Write Non Fiction In November : #WNFIN Day 4

Are you ready for another conundrum of a question? I don't have answers to it, but there's no harm in musing about where possible answers might be found.

Among all of the prophetic strands coming from our Christian brothers and sisters about an unprecedented worldwide revival there is strangely no mention of the Mother of Jesus. Contrast this with the promise from Fatima that we have been waiting 100 years to see fulfilled: "In the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph".

I can't see how one can happen without the other, and yet at the same time I can't see how it could happen together - hence the conundrum.

Triumph is all about victory, and in this case victory over evil, sin and the prevailing culture of death. We won’t see the kingdom of God on earth without such a triumph. On the other hand, triumph doesn't come without battle.

Where are the battle fields? There's the battle for each individual heart and mind and soul; the battle for families, communities, tribes, cities and nations, and there's the battles in the fields of politics, entertainment, sport, government, and culture.

Each battle has two components, just like when Israel went out to fight the enemy at Rephidim (Exodus 17-18), there was the battle in the natural with swords, fists, blood and gore and there was the battle in the supernatural with the advantage going to Israel as long as Moses kept his arms raised in prayer.

The battle we face has the same two components, and it cannot be won unless both are being fought in unison. For example in the field of entertainment we need Holy Spirit filled writers, directors, producers and actors to get the movies capable of converting hearts onto the big screen, but at the same time we need the prayer warriors obtaining the blessings of God on the enterprise, protecting it from the assaults of the enemy and winning the grace for hearts to be open to receive the gift of conversion.

Where does the Mother of Jesus fit in all this?

We have the ancient promises in Genesis about the woman crushing the head of the serpent, and the ancient prophecy in Luke about how all generations will call her blessed because the Almighty has done great things for her, and then there's the bit in the Book of Revelation about the powers of evil making war on the children of the woman clothed with the Sun.

We have the Old Testament types of Ruth, Esther, Deborah, Judith and Jael to give us clues. Each of these women was strong in faith and strong in prayer. Of them all, Mary the Mother of Jesus surpasses them all in faith and prayer. Her greatest valour was remaining at the foot of the Cross consenting for her heart to be crucified along with her Son's body. Her tears and sighs at the foot of the Cross are powerful with the heart of God.

In the New Testament we see St Paul talking about Jesus as the head of the Church and about how baptism makes us members of His body, with each member having a specific role and function that benefits the body as a whole. Some will function as arms caring for the sick, some will function as legs spreading the Good News, those called to strengthen others through teaching function as bones, those called to a ministry of suffering and reparation function as liver and kidneys.

The body cannot function without Jesus the head of the Church. Every part is aligned on Him and directed by Him. What connects the head to the body? The neck. That is an analogy of the role of Mary, Mother of Jesus. She is the closest to her Son and she co-operates perfectly with His holy Will. The neck unifies the body under Jesus the head. As a mother she loves each and every person redeemed by the blood of her Son, always seeking the best for each one as she intercedes before God's throne.

The body cannot function in unity without Mary bringing all the members together and uniting them in Jesus. Each dogmatic definition about Mary protects an essential truth about her Son Jesus.

Catholics have no trouble with this. They have meditated long on the Gospel scenes where Mary is present, they recognise her as the pre-eminent model of all the Church is called to be and they know personally, individually and corporately the power of her intercession and the tenderness of her love. To go into battle without her assistance is unthinkable and downright foolish.

What is so second nature to us… is so foreign and alien to our Protestant brothers and sisters. Our Orthodox brothers and sisters have no problem - in fact they often surpass us in honouring the holy Mother of God. Even our Jewish brothers and sisters honour the power of a mother's prayers, especially when death nears.

Of this terrible final battle of our era, the Mother of Jesus is the General of the army of God. We enlist under her banner by honouring her, by imitating her virtues (especially those of chastity, obedience, simplicity and humility), and like St John Paul the Great entrusting ourselves and all that we have to her Immaculate Heart. Totus Tuus, 'totally yours'.

Of these things, the entrustment or consecration of ourselves and all that we have is the most important. In this we follow the example of the baby Jesus who completely and utterly entrusted Himself and His welfare to Mary. In her holy womb Jesus was 100% dependent upon her for everything His human nature required. If Jesus trusted her this much, then there is no higher vouch for her trustworthiness is there?!

"My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God" – that is her Fatima promise. Let's take it seriously.

