Reflection: Saint Monica

After to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Monica is one of the best examples of Christian motherhood. Today we celebrate her Feast Day. For years, she prayed for the conversion of her son. Her persistence was answered with abundant grace. Her son, Augustine, became a Saint and a Doctor of the Church.

Monica prayed continually, with perseverance and trust in God's providence. Monica did not plead for a miracle; she prayed and sacrificed for the conversion of her son. Her prayers, disappointments, and tears were all means of drawing her closer to God. In her heroic efforts for her son's conversion, she herself became a saint. Monica's whole life, as well as her sanctification, was bound up with Augustine's, her faith, hope, and love were tested in her suffering.

Her marriage to Patricius, a pagan Roman official, was not happy but it was peaceful and stable due to her patience and prudence. Patricius was often a volatile man and was often unfaithful to Monica. He was a good father to Augustine. With Monica, he made many personal sacrifices to educate their promising son. This cooperative effort probably brought them together and Monica saw his conversion before he died.

Never give up praying for someone. God has entrusted that soul to you.

Prayer changes our hearts. God expands our hearts with His love when we pray. God answers all our prayers in His own perfect timing. Sometimes, the answer is to wait patiently. God calls upon us to pray, with confident trust, that He will answer our prayers.

Monica lived in a culture in which Christianity had not yet fully taken hold. We live in a secular culture in which Christianity is increasingly marginalized and children are drawn away from the faith. This prayer for her intercession is particularly appropriate today.

Prayer to Saint Monica for Mothers
Exemplary Mother of the great Augustine, you persevered and pursued your wayward son, not with wild threats, but with prayerful cries to heaven. Intercede for all mothers in our day so that they may learn to draw their children to God. Teach them how to remain close to their children, even the prodigal sons and daughters who have sadly gone astray.

Great and wonderful are Your works, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are Your ways, O King of the nations. Who will not fear You, Lord, or glorify Your Name? For You alone are holy. All the nations will come and worship before You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed. Revelation 15:3-4

Prayer of Adoration
Praise to You, Heavenly Father, to Jesus Christ Your Son, and to the Holy Spirit. I adore and thank you for the gift of the Blessed Mother. As I walk with the Mother of Jesus today, I honor her sorrow and her tears. As she is known to do with all her children who make such journeys, she ultimately brings me here, to the Father's throne and to the feet of Jesus. I beg you to honor my efforts as I join with the Blessed Mother and ask that the hearts of prodigal Catholics be softened and opened to allow them to search for and discover the truth. I pray this prayer in the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

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. Amen

Saint Monica, pray for us and intercede for all the intentions we receive through this ministry.

O Mary, Queen of the Angels and the Saints, pray for us and for our children. O Sacred Heart of Jesus, we place our trust in You.

Our Lady of Czestochowa, pray for us.

Today is the Feast Day of Our Lady of Czestochowa. According to legend, after the crucifixion of Jesus, when the Virgin Mary moved to Saint John's home, she took with her some personal articles, among them a table made by Jesus in Saint Joseph's workshop.

The legend continues that when the pious women of Jerusalem asked Saint Luke to do a painting of the Mother of God, he used this table to paint the image. The image remained in Jerusalem for a time, until the Romans began to destroy the city. Divine providence guided the image to Constantinople, where it was carefully protected by the Christians there. By 802, the image appeared in White Russia.

During a war in the middle of the fourteenth century, the image was struck by an enemy arrow. Prince Wladyslaw, in order to prevent the destruction of the image, decided to transport it to the land of his birth. While traveling through Poland, with the image in a horse drawn carriage, the horses refused to go any further when they reached the town of Czestochowa. The prince went up to the chapel on top of the hill Jasna Gora to pray, since he saw the horses' refusal to go on as a divine message. In a dream, Our Lady appeared to him, and told him she wanted the image to be venerated there in Czestochowa. This was in the year 1382. The prince ordered the building a a bigger and more elaborate Church, along with a monastery. Pilgrims began traveling from all over to venerate the image. She has been in Czestochowa since this time, and has become a national treasure of the Polish people, who venerate her as the Queen of Poland. The present Basilica in which the image resides was built in 1902.

