Roodmas Reflections Through the Prism of Merciful Love

The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (also known as Roodmas) is a solemnity which celebrates three distinct historical events: the finding of the True Cross by St. Helena, the retrieval of the sacred relic by Emperor Heraclius in 629 from the Persians and the ineffable powers of the instrument of Christ's redemptive sacrifice and our salvation. 

The Holy Cross is exalted like Moses lifted up the Bronze Serpent in Exodus and those who looked upon it lived. Jesus willingly sacrificed Himself so that we all may enjoy eternal life. 

In the early 20th Century, Sister Maria Teresa Desandais was blessed with mystical experiences about Jesus' Merciful Love. She wrote about these experiences under the pseudonym  "Sulamitis PM".  In 1912, Sr. Desandais, who had no training in painting, was inspired to create the picture "Merciful Love" which depicted Christ crucified looking towards heaven with a host in the background with the initials JHS.  Rays of light emanating from the Sacred Heart of  Jesus illuminate a  Bible laying at the foot of the cross turned to the passage "Love one another as I have loved you" alongside a crown.  That is an incredible amount of symbolic meaning suffused in one scene, particularly for an amateur painter. 

This message of Merciful Love was widespread in France and Spain after the First World War. To bolster devotion to Merciful Love, Sr. Desandais sent two of her paintings to Spain.  The painting sent to Juana Lacasa effectively became a place of pilgrimage. The other painting was installed at the Royal Basilica of Our Lady of Atocha in Madrid where Sister Maria Teresa's order was attached.

 It is quite conceivable that the message of Merciful Love of Jesus with the exhortation to be servants who love one another may well have influenced Pope Francis for the Year of Divine Mercy.

Part of Sister Maria Teresa's revelations was an offering to Merciful Love:

Holy Father, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer to you Jesus, your beloved Son, and I offer myself in Him and through Him, and with Him for all your intentions, and on behalf of all creatures.

On the Immaculate Heart of Mary

St. John Eudes was a Seventeenth Century Normand French cleric who extolled the virtues of a devotion to Sacred Heart started observing a feast for the heart of Mary in 1643. When Pope Leo XIII proclaimed Eudes heroic virtues in 1903, he was proclaimed "Author of the Liturgical Worship of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Holy Heart of Mary".

Pope Pius VI in 1799 granted a limited feast to "The Most Pure Heart of Mary" in Polermo.  In 1805, Pope Pius VII made a new concession which spread the practice more broadly.  In 1855, the office and Mass of the Most Pure Heart of Mary was approved.  In 1944, Pope Pius XII instituted the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1944 to be celebrated on August 22.  In 1969, Pope Paul VI moved the feast to the third Saturday after Pentacost, immediately after the the Solemnity of Sacred Heart of Jesus. 

In his Angelus from June 5, 2005, Pope Benedict XVI mused:

The heart that resembles that of Christ more than any other is without a doubt the Heart of Mary, his Immaculate Mother, and for this very reason the liturgy holds them up together for our veneration. Responding to the Virgin's invitation at Fatima, let us entrust the whole world to her Immaculate Heart, which we contemplated yesterday in a special way, so that it may experience the merciful love of God and know true peace.

Because of the strong analogy between Jesus and Mary, the consecration to Mary's Immaculate Heart is closely linked to the consecration to Jesus' Sacred Heart, although it is subordinate and dependent on it. That is, although the act of consecration is ultimately addressed to God, it is an act that is made through Mary.

The aim of  the devotion  to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is to unite mankind to God through Mary's heart, via consecration and reparation. One who is consecrated to Mary's Immaculate Heart as a way of being totally devoted to God.  This involves a total gift of self, something possible only with reference to God but Mary is the intermediary in this process of consecration. 

O Most Blessed Mother, heart of love, heart of mercy, ever listening, caring, consoling, hear our prayer. As your children, we implore your intercession with Jesus your Son. Receive with understanding and compassion the petitions we place before you today, especially ...(special intention).

We are comforted in knowing your heart is ever open to those who ask for your prayer. We trust to your gentle care and intercession, those whom we love and who are sick or lonely or hurting. Help all of us, Holy Mother, to bear our burdens in this life until we may share eternal life and peace with God forever.
Amen.

