Happy Feast of the Assumption!

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Ann

Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of Mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary, pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ!

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July 26th: The Feast of Sts. Anne and Joachim

Posted on July 26, 2011 by Ann

By tradition Joachim and Anne are considered to be the names of the parents of Mary, the Mother of God. We have no historical evidence, however, of any elements of their lives, including their names. Any stories about Mary’s father and mother come to us through legend and tradition.

We get the oldest story from a document called the Gospel of James, though in no way should this document be trusted to be factual, historical, or the Word of God. The legend told in this document says that after years of childlessness, an angel appeared to tell Anne and Joachim that they would have a child. Anne promised to dedicate this child to God (much the way that Samuel was dedicated by his mother Hannah — Anne — in 1 Kings).

For those who wonder what we can learn from people we know nothing about and how we can honor them, we must focus on why they are honored by the church. Whatever their names or the facts of their lives, the truth is that it was the parents of Mary who nurtured Mary, taught her, brought her up to be a worthy Mother of God. It was their teaching that led her to respond to God’s request with faith, “Let it be done to me as you will.” It was their example of parenting that Mary must have followed as she brought up her own son, Jesus. It was their faith that laid the foundation of courage and strength that allowed her to stand by the cross as her son was crucified and still believe.

Such parents can be examples and models for all parents.

Anne (or Ann) is the patron saint of Christian mothers and of women in labor.

Prayer:

Parents of Mary, pray for all parents that they may provide the loving home and faithful teaching that you provided your daughter. Amen
From www.catholic.org

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July 16: Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel

Posted on July 16, 2011 by Ann

m_carmel.jpg (43771 bytes)

Novena To Our Lady of Mount Carmel

 
First Day

O Beautiful Flower of Carmel, most fruitful vine, splendor of heaven, holy and singular, who brought forth the Son of God, still ever remaining a pure virgin, assist us in our necessity! O Star of the Sea, help and protect us! Show us that you are our Mother!
(pause and mention petitions)

Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.
Second Day

Most Holy Mary, Our Mother, in your great love for us you gave us the Holy Scapular of Mount Carmel, having heard the prayers of your chosen son Saint Simon Stock. Help us now to wear it faithfully and with devotion. May it be a sign to us of our desire to grow in holiness.
(pause and mention petitions)

Say: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Third Day

O Queen of Heaven, you gave us the Scapular as an outward sign by which we might be known as your faithful children. may we always wear it with honor by avoiding sin and imitating your virtues. Help us to be faithful to this desire of ours.
(pause and mention petitions) s)

Say: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Fourth Day

When you gave us, Gracious Lady, the Scapular as our Habit, you called us to be not only servants, but also your own children.
We ask you to gain for us from your Son the grace to live as you children in joy, peace and love. (pause and mention petitions)

Say: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.
Fifth Day

O Mother of Fair Love, through your goodness, as your children, we are called to live in the spirit of Carmel. Help us to live in charity with one another, prayerful as Elijah of old, and mindful of our call to minister to God’s people.
(pause and mention petitions)

Say: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.
Sixth Day

With loving provident care, O Mother Most Amiable, you covered us with your Scapular as a shield of defense against the Evil One.
Through your assistance, may we bravely struggle against the powers of evil, always open to your Son Jesus Christ.
(pause and mention petitions)

Say: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Seventh Day

O Mary, Help of Christians, you assured us that wearing your Scapular worthily would keep us safe from harm. Protect us in both body and soul with your continual aid. may all that we do be pleasing to your Son and to you.
(pause and mention petitions)

Say: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.
Eighth Day

You give us hope, O Mother of Mercy, that through your Scapular promise we might quickly pass through the fires of purgatory to the Kingdom of your Son. Be our comfort and our hope.
Grant that our hope may not be in vain but that, ever faithful to your Son and to you, we may speedily enjoy after death the blessed company of Jesus and the saints.
(pause and mention petitions)

Say: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.
Ninth Day

O Most Holy Mother of Mount Carmel, when asked by a saint to grant privileges to the family of Carmel, you gave assurance of your Motherly love and help to those faithful to you and to your Son.
Behold us, your children.mtcarmel
We glory in wearing your holy habit, which makes us members of your family of Carmel, through which we shall have your powerful protection in life, at death and even after death.
Look down with love, O Gate of Heaven, on all those now in their last agony!
Look down graciously, O Virgin, Flower of Carmel, on all those in need of help!
Look down mercifully, O Mother of our Savior, on all those who do not know that they are numbered among your children.
Look down tenderly, O Queen of All Saints, on the poor souls!
(pause and mention petitions)

