Ideas for the Month of May: Hail Marys Each Day

We would like to share some ideas to help make your month of May extra special. 

This will be the first of three videos we will be releasing this week. To watch the video click HERE.

Congratulations Fr. McDermott!

Members of the Children's Rosary at Fr. McDermott's
Ordination on April 25th 2015

Yesterday was the first Mass of Fr. Johnn McDermott MSA.  For the past two years he has been assigned to the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Waterbury, Connecticut USA as a Deacon.  During this time he has been wonderfully supportive of the Children's Rosary at the Basilica. Several times, such as the Feast of St. Nicholas, he shared with the children and those adults present for the Children's Rosary special stories on topics dear to him such as Our Lady. He spoke of times through history when Popes have called the faithful to pray the Rosary for special intentions.  Yesterday the children were there to support him.  Two of our members were his altar boys and looking out there were lots of little faces who have been praying for him though his studies. 

Being able to attend Fr. McDermott's first Mass one could feel very quickly his genuine humility.  The love and reverence he shared through the sacrifice of the Mass was indeed extremely moving.  At the conclusion of the Mass I was able to ask for one of Fr. McDermott's first blessings and in a special way I asked him to bless the Children's Rosary as a whole. 

Other posts you may enjoy:

How to Start a Children's Rosary

Finding Answers to Our Spiritual Questions in the Garden

Vocation of Motherhood

What is the Rosary?

The word "Rosary" comes from the Latin word "Rosarium" meaning "a garland of roses" or, as it is often referred to, a crown of roses. According to St. Louis de Montfort, “Every time people say the Rosary devoutly, they place a crown of one hundred and fifty three red roses and sixteen white roses upon the heads of Jesus and Mary.” 

The Rosary was described by St. John Paul II as a "prayer of great significance, destined to bring forth a harvest of holiness.” His words echo those of other Pope’s that preceded him, such as Pope Leo XIII who emphasized the Rosary as an effective spiritual weapon against the evils afflicting society.  Indeed, in spending time reflecting and contemplating the mysteries of the Rosary, which follow the life of Jesus, we begin to take on more and more of the beautiful characteristics and virtues that Our Lord exemplified.  With His dear Mother watching over us, each of us is guided and protected in a path of holiness.  

Bringing our children to pray the Rosary is a beautiful way to encourage the development of virtue.  Our Blessed Mother explains this in the promises given to St. Dominic to those who faithfully pray the Rosary:

It will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.

The promises attached to the Rosary have an Imprimatur.  The promise listed above is just one of 15 promises to those who pray the Rosary.  The Rosary is a rich source of grace.  Each mystery of the Rosary has a spiritual fruit associated with it.  The Annunciation (the first joyful mystery) yields humility, the Visitation increases love of neighbor and the third joyful mystery the Nativity increases poverty of spirit.  Poverty of Spirit is the drawing of one’s desires away from the world and increasing desire of things above. It is an emptying of oneself and an allowing Our Lord to fill us. It is wonderful that this fruit helps us to seek that which awaits us in heaven.

As our first vocation in life is to holiness, prayer of the Rosary will help in this path.  Recently,  the Children’s Rosary® was formed.  It is an effort to begin Rosary prayer groups for children in Parishes and schools. These little groups meet weekly or monthly for approximately 30 minutes.  Yet this time in prayer has been so important for these children.  There are so few places that children today can come together to pray with other children and have other children pray for them.  For many children this grounding in prayer and fostering of love for Our Lord and their heavenly Mother will serve to help them for a lifetime.  

Other posts you may enjoy:

How to Start a Children's Rosary
Children's Rosary Book
How to Pray the Rosary

Praying for Our Seminarians

Friar Alphonsus Mary of Our Lady of Sorrow
with his father

Today a Mass was offered for all seminarians that they will grow in holiness and lead us all in love.  This is something the Children's Rosary does on the first of each month.  We began this practice last April on our Children's Rosary anniversary.  As we had done the previous year we chose a prayer initiative for the year.  As our seminarians will be the future shepherds and our children are the future flock it seemed a beautiful way for the children to help. We would like to continue this prayer intitiative going forward

AS WE LOOK BACK OVER THIS PAST YEAR I THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE WONDERFUL TO MEET ONE OF THE SEMINARIANS WHO HAS BEEN INCLUDED IN THE CHILDREN'S PRAYERS

In October a mother reached out and asked the children to pray for her son who had entered the seminary.  His name is Friar Alphonsus Mary of Our Lady of Sorrows.  She shared a beautiful story one she has given me permission to share.