"Tell everybody that God gives graces through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Tell them to ask graces from her, and that the Heart of Jesus wishes to be venerated together with the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Ask them to plead for peace from the Immaculate Heart of Mary, for the Lord has confided the peace of the world to her." Jacinta of Fatima

So let us entrust ourselves, and our Christian brothers and sisters, and this terrible final battle of our era to the Immaculate Heart of Mary the Mother of Jesus. Without her there is no assurance of victory, the Lord himself has said so.

O Mary, Mother of Jesus our Lord and Saviour, after the example of Jesus I entrust myself, my past, my present and my future, all that I have and all that God has given to me into your gentle and secure hands and into your Immaculate Heart. Lead me to my post, my assignment and my role and my cohort in the battle for the kingdom of God on earth. Train me and equip me, and help me to hear, heed and obey all of the battle instructions Jesus transmits through you. With you as our General may we experience the triumph of the battle and bring as many with us as possible through the gates of heaven. Amen.

The Hour of Grace is from 12noon till 1pm on 8 December each year, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, Mother of God. The promise that goes with this Hour of Grace which begins with reciting King David's plea for mercy, Psalm 50(51) three times and continues with silent personal prayer in a place away from distractions is: 'The Blessed Virgin promised that whatever a person asked of her during this Hour of Grace (even in impossible cases) would be granted them, if it was in accordance with the Will of the Eternal Father.
 
That's a big promise, and many people who read about it think that it is a big leap to believe in.
 
I'd like to demonstrate that the leap is actually quite small.
 
What are the kinds of things that add a bit of clout to our prayers?
 
It helps if you pray out of right relationship with God. Praying this Psalm of repentance three times is a plea for mercy, and acknowledges the truth that we are sinners in need of God's forgiveness. We see our sin more clearly when we focus on the absolute absence of sin in Mary, the Mother of God. A heart in right relationship with God is more likely to be heard. 'The humble man's prayer pierces the clouds' Ecclesiasticus 35:17
 
Prayer with penance is more powerful than prayer alone. Praying for an hour is a sacrifice of all the other things we could be doing, and a challenge for anyone not used to spending an hour in prayer. Setting an hour aside to stay away from distractions is part of this too. Any hour of prayer is a reparative response to the question of Jesus on the night of His agony and betrayal, 'Could you not watch one hour with Me?' Matthew 26:40 Prayer flavoured with penance is more likely to be heard.
 
Praying in union with others is more effective than praying solo. Who could be a better prayer partner than Mary, the Mother of God? It is a mother's task to take the offerings of her children and arrange them in the way which will please the father most, removing the icky bits and adding her own special touch. A child might give mum a handful of flowers, and she will get rid of the insects, dead leaves and imperfect petals and add a matching ribbon and arrange them on a silver platter. With mum's help an ordinary offering becomes something especially pleasing. Think about how much more difficult it is to say No to two people who come before you with pleading eyes than to say No to one person. With Mary's help our prayers are more likely to be heard. Matthew 18:19
 
Praying in obedience is more meritorious than praying according to our own will. This Hour of Grace is prayed in accordance with heavenly instructions, and even if you feel a bit wobbly about the whether it is truly from heaven or not, you are still praying it in a way you wouldn't normally choose to. Romans 5:19
 
All four of these things are present when praying the Hour of Grace, so even without the promise attached, your prayers have a much greater hope of being heard and answered than usual.
 
For more information about the Hour of Grace, print and read this PDF:

If you are able, set aside this special Hour of prayer each year.

Immaculate Mary, Mother of God, we entrust all the prayers of our hearts to you, that you may take them to your Son Jesus and obtain His smile of mercy upon them. 

In honour of this year's feast day of the Immaculate Heart of Mary here are some meditations on the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary:

The Annunciation

What does the Annunciation teach us about Mary's heart?

It teaches us that her heart was lowly, because she was disturbed by the lofty greeting of the angel. It teaches us that her heart was used to listening because she didn't interrupt the angel's long message. It teaches us that Mary's heart was full of faith because she did not doubt that God could make her a mother. Her only question related to what God required of her to make it happen. This indicates that her heart was willing to follow God's will even if it meant setting aside her virginity. Her answer tells us that she considered herself completely at God's disposal, showing a depth of trust, and her heart's desire that God's plan be fulfilled in her fully according to His wishes and without any desire that she be consulted about the details.