A star with six vertices is depicted on Mary’s forehead. Both the Virgin and Jesus have golden halos. Given the dark color of the face and hands of Our Lady, the image has been fondly called “the Black Virgin,” a phrase which is a reminder of Song of Songs 1:5 “I am black and beautiful.” Her darkness can be attributed to many reasons, one being the poor conditions of the places where she has been hidden to safeguard her. In addition, numerous candles have been lit before her, causing her to be constantly amidst smoke. As well, she most likely has been touched by a multitude of people. In the image, the wounds on her face were caused by some bandits who tried to steal the image in 1430. The wound on her throat was caused by the Tartars who besieged the castle of Belz; one of the enemy’s arrows went through the Chapel’s window and hit the icon.

The two cuts on the cheek of the Virgin, along with the harm previously caused by the spear through her throat, always reappear despite the repeated attempts to restore the image. Throughout the history of the icon, our Blessed Mother has manifested her powerful intercession and countless miracles.

Our Lady of Czestochowa, we entrust all the petitions we receive to your loving care and protection.

The Queenship of Mary

Hail Holy Queen enthroned above, O Maria!

Today is the Feast Day of the Queenship of Mary. Pope Pius XII established this feast in 1954, but Mary’s Queenship has roots in Scripture.

At the Annunciation, Gabriel announced that Mary’s Son would receive the throne of David and rule forever. At the Visitation, Elizabeth calls Mary “Mother of my Lord.” As in all the mysteries of Mary’s life, Mary is closely associated with Jesus: Her Queenship is a share in Jesus’ Kingship.

In the Old Testament the mother of the king has great influence in court. In the fourth century, Saint Ephrem called Mary “Lady” and “Queen” and Church Fathers and Doctors continued to use the title. Hymns of the eleventh to thirteenth centuries address Mary as queen: “Hail, Holy Queen,” “Hail, Queen of Heaven,” “Queen of Heaven.”

The feast is celebrated on the octave day of the Feast of the Assumption. In his encyclical "To the Queen of Heaven" Pope Pius XII pointed out that Mary deserves the title because she is Mother of God, because she is closely associated as the New Eve with the redemptive work of Jesus, because of her perfection and her intercessory power.

Mary was assumed into Heaven by Jesus and the angels. That means she was carried. Jesus ascended into Heaven, which is a different word. He went up to Heaven by His own power. Mary doesn't have that kind of power, so Jesus carried her. After she was assumed into Heaven, Jesus took His Mother to a throne next to His own. Since He is King and Lord of all, then as His Mother, she was to become Queen. Jesus, God our Father and the Holy Spirit placed a beautiful crown of twelve stars on her head. All the angels and saints sang wonderful songs praising her as their Queen. The Blessed Virgin Mary shares in the glory of her Risen Son, because shares in His work of saving souls. As His Mother, she carried Him in her womb, gave Him birth, raised Him through childhood and into adulthood and stayed with Him at the Foot of the Cross.

Mary is Queen to all of us. She obtains all graces for us through her prayers. As our mother and as Jesus's Mother, she will always intercede for us to her Son, and lead us closer to Him. Let us bring all our needs and prayers to her.  O Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth, pray for us and for all those we pray for.

The Memorare by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

Today we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. He wrote of the great spiritual advantage of true devotion to our Blessed Mother, inviting us to become her trusting children. He wrote this beautiful prayer:

"Look to the star of the sea, call upon Mary … in danger, in distress, in doubt, think of Mary, call upon Mary. May her name never be far from your lips, or far from your heart … If you follow her, you will not stray; if you pray to her, you will not despair; if you turn your thoughts to her, you will not err. If she holds you, you will not fall; if she protects you, you need not fear; if she is your guide, you will not tire; if she is gracious to you, you will surely reach your destination."

