Reflection: Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children

Today is a Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children. We remember the tens of millions of little ones lost to abortion since 1973, the tragic 48th anniversary of Roe v Wade in the United States. We pray for all souls wounded  by abortion.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, intercede for the protection of life in the womb as you did when you appeared to Juan Diego. Merciful Jesus, we ask you to open hearts and minds to the sanctity of all LIFE. We pray through the intercession of Saint John Paul II and through his prayers and beautiful writings, Theology of the Body.

Unborn children are entitled to the unalienable Right to Life endowed by God.

From the Declaration of Independence July 4, 1776
We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

I call heaven and earth today to witness against you: I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, by loving the Lord, your God, heeding His voice, and holding fast to Him. For that will mean life for you, a long life for you to live on the land which the Lord swore He would give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Deuteronomy 30:19-20

What can you do to promote a culture of life? 

Pray, Fast, Penance, Witness
Pray for all those wounded by abortion and for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life for the unborn. Fast and offer Penance for the sins against the dignity of life through abortion and Witness to the truth and sanctity of life.

Your Hands made me and fashioned me. Psalm 119:73 

Let us pray one Our Father, three Hail Marys and one Glory Be for an end to abortion.

As we pray for the unborn, we ask Jesus for a conversion of hearts so that every person will come to know the dignity and sacredness of all life.

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. Amen,  Recite one Hail Mary.

Kiss of Mercy Prayer Apostolate for Healing from Abortion

Saint Agnes, young Virgin and Martyr, pray for us!

We celebrate today the Feast Day of Saint Agnes of Rome. She was a martyr and is the patron saint of girls, virgins, engaged couples, victims of rape and for the virtue of chastity. Agnes consecrated her life and virginity to Jesus and promised Him that He would be her spouse.

When she rejected suitors, she was punished for being a Christian. She was placed in a brothel. Miraculously, she left unharmed. One man attempted to violate her and he was struck blind. She prayed for him and he was healed. During the persecutions of Christians, which were ordered by Diocletian, Agnes was beheaded at the age of thirteen.

The name Agnes means lamb. Amidst great sufferings and persecutions, she had courage and remained steadfast in her love and promise she made to Jesus, the Lamb of God.

Agnus Dei, qui tolis peccata mundi,
Lamb of God, who take away sins of world,
dona nobis pacem. grant us peace.

We have witnessed persecution and martyrdom of Christians throughout the world today. Saint Agnes is our powerful intercessor. We can ask her to help us have courage and to witness to Jesus. He dispels the darkness and shines His beautiful light.

Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, grant us peace in our hearts, in our families, in our country and in the world.

O Blood and Water which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a Fount of Mercy for us, I trust in You. Jesus I trust in You.  From the Chaplet of Divine Mercy

Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr, pray for us!

Pray the Rosary Today and Every Day for Peace in our Country and in our Hearts

Our Lady appeared in Fatima between May 13th and October 13th, 1917 to the shepherd children. Mary, the Mother of God, told them that God had sent her with a message for every man, woman and child. At the time, there was war and violence in many parts of the world, much as it is today. She told the children to pray the Rosary daily.

O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those most in need of thy mercy. Words requested by the Blessed Virgin Mary in Fatima to be prayed after each decade of the Rosary

Mary appealed to all to pray hard so that the war would cease. On many occasions, the children were asked to tell the people to pray the rosary daily for personal conversion and world peace. Mary warned that people would suffer the consequences of war, hunger and persecution of the Church if they disobeyed God's Will.

Do you pray the Rosary every day? 
If not, begin today. Pray the Rosary daily for peace, healing and conversion in our country.

Our Lady wants us to consecrate ourselves to her Immaculate Heart, a consecration in which we make a complete surrender of self to our Mother, promising her that we will: Pray the Rosary every day. Offer the little daily sacrifices for the conversion of sinners. Make the five Communions of Reparation on the first Saturdays of five consecutive months. In the last apparition at Fatima, Our Lady appeared as Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, holding the Scapular in her outstretched hand. The Scapular is the sign of our consecration to Mary's Immaculate Heart. It can be worn as a reminder of the promise we have made to Mary.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, identified herself to the shepherd children of Fatima as the Lady of the Rosary. Repeatedly during Our Lady's series of apparitions to the children, she emphasized praying the Rosary daily and "to pray the Rosary well," with meditation on the mysteries.

