Been a While

I customized this card adding his name

Wow, lots of stuff have happened that I just didn't have the heart to blog about. But maybe I will get back in the swing of things: Advent is over; Lent is over but now it is the Glorious Easter-tide Season! He Is Risen! He is Risen Indeed. Also, this Sunday is two-fold in importance:  My precious James receives his First Holy Communion AND it is also Divine Mercy Sunday! Thanks Be to God! We are all looking with joy towards this mementos occasion. I even printed up a homemade Prayer card for James, with a picture of a boy receiving from Jesus His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity and there is also an image of Our Lord as He appears on the Divine Mercy image. James LOVED this because he loves the Divine Mercy. He wants to go to Confession on Saturday so his soul can be "squeaky clean" (love it!). Such a wonderfully pious child! I plan on adding the prayer on the back tomorrow which will read:

My Jesus, I believe that You are truly Present in the Most Blessed Sacrament. I love you above all things and I desire to possess You within my soul. I believe because You have said it and I am ready to give my life to maintain this Truth. 

 And of course the date and Parish he receive. We've been practicing Communion on the Tongue since the CCD only taught about CITH (!) I reminded him in THIS family we receive on the tongue out of respect for our Lord. I also had to read over some instruction the DRE wrote up and she continually referred to the Blessed Sacrament as "bread". GAH! Parents, we MUST be vigilant in seeing to the Religious Ed of our children ESPECIALLY at your typical Novus Ordo (Ordinary Form).  I even had to explain what a mortal sin was and how we should always strive to never, ever commit one and if have the misfortune of doing so to present ourselves to the Confession as soon as possible! But more importantly how receiving Our Lord is the best remedy to avoid sin. This is the child, who at 4, on a Ash Wednesday service, which was packed to the gills, including the Governor of our State, when not given a Host, loudly protested by wailing loudly "I WANT THE BODY OF PRIST!" (mispronounced "Christ"). Funny now but at the time I felt horrible, my poor child wanted Our Lord!

And so ends my update. I love that from now on all 3 of us will be able to kneel at the Altar Rail and receive Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament! So many graces!

Traditional Latin Mass Community!

Every Sunday @ 11 a.m. in the Crypt at St. Mary's Cathedral in Downtown Lansing, Father Jefferey Robideau will offer Mass in the Extraordinary Form! Go and register and no, you do NOT have to leave your regular parish. Father needs helps with servers, ushers and various many other things. Let us give thanks to Our Lord Jesus Christ for this wonderful opportunity and support the Mass of the Ages!

Spiritual Bouquet for Pope Benedict XVI

The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest is preparing to send a spiritual bouquet to His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI. Via an online form, the faithful may contribute to this bouquet, along with others throughout the world, which will be presented directly to His Holiness.

All are invited to contribute Holy Masses, Rosaries, novenas, Holy Hours, or works of charity for our Holy Father at a time in which he is being unjustly attacked.

The Institute is especially encouraging prayers and sacrifices during a special Novena (PDF) beginning on Saturday, April 24, the 5th anniversary of the inauguration of Pope Benedict XVI, through May 2, which is the first Sunday of the month of Mary, Mother of the Church.

Spiritual Bouquet Form »

Amid the anti-Catholic sentiment in the media of today, please express your fidelity to the Vicar of Christ on earth in this hour when he is unjustly attacked. Pray for our beloved Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, that God may continue to grant him an abundance of spiritual wisdom and strength to guide the Barque of Peter through the difficult waters of our times.

Desiring to show our filial support and gratitude to our Holy Father, the Institute of Christ the King wishes to offer an abundant spiritual bouquet to His Holiness. Your prayers are needed! To participate in this spiritual bouquet, please use our online form below. Simply indicate the number and types of prayers you wish to offer. This spiritual bouquet will then be presented directly to His Holiness.

Novena for the Pope Day 2

Day 2 of the Novena for the Holy Father!

PRAYER FOR POPE BENEDICT XVI

Lord, source of eternal life and truth,

give to your shepherd, Benedict, a spirit

of courage and right judgment, a spirit

of knowledge and love. By governing

with fidelity those entrusted to his care,

may he, as successor to the Apostle

Peter and Vicar of Christ, build your

Church into a sacrament of unity, love

and peace for all the world. Amen.

