadow of death,

and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Glory to the Father…

INTERCESSIONS (cf. Saint Ambrose)

Let us pray to Christ, in whom all thirst is slaked:

R/Give us living water to drink!

You are the vine:

– bear in us the fruit of life. R/

You are the rock in the desert from which the waters flow:

– cool our weary souls with the living waters of your Holy Spirit. R/

You are the living Word:

– bring life to those who grope for a sense of purpose in life. R/

(Personal intentions)

Our Father….

Ever-living God, you have given us the water of life to drink through Christ—vine, rock, Word. Make us so thirst for him that we will turn aside from all lesser thirsts, through him who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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Long live Jesus! Your wounds are my merits!

Enter into Jesus’ bitter pain with these prayers.

Act of Contrition

To the First Wound – Left Foot

To the Second Wound – Right Foot

To the Third Wound – Left Hand

To the Fourth Wound – Right Hand

To the Fifth Wound – Sacred Side

Prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows

Let us pray.

Celebrated for the Miracle of the Liquification of His Blood. Bishop and Martyr (d. ca. 305)

His life

For prayer and reflection

Spiritual bonus

Prayer

Prayer for the Morning

HYMN

PSALM 45:11-18

Word of God (Hosea 2:21-22)

CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH

INTERCESSIONS

Prayer for the Evening

HYMN

PSALM 22:2-3, 17-19

Word of God (Jeremiah 14:15a, 17)

CANTICLE OF MARY

INTERCESSIONS

MARIAN ANTIPHON

Prayer for the Morning

HYMN

PSALM 31:10-13, 15, 17

Word of God (Luke 15:1-2)

CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH

INTERCESSIONS

Prayer for the Evening

HYMN

PSALM 18:2-7, 14, 17-20

Word of God (1 Peter 3:18)

CANTICLE OF MARY

INTERCESSIONS

MARIAN ANTIPHON

Hold me so closely to Thee, with a bond so tight and so sweet, that I shall never again abandon Thee …

“A feather on the breath of God”, Benedictine Abbess and Doctor of the Church (1098-1179)

Her life

For prayer and reflection

Spiritual bonus

Prayer

Prayer for the Morning

HYMN

PSALM 42:2-4, 8-10, 12

Word of God (Isaiah 55:1)

CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH

INTERCESSIONS (cf. Saint Ambrose)

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