The Queen of Heaven held out the Rosary to mankind as a means of obtaining the salvation of souls, the conversion of sinners, true world peace, and the conversion of Russia. Let us use this spiritual treasure and pray the Rosary every day for peace in our country.

Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of the Rosary, we entrust all the names we receive through this ministry to your loving care.

Reflection: The Sign of the Cross

Saint Ephrem, the Syrian, liked to compare our life to the fingers of a hand, both to emphasize that its length is no more than a span, and to indicate that each phase of life, like the different fingers, has its particular character, and “the fingers represent the five steps by which man advances.”

In one of Saint Ephrem's hymns, he speaks of the pearl as a symbol of the riches and beauty of faith: "I placed the pearl, my brothers, on the palm of my hand, to be able to examine it. I began to look at it from one side and from the other: it looked the same from all sides. Thus is the search for the Son inscrutable, because it is all light. In its clarity, I saw the Clear One who does not grow opaque; and in His purity, the great symbol of the Body of Our Lord, which is pure. In His indivisibility, I saw the truth which is indivisible."

With the Sign of the Cross, we send a visible sign to the world and follow the advice of Saint Ephrem of Syria (died A.D. 373):

"Mark all your actions with the sign of the life giving Cross. Do not go out from the door of your house till you have signed yourself with the Cross. Do not neglect that sign whether in eating or drinking or going to sleep, or in the home or going on a journey. There is no habit to be compared with it. Let it be a protecting wall round all your conduct, and teach it to your children that they may earnestly learn the custom."

The Sign of the Cross
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Signum Crucis
In Nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.

I recall a time when there were some workers at my home. When the first one, Robert, came in the door, he said in a bellowing voice, "Where's the holy water?" I have a holy water font at my front door and it apparently had run dry. I came to the door with holy water in hand and filled it. Robert smiled, gave me a thumbs up, placed his hand in the holy water and said, "In Nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti. Amen." Then, he told me he loves the Latin Mass. He asked me if I knew about True Devotion to Mary. I said yes and I asked him he was consecrated to Jesus through Mary and he said yes. I told him I am too.

How awesome is our God! Robert went about his work. I had to leave my home for a little while and when I returned, Robert was standing outside, waiting for me. He told me how he had been very involved with the Consecration in his parish but how he felt recently that he was slipping away. When he walked into my home and saw the holy water font and the images of Jesus and Mary, he knew they were speaking to him, calling him back.

Isn't God so good! The Lord showed me through this encounter with Robert how He is always seeking us. God also showed me that when your life is consecrated to Jesus through Mary, they will not let you go!

Lord, grant that we may lovingly accept Your Will, and place ourselves each day in Your merciful Hands. Mary, Our Mother, pray for us, “now and at the hour of our death.” Keep us ever close to Jesus, your Beloved Son, the Lord and Giver of life. Amen.

Reflection: The Baptism of the Lord

Today is the Feast Day of the Baptism of Our Lord. In the life of Christ, His Baptism in the Jordan by John the Baptist marks the beginning of His public life. A dove descended upon Him representing the power of God and the Holy Spirit. "A voice came from the heavens, 'You are My beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.'" Mark 1:11

John the Baptist knew his mission to proclaim the coming of the Lord had ended:

"So this joy of mine has been made complete; He must increase, I must decrease." John 3:29-30

Let us make it our mission to be messengers of JOY in the Lord and to humbly bring others to Him as John the Baptist did: Jesus must increase; we must decrease.

The Baptism of Jesus occurred when He was thirty years old and marked the beginning of His three year public ministry of teaching, healing, delivering and performing miracles.

"God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and He went along doing good and healing all who were in the power of the devil, for God was with Him."  Acts 10:38

An anointing means an intimate union or covenant between God and one of His servants. God the Father speaks at this moment, to make clear who this Person is, His Divine Son, begotten from all eternity.

Through His Baptism, Jesus, the Lamb of God, who was without sin, took on Himself the sins of the world. He descended into the purifying waters and made the water holy to make us children of God and to take away our sins. His Baptism was to redeem us. Jesus went out to be baptized by John the Baptist, not for repentance, but to show us way to approach the Heavenly Father. The mystery of His Baptism is mercy.