"This photo includes my dear husband John.  We were visiting Fra. Alphonsus in New Bedford, MA, where he was awaiting his move to Italy one year ago.  We live in southern California and were blessed to make some trips to the various monasteries where he lived and to meet the holy priests involved in his formation.  The good Lord put the call to religious orders in my son's heart.  I didn't anticipate it.  I have two sons only and no daughters and therefore thought both would marry and give me grand babies.   God wrestled him out of my maternal clutches and gently brought me around to complete the surrender of my child that I offered at his birth 20 years earlier.  My husband, likewise, cooperated with God's request.  Although, I think he shed more tears than me.  He has such a soft heart.

Ryan James Timossi, now known as Friar Alphonsus Mary of our Lady of Sorrows, was a very kind younger brother to Sean.  He always wanted to include Sean in treats that he would receive.  He shared toys with his brother, never minding when they were taken from him before he was finished playing.  He seemed to be born with a generous, caring heart.  When he was five years old he came home from a friend's house concerned about how to convince his friend to love God.  He wanted to bring him to church because his family didn't attend anywhere.  He had an evangelical heart early in life.  I home schooled both boys for nine years until they expressed a desire to attend the local public school.  Ryan made friends there and also on the baseball team  that his father coached.  He also developed skills on the guitar and did some composing.  He had rock star dreams.  When he was 16 years old he and his brother attended the Steubenville West conference that his uncle oversaw in San Diego.  He told me that when the priest processed around the arena of 5000 youths, holding high the Blessed Sacrament in a monstrance, that he had an encounter with the true presence of the Lord.  He spent the next four years shedding the world and running to the Lord.  He looked at several religious orders and discovered the Lord's plan for him with the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate.   He loves  to teach children and also doing door to door evangelizing.  He and I tie cords onto Miraculous Medals to make nice necklaces.  He carries them in his deep pockets and offers them to everyone he meets.  He loves to read about the Saints. He loves to pray the Mass and the four to five hours of community prayer every day with his confreres.  

This is my dear Fra. Alphonsus.  What we need now is much grace for the years of study ahead.  Italian is a new language for him, and being taught in it presents a huge hurdle.  I truly believe in the power of prayer offered by humble hearts.  Children are a wonderful source of humility and so their prayers have special influence on Jesus and Mary.  Thank you again for this wonderful ministry.  I have a hunch the Lord has great plans for it."

A Beautiful update to this wonderful letter:  "Fra Alphonsus reports that he passed his first classes (taught in Italian).  This is truly miraculous as he only had one year to teach himself the language. Please keep Friar Alphonsus and his entire order in your prayers".

A Beautfiul Story of Prayer to Our Lady

Today after Mass and the Rosary, I happened to have a lovely conversation with Sean.  He shared with me a beautiful story from Divine Mercy Sunday this past spring.  Sean is blind and walks to church a mile each day.  He follows the same route and rarely deviates from it.  He enters the Church from the side door leaving his cane outside.  He takes a seat in the chapel closest to the exit.  His passage through the Church is one that is carefully mapped out through years of coming to daily Mass.  Before being introduced to Sean I thought he had a problem with his legs as I had seen him trip several times.  However, once we became friends he shared with me that his legs are like those of an 18 year old, despite his 70 years on earth but the problem is his eyes.

Sean shared that on Divine Mercy Sunday before arriving at the Church he said a prayer to Our Lady.  He asked her to help him go to confession.  There was a special Divine Mercy Celebration planned with adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, confession and veneration of the Divine Mercy Image at our Church.  When Sean entered the chapel he realized there was a large crowd already there.  He took his seat at the end of the row.  He could tell that the seat next to him was empty but the rest of the row was full.  He quickly decided that he would not try and go to confession as there would be no way for his to navigate through the crowd.  As he sat in his seat a women approached and desired to sit in the seat next to him.  As she took her seat she said, "I've been placed here by design."

Sean could not believe the women said this as it was a very odd thing for a person to say.  A few minutes later the women introduced herself and she said she had remembered Sean from the daily Rosary which she used to join some years ago at the parish.  Sean then mentioned something about confession and the women quickly responded that she would be happy to make sure he got to confession.

Now Sean has mentioned this story to me twice.  Once several months ago and again today.  Each time he has mentioned it to me there is a wonderful love for Our Lady that wells up.  It is the wonderful appreciation of a Mother who provides for her children and listens to their prayers.  We are all in some way blind on our journey to her Son.  We need a steady hand to guide us safely to the goal that we seek.  Our Lady beautifully finds her ways of being there right when we need her and in the smallest ways, that only we understand, she shows us that it was her hand all the time steadying us and keeping us on the surest path.  As we were parting Sean said, "if that doesn't get through a thick Irish head I don't know what will."  Sean was speaking about himself as he is from Ireland.  Sean has an extremely deep devotion to Our Lady and felt Our Lady's intercession most beautifully that day.

