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How to pray “The Crown of Twelve Stars” devotion

leojohn

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October 2, 2019

How to pray “The Crown of Twelve Stars” devotion

Written by St. Joseph Calasanz and inspired by the book of Revelation.

In the book of Revelation St. John records seeing “a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars” (Revelation 12:1). Traditionally this image is linked to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and throughout history she has been depicted in art with a crown of 12 stars.

In the 17th century, Spanish priest St. Joseph Calasanz had a deep devotion to the Virgin Mary and composed “The Crown of Twelve Stars.” It is a prayer in honor of the Blessed Mother and is a direct reference to this passage in Revelation. Often these prayers are prayed on a special chaplet designed for it, though a chaplet is not required.

Below is a description of how to pray it from The Raccolta, a collection of prayers that dates to the early 19th century.

Let us offer praise and thanksgiving to the Most Holy Trinity, Who hath shown us the Virgin Mary, clothed with the sun, the moon between her feet, and on her head a mystic crown of twelve stars.
R. For ever and ever. Amen.

Let us praise and thank the Divine Father, Who elected her for His daughter.
R. Amen.
Our Father.

Praised be the Divine Father, Who predestined her to be the Mother of His Divine Son.
R. Amen.
Hail Mary.

Praised be the Divine Father, Who preserved her from all stain in her conception.
R. Amen.
Hail Mary.

Praised be the Divine Father, Who adorned her at birth with His most excellent gifts.
R. Amen.
Hail Mary.

Praised be the Divine Father, Who gave her Saint Joseph to be her companion and most pure spouse.
R. Amen.
Hail Mary and Glory be.

Let us praise and thank the Divine Son, Who chose her for His mother.
R. Amen.
Our Father.

Praised be the Divine Son, Who became incarnate in her bosom and there abode for nine months.
R. Amen.
Hail Mary.

Praised be the Divine Son, Who was born of her and was nourished at her breast.
R. Amen.
Hail Mary.

Praised be the Divine Son, Who in His childhood willed to be taught by her.
R. Amen.
Hail Mary.

Praised be the Divine Son, Who revealed to her the mystery of the Redemption of the world.
R. Amen.
Hail Mary and Glory be.

Let us praise and thank the Holy Spirit, Who took her for His spouse.
R. Amen.
Our Father.

Praised be the Holy Spirit, Who, revealed first to her His Name of Holy Spirit.
R. Amen.
Hail Mary.

Praised be the Holy Spirit, by Whose operation she was at once Virgin and Mother.
R. Amen.
Hail Mary.

Praised be the Holy Spirit, by Whose power she was the living-temple of the ever-blessed Trinity.
R. Amen.
Hail Mary.

Praised be the Holy Spirit, by Whom she was exalted in Heaven above every living creature.
R. Amen.
Hail Mary and Glory be.

A powerful prayer a mother can pray for her children

leojohn

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October 2, 2019

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A powerful prayer a mother can pray for her children

In heaven, united forever, may we delight in your presence for eternity.

Pray this prayer to entrust your children to God’s care.

God, my Father, I offer you my children;
You gave them to me. They belong to you always;
Help me raise them in your ways. I ask you
to guide them into your glory.

Lord, may egotism, ambition, and evil
never dissuade them from the narrow path.
May they have strength to fight against wrong
and may righteousness be always the goal of their actions.

In this world of so much evil, Lord,
you know our weaknesses
and how evil often glitters and attracts;
but you are with us
and I place my children under your protection.

Give them light, strength, and joy on this earth, Lord,
so that they live for you during this journey here below;
and so that in heaven, united forever,
we may delight in your presence for eternity.

Amen.

Pope proposes this 14-word beautiful prayer for when you’re losing hope

leojohn

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September 30, 2019

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Pope proposes this 14-word beautiful prayer for when you’re losing hope

We need to turn to him who can open the doors and solve our problems …

Pope Francis dedicated a series of Wednesday audience addresses to the theme of hope. During one of the audiences in September 2017, he considered hope’s enemies. He offered a “beautiful prayer” for the moments when hope is waning.

The Holy Father began the audience speaking about the Greek myth of Pandora’s Box and how hope has been the virtue that has always brought mankind forward.

Hope is the most divine thing that can exist in man’s heart, he said.

“A French prophet—Charles Péguy—left us stupendous pages about hope,” the pope continued, referring to The Gateway of the Mystery of the Second Virtue.

“He poetically states that God isn’t amazed by the faith of human beings, nor much less by their love; what really fills him with wonder and emotion is people’s hope.

‘The fact that those poor children,’ he writes, ‘see how things are going, and believe that they will be better tomorrow.’”

Pope Francis suggested that never needing to hope for anything is actually a weakness.