The Visitation

What does the Visitation teach us about Mary's heart?

It teaches us that God only had to make her aware of a situation for her to act upon it. She must have pondered why God told her that her cousin was pregnant, beyond giving her an example of His power to do the seemingly impossible. God left her free to act, and her generous heart decided to do whatever it took to go and assist her cousin. Mary didn't go to Elizabeth with a high and mighty heart, but with a servant's heart willing to all she could to help her cousin in the most awkward months of her pregnancy. When Mary finally arrived she didn't grumble and complain about the journey, but she expressed her praise and thanks to God for His mercy.

The Birth of Jesus

What does the Birth of Jesus teach us about Mary's heart?

In this mystery we have no words of Mary, only her actions. In the face of the rejection and abject poverty which caused her to give birth in a rough stable, Mary does not complain, nor does she make a scene. Her heart accepts whatever God gives her. How happy her heart must have been to see the face of Jesus for the first time! When she gets unexpected guests in the form of smelly shepherds she does not turn them away, but invites them to gaze with her upon the promise of the Father, now made visible. From this we learn how welcoming and hospitable her heart is. Her heart listens carefully to the story they tell and she carefully ponders over it seeking to comprehend all the messages from God it contains.

The Presentation in the Temple

What does the Presentation in the Temple teach us about Mary's heart?

Travelling with a new born baby is inconvenient at the best of times, but Mary goes to the Temple to offer her thanks to God as well as her heart in obedience to His law. At the same time that she offers her Son to God through the Jewish ritual of redeeming first born sons from sacrifice, Mary dedicates her whole heart and her whole life to the mission of Jesus. To indicate that her offering is acceptable to God, He sends her Simeon as a messenger, who confirms that the road ahead is full of unimaginable suffering. Yet from her compassionate heart comes no complaint because to not be united with the sufferings of her Son is unthinkable.

The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple

What does the Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple teach us about Mary's heart?

To search for a lost child for even an hour is a most horrible experience. To go through that worry for three days would put any mother's sanity to the test. Here the patient heart of Mary is seen, going from person to person, asking the same questions over and over again, describing the appearance of her Son. We see her heart trusting in God's plan despite the darkness of not knowing why and the searing pain of loss. When she sees Him at last in the Temple, she has control of her heart, she doesn't make a scene, but she does ask 'Why?'. Her heart accepts the answer Jesus gives, even though she does not understand it. But she takes this too as a message from God and ponders it in her heart, trusting that with time and prayer some understanding will come. Despite the sorrows she went through and her inability to understand the reason for it, Mary's heart forgives and doesn't retain any bitterness.

​.................................................................................

For a print friendly version, click on the document link below:

"Pray, pray very much and make sacrifices for sinners, for many souls go to Hell because there are none to sacrifice themselves and to pray for them." Message of Mary to the children of Fatima August 1917.

What can we learn from this message?

If the message wasn't of the utmost importance, then the Mother of Jesus would not have been sent as a messenger to give it to us.

The message is worth studying in detail, because messages like these tend to be carefully layered and only yield their full impact after a lot of prayerful pondering.

'Pray' is the first word of the message. What is prayer? The raising of the heart and mind to God. Each and every time Mary appears on earth she asks us to pray. It stands to reason that if she is asking us to pray, then most of us are not praying, or if we are praying we need to increase our prayer.

Why pray? Because pray connects us with God, the source of everything that is good. Prayer connects us to the power source of love. Prayer is the switch that turns the power on. If we pray, we give God permission to help us.

Why are we so reluctant to pray? Because the sheer act of praying acknowledges that we are not in control; acknowledges that God is the creator and that we are His creatures, and that we are not God. Despite the mountain of evidence in our lives that we are not in control, we still hate to admit it.

'Pray very much' is the next part of the message. A loving mother tells us what to do: 'Eat your greens. Eat lots of greens and you will be healthy.' If we pray much we will be on our way to being spiritually healthy. As long as we pray, and pray more than we are praying now, how we pray isn't important.

'Pray very much and make sacrifices for sinners.' This part of the message tells us what we should be praying about. Prayer is praise/adoration, thanksgiving, contrition/repentance and petition/intercession. If we are weak on those first three types of prayer, then work on them first. We tend to be pretty good at asking God for things, to heal us, to help us pass our exams, to take away our problems, to make that cute person of the opposite sex notice us etc. But how good are we at 'Pray very much for sinners'?