Saint Bernard was an Abbot and he was named a Doctor of the Church. During his lifetime, he suffered with many anxieties and illnesses but never complained about his health. In his devotion to Mary, he teaches us that we can turn to her in all our needs.

Mary is our Mother. She understands us and she knows our sufferings. Let us ask for her intercession to Jesus. Her heart was pierced when she heard Simeon's words, as she held her precious baby. She did not understand, but she kept and pondered all things in her heart. Let us unite our sufferings and those of our children and those for whom we pray with Mary. We turn to Mary for protection.

The "Memorare" is a sixteenth-century version of a fifteenth-century prayer that was written by Saint  Bernard:

Remember, most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto you, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother, to you do I come before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful.  O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions but in your mercy, hear and answer me. Amen.

Holy Mother of God, listen to our prayers and save us from every danger. O glorious and Blessed Virgin Mary, help us to imitate you, to ponder everything in our hearts and turn to you in all our needs.

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

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.  Revelation 12:1

Today is the Feast of the Assumption of Our Blessed Mother Mary. This day has always been loved by the children of Mary who try to live each day in the School of Mary. It is a sign to us that someday, through God's grace and our efforts, we too may join the Blessed Mother in giving glory to God. The Assumption of Mary into Heaven gives us hope because it points the way for all followers of Christ to do God's Holy Will. Where Mary now is, we are meant and hope to be, with Divine grace. Mary was taken to heaven, body and soul, after her life on earth was ended because of her Immaculate nature She was protected by God's grace from personal sin.

May we seek to imitate her love, faith and obedience. Mary chose, with the God’s grace, to preserve her God-given purity throughout her whole life. She knew no sin and was taken, body and soul, to be with the Father and her Son. She stood by Christ under the Cross and stands by Him bodily at the right hand of the Father.

The Queen stands at your right hand, in gold of Ophir. Psalm 45:10

Blessed is she who trusted that the Lord's words to her would be fulfilled. May we see heaven as our final goal and come to share her glory. Blessed Mother Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth, pray for us and all those for whom we pray.

Saint Maximilian Kolbe, pray for us...

O Lord Jesus Christ, who said, "greater love than this no man has that a man lay down his life for his friends." Through the intercession of Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr, whose life illustrated such love, we beseech you to grant us our petitions . . .

(mention prayer requests)

Grant, O Lord Jesus, that we too may give ourselves entirely without reserve to the love and service of our Heavenly Queen in order to better love and serve our fellowman in imitation of your humble servant, Maximilian. Amen.  Pray 3 Hail Marys and a Glory Be

Through the Militia Immaculata movement, which Maximilian founded, he spread a fervent devotion of Consecration to Our Lady throughout the world. He gave up his life for a total stranger and loved his persecutors, giving us an example of unselfish love for all men, a love that was inspired by true devotion to Mary.  He said, "Genuine love rises above creatures and soars up to God.  In Him, by Him and through Him, it loves all men, both good and wicked, friends and enemies." Saint Maximilian Kolbe, through his great devotion to Our Lady, teaches us how to have a forgiving heart.

Saint Maximilian Kolbe, pray for all the intentions we receive, through the intercession of Immaculate Mary, Mother of God.

Reflection: Let the children come to Me...

Blessed are You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth; You have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom. Matthew 11:25

Jesus took a little child and had the child stand among them. Jesus took the child in His arms and told the disciples that unless they become like children they will never enter the Kingdom of heaven.

Let the children come to Me and do not prevent them; for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. After He placed His hands on them, He went away. Matthew 19:14-15

Jesus said, come to Him, like a little child. Come as you are, come with all of your problems and worries. Come messy, come with stumbling words. Come to Him and ask for guidance and help. Trust less in yourself and trust more in God. On many occasions, Jesus told his disciples that they need to become like little children. Jesus said to come with the simple trust of a child.

