Catholic Saints : Saint Hildegard of Bingen - Saint of the Day

Catholic Saints : Saint Hildegard of Bingen - Saint of the Day:   September 17 | Saint Hildegard of Bingen Abbess, artist, author, composer, mystic, pharmacist, poet, preacher, theologian Born into a nobl...

PSALM 91: Most Powerful Prayer For Protection

 

Psalm 91: God’s  Prayer of Protection

1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”

3 Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.

9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”

Psalm 91 is quoted as being one of the most powerful chapters and prayers of the Holy Bible. It is invoked in times of uncertainty and hardship. Those who pray and believe in the words of Psalm 91, truly trusting in the Lord, need not fear the power and deception of the enemy.

Whenever you are in need of the Lord’s protection over your life, a reminder of His loyalty, and how He provides for His children in times of famine and in feast, prayerfully and slowly read over this psalm. Meditate on it daily. Reflect on what God is promising. If possible, memorize the verses and repeat them often throughout the day. In times of great need and uncertainty, if committed to memory, the Holy Spirit will graciously remind you of what God has promised you. These words will protect you, those you love, and the whole world.

HUMILITY’ TIPS FROM MOTHER TERESA

 

15 ‘HUMILITY’ TIPS FROM MOTHER TERESA

While she was head of the Missionaries of Charity, Mother Teresa kept a list of ways to cultivate humility for the sisters in her care...

1. Speak as little as possible about yourself.

2. Keep busy with your own affairs and not those of others.

3. Avoid curiosity (she is referring to wanting to know things that should not concern you.)

4. Do not interfere in the affairs of others.

 5. Accept small irritations with good humor.

 6. Do not dwell on the faults of others.

7. Accept censures even if unmerited.

8. Give in to the will of others.

9. Accept insults and injuries.

10. Accept contempt, being forgotten and disregarded.

11. Be courteous and delicate even when provoked by someone.

12. Do not seek to be admired and loved.

13. Do not protect yourself behind your own dignity.

14. Give in, in discussions, even when you are right.

15. Choose always the more difficult task.

"I worry some of you still have not really met Jesus—one to one—you and Jesus alone. We may spend time in the chapel—but have you seen with the eyes of your soul how He looks at you with love? Do you really know the living Jesus—not from books but from being with Him in your heart? Have you heard the loving words He speaks to you? Ask for the grace; He is longing to give it. Until you can hear Jesus in the silence of your own heart, you will not be able to hear Him saying 'I Thirst' in the hearts of the poor. Never give up this daily intimate contact with Jesus as the real living person—not just the idea."

— Saint Mother Teresa, p.129-30

AN EXCERPT FROM

Manual for Eucharistic Adoration 

Catholic Prayers: MOTHER TERESA'S QUICK NOVENA

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Our Lady of Mount Carmel

 Happy Feast Day, Our Lady of Mount Carmel ! 

Today is the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. It is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary as patroness of the Carmelite Order. The first Carmelites were hermits living on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land in the 12th century they built a chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin.

The Carmelites consider the Blessed Virgin Mary to be a perfect model of the interior life of prayer and contemplation to which Carmelites aspire, as well as a model of virtue, in the person who was closest in life to Jesus Christ. She is seen as the one who points Christians most surely to Christ. As she says to the servants at the wedding at Cana, "Do whatever he [Jesus] tells you." Carmelites look to the Virgin Mary as a Spiritual Mother.[9] The Stella Maris Monastery (Star of the Sea) on Mount Carmel, named after a traditional title of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is considered the spiritual headquarters of the order.

Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi, OCD, a revered authority on Carmelite spirituality, wrote that devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel means:

a special call to the interior life, which is preeminently a Marian life. Our Lady wants us to resemble her not only in our outward vesture but, far more, in heart and spirit. If we gaze into Mary's soul, we shall see that grace in her has flowered into a spiritual life of incalculable wealth: a life of recollection, prayer, uninterrupted oblation to God, continual contact, and intimate union with him. Mary's soul is a sanctuary reserved for God alone, where no human creature has ever left its trace, where love and zeal for the glory of God and the salvation of mankind reign supreme. [...] Those who want to live their devotion to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel to the full must follow Mary into the depths of her interior life. Carmel is the symbol of the contemplative life, the life wholly dedicated to the quest for God, wholly orientated towards intimacy with God; and the one who has best realized this highest of ideals is Our Lady herself, "Queen and Splendor of Carmel".[1]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Mount_Carmel

Saint of the Day: Saint Henry

Today is the feast day of Saint Henry

St. Henry, born in 972 was the son of the Duke of Bavaria and the grandson of the King of Burgundy. He was educated under the tutelage of St. Wolfgang, Bishop of Ratisbon. In 995, St. Henry succeeded his father as Duke of Bavaria, and in 1002, he was elected emperor.