“Sometimes, having had everything in life is a form of adversity,” he proposed. “Think of a young person who has never been taught the virtue of hope, nor that of patience, who has never had to sweat for anything, who has grown up too soon and, at the age of 20, ‘knows the ways of the world …’ He has been condemned to the worst sentence: that of not wanting anything anymore. That’s the worst punishment. Closing the door to desires, to dreams. He looks young, but actually, autumn is already taking over his heart. They are the autumn youth.”

Francis also warned that anyone can be subject to temptations against hope, even those on the path of the Christian life.

In this regard, he said, “the monks of antiquity denounced one of the worst enemies of fervor. This is what they said: The ‘noonday devil’ is going to break a life of commitment, precisely when the sun is shining high in the sky. This temptation surprises us when we least expect it: Our days become monotonous and boring, and no ideal seems worth the effort anymore. This attitude is called apathy, and it corrodes life from within, until leaving it like an empty container.”

The pope said that a Christian must fight this apathy. “God created us for joy and happiness, and not for wallowing in melancholic thoughts,” he said. “This is why it is important to take care of our own heart, opposing our tendencies to unhappiness, which surely do not come from God.”

And he gave this advice for when “our energy seems weak and the battle against anxiety is particularly difficult”:

We can always call on the name of Jesus. We can repeat this simple prayer, of which we find traces in the Gospels, and which has become the foundation of so many Christian spiritual traditions:

‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’ It’s a beautiful prayer. ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’

This is a prayer of hope, because I am turning to him who can open the doors and solve my problems, and make me see the horizon, the horizon of hope.

A forgotten prayer to St. Michael against the assaults of evil

leojohn

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September 27, 2019

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A forgotten prayer to St. Michael against the assaults of evil

The prayer dates to the 9th century and invokes the Archangel’s protection from the enemy of our souls.

While many are familiar with the traditional “St. Michael Prayer” of Pope Leo XIII, it is not the only prayer of the Church to the Holy Archangel.

In the Raccolta, a collection of prayers that dates to the early 19th century, there is listed a prayer/hymn to St. Michael the Archangel that has a long history, but is now rarely used.

It is entitled “Te splendor et virtus Patris,” and while it has often been set to music, Pope Pius VII in 1817 encouraged the faithful to “say the following hymn [with contrite hearts and devotion], with the antiphon and prayer, in honor of St. Michael the Archangel; to obtain for themselves the mighty aid which his patronage affords to all in the assaults of the enemy of man, and in all temptations, whether in life or at the hour of death.”

The original text of the hymn has been ascribed to Blessed Rabanus Maurus, a Benedictine monk of the 9th century. He is also believed to be the author of the hymn Veni Creator Spiritus.

Below is an English translation of the hymn based on the Latin text found in the Raccolta.

O Jesus, lifespring of the soul,
The Father’s power, and glory bright!
Thee with the angels we extol;
From Thee they draw their life and light.

Thy thousand thousand hosts are spread
Embattled o‘er the azure sky;
But Michael bears Thy standard dread,
And lifts the mighty Cross on high.

He in that sign the rebel powers
Did with their dragon prince expel;
And hurl’d them from the heaven’s high towers
Down like a thunderbolt to hell.

Grant us with Michael still, O Lord,
Against the Prince of Pride to fight;
So may a crown be our reward,
Before the Lamb’s pure throne of light.

To God the Father glory be,
And to his sole-begotten Son;
The same, O Holy Ghost, to Thee,
While everlasting ages run.

Ant. Most glorious Prince, Michael the Archangel, be thou mindful of us; here, and in all places, pray for us to the Son of God most high.

V. I wilt sing praises to Thee, my God, before the Angels.
R. I will adore Thee in Thy holy temple, and praise Thy Name.

Let us pray.
O God, who in the dispensation of Thy providence dost admirably dispose the ministry of angels and of men; mercifully grant that the Holy Angels, who ever minister before Thy throne in heaven, may be the protectors also of our life on earth. Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Prayer for deliverance from evil through the intercession of Mary

leojohn

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September 25, 2019

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Prayer for deliverance from evil through the intercession of Mary

“Send thy holy Angels, that under thy command and by thy power, they may pursue the evil spirits.”

According to exorcists and popes, the devil despises the Virgin Mary and flees from her presence. Her humility was so radical that it crushes the “proud head” of Satan and is the surest defense against him and his attacks.

As the devil told Fr. Amorth, “She makes me angry because she is the humblest of all creatures, and because I am the proudest; because she is the purest of all creatures, and I am not; because, of all creatures, she is the most obedient to God, and I am a rebel!”

In light of this reality, it is appropriate to pray for the deliverance of evil spirits through the intercession of the Virgin Mary.