Come to Jesus like a little child. This is an invitation to freedom. Bring your pain and suffering and open your heart to Jesus and He will transform you. By surrendering to His plan for your life, Jesus gazes at You with great love. Bring your fears and anxieties to Him and He will shower you in His love and peace. As you allow Jesus to mold you, He will lead you to a path of simplicity and the way of spiritual childhood.

Heavenly Father, we ask You to bless all those for whom we pray. We thank You for the Gift of Your Son Jesus, for the Holy Spirit and for Our Blessed Mother Mary.

Reflection: Saint Clare of Assisi, Virgin

Today is the Feast Day of Saint Clare. Clare felt a fire stir within her when she heard Francis of Assisi preach and she had a great desire to live the Gospel. At the age of 18, she secretly left her home with her cousin Pacifica and did not return home again. In the middle of the night, Clare met Francis and his friars at the Portiuncola, the little chapel of ‘Mary of the Angels’. Francis cut her long blond hair and Clare left her fine clothes. She wore a simple dress of sackcloth and a thick veil and vowed from that moment on to give herself to God who would be her Spouse forever.

Francis built a cloister for her. When other ladies joined her, they became known as the Order of Poor Ladies, and later known as the Poor Clares. The Poor Ladies lived in a cloister, apart from the world. They supported Francis and his followers through their hidden life of prayer and sacrifice.

Clare loved to come before the Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament, her dearest Love. She received Jesus in Holy Communion as often as she was permitted. One day after she had received Holy Communion, the Child Jesus came to visit her. He lay in her arms and covered her with kisses.

Our Lord was close to Clare and her Sisters all the time. Once, He saved them from a great danger in answer to Clare's prayer. An army of rough soldiers came to attack Assisi and they planned to raid the convent first. Although very sick, she asked to be carried to the wall and right there, where the enemies could see it, she placed the Blessed Sacrament. Then on her knees, she begged God to save the Sisters. "O Lord, protect these Sisters whom I cannot protect now," she prayed. A voice seemed to answer:"I will keep them always in My care." At the same time a sudden fright struck the attackers and they fled as fast as they could. This became known as the Miracle of the Blessed Sacrament.

In speaking of Eucharistic Adoration, Saint Clare said,
"Gaze upon Him, consider Him, contemplate Him, as you desire to imitate Him."

Saint John Paul II said of Saint Clare: "Her whole life was a Eucharist because from her cloister she raised up a continual thanksgiving to God in her prayer, praise, supplication, intercession, weeping, offering and sacrifice. She accepted everything from the Father in union with His only begotten Son."

I have a very special love for Saint Clare, her profound devotion of the Eucharist and her life of contemplative prayer. I especially love the story of how she held up the Blessed Sacrament when Assisi was about to be attacked and the attackers fled in fright. In 2014, I had the great blessing of visiting Assisi and I remember being so moved by the statue of Saint Clare holding up the Blessed Sacrament. Jesus in the Eucharist heals, protects and performs miracles. Whenever you have an opportunity to go to Eucharistic Adoration, go and sit in the Presence of the Lord. He is waiting for you. Like Saint Clare, the more you come to Him, the more He will make you become like Him. When you gaze at Jesus in Eucharistic Adoration, He is gazing back at you with great love.

Words of Saint Clare:
“Place your mind before the mirror of eternity! Place your soul in the brilliance of glory! And transform your entire being into the image of the Godhead Itself through contemplation." 

Saint Clare, pray for us and all those we pray for through this ministry.

Our Lady of the Rosary and Saint Dominic

Today is the Feast Day of Saint Dominic. During his life, he tried to convert non-believers to Catholicism, founded the Order of Dominicans, and experienced apparitions of Blessed Mother Mary. She revealed to him the structure of the Most Holy Rosary which we pray today.