Both he and his wife, St. Cunegundes, lived in perpetual chastity, to which they had bound themselves by vow. He founded numerous monasteries, gave liberally to pious institutions and built the Cathedral of Bamberg. His feast day is July 13th. He is the patron saint of the childless, of Dukes, of the handicapped and those rejected by Religious Order.


Prayer 

Lord, you filled Saint Henry with your love

and raised him from the cares of an earthly kingdom

to eternal happiness in heaven.

In the midst of the changes of this world,

may his prayers keep us free from sin

and help us on our way towards you.

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.

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Glory Be

Glory be to the Father,

and to the Son,

and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning,

is now,

and ever shall be,

world without end.

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Say this unfailing Prayer for the Family to Jesus ,Mary and Joseph

 A Prayer for Family

O dear Jesus, I humbly implore You to grant Your special graces to our family. May our home be the shrine of peace, purity, love, labor and faith. I beg You, dear Jesus, to protect and bless all of us, absent and present, living and dead.

O Mary, loving Mother of Jesus, and our Mother, pray to Jesus for our family, for all the families of the world, to guard the cradle of the newborn, the schools of the young and their vocations.

Blessed Saint Joseph, holy guardian of Jesus and Mary, assist us by your prayers in all the necessities of life. Ask of Jesus that special grace which He granted to you, to watch over our home at the pillow of the sick and the dying, so that with Mary and with you, heaven may find our family unbroken in the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Amen.

Prayer to Our Lady of Fatima

Pray this traditional prayer to Our Lady of Fatima to receive extraordinary spiritual graces from God.

The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared in 1917 to three shepherd children near Fatima, Portugal. She spoke to them for several months, culminating in a miraculous vision seen by hundreds of witnesses.

Ever since then she has been invoked under the title of “Our Lady of Fatima,” as well as “Our Lady of the Rosary.”

She is known for her powerful intercession, especially for healing and strength to endure any trial.


Here is a traditional prayer to Our Lady of Fatima that many have prayed over the years for special graces from God.

Prayer to Our Lady of Fatima

O Most Holy Virgin Mary, Queen of the most holy Rosary, you were pleased to appear to the children of Fatima and reveal a glorious message. We implore you, inspire in our hearts a fervent love for the recitation of the Rosary. By meditating on the mysteries of the redemption that are recalled therein may we obtain the graces and virtues that we ask, through the merits of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Redeemer. Amen

Our Lady of Fátima Background and History

 On May 13, the Church celebrates the anniversary of the appearance of Mary to three shepherd children in the town of Fatima, in Portugal, in 1917. Between May 13 and October 13 of that year, Mary appeared six times to brother and sister Francisco, 8, and Jacinta, 6, and their cousin Lucia, 9.

On May 13, 1917, the three children were in the field when they saw a “woman all in white, more brilliant than the sun.” She told the children, “Please don’t be afraid of me, I’m not going to harm you.” When Lucia asked her where she came from, she told them, “I come from Heaven.” Our Lady wore a white mantle, edged with gold, and carried a rosary. She asked the children to pray and devote themselves to the Holy Trinity, and “to say the Rosary every day, to bring peace to the world and an end to the war.”

Over the course of her appearances, Mary revealed that the children would suffer, especially from the unbelief of their families, and that the two young children, Francisco and Jacinta, would be taken to Heaven, but Lucia would live longer, to spread the message of devotion to the Immaculate Heart.

When she appeared for the last time, Mary told Lucia, “I am the Lady of the Rosary.” That day, 70,000 people turned out to witness the apparition, because Mary had promised that she would show the people the apparitions were true. The crowd saw the sun make three circles, moving around the sky in a zigzag movement, that left no doubt about the truth. By 1930, the Bishop had approved of the apparitions and the message, and the Church has declared them authentic.

Our Lady told the children about her concerns that the world would face war, starvation, and persecution of the Church in the 20th century if people did not make reparations for sin. She told the children, and the Church, to pray and offer sacrifices to God so that peace may be spread across the world.

Our Lady of Fatima also revealed three prophetic “secrets.” The first two were revealed earlier, referring to the vision of hell and the souls languishing, the request for an ardent devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the prediction of the Second World War, and finally the prediction of the damage Russia would do by embracing Communism and rejecting Christianity.