'Pray very much for sinners' implies that in our petitions and intercessions to God that the majority of those prayers should be for the conversion of those who are not living according to the 10 Commandments (not putting God and God's will in the first place in their lives, swearing, not attending Sunday worship, ignoring their obligations to their parents, stealing, lying, perjury, violence, murder, participating in sexual activity outside marriage, greed for material things etc). Every one of us has at least one person in our lives doing some of those things. Have we prayed for him or for her? Have we prayed regularly for him or for her?

'Pray very much and make sacrifices for sinners'. Here the Mother of Jesus is telling us that prayer alone is insufficient to obtain a conversion, sacrifices are also necessary. What are we willing to do as a sacrifice in intercession for a loved one's conversion? Are you willing to reduce your social media time? Could you give up the biscuit you like with your cup of tea? Is adding an extra no-alcohol day to your week possible? By and large our world has forgotten that prayer combined with sacrifice is very powerful, but Our Lady has not forgotten and like the good mother she is, she reminds us.

This need for both prayer and sacrifice to obtain a conversion alerts us that to win the conversion of a soul is not easy, and that it requires commitment and perseverance. It takes dedication and courage, and the good news is that if the mother of Jesus has requested this of us, then it is possible for us to do it.

The last part of the message gives us all the motivation we need: 'For many souls go to Hell because there are none to sacrifice themselves and to pray for them.'

Why do we need to pray and sacrifice ourselves for our loved ones who are living sinful lives? Because we don't want them to end up eternally unhappy. If Mary is real, then God is real, and Hell is real. Hell never ends, not for a thousand years, not for a million years, not even after a billion years. Hell never ends. To not see beauty, to not hear harmony, to not feel loved, to not have a friend, to never hear another kind word, and to know that it was your own misdeeds and your own refusal to love that obtained a place for you in Hell. What unimaginable horror!

Our heavenly mother came to remind us that Hell is real, and that we have to do our bit to prevent others from spending their eternity there. If we truly thought about it, we wouldn't even wish our worst enemy to be deprived of love for all eternity. Even though it is so unfashionable to talk about the existence of consequences for our actions, that doesn't make those consequences go away. It is all too easy to think that consequences are only for those who are convicted of criminal misdeeds. Where are the consequences of our actions leading, to heaven or to hell?

'For many souls go to Hell': that part of the message should make us shudder. The mother of Jesus is telling us that it is quite common for souls to go to Hell, and not just the world's most hated persons from history. She is telling us that we need to do our bit to reverse this trend. She is telling us that we cannot assume that everyone we attend the funeral of will end up in heaven, contrary to what most eulogies have to say.

The other thought that eventually comes when pondering this message is that if I don't start praying and offering up some sacrifices to obtain conversions then I am partially responsible for those who could have been saved from Hell if I had started praying and offering sacrifices. How horrible must it be to stand before the judgment seat of God and to discover that no one had ever prayed for you! That no one had loved you enough to even light a candle for you. On the other hand, what consolation must it be to learn at the judgment seat of God that your friend had prayed for you every day; and that your friend had given up swearing in order that you might receive mercy and pardon.

Even though this message was given to the world in 1917, it is still relevant. When God speaks through Mary, He speaks eternal truths. He speaks truths that do not change with the centuries and with the millennia. We could even say that this message is even more relevant now than it was in 1917 because back then family life was strong, Sunday worship was strong and governments upheld the 10 commandments in their laws.

What should we do to respond to this message?

* We should pray daily.

* We should include prayers for the conversion of sinners in our daily prayers.

* We should find something each day to offer up as a sacrifice to God for the conversion of sinners.

Doing these three things is not beyond anyone.

You might find the prayers on the PDF below useful in doing the first two things:

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us.

Blessed Francisco, Blessed Jacinta, holy Sr Lucia, pray for us.

The day before Pentecost is kept as the feast day of Mary Queen of Apostles in some parts of the world. It is a beautiful idea and quite fitting. Can you imagine how difficult it must have been to keep the apostles persevering in prayer for nine days, and how tough that last day must have been before the Holy Spirt arrived? How many of them had flagged in zeal? How many of them were bored and impatient?