"This is the one who came through water and blood, Jesus Christ, not by water alone, but by water and blood. The Spirit is the one that testifies, and the Spirit is truth." 1 John 5:6

After Jesus was baptized, He came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened for Him and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon Him. And a voice came from the heavens came, saying, "This is My Beloved Son; with whom I am well pleased." Matthew 3:16-17

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church: The Sacrament of Baptism
Baptism seals the Christian with an indelible spiritual mark (character) of his belonging to Christ. CCC 1272  Baptism indeed is the seal of eternal life. CCC 1274

In the Baptism of Jesus, we see the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Holy Trinity. May the Father, Son and Holy Spirit with Our Blessed Mother Mary, heal and protect all those we pray for through this prayer ministry.

Prayer to the Guardian Angel of the USA

For Peace in the United States of America

O glorious Guardian Angel of the United States, to whom God has entrusted the care of our beloved country, we honor you and thank you for the care and protection you have given to this great nation from the first moment of its inception.

O powerful Angel Guardian, whose watchful glance, encompasses this vast land from shore to shore, we know that our sins have grieved our Lord and God and marred the beauty of our heritage.  Lead us to a deep conversion, so that we may return to the embrace of His merciful love!

O Holy Angel, obtain for us through the intercession of the Queen of Heaven before the throne of God the graces we need to overcome the forces of evil so rampant in our beloved land.  Help us, our God-given protector and friend, to respond wholeheartedly to the urgent pleas of the Mother of God at Fatima.  Assist us to offer prayers and sacrifices necessary to bring peace and goodness to our nation.

We want to make you known and loved throughout our land, so that docile to your inspirations we may know, love and serve our Lord more faithfully and so become once more "one nation under God"! Amen.  Opus Sanctorum Angelorum

First Saturday Devotion

Let us pray to Our Lady of Fatima and ask her intercession to unite our families in love and to heal our relationships. Let us entrust our nation and the whole world to Our Blessed Mother's care and guidance. Her message at Fatima is that of world peace, the conversion of Russia and reconciliation to God. May all men and women heed the call of love and peace of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

Our Lady wants us to consecrate ourselves to her Immaculate Heart, a consecration in which we make a complete surrender of self to our Mother, promising her that we will: Say her Rosary every day. Offer the little daily sacrifices that come our way for the conversion of sinners. Make the five Communions of Reparation on the first Saturdays of five consecutive months.  

The First Saturday Devotion is offered with the intention of making reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the five offenses to her Immaculate Heart. 

1. Against the Immaculate Conception (denial or ridicule)

2. Against her perpetual virginity

3. Against her divine maternity (refusing to accept her as the Mother of God and of all mankind)

4. Those who implant in children's hearts, indifference, contempt and hate against our Immaculate Mother

5. Insults directed against her sacred images, displays of indifference or ridicule and infliction of damage to them

The essential elements of the First Saturday Devotion are:

1. Go to confession (can be within 8 days before or after the First Saturday)

2. Receive Holy Communion (if there is no Mass, offer a Spiritual Communion)

3. Pray five decades of the Rosary

4. Keep Our Lady company for 15 minutes while meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary

Our Lady promised that she will assist all who will practice this devotion the graces they need for salvation at the hour of death. Our Lady's promise is not a guarantee into heaven. Our cooperation with grace is always required.  It should be a life-long devotion as a sign of our devotion to her Immaculate Heart and a desire to make reparation for the blasphemies against her.

Our Lady of Fatima appeared between May 13th and October 13th, 1917 to three shepherd children, Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco. Mary, the Mother of God, told them that God had sent her with a message for every man, woman and child. 

At the time, there was war, violence and uncertainty in many parts of the world, much as it is today. Mary told the children to pray the Rosary daily. The Blessed Mother appealed to all to pray hard so that the war would end. 

"I am the Lady of the Rosary." With these words, the Mother of God identified herself to the shepherd children of Fatima. Repeatedly during her apparitions to the children, she told them to pray the Rosary daily and to pray the Rosary well, meditating on the mysteries. The Queen of Heaven held out the Rosary to mankind as a means of obtaining the salvation of souls, the conversion of sinners, true world peace, and the conversion of Russia. 

In the last apparition at Fatima Our Lady appeared as Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, holding the Scapular in her outstretched hand. The Scapular is the sign of our consecration to Mary's Immaculate Heart. Wearing the scapular daily reminds us of the promise we have made to Mary.

Our Lady of Fatima, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, we entrust all the names we receive to your loving care.