The third secret was revealed in 2000 — “The good will be martyred; the Holy Father will have much to suffer; various nations will be annihilated.” This has been interpreted to include the assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II in 1981, which happened on May 13, the 64th anniversary of the apparitions.

Padre Pio’s Sacred Heart Novena Prayer

 Padre Pio’s Sacred Heart Novena Prayer

Here is a prayer that Padre Pio would pray each time he wanted to intercede for someone. It is actually a prayer composed by St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and is commonly called the “Efficacious Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.” She was a saint and a mystic who lived in the 17th century, and received multiple visions of Jesus during her lifetime.

Many believe this is a powerful prayer because it calls upon the heart of Jesus to have mercy on us and our petitions. Jesus’ heart is indeed full of love and compassion and this prayer trusts in that love, believing that he is tender enough to generously grant our petition if it is in his holy will.

O my Jesus, You have said: “Truly I say to you, ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you.” Behold I knock, I seek and ask for the grace of (here name your request). Our Father … Hail Mary … Glory Be … Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in You.

O my Jesus, You have said: “Truly I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father in My name, He will give it to you.” Behold, in Your name, I ask the Father for the grace of (here name your request). Our Father … Hail Mary … Glory Be … Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in You.

O my Jesus, You have said: “Truly I say to you, heaven and earth will pass away but My words will not pass away.” Encouraged by Your infallible words I now ask for the grace of (here name your request). Our Father … Hail Mary … Glory Be … Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in You.

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, for whom it is impossible not to have compassion on the afflicted, have pity on us miserable sinners and grant us the grace which we ask of You, through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, Your tender Mother and ours.

Say the Hail, Holy Queen and add: “St. Joseph, foster father of Jesus, pray for us.”

Catholic Prayer Against the Devils Retaliation

Prayer Against the Devils Retaliation

Introduction

The more we strive to be in union with God, the angrier the devil becomes.

Every time we choose humility over pride, the demons fume.

Despair is an opening for demonic forces because it causes us to doubt God’s mercy.

Our Father said to St Catherine of Siena:

“So the despair of Judas displeased me more and was a greater insult to my Son than his betrayal had been. Therefore, such as these are reproved for this false judgement of considering their sins to be greater than my mercy, and for this they are punished with the demons and tortured eternally with them.”

The prayer against retaliation serves as a reminder to the demons, but also to ourselves, that we have powerful intercessors on our side.

Catholic Prayer Against Retaliation

Lord Jesus Christ, in your love and mercy, pour Thy Precious Blood over me so that no demon or disembodied spirit may retaliate against me.

Mary, surround me with thy mantle, blocking any retaliating spirits from having any authority over me.

St. Michael, surround me with thy shield, so that no evil spirit may take revenge on me.

Queen of Heaven and St. Michael, send down the legions of angels under your command to fight off any spirits that would seek to harm me.

All you saints of heaven, impede any retaliating spirit from influencing me.

Lord, Thou are the Just Judge, the avenger of the wicked, the Advocate of the Just, we beg in Thy mercy, that all we ask of Mary, the angels and the saints of heaven be also granted to all our loved ones, those who pray for us and their loved ones, that for Thy Glory’s sake, we may enjoy Thy perfect protection.

Amen.

Catholic Prayers: Prayer Of Command

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Why Saint Anthony worked so hard to convert heretics

 MIRACLE OF THE MULE

One of the reasons why Saint Anthony worked so hard to convert heretics was because he genuinely felt sorry for them.  He saw that they were depriving themselves of the Church and the most precious gift to the Church, the Most Holy Eucharist.  He truly believed that no one could long survive without this spiritual nourishment.

One day, a heretic told Anthony that he would believe that Christ was truly present in the Eucharist only if his mule bowed down to it.

They established that the test should take place in three days. The heretic starved his mule for the next three days. When the appointed time had arrived, Anthony stood off to one side with the consecrated host in his hands, while the heretic stood to the other holding some fodder for the mule to eat. The mule, ignoring its own extreme hunger, went before the Eucharist and knelt down to adore the Blessed Sacrament.

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Pray this prayer if you’re feeling particularly depressed or just discouraged, alone, and hopeless.

 Prayer Against Depression by St Ignatius of Loyola

O Christ Jesus  

When all is darkness

And we feel our weakness and helplessness,

Give us the sense of Your Presence,

Your Love and Your Strength.