Pope Leo XIII on the Sacred Heart of Jesus

The first Office and Mass of the Sacred Heart were composed by St. John Eudes, but the institution of the feast was a result of the appearances of our Lord to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in 1675. The celebration of the feast was extended to the general calendar of the Church by Pius IX in 1856.

O most holy heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing, I adore you, I love you, and with lively sorrow for my sins I offer you this poor heart of mine. Make me humble, patient, pure and wholly obedient to your will. Grant, Good Jesus, that I may live in you and for you. Protect me in the midst of danger. Comfort me in my afflictions. Give me health of body, assistance in my temporal needs, your blessing on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death. Amen.

On Praying for Life

The sanctity of life issue has risen to the forefront of the American polity.  

The Supreme Court is deciding a religious liberty case on whether the Little Sisters of the Poor should be forced to violate their consciences by passive compliance with the Obamacare Contraception Mandate.  

Republican Presidential front runner Donald Trump took myriad alleged pro life positions, including the modest proposal of legally punishing aborting mothers. Then Trump lapsed into allowing the status quo. However, in a Today Show Townhall, Trump vowed to change the GOP pro life platform to allow exceptions which Planned Parenthood would endorse.  

Congress continues to investigate how Planned Parenthood was selling baby body parts and altering abortion procedures to maximize the harvest. But these hearings received scant coverage in the Lamestream Media.

Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards took an aggressive advocacy position for Democrat Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton who has emphasized Abortion on Demand.  Moreover, Cecile Richards managed to hold a Pro-Choice rally at Georgetown University, a Jesuit purportedly Catholic college.

With all this in mind, Father Frank Pavone and the Priests for Life are engaged in a campaign of prayer and fasting to end abortion in the United States along with the evils perpetrated by Planned Parenthood. 

Father, you have created us in body and soul
To honor you and our neighbor
And to receive honor and respect in return.

Our bodies are sacred.
They reflect you, our Creator.
And we hold sacred
The bodies of all the children in the womb.

Lord, we are saddened
That these children are being killed,
And saddened again
That their body parts are being harvested and sold.

Have mercy on our nation.
Have mercy on those who are perpetrating these evils.
As more and more people become aware of this,
Turn their hearts towards you,
The Fountain of life and love.

Give consolation to all who have had abortions,
And give wisdom to our public officials
That they may respond adequately
To the corruption found in the abortion industry.

Grant that we,
The People of Life and the People of Mercy,
May recommit ourselves to building a nation
Without abortion and without the many evils that flow from it.

May we choose life;
May we choose mercy;
May we choose your Kingdom!
Through Christ our Lord. Amen

Some may wonder, why pray to end abortion, especially as the Lord's Prayer includes the intention "Thy will be done".


 
Perhaps the point is that is is our invitation to participate in building the Kingdom of God even through the power of prayer.  Such sentiments echo Pope St. John Paul II's exhortation in Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life, 1995).

Celebrating Our Lady of Victory in the Battle of Lepanto

O Victorious Lady, Thou who has ever such powerful influence with Thy Divine Son, in conquering the hardest of hearts, intercede for those for whom we pray, that their hearts being softened by the ways of Divine Grace, they may return to the unity of the true Faith, through Christ, our Lord. Amen      

Today is also the anniversary of Our Lady of Victory. In 1571, the Turks had amassed a large fleet for an invasion of Italy. Pope St. Pius V blessed a pre-emptive strike by a small fleet led by Don Juan of Austuria (the bastard son of the King of Spain) near the Gulf of Lepanto to save Western civilization. The two greatest naval forces ever assembled — 280 ships in the Turkish Armada, some 212 on the Christian side. Turkish Admiral Ali Pasha was so confident that he sailed proudly at the center of his own Armada, bringing with him on vessels just to his rear his entire fortune, and even a part of his harem.

 There seemed little hopes for the Christian armada. The pope requested that the faithful say the rosary for the victory of the Christian fleet. The passion for defending their own civilization against ruthless invaders also strengthened the muscles of those engaged in the close, bloody, violent hand-fighting when one vessel came alongside another.

The Christian fleet were aided by cannon power. Don Juan aimed his own galley directly at the heart of the Turkish armada, directly at the clearly colored sails of the Ali Pasha’s galley, with its great green flag, inscribed 28,000 times with the name of Allah in gold. Pasha was captured by Don Juan.