Prayer to Father Vincent Capodanno

Servant of God

Father Vincent R. Capodanno, MM

February 13 1929-Sept 4 1967

Prayer to Obtain a Favor through the Intercession of Servant of God Fr. Capodanno: 

May God who has offered healing and strength through the hands of His only Son, Our Lord, and through Christ’s many servants grant me the favor of His healing and through the intercession of His servant, Fr. Vincent Capodanno, priest, missionary, and chaplain, who always sought to heal and comfort the wounded and dying on the field of battle. May I be granted this request on my own field of battle I pray in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

IMPRIMATUR

 +Most Rev. Edwin F. O'Brien 

Archbishop, Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA

A friend at Church had recently seen a program on Father Vincent Capodanno and recommended a documentary about him called the Grunt Padre.  I was intrigued by this heroic missionary and Chaplain from New York and wanted to learn more.  A visit to the Vincent Capadonno website brought the story of a wonderful priest a true inspiration.  The children and I ordered the documentary and after watching the story of his life we decided we wanted pray a novena to Fr. Capodonno and felt that his birthday February 13th would be a good day to start it.  

Included below is a statement given about Fr. Capadonno obtained from http://www.vincentcapodanno.org 

Over here [Vietnam] there is a written policy that if you get three Purple Hearts you go home within 48 hours. On Labor Day, our battalion ran into a world of trouble- when Father C. (Capodanno) arrived on the scene it was 500 Marines against 2500 North Vietnamese Army Regulars. Needless to say, we were constantly on the verge of being completely overrun and the Marines on several occasions had to advance in a retrograde movement. This left the dead and wounded outside the perimeter as the Marines slowly withdrew. Casualties were running high and Father C. had his work cut out for him. Early in the day, he was shot through the right hand which all but shattered his hand- one corpsman patched him up and tried to med evac him but Father C declined saying he had work to do. A few hours later, a mortar landed near him and left his right arm in shreds hanging from his side. Once again, he was patched up and once again he refused evacuation. There he was, moving slowly from wounded to dead to wounded using his left arm to support his right as he gave absolution or Last Rites, when he suddenly spied a corpsman get knocked down by the burst of an automatic weapon. The corpsman was shot in the leg and couldn't move and understandably panicked. Fr. C. ran out to him and positioned himself between the injured boy and the automatic weapon. Suddenly, the weapon opened up again and this time riddled Father C. from the back of his head to the base of his spine- and with his third Purple Heart of the day- Father C. went home. 

- Lieutenant Joseph E. Pilon, MD Christmas 1967

Prayer for the Unity of Christians

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity began January 18th and will conclude on January 25th 2013 the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle.  It is an international ecumenical observance lasting eight days.  The Holy Father today emphasized the importance of unity among Christians during his Sunday Angelus at the Vatican.  "One of the most serious sins that disfigures the face of the Church is agains its visible unity."  He also urged thousands of pilgrims at St. Peter's Square today to pray for peace as part of this Christian Unity week.

Pope waves after general audience
Giampiero Sposito/ Reuters

Prayer for the Unity of Christians

Almighty and eternal God,

You gather the scattered sheep

and watch over those You have gathered.

Look kindly on all who follow Jesus, You Son.

You have marked them with the seal of one baptism; 

now make them one in the fullness

of faith and unite them in the bond of love.

We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayer to St. Joseph by Brother Andre

"Saint Joseph, pray for me as you would pray if you were here in my place with the same difficulties. Saint Joseph, hear my prayer." (...) "Help me as you would have liked to be helped yourself, had you been here on earth in my situation."

-Brother Andre, CSC

Litany to St. Joseph
Memorare to St. Joseph

Memorare to Saint Joseph

Remember,

O most chaste spouse of the Virgin Mary,

that never has it been known that 

anyone who asked for your help

and sought your intercession

was left unaided.

Full of confidence in your power,

I hasten to you,

and beg your protection.

Listen,

O foster father of the Redeemer,

to my humble prayer,

and in your goodness

hear and answer me.

Amen

Prayer to St. Joseph by Brother Andre

Litany to St. Joseph

St. John Neumann

St. Neumann
Feast Day: January 5th

PRAYER FOR THE INTERCESSION OF ST JOHN NEUMANN

O Saint John Neumann, your ardent desire of bringing all souls to Christ impelled you to leave home and country; teach us to live worthily in the spirit of our Baptism which makes us all children of the one Heavenly Father and brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ, the first-born of the family of God.