Help us to have perfect trust

In Your protecting love

And strengthening power,

So that nothing may frighten or worry us,For, living close to You,

We shall see Your Hand,

Your Purpose, Your Will, through all things.

When we’re depressed or feeling blue, this prayer from Padre Pio is a way to reach out

If you find yourself in a state of darkness, the key is "to reach."

Reflect on Peter’s fear in Matthew 14:30-31, specifically, on that moment when Peter is desperately reaching out to Our Lord—that second just before Jesus takes his hand.

It was a dark and doubt-filled moment for Peter, whose faith had faltered. It was also an intuitive response to a person physically drowning — reaching out, trying to grasp at anything to save his life.

Be assured that the Lord will take your  my hand so you will not drown, read this prayer often, sometimes three times through!

Stay with me, Lord, for it is necessary to have you present so that I do not forget you. You know how easily I abandon you. Stay with me, Lord, because I am weak, and I need your strength, so that I may not fall so often. Stay with me, Lord, for you are my life, and without you, I am without fervor. Stay with me, Lord, for you are my light, and without you, I am in darkness. Stay with me, Lord, to show me your will. Stay with me, Lord, so that I hear your voice and follow you. Stay with me, Lord, for I desire to love you very much, and always be in your company. Stay with me, Lord, if you wish me to be faithful to you. Stay with me, Lord, for as poor as my soul is, I want it to be a place of consolation for you, a nest of love. Amen. ~St. Pio of Pietrelcina, Prayer After Communion

Depression is a battle, and for some of us a lifelong cross to bear. In bearing it as best we can while reaching up and out for help, we are led in to a deeper maturity of faith—which like most virtues, is not easily won.

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Vision of Pope Leo XIII :Saint Michael the Archangel

 THE DEMONIC VISION OF POPE LEO XIII AND THE SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL PRAYER  

In 1886 Pope Leo XIII instituted what would later be known as the “Leonine Prayers” after Mass (something familiar to those who have attended a Low Mass in the Extraordinary Form). These prayers include the well-known Prayer to St. Michael. Not much is known for certain about the origin of this prayer, but it is believed by many historians that Pope Leo had a profound vision that sparked its creation.

According to Kevin Symonds, author ofPope Leo XIII and the Prayer to St. Michael, the vision likely occurred between 1884 and 1886 and took place during the celebration of Mass. Several different reports relate that Pope Leo had a visible change come over his face during the vision and one claims that his face was “pale and fearful.”

A cardinal at the time who knew the pope’s private secretary explains that “Pope Leo XIII truly had a vision of demonic spirits, who were gathering on the Eternal City (Rome). From that experience … comes the prayer which he wanted the whole Church to recite.”

As time went on a few embellishments started to appear regarding the vision, claiming that Pope Leo witnessed a conversation between Jesus and Satan. The popular story even goes so far as to record the dialogue between the two and is usually recounted as follows:

Satan says to Jesus: “I can destroy your Church.”

Jesus replies: “You can? Then go ahead and do so.”

Satan: “To do so, I need more time and more power.”

Jesus: “How much time? How much power?

Satan: “75 to 100 years, and a greater power over those who will give themselves over to my service.”

Jesus: “You have the time, you will have the power. Do with them what you will.”

The conversation is reminiscent of the prologue to the biblical Book of Job, in which Satan asks God for, and receives, permission to tempt the faith of the righteous Job. However, while the dialogue has become a central part of “popular legend,” there is no strong foundation in historical fact.

Whatever happened during Pope Leo’s vision, it appears certain that he did have a vision and what he saw was not pleasant. It prompted him to quickly compose the Prayer to St. Michael, and to request its use at the end of Low Masses. The pope lived during particularly turbulent times, and he believed prayer was needed to dispel the darkness that hung over the world. A longer prayer to St. Michael, sometimes known as the exorcism prayer although it was not intended for use in actual exorcism rituals, was approved by the pope 3 years later in two versions, one for clergy and one for lay individual prayer.

St. Michael the Archangel has always been known to be a powerful intercessor against evil, especially since he is recorded in the Book of Revelation as, “fighting against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they were defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven” (Revelation 12:7-9). Based on this episode in scripture, St. Michael is frequently depicted in art thrusting a lance, spear or sword into Satan, who is often depicted as a serpent or dragon.

Ever since Pope Leo XIII composed it, the St. Michael Prayer has continued to be a staple of Catholic prayer and is a prayer many exorcists recommend to anyone who needs to combat the presence of evil in their lives.

Saint Michael Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil; may God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl through world seeking the ruins of souls. Amen.