Below is a powerful prayer written by an unknown Bernardine sister during the 1930s. It was approved by the Archbishop of New York in 1936 and has since been distributed through various prayers books. The prayer invokes the aid of Mary, “Queen of Heaven,” to send down a host of angels, ready to do battle against the evil one.

August Queen of Heaven, sovereign Mistress of the Angels, who didst receive from the beginning the mission and the power to crush the serpent’s head, we beseech thee to send thy holy angels, that under thy command and by thy power, they may pursue the evil spirits, encounter them on every side, resist their bold attacks, and drive them hence into the abyss of woe.

Most holy Mother, send thy angels to defend us and to drive the cruel enemy from us.

All ye holy Angels and Archangels, help and defend us. Amen.

O good and tender Mother! Thou shalt ever be our Love and our Hope.

Holy Angels and Archangels, keep and defend us. Amen

This prayer to St. Anthony is said to have “never been known to fail”

leojohn

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September 23, 2019

2

This prayer to St. Anthony is said to have “never been known to fail”

Provided it is said in faith and for a particular spiritual benefit

St. Anthony of Padua is known by many as a miracle-worker. A countless number of people over the centuries have prayed to him in faith and have received a miraculous response to their prayers.

Similar to the “Unfailing Prayer to St. Joseph,” this prayer to St. Anthony, according to many, “has never been known to fail, provided that the request is for one’s spiritual benefit or for those whom we are praying for.”

It is important to remember God always answers our prayers. His response may not always be what we expected or wanted, but he always grants us exactly what we need.

Here is the Unfailing Prayer to St. Anthony that many continue to pray with a deep trust that God will provide for them in their need.

O Holy St. Anthony gentlest of Saints, your love for God and charity for His creatures, made you worthy, when on earth, to possess miraculous powers. Encouraged by this thought, I implore you to obtain for me (request).

O gentle and loving St. Anthony, whose heart was ever full of human sympathy, whisper my petition into the ears of the sweet Infant Jesus, who loved to be folded in your arms. The gratitude of my heart will ever be yours. Amen.

Padre Pio’s prayer to cast out fear, even fear of death

leojohn

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September 22, 2019

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Padre Pio’s prayer to cast out fear, even fear of death

Stay with me tonight, Jesus, in life with all its dangers. I need You.

Stay with me, Jesus, for it is getting late and the day is coming to a close, and life passes;
death, judgment, eternity approaches. It is necessary to renew my strength,
so that I will not stop along the way and for that, I need You.

It is getting late and death approaches,
I fear the darkness, the temptations, the dryness, the cross, the sorrows.
O how I need You, my Jesus, in this night of exile!

Stay with me tonight, Jesus, in life with all its dangers. I need You.

Let me recognize You as Your disciples did at the breaking of the bread,
so that the Eucharistic Communion be the Light which disperses the darkness,
the force which sustains me, the unique joy of my heart.

Stay with me, Lord, because at the hour of my death, I want to remain united to You,
if not by communion, at least by grace and love.

Stay with me, Jesus, I do not ask for divine consolation, because I do not merit it,
but the gift of Your Presence, oh yes, I ask this of You!

Stay with me, Lord, for it is You alone I look for,
Your Love, Your Grace, Your Will, Your Heart, Your Spirit,
because I love You and ask no other reward but to love You more and more.

With a firm love, I will love You with all my heart while on earth
and continue to love You perfectly during all eternity. Amen

A powerful prayer for the healing of a loved one

raphael

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September 21, 2019

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A powerful prayer for the healing of a loved one

“All our times are in Thy hand. All diseases come at Thy call, and go at Thy bidding.”

We all have someone in our lives who is in need of healing. Whether it be physical or spiritual, healing is needed by almost everyone in some measure — because we live in a fallen world and suffer the painful consequences of sin.

God allows difficulties to occur, knowing that he is able to work them together for our greater good, though it is not always easy to see this at first. At the same time, God is a God of healing and will often extend his healing touch when he hears our cries and prayers, delivering us from the suffering we endure.

Just as he healed many during his life on earth, he continues to heal countless souls from his heavenly throne. Below is a simple yet powerful prayer for the healing of a loved one.

All our times are in Thy hand. All diseases come at Thy call, and go at Thy bidding.
Thou redeemest our life from destruction, and crownest us with loving kindness and tender mercies. We bless Thee, that Thou hast heard prayer, and commanded deliverances for our friend and Thy servant, who has been under Thine afflicting hand.

He (or she) was brought low, but Thou hast helped him (her). May he (she) not only live, but declare the works of the Lord!

As Thou hast delivered his eyes from tears, his feet from falling, and his soul from death, may he daily inquire: What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me, and resolve to offer unto Thee the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and to call upon the name of the Lord.