V/ Let us pray for Benedict, the pope.

R/ May the Lord preserve him,

give him a long life,

make him blessed upon the earth,

and not hand him over

to the power of his enemies.

V/ May your hand

be upon your holy servant.

R/ And upon your son,

whom you have anointed.

Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory Be…

The Time to Pray is NOW

With all these recent attacks on Holy Catholic Church, and His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, it has occured to me that Satan is unleashing his fury in an onslaught, a pummeling. Prayer is the best weapon against these attacks of Satan and his minions (in this case, the mainstream media). Gossip is being written as fact; accusations are being asserted has been proven already with out any sort of fact checking or- God-forbid, any actually investigative journalism. The Holy Father is being smeared constantly with lies and intentionally misleading information. I cannot sit by at let this happen. PRAY FOR THE POPE AND FOR HOLY MOTHER CHURCH!

Saint Michael, For Protection of the Church

O glorious St. Michael, guardian and defender of the Church of Jesus Christ, come to the assistance of this Church, against which the powers of hell are unchained, guard with especial care her august Head, and obtain that for him and for us the hour of triumph may speedily arrive. O glorious Archangel St. Michael, watch over us during life, defend us against the assaults of the demon, assist us especially at the hour of death; obtain for us a favorable judgment, and the happiness of beholding God face to face for endless ages. Amen.

Prayer to Defeat the Work of Satan

O Divine Eternal Father, in union with your Divine Son and the Holy Spirit, and through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg You to destroy the Power of your greatest enemy -- the evil spirits.

Cast them into the deepest recesses of hell and chain them there forever! Take possession of your Kingdom which You have created and which is rightfully yours.

Heavenly Father, give us the reign of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

I repeat this prayer out of pure love for You with every beat of my heart and with every breath I take.

Amen.

Divine Mercy Sunday Part Deux

Our Lord to Saint Faustina:

Encourage souls to say the Chaplet which I have given you ... Whoever shall recite it will receive great mercy at the hour of death ... When they say this chaplet in the presence of the dying, I will stand between My Father and the dying person, not as the just Judge but as the Merciful Savior ... Priests will recommend it to sinners as their last hope of salvation. Even if there were a sinner most hardened, if he were to recite this chaplet only once, he would receive grace from My infinite mercy. I desire to grand unimaginable graces to those souls who trust in My mercy ... through the Chaplet you will obtain everything, if what you ask for is compatible with My will.

. (Diary 687, 1541, 1731)

HOW TO PRAY THE DIVINE MERCY CHAPLET

The Chaplet of Mercy is recited using ordinary rosary beads of five decades.

1. Begin with the Sign of the Cross, 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary and The Apostles Creed.

2. Then on the Our Father Beads say the following:
Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.

3. On the 10 Hail Mary Beads say the following:
For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

(Repeat step 2 and 3 for all five decades).

4. Conclude with (three times):
Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

For more information about the Divine Mercy Chaplet or Image, visit the Marians of the Immaculate Conception

On a more personal note, I did attend Mass and received Communion. On Saturday I went to Confession. I feel like what I can only describe as "Xanax for the soul". I feel peaceful, calm and quiet and reflective.

Happy Birthday Papa

Today was my father's 73rd birthday. It was subdued yet strangely calm and non-stressful. There were some very sad moments for me and my dad; it was the first birthday of a long line of birthdays, holidays and other family occasions without my mom. I missed her so much the past 2 days, I've barely been functional. Add to that a massive row with Jeremy about stupid shit (religion). When I woke up this morning though, I felt much better and more clear-headed and not nearly as tearful and zombie like. I made it to Confession for Divine Mercy Sunday tomorrow and cannot wait to have the past 18 months washed clean away; gone, kaput.

The Joyful Mysteries: My wandering meditations

Christmas is only 5 weeks away, and I thought, for the edification of my readers (both of you) I would, each Sunday leading up to Christmas, explain a bit my meditations on the 5 Joyful Mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary. These are merely what I try to meditate upon when praying the Rosary. I don't always succeed as my mind tends to wander greatly; or I fall asleep. Some come easily, some come rather reluctantly. So, next up: The Annunciation.