Obtain for us that complete dedication in the service of the needy, the weak, the afflicted and the abandoned which so characterized your life. Help us to walk perseveringly in the difficult and, at times, painful paths of duty, strengthened by the Body and Blood of our Redeemer and under the watchful protection of Mary our Mother.

May death still find us on the sure road to our Father's House with the light of living Faith in our hearts. Amen.

In a special way we are praying to St. John Neumann as we approach his Feast January 5th.  A new Children's Rosary group will meet for the first time January 5th in Naples Florida at the Parish of St. Agnes.  Two other newly formed Children's Rosary groups will also meet on his Feast: the Children's Rosary at St. Brigid Church in West Hartford CT and the Children's Rosary at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Waterbury CT.  Additionally the publisher of the new Children's Rosary book is named after St. John Neumann the first saint canonized from the United States. The publisher is called Neumann Press.  So in many ways we are praying to St. John Neumann for his help and also in thanksgiving for the wonderful ways he has already interceded for our group.

Prayer obtained from the website of the Shrine of St. John Neumann

Angelus Prayer

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary: And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fuit of thy womb, Jesus.  Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen
Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.
Hail Mary...
And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.
Hail Mary...
Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:
Pour forth, we beeech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made know by the message of an angel, may be His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Prayer of St. Teresa of Avila

Feast October 15

Let nothing disturb you.

Let nothing dismay you.

All things are passing.

God never changes.

Patience attains all that it strives for.

Who has God lacks nothing.

God alone suffices.

Prayer to Guardian Angel

Angel of God, my guardian dear,

To whom His love commits me here:

Ever this day be at my side, 

To light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.

Prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows by St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

Prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows 

by St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

I compassionate thee, O most sorrowful Mother! 

Thy heart was pierced with a sword of grief 

when Simeon foretold to thee in the Temple 

the ignominious death and the desolation of thy Divine and most dear Son, 

which thou wert destined one day to witness. 

By the great anguish of thy suffering heart, 

O gracious Queen of the universe, 

impress upon my mind, 

in life and in death, 

the sacred Passion of Jesus and thine own sorrows.

Amen.

Honoring Our Lady's Sorrows

Litany to Our Lady of Sorrows

Devotion to the Seven Sorrows of Mary

Graces Given to Those who honor the Seven Sorrows of Mary

First Saturday Devotion

The First Saturday Devotion to Our Lady was revealed to the three children of Fatima.  Our Lady shared with Lucia on June 13, 1917 “Jesus wants to make use of you to make me known and loved.  He wants to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart.”

The Devotion is in honor of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and is meant to make reparation to it for the sins of mankind.  

This Devotion consists of:

Going to Confession(The confession may be made under the usual condition of 8 days before or after Holy Communion, provided the person is not in a state of mortal sin when he receives Holy Communion)

receiving Holy Communion

reciting 5 decades of the rosary

spending 15 minutes with Our Lady meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary.

All of these are to be done with the intention of making reparation to her.

Our Lady promises that as the Mediatrix of All Graces that at the hour of death, all graces necessary for salvation will be given to those who faithfully practice this devotion for the First Saturday of any five consecutive months.

On June 13, 1929 Lucia saw Mary holding her Immaculate Heart with swords piercing it.

“There are so many souls whom the Justice of God condemns for sins committed against me, that I have come to ask reparation.  Sacrifice for this intention and pray.”

ANIMA CHRISTI: Favorite Prayer of St. Ignatius Loyola

ANIMA CHRISTI

Soul of Christ, sanctify me

Body of Christ, save me.

Blood of Christ Inebriate me.

Water from the side of Christ, wash me.

Passion of Christ, strengthen me.

O good Jesus, hear me.

Within Thy wounds hide me.

Suffer me not to be separated from Thee.

From the malignant enemy, defend me.

In the hour of my death, call me.

And bid me come to Thee.

That with Thy saints I may praise Thee,

Forever and ever. Amen.

(Indulgenced by Blessed Pope Pius IX, Jan. 9, 1954)

This prayer dates from around the 14th century.  As tomorrow (July 31st) is the Feast of Ignatius of Loyola and this is one of his favorite prayers  I thought it would be a good day to post the Anima Christi.  It also happens to be one of my favorite prayers, too.

St. Ignatius of Loyola was the youngest of 13 children and born in Spain.  After being wounded as a soldier in the Spanish army he experienced a deep conversion.  He experienced a vision of the Virgin Mary and infant Jesus at the shrine of Our Lady of Monserrat in 1522.  He spent the next two years in Manresa where he would spend up to 7 hours in prayer.  It was during this time that he began working on his great book Spiritual Exercises. St. Ignatius took a vow of poverty, chastity and obedience and went on to found the order of Jesuits.  