So to honour her, here is a little selection from Chapter 1 of Blessed James Alberione's book entitled 'Mary, Queen of Apostles', followed by the 2nd of 5 prayers he composed as a chaplet seeking her intercession under this title of Queen of the Apostles.

Excerpt from his book

'To exclude Mary from the apostolate (or new evangelization) would be to ignore one of the most essential parts of God's redemptive plan. It would be depriving ourselves of Mary's all-powerful intercession…. The apostle, the preacher, the missionary, the confessor, and the man of action run the grave risk of constructing on sand if their activity is not supported by an intense devotion to Mary and confidence in her. Every apostolate is an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on individuals and on the world. Because of Mary's response to the angel, the Holy Spirit descended upon her and worked the greatest prodigy: the Incarnation and the sanctification of Christ. From that moment on, Mary acquired a kind of jurisdiction over every temporal outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Thus, no one receives grace except through Mary. On Pentecost the Holy Spirit descended after he was called upon by Mary who was leading the apostles in prayer."

Prayer of Bl James Alberione

'O Mary, Queen of all the angels, full of grace, conceived without sin, blessed among creatures, living tabernacle of God, remember that painful and solemn moment in which the dying Jesus from the Cross gave you John as your son, and in him all men and especially all the apostles. What tender love flooded your heart at that moment for souls consecrated to the apostolate, to the following of the Cross, to the love of Jesus. For your indescribable sufferings and those of your divine Son, for your motherly heart, O Mary, increase the glorious ranks of apostles, missionaries, priests and virgins. May these souls be resplendent for sanctity of life, integrity of morals, solid piety, the deepest humility, the most firm faith, the most ardent charity. May they all be holy, purifying salt of the earth and light of the world.

Queen of the Apostles, pray for us.'

Blessed James Alberione, pray for us

All the holy Apostles and disciples who gathered with Mary in prayer before the first outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, pray for us.

2015 is an unusual year because the Solemnity of Pentecost falls on the feast day of Our Lady, Help of Christians. For countries like Australia, for whom she is the national patron, her feast gets transferred to the Monday.

Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit, as our Helper and our Advocate. Only with the charisms the Holy Spirit bestows can any real change for the better come about in individuals, families, communities and nations. We need these charisms desperately, all of them. We need gifted intercessors, teachers, preachers, prophets, healers, words of wisdom, words of knowledge. We need those gifted with the charism of mercy, with the godly call to accept suffering in intercession for others, with gifts of administration, charisms of celibacy for the kingdom, charisms of hospitality and many more.  

But to receive these most necessary gifts, we need to pray, and we need to dedicate ourselves to serious prayer. Holy Mother Church recommends the nine days preceding the annual solemnity of Pentecost as special days to implore the charisms of the Holy Spirit. The holy Apostles did that preceding the first Pentecost outpouring of the Holy Spirit. They prayed together with the early disciples and with Mary, the Mother of Jesus.  

No longer having the physical presence of Jesus with them (except in the Eucharist), all the disciples and Apostles looked to Mary for guidance, for help, and for inspiration. No one else knew Jesus as intimately as she did. No one else had prayed with Him as often as she had. No one else had been overshadowed by the Holy Spirit as she had. In the Mother of Jesus, each and every believer in Jesus found help. Help to persevere in prayer. Help to desire prayer. Help to pray more effectively. Help to pray more humbly. Help to welcome the Holy Spirit with whole-hearted trust.

They needed her. We need her. We need her unique help.

At Lourdes when Bernadette asked the beautiful lady her name, the beautiful lady replied, 'I am the Immaculate Conception'. We often refer to Mary, as the daughter of the Father, the mother of the Son and the spouse of the Holy Spirit. The name she gave at Lourdes was an eloquent and theologically rich way of saying, 'I am Mrs Holy Spirit'.

Can you see now, that having the feast days of Pentecost (Mr Holy Spirit) and Our Lady Help of Christians (Mrs Holy Spirit) united like this is extraordinarily significant? Good.

That's why we need to pray with special fervour for the release of the Holy Spirit's charisms this Pentecost - and to pray united with Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Those nine days of special prayer start today (15 May 2015).

Here is a very easy set of prayers you might like to use during these nine days of special prayer. A little bit done everyday is far better than a lot to begin with and tapering to nothing within a few days. It is a double-sided A4 PDF that will give you three prayer cards per sheet. Cut or guillotine along the black borders on side two, and it should look OK on side one. 