Say: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

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CNS: Vatican seeks to instruct tourists about the faith that inspired Catholic art

Posted on July 7, 2011 by Ann

TOURISTS-ART Jul-6-2011 (280 words) xxxi

Tourists should know inspiration behind Catholic art, Vatican says


The resurrection of Christ is depicted in a mural in the sanctuary of Holy Family Church in the West Bank city of Ramallah. (CNS file/Debbie Hill)

By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — When tourists visit a Catholic church or shrine to view the art or architecture, they also should get a sense of the faith that inspired the work, the Vatican said.

Catholics must welcome tourist visits as an opportunity for “the clear and explicit announcement of Jesus Christ,” said a message from the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelers.

The message was released July 6 in anticipation of World Tourism Day Sept. 27.

The World Tourism Organization, sponsor of the annual observance, has chosen “Tourism Linking Cultures” to be the theme in 2011.

Archbishop Antonio Veglio, president of the pontifical council, said the cultures drawn together by tourism have not only a historical and artistic heritage, but also customs, values and beliefs.

When accepting tourists at Catholic churches and shrines, church members must “show the true meaning of this cultural heritage born from faith and for the glory of God,” the message said.

Archbishop Veglio encouraged Catholic tourist destinations to ensure that their guidebooks highlight “the soul, inspiration and message” of the works displayed, and he floated the idea of forming a Catholic tour-guide association that would help guides learn how to introduce people gently to the faith while providing the historical and technical information they expect from a tourist destination.

To help those who visit churches and gaze at the religious art understand their true meaning, he said, it is important to explain their religious nature and to place them “in the liturgical context” for which they were made.

Archbishop Veglio also used the message to announce the seventh World Congress on the Pastoral Care of Tourism, to be held April 23-27, 2012, in Cancun, Mexico.

END

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1,400-year-old St Paul fresco discovered in ancient Roman catacomb

Posted on July 6, 2011 by Ann

A 1,400-year-old fresco of St Paul has been discovered in an ancient Roman catacomb.

1,400-year-old St Paul fresco discovered in ancient Roman catacomb

The sixth-century fresco of Saint Paul has been discovered in the Catacombs of San Gennaro in Naples 

By Nick Pisa in Rome

1:39PM BST 29 Jun 2011

The fresco was found during restoration work at the Catacombs of San Gennaro (Saint Januarius) in the southern port city of Naples by experts from the Pontifical Commission of Sacred Art.

The announcement was made on the feast day of St Peter and Paul which is traditionally a bank holiday in Rome and details of the discovery were disclosed in the Vatican’s official newspaper L’Osservatore Romano.

A photograph released by the Vatican shows the apostle, famous for his conversion to Christianity from Judaism, with a long neck, a slightly pink complexion, thinning hair, a beard and big eyes that give his face a “spiritual air.”

Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, who is Pope Benedict’s Culture Minister, wrote in L’Osservatore Romano:”The image of St Paul has an intense expression, philosophical and its discovery enriches our imager of one of the principal apostles.”

The figure is dressed in white and beige robes and with the letter ‘I’ on the hem, which may stand for ‘Iesus’ (Latin for Jesus) and it shows him approaching a dead person.

Details on the right hand side of the fresco have crumbled away but nevertheless it still remains a striking image which Cardinal Ravasi described as “sensational.”

Father Antonio Loffredo, director of the catacombs in Naples, said: “We hope that many locals and tourists will come and look at this fresco which has been wonderfully restored.”

Last year another fresco of St Paul was found in another Catacomb in Rome and that was dated to the 4th century AD and is believed to be the oldest image of him in existence.

St Paul was a Roman Jew, born in Tarsus in modern-day Turkey, who started out persecuting Christians but later became one of the greatest influences in the Church.

He did not know Jesus in life but converted to Christianity after seeing a shining light on the road to Damascus and spent much of his life travelling and preaching.

He was executed for his beliefs around AD65 and is thought to have been beheaded, rather than crucified, because he was a Roman citizen.

copyright Telegraph UK, 2011

http://www.telegraph.co.uk

Posted in Catholic news, Pope Benedict XVI | 2 Comments