May we ever remember that recovery is only a reprieve and that someday we will go to our rest in the Lord. May we therefore secure the righteous path and live with eternity ever in our view.

This prayer to St. Joseph can help you prepare for confession

raphael

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September 21, 2019

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This prayer to St. Joseph can help you prepare for confession

Prepare your soul to receive the boundless mercy of God.

Going to confession can sometimes be a daunting task, especially if we haven’t been confession in a long time and have more than a few major sins on our soul. It is a struggle that we all have to face, but we don’t have to face it alone.

Not only is God with us during these moments, but also all the saints and angels! They are here to support us and urge us on to avail ourselves to the boundless mercy of God.

To help remind us of this reality, below is a short prayer that can be prayed before going to confession. This will help prepare the soul for the great sacrament of mercy while invoking the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph.

Receive my confession, O most loving and gracious Lord Jesus Christ, only hope for the salvation of my soul. Grant to me true contrition of soul, so that day and night I may by penance make satisfaction for my many sins.

Savior of the world, O good Jesus, Who gave Yourself to the death of the Cross to save sinners, look upon me, most wretched of all sinners; have pity on me, and give me the light to know my sins, true sorrow for them, and a firm purpose of never committing them again.

O gracious Virgin Mary, Immaculate Mother of Jesus, I implore you to obtain for me by your powerful intercession these graces from your Divine Son.

St. Joseph, pray for me.

This one prayer makes the devil cringe

leojohn

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September 20, 2019

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He couldn’t stand it then and it makes him furious when someone says it now.

Satan thoroughly despises humans, but above all he hates those who recite a particular prayer from the depths of their heart. It is a prayer the directly contradicts what he proclaimed to God when he led a rebellion against the heavenly hosts.

There are many traditions surrounding Satan’s rebellion against God at the beginning of time. One of them relates the devil’s outright refusal to serve God. Various spiritual writers have interpreted the following passage in Jeremiah to be a perfect description of Lucifer’s fall from Heaven.

For long ago you broke your yoke
and burst your bonds;
and you said, “I will not serve.” (Jeremiah 2:20)

Writer John Milton wrote a famous poem in the 17th century called Paradise Lost, and in it he assigns that particular phrase, “I will not serve” to Satan himself. He uses the Latin non serviam to summarize Satan’s stark disobedience.

It should come as no surprise that the prayer that Satan abhors the most is the opposite phrase, “I will serve” (serviam in Latin). St. Josemaria Escriva meditates on this “flipping the coin” in The Way.

The non serviam of Satan has been too fruitful. Don’t you feel the generous urge to express your daily desire for prayer and work with a serviam — I will serve you, I will be faithful! — which will surpass in fruitfulness that cry of revolt?

Many people around the world say this short and simple prayer of Serviam (“I will serve”) at the start of each day, pledging their life to God. It is a prayer of the heart, one that stands in stark contrast to the non serviam (“I will not serve”) of Satan.

It is a similar prayer to the “Jesus Prayer” that Eastern Christians are familiar with and can be prayed over and over again throughout the day. It is even a prayer that can be said when faced with a temptation, adding, “I will serve God.”

The Blessed Virgin Mary said a similar phrase at the Annunciation when she said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38) The primary phrase of her humble obedience in Latin is fiat, or in English “let it be done.” For this reason Satan hates the Blessed Mother, as he revealed to Fr. Gabriele Amorth in a dialogue he had with a demon.

Father Amorth: “What are the virtues of the Madonna that make you angriest?”
Demon: “She makes me angry because she is the humblest of all creatures, and because I am the proudest; because she is the purest of all creatures, and I am not; because, of all creatures, she is the most obedient to God, and I am a rebel!”

Being a servant of God is the true goal of the Christian life, as Jesus himself explains in the Gospel of John.

If any one serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there shall my servant be also; if any one serves me, the Father will honor him. (John 12:26)

The next time you are looking for a prayer to show your steadfast loyalty to God and trust in his divine providence, simply say “I will serve.”

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Written by St. Joseph Calasanz and inspired by the book of Revelation.

In heaven, united forever, may we delight in your presence for eternity.

We need to turn to him who can open the doors and solve our problems …

The prayer dates to the 9th century and invokes the Archangel’s protection from the enemy of our souls.

“Send thy holy Angels, that under thy command and by thy power, they may pursue the evil spirits.”

Provided it is said in faith and for a particular spiritual benefit

Stay with me tonight, Jesus, in life with all its dangers. I need You.

“All our times are in Thy hand. All diseases come at Thy call, and go at Thy bidding.”

Prepare your soul to receive the boundless mercy of God.

He couldn’t stand it then and it makes him furious when someone says it now.

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