 The Christian victory was far more complete than anyone had dreamed. The victory seemed to many quite miraculous, and victory was immediately attributed to Our Lady Queen of the Rosary — soon to be called by a new title, Our Lady Queen of Victory. In 1573, the feast name was changed to "Our Lady of the Rosary."  Pope Pius X changed the feast day to October 7th to restore the celebration of the liturgy on Sundays.

 

For the last several years , the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops orchestrated "The Fortnight for Freedom", two weeks of education, prayer and fasting to celebrate America's Constitutional First Freedom, the freedom of religious expression. In addition, many Christians are engaged in 40 days of prayer and fasting for America. The victory of the Battle of Lepanto ought to be another encouraging example on the power of prayer.

 h/t: National Review Online

Novena for Doctrinal Discussions (re-post)

"It seems to me that the coming meeting between Cardinal Levada, the Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Bishop Fellay, Superior General of the Society of Saint Pius X, on the coming Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross (September 14th) has some potentially very broad-reaching importance.

Many would look at the so-called "Traditionalists," and say that this is all about the celebration of the Mass, those folks who want to turn the clock back to the "Tridentine Rite," or what we now should properly call "The Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite," and who dismiss the New Mass, don't recognize the Pope, etc, etc.

However, this is all a propaganda to mask the underlying issue, and that is the fact that this Society is essentially calling for a proper interpretation of the documents that were produced by the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council. In point of fact, the members of the Society do recognize the Holy Father, Pope Benedict, and they do recognize the validity of the New Mass..."

Continue Reading at Benedictus Dominus

Pope Benedict asks us to pray for the Church in China during the next few days

Next Tuesday, 24 May, is the day upon which the Church venerates the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title "Our Lady Help of Christians." It is also the Day of Prayer for the Church in China, where Our Lady Help of Christians is venerated at the Marian Shrine of She-Shan.

This Day of Prayer for the Church in China, when all Christians throughout the world are specifically asked to remember the Christians of that land, was established by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007 with the publication of his Letter to Chinese Catholics. The first of such days dedicated to praying for the Chinese Church was observed on 24 May 2008.

The Pope most recently mentioned the importance of the Day of Prayer for the Church in China during last Wednesday's general audience. At that audience, Pope Benedict XVI also called on all Catholics to pray for the Chinese and their Church during these days that precede the Feast of Our Lady Help of Christians. The Holy Father added that on 24 May, "... all Catholics throughout the world have a duty to pray for the Church in China: those members of the Faithful have a right to our prayers, they need our prayers." He went on to say: “By our prayers we can obtain for the Church in China that it remain one, holy and Catholic, faithful and steadfast in doctrine and in ecclesial discipline.”

In his original 2007 letter to the Catholics of China, Pope Benedict XVI noted that 24 May is the day on which the Church commemorates Our Lady Help of Christians, he therefore urged believers to ask her intercession for the persecuted followers of Christ who live in the People's Republic. In China, the Virgin Mary is venerated under this title at the Shrine of She-Shan, in Shanghai. For this reason, then, the Pope placed this day under the patronage of Our Lady of She-Shan.

Here is a small segment from the Holy Father's 2007 Letter to the Chinese Church, in which he explains his intentions and desire for a universal Day of Prayer on 24 May:

"This day is dedicated to the liturgical memorial of Our Lady, Help of Christians, who is venerated with great devotion at the Marian Shrine of Sheshan in Shanghai. I would like that date to be kept by you as a day of prayer for the Church in China. I encourage you to celebrate it by renewing your communion of faith in Jesus our Lord and of faithfulness to the Pope, and by praying that the unity among you may become ever deeper and more visible . . . On that same day, the Catholics of the whole world – in particular those who are of Chinese origin – will demonstrate their fraternal solidarity and solicitude for you, asking the Lord of history for the gift of perseverance in witness, in the certainty that your sufferings past and present for the Holy Name of Jesus and your intrepid loyalty to his Vicar on earth will be rewarded, even if at times everything can seem a failure"

Our Lady Help of Christians, pray for us
Our Lady of She-Shan, pray for your children in China

Dylan Parry (A Reluctant Sinner)