Dominic had a special devotion to what was the predecessor of the modern rosary. He went alone in to the forest and wept and prayed continuously for three days to appease the anger of Almighty God. After three days, he fell into a coma. While in a coma, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to him and asked: "Dear Dominic, do you know which weapon the Blessed Trinity wants to use to reform the world?" Mary continued: "I want you to know that, in this kind of warfare, the battering ram has always been the Angelic Psalter which is the foundation stone of the New Testament. Therefore if you want to reach these hardened souls and win them over to God, preach my Psalter" which is the Rosary.

Shortly after this apparition, he preached the Holy Rosary to the unconverted Carthars. To modify the paternoster (150 Our Fathers) and in compliance with the instruction in the apparition, the design of the Saint Dominic rosary came in to being. He set apart 15 mysteries of the rosary, grouped them in to 3 sets of 5 decades each. These groupings were designated the Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries. This design helped the Cathars better understand and to imitate the virtuous life of Jesus and Mary,

May the life Dominic lived so faithfully and the legacy that lives so vibrantly in time, strengthen us to live to our true call. We ask this, Holy God, in the Name of Jesus, in unity with the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Mother of Grace, Mother of Mercy, help us turn to you and Jesus by praying the Rosary daily. Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us. Saint Dominic, pray for us.

Reflection: Our Lady of the Snows and the Dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major

The most important church in the city of Rome dedicated to Our Lady is the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, erected around the year 352. Today is the Feast Day of the Dedication of Saint Mary Major. It is also known as the Feast Day of Our Lady of the Snows, due to a miraculous event which occurred there.

According to legend, an aristocrat John and his wife were unable to have children. They prayed continually and asked the Blessed Mother for her assistance. Our Lady appeared to them in a vision on the night of August 4-5. She requested that they build a church in her honor on the Esquiline hill and the sign to accompany this dream is that the exact location would be marked out in snow.

During that hot summer evening, a miraculous snowfall traced the form of the basilica on the hill. Our Lady also appeared to Pope Liberius in a dream that same night so that he too could arrive at the location to see the miraculous snowfall. Many people gathered to see the unusual event of snow glistening in the August sun. 

Realizing that the snow marked the exact location of the church, the people staked off the area before the snow melted. The basilica was completed within two years and consecrated by Pope Liberius; that is why it is sometimes referred to as the Basilica Liberiana, after the Pope who consecrated it.

When the Council of Ephesus defined Mary as Theotokos, the God-bearer, in 431 A.D., Pope Sixtus III (432-440) rebuilt and embellished the basilica. From the seventh century onward, it was referred to as Saint Mary the Great or Major. The Basilica has also been called Our Lady of the Snows in commemoration of the miraculous snowfall. The imposing facade was built by Pope Eugene III (1145-1153).

Among its great treasures are relics of the crib of the Baby Jesus from Bethlehem and a painting of the Madonna and Child known as the Salus Populi Romani, the Protectress of the People of Rome, which is attributed to Saint Luke. This image had been brought back from the Holy Land by Saint Helena, the mother of the Emperor Constantine. The venerable picture hung in the private chapel of Pope Liberius, and he ordered that it be brought to the Basilica for public veneration by the faithful. Throughout the centuries, there has been a special devotion to this famous picture of Our Lady.

The Basilica of Saint Mary Major has great significance to the John 10:10 Prayer Ministry. In 2012, upon the recommendation of a priest, "A Prayer of Entrustment to Mary" was prayed by another priest at the image of the Madonna and Child (shown above). This image, Salus Populi Romani is located in a side chapel. Many popes make an Entrustment to Mary of their papacy at this sacred image..

Our Lady of the Snows, pray for us and all those for whom we pray through this ministry.

Saint John Vianney, pray for us!

Today is the Feast Day of Saint John Vianney, patron of parish priests. He was known as the "Cure of Ars." He studied for the priesthood at the age of twenty, but was drafted into the army while he was studying. He left the army and went to the Lyons seminary in France in 1813. Primarily because of his notable holiness he was ordained a priest in 1815, but he lacked in his knowledge of religious studies. Three years later he was made parish priest of Ars, a remote French hamlet, where his reputation as a confessor and director of souls made him known throughout the world.

