Litany of Humility

"Humility," says Saint Bernard, "is the foundation and guardian of virtues" for without it no other virtue can exist in a soul. Should she possess all virtues, all will depart when humility is gone. Saint Francis de Sales wrote to Saint Jane Frances de Chantal, "God so loves humility, that whenever He sees it, He is immediately drawn thither."

This beautiful and so necessary virtue was unknown in the world; but the Son of God Himself came on earth to teach it by His Own example that we would imitate Him. Learn from Me, because I am meek and humble of heart. Mary, being the first and most perfect disciple of Jesus Christ in the practice of all virtues, was the first also in that of humility, and by it merited to be exalted above all creatures. The first virtue in which the Blessed Mother particularly exercised herself, from her very childhood, was that of humility.

Litany of Humility
Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val (1865-1930)
Secretary of State for Pope Saint Pius X

O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,

Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved...
From the desire of being extolled ...
From the desire of being honored ...
From the desire of being praised ...
From the desire of being preferred to others...
From the desire of being consulted ...
From the desire of being approved ...
From the fear of being humiliated ...
From the fear of being despised...
From the fear of suffering rebukes ...
From the fear of being calumniated ...
From the fear of being forgotten ...
From the fear of being ridiculed ...
From the fear of being wronged ...
From the fear of being suspected ...

That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be esteemed more than I ...
That, in the opinion of the world,
others may increase and I may decrease ...
That others may be chosen and I set aside ...
That others may be praised and I unnoticed ...
That others may be preferred to me in everything...
That others may become holier than I, provided
that I may become as holy as I should…

O Mary, Mother of Mercy, help us to imitate Jesus, your Beloved Son who taught us, "Learn from Me, because I am meek and humble of heart."

Reflection: I am the Light of the world...

In the Gospel of John, Jesus passed by and saw a man who was blind since birth.

"While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world. He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva and smeared the clay on his eyes, and said to him, 'Go wash in the Pool of Siloam' which means Sent. So he went and washed and came back able to see." John 9:5-7

This morning, my husband and I attended the Children's Mass and witnessed something beautiful. The Second Reading was being read by one of the children, a young boy who looked like he might be ten years old.  The boy stood up to the microphone, looked at the Reading and said, "A Reading from the Letter of Saint Paul." He looked up at the people in the church, dropped his head and froze. The adult lector stood by trying to encourage him, but he was frozen in fear. Out of the crowd, came the little boy's father. He stood next to his son, put his arm around him and the father read the Reading. After the Reading, the father scooped up the little boy in his arms and returned to their seats.

After the Gospel, the priest, our pastor, gathered the children in front of the altar for the homily. He told the children that priests and deacons give homilies and preach God's Word. He said that Saint Francis said, "Preach always. If necessary, use words."

Then the priest asked the children how they can pray without using words. He said they can pray with their actions. He went on to say that we saw God's action at the Second Reading today. He said when we are faced with a challenge, God always sends someone to help us. God will never leave us alone.

The priest said that during the Stations of the Cross, God sent people to help Jesus. God sent Mary, His Mother to comfort Him, He sent Simon of Cyrene to help Him carry the Cross and He sent Veronica to wipe His face with a cloth. They came out of the crowd to comfort and strengthen Jesus. God took action.  He said, today we saw God's action during the Second Reading, in the midst of the challenge, God came forward from the crowd, placed his arm around the little boy and took the necessary action. God the Father ACTS. He comes to us every time we face a challenge, just like the little boy's father came to him.

In the Second Reading today, we hear these words of Saint Paul:

"Brothers and sisters, you were once in darkness but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth." Ephesians 5:8-9

Today ponder how you can be light to others. Ask God to send you out of the crowd to help someone in need. Ask Jesus to open your eyes, as He did for the blind man, that you may see.

"I am the Light of the world, says the Lord; whoever follows Me will have the light of life. John 8:12

Reflection: The Annunciation...

Today we celebrate the Annunciation of the Lord. The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to tell her that she had been chosen by God to be the Mother of the Son of God, the Mother of the Savior of the world.

Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary,for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."  Luke 1:30-33

And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.  Luke 1:36-37

The angel Gabriel gave Mary two personal messages to encourage and strengthen her.

"Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God"  
"For nothing will be impossible for God." 

This was a blessing to Mary that would strengthen her for the rest of her life, especially during times of trial. Then the angel Gabriel revealed to Mary the pregnancy of Elizabeth. Both woman would bear a child through Divine Intervention. This represents two of the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary, the Annunciation and the Visitation.

Mary responded with her FIAT, her Yes to God:

Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Luke 1:38

How can you give your fiat to God the way Mary did?
  
Ask Mary to come to you and help you to trust God the way she did. Every time you pray the Hail Mary, you call upon her to come to your assistance.  This is a powerful prayer through which you greet Mary the way the Angel Gabriel greeted her. God loves you so much and He wants to overcome you with His love. Enter into His Presence and allow Him to touch you with His healing grace. Remember that the Angel Gabriel told Mary to be unafraid. Bring your fears to God and say yes to Him, knowing that all things are possible for Him.

God created us because us and wants us to live with Him eternally. He places the highest value on human life. He loves us so much that he became one of us, took on our human nature and became an innocent, completely dependent infant.