When you pray, please include a special intention that our priests be given greater charisms of preaching than they already have. The preaching of a priest that has been prepared in a human way gives off the spiritual light equivalent to a candle. The preaching of a priest that has been prepared with prayer, fasting, study and under the Holy Spirit's charism of preaching gives off the spiritual light equivalent to a huge bonfire on the top of a hill. 

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful. Enkindle in them the fire of Your love. Send forth Your Spirit, and they shall be created, and You shall renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray: O God, You instruct the hearts of Your faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit. Grant us in the light of that same Holy Spirit always to be truly wise and ever to rejoice in His consolation. We ask this through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.

Our Lady, Help of Christians, pray for us.

As part of preparing for this month's study group, I needed to find something devotional for the closing prayers. Choosing for previous months had been easy and obvious, but not for August. So I asked for guidance, and the good Lord led me to the private revelations He had made to Berthe Petit just on a hundred years ago.

To find out more about her and how her spiritual experiences related to WW1, visit http://www.motherofallpeoples.com/2005/07/the-sorrowful-and-immaculate-heart-of-mary-the-revelations-of-berthe-petit/

Through Berthe Petit it was made known that Jesus wanted His mother to be honoured under the title Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, and in due course the following short but powerful prayer was indulgenced by the Church:

Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us who have recourse to you.

What is particularly interesting is the promise attached to it, 'This devotion to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of My Mother will restore faith and hope to broken hearts and ruined families; it will help to repair the destruction; it will sweeten the sorrow.'

I know plenty of families where members are estranged from each other, and what heartache such estrangement causes. Then there are the families suffering the long term effects of separation and divorce, and the long term effects of abortion. I am sure that you know plenty of families in these situations, too. So let us take hold of this heavenly remedy which has been given to us, and use this little prayer whenever you are reminded of your own family's sorrow or are told of the sorrows of another family.

If you'd like to take hold of this further, the PDF below has some prayers and an act of consecration to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary composed by Berthe Petit.

Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, we entrust ourselves, our families and our parishes to your intercession.

Here at last is the non-PDF version of this Litany. Please remember when you pray it to pray for the needs and welfare of Broken Bay Diocese.



Litany of Our Lady, Star of the Sea

Lord have mercy R. Lord have mercy

Christ have mercy R. Christ have mercy

Lord have mercy R. Lord have mercy

God our Father in Heaven R. Have mercy on us

God the Son, Redeemer of the world R. Have mercy on us

God the Holy Spirit R. Have mercy on us

Holy Trinity, One God R. Have mercy on us

Holy Mary R. Pray for us

Holy Mother of God R. Pray for us

Holy Virgin of virgins R. Pray for us

Our Lady, Star of the Sea R. Pray for us

Our Lady, Help of Christians R. Pray for us

Sign of Hope for the weary R. Pray for us

Guiding Star of holiness R. Pray for us

Protector of travellers R. Pray for us

Rescuer of the lost R. Pray for us

Antidote to despair R. Pray for us

Comfort of the troubled R. Pray for us

Source of fresh courage R. Pray for us

Luminous Pointer of the way to Heaven R. Pray for us

Radiant beacon of purity R. Pray for us

Hearer of the distressed R. Pray for us

Constant repeater of the Gospel message R. Pray for us

Answerer of distress calls R. Pray for us

Guide of the wanderer R. Pray for us

Solace in loneliness R. Pray for us

Mediatrix of reconciliation R. Pray for us

Remover of bitterness R. Pray for us

Support of the persevering R. Pray for us

Roadmap to true peace R. Pray for us

Joy of Heaven R. Pray for us

Smoother of turbulence R. Pray for us

Shining pattern of virtue R. Pray for us

Sure path to Jesus R. Pray for us

Dispeller of darkness R. Pray for us

Vanquisher of evil R. Pray for us

Protector of the truth R. Pray for us

Advocate for sinners R. Pray for us

Security of the storm-tossed R. Pray for us

Life-raft of the drowning R. Pray for us

Saviour of the ship-wrecked R. Pray for us

Joyful song of sailors R. Pray for us

Motivation for true repentance R. Pray for us

Sobriety of the addicted R. Pray for us

Sustainer of the prodigal on the return home R. Pray for us

Herald of the dawn of goodness R. Pray for us

True Mother to us all R. Pray for us

V. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God