Favorite Quote:

"If God causes you to suffer much, it is a sign that He has great designs for you, and that He certainly intends to make you a saint. And if you wish to become a great saint, entreat Him yourself to give you much opportunity for suffering; for there is no wood better to kindle the fire of holy love than the wood of the cross, which Christ used for His own great sacrifice of boundless charity." (St. Ignatius of Loyola)

Our Lord’s Prayer

In the gospel on Thursday Jesus gives us a glimpse into His prayer life.  He shows us how He prays to the Father.  It is not long winded but concise.  The first thing Our Lord emphasizes is the Father’s love for us.  For He tells us to address His Father as Our Father.  As a Father He gives us everything. He is different from our earthy father for He is in Heaven.  Although our earthly father loves us Our Father who is in Heaven loves us even more and will never abandon us. He offers us only love. Because He is our Father we must love Him in turn. With love we must respect Our Heavenly Father and glorify and praise His name.

“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this:

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
     on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil.

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you”. (Matthew 6:7-15)

One of the members of the children’s rosary some months ago sent me a link to a young child prodigy, Jackie Evancho. The young girl with a voice of an angel sings the Our Father.  I knew there would be a day to include the link.  When I heard the reading Thursday I knew that I had the perfect reading.  Please Enjoy!

Jackie Evancho

Jackie Evancho singing, "Our Father"

The Miracle Prayer

The Miracle Prayer

Lord Jesus, I come before Thee, just as I am, I am sorry for my sins, I repent of my sins, please forgive me. In Thy Name, I forgive all others for what they have done against me. I renounce Satan, the evil spirits and all their works. I give Thee my entire self, Lord Jesus, I accept Thee as my Lord God and Savior. Heal me, change me, strengthen me in body, soul, and spirit.

Come Lord Jesus, cover me with Thy Precious Blood, and fill me with Thy Holy Spirit, I love Thee Lord Jesus, I praise Thee Lord Jesus, I thank Thee Jesus, I shall follow Thee every day of my life. Amen.

Mary, My Mother, Queen of Peace, all the Angels and Saints, please help me. Amen.

Say this prayer faithfully, no matter how you feel. When you come to the point where you sincerely mean each word with all your heart, Jesus will change your whole life in a very special way. You will see.
The Miracle Prayer is written by Father Peter M. Rookey, O.S.M., the founder of International Compassion Ministry.

St. Thérèse's Prayer for Priests

St. Thérèse’s devotion to the Priesthood is to be found in all its fullness in a prayer which she used to say daily and which she learnt off by heart; this is all the more remarkable in view of her known distaste for lengthy set forms of prayer.

‘O Holy Father, may the torrents of love flowing from the sacred wounds of Thy Divine Son bring forth priests like unto the beloved disciple John who stood at the foot of the Cross; priests: who as a pledge of Thine own most tender love will lovingly give Thy Divine Son to the souls of men.

May Thy priests be faithful guardians of Thy Church, as John was of Mary, whom he received into his house. Taught by this loving Mother who suffered so much on Calvary, may they display a mother’s care and thoughtfulness towards Thy children. May they teach souls to enter into close union with Thee through Mary who, as the Gate of Heaven, is specially the guardian of the treasures of Thy Divine Heart.

Give us priests who are on fire, and who are true children of Mary, priests who will give Jesus to souls with the same tenderness and care with which Mary carried the Little Child of Bethlehem.

Mother of sorrows and of love, out of compassion for Thy beloved Son, open in our hearts deep wells of love, so that we may console Him and give Him a generation of priests formed in thy school and having all the tender thoughtfulness of thine own spotless love.’

Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

CONSECRATION TO THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS 

O Jesus, we know that You are merciful (Mt. 11:29), 

and that You gave Your Heart for us, 

that was crowned with thorns by our sins; 

We know that even today You are still pleading 

with us so that we will not be lost. 

Jesus, remember us when we are in sin. 

By means of Your Sacred Heart, 

grant us, that all men love one another; 

Cause hatred to disappear among men. 

Show us Your love, 

for we all love You, 

and want You to protect us 

with your Shepherd’s Heart 

and free us from all sin. 

Jesus, enter into each heart. 

Knock on the door of our hearts. 

Be patient and unwearied with us. 

We are still closed, since we still have not 

yet understood Your love for us. 

Knock persistently and grant, O good Jesus, 

that we open our hearts to You, 

at least when we will have remembered the passion 

You suffered for us. Amen.