When we repeat the words of the angel by praying the Hail Mary, the Word of God dwells among us. Through Mary's humble, obedient Fiat, heaven and earth meet.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee...

Kiss of Mercy Apostolate + 1st Anniversary

The Kiss of Mercy Apostolate began on March 19, 2016, the Feast Day of Saint Joseph, during the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy. We sought the spiritual guidance of Rev. Gregory Staab, OMV, Rev. William Kelly, S.T.D. and Bishop Arthur Kennedy and the Apostolate is under the spiritual direction of Rev. Wayne Belschner.

It was inspired by Venerable Fulton Sheen. During his talk on Confession, he prophetically said,

"Just think how many mentally disturbed women we are going to have in the United States...when the guilt of abortion begins to attack the mind and soul...Years from now, the guilt will come out in a peculiar way, though at present there may not be any."

My friend Helen and I were so struck by his words and we thought about how abortion effects so many, not only the women. Today the problem of abortion seems insurmountable. As we prayed about this, we thought of Saint Therese of Lisieux and the simplicity and power of her Little Way which is the Love and Mercy of God. An imprimatur was received on the Kiss of Mercy Prayer.

We wrote a simple prayer which is the essence of the Apostolate:

Kiss of Mercy Prayer

To be recited while kissing an image of Jesus

Jesus I trust in You.
May my kiss, 
and Your grace,
convert, heal and 
reconcile to the Father 
one soul wounded by abortion.

Recite one Hail Mary

Nihil Obstat  +Arthur L. Kennedy S.T.L., Ph.D. Auxiliiary Bishop of Boston
Permission  +Sean P. Cardinal O'Malley, O.F.M., Cap., Archbishop of Boston
Date  January 25, 2017

Through this Kiss of Mercy Apostolate, we call upon Saint Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower, to intercede for those who have been harmed by abortion. She took the name Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face. Her Little Way was a way of simple trust and love of God. She said she could not do great things but she could do little things with great love for God. We can do something little, a kiss and a prayer, Saint Therese prayed, in confident trust, that God would hear and answer her prayers. We can pray with that confident trust too!

"If God only stooped to the level of the most beautiful flowers, the symbol of the Holy Doctors, His love wouldn't be quite absolute, because it is Love's nature to stoop to the farthest limit...Just as the sun shines at the same time on the cedars and on every little flower as if it were the only one on earth, so does Our Lord take care of every soul as if there were no other soul like it."  Saint Therese, the Little Flower

Let us pray with the bold, audacious and confident trust of Saint Therese of Lisieux that Jesus will take all our Kisses of Mercy and make them flow into a River of Mercy for these suffering souls. In this Little Way, we ask Jesus to bring hope and healing out of so much suffering.

A Mass will be celebrated for the 1st Anniversary of the Kiss of Mercy Apostolate on Monday March 20, 2017 at 7:00 PM at Saint Mary of the Assumption Church 420 High Street Dedham, Massachusetts.

Saint Therese of Lisieux and Venerable Fulton Sheen, pray for us!

Kiss of Mercy Apostolate for healing from abortion

Reflection: Hail Mary, teach us how to pray...

The Blessed Virgin Mary teaches us how to pray as she taught the Child Jesus how to pray. As a little boy, she held His hand and guided Him. Mary wants to take you by the hand and guide you. Be still and reach out to her.

Mary will take you into her heart, When you receive the Eucharist, ask Mary to be with you, She will wrap her mantle around you and she will hold you close to her Immaculate Heart.

She will teach you how to pray by pondering and keeping all things in your heart as she did. She will teach you how to listen in prayer and how to keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. She will teach you how to contemplate the mysteries of the Rosary. She will teach you how to reflect on the hidden life of Jesus, the sufferings of His Passion, the Triumph of His Resurrection and the Institution of the Eucharist. She will teach you how to listen and quiet your heart so you can hear God's Will for your life and how to do whatever He tells you to do. Above all, she will teach you how to love Jesus with all your heart, mind and soul. Draw close to Mary and she will draw you close to Jesus, her Beloved Son.

Go to Mary and ask her to bless you, take you by the hand and teach you how to pray...

Just as two friends, frequently in each other's company, tend to develop similar habits, so too, by holding familiar converse with Jesus and the Blessed Virgin, by meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary, and by living the same life in Holy Communion, we can become, to the extent of our lowliness, similar to them and can learn from these supreme models a of life of humility, poverty, patience and perfection. Blessed Bartolo Longo

After Holy Communion, close your eyes and recollect yourself. Then usher Jesus into the heart of Mary: you are giving Him to His Mother who will receive Him with great love and give Him the place of honor, adore Him profoundly, show Him perfect love, embrace Him intimately in spirit and in truth, and perform many offices for Him of which we, in our ignorance, would know nothing.  Or, maintain a profoundly humble heart in the presence of Jesus dwelling in Mary. Or be in attendance like a slave at the gate of the royal palace, where the King is speaking with the Queen. While they are talking to each other, with no need of you, go in spirit to heaven and to the whole world, and call upon all creatures to thank, adore and love Jesus and Mary for you. "Come, let us adore."  Saint Louis Marie de Montfort, True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin

Holy Mary, Mother of God, teach us how to pray...