At his parish in Ars, he used the confessional as a primary means of converting souls, spending 16 to 18 hours a day, hearing confessions and absolving sinners all year around including in the very, hot summers without air conditioning and in the cold winters with insufficient heat. He fasted constantly, eating small morsels of rotten potatoes for his sustenance. Ten of thousands of souls were converted to Christ through his heroic efforts. Because he was converting so many souls, the demons were constantly attacking him, and on one occasion they set his bed on fire. He received spiritual gifts from God, including the discernment of souls and visions. This great mystic had the gift of tremendous patience. He was called a wonderworker who was loved by the crowds, but he retained a childlike simplicity, He remains to this day the living image of the priest after the heart of Christ.

Saint John Vianney had a great devotion to Saint Philomena. He regarded her as his guardian and erected a chapel and shrine in honor of the saint. In May 1843, he fell so ill he thought that his life was coming to its end. He asked Saint Philomena to cure him and promised to say 100 Masses at her shrine. Twelve days later, he was cured and he attributed his cure to her. He promoted devotion to Saint Philomena, a saint who was martyred for Jesus at the age of thirteen by the Roman government. His life was filled with works of charity and love. It is recorded that even the staunchest of sinners were converted at his mere word. He died August 4, 1859, and was canonized May 31, 1925.

INTERCESSORY PRAYER: Let us ask Saint John Vianney to give us the grace to go to confession often during our life on this earth so that our love for Jesus will be very pure.

"My little children, your hearts, are small, but prayer stretches them and makes them capable of loving God. Through prayer we receive a foretaste of heaven and something of paradise comes down upon us. Prayer never leaves us without sweetness. It is honey that flows into the souls and makes all things sweet. When we pray properly, sorrows disappear like snow before the sun." Saint John Vianney

"We should consider those moments spent before the Blessed Sacrament as the happiest of our lives." Saint John Vianney

Our Lady Queen of the Angels

O my brothers and sisters, I want you all to go to heaven. Saint Francis of Assisi

The second day of August is the Feast Day of Our Lady Queen of the Angels. The title refers to Mary's place of honor with her Son in the Kingdom of Heaven where Christ is King and Mary is Queen. Mary is placed over the angels who serve as God's messengers and guardians.

This feast dates back to before the days of Saint Francis. By the year 1045, there was a chapel in Assisi called Saint Mary of the Angels because it was believed angels had appeared there. By the time Saint Francis arrived in 1207, the church had fallen into disrepair.

Jesus appeared to Francis at the Church of San Damiano in Assisi and asked him to repair His church. Francis thought the Lord meant the physical building which he began to do immediately. Only later, Francis realized the Lord meant he was to repair the Church as the community of believers.

Saint Francis repaired three chapels. The third was popularly called the Portiuncula or the Little Portion, dedicated to Our Lady of the Angels and is now enclosed in a sanctuary at Assisi. The friars came to live at the Little Portion in early 1211. It became the “motherhouse” of the Franciscans and where Saint Clare came to the friars to make her vows in 1212 and where Saint Francis died in 1226.

The shrine is described as a replica of the little church, the "Portiuncula" or "little corner of the world" in Assisi.  This is where Saint Francis began to understand his vocation to follow the Gospel, give up all worldly goods, pray for and advocate peace, and care for the poor and sick.

Because of the favors from God obtained at the Portiuncula, Saint Francis asked the Pope to grant remission of sins to all who came there. The privilege extends beyond the Portiuncula to others churches, especially held by Franciscans, throughout the world. Through this gift, God pours out His unfathomable Divine Mercy upon the world. The Portiuncula was a source of Saint Francis' adoration of God. His message of peace and love remains alive through the turmoil of today's world. 

Our Lady Queen of the Angels, pray for us and all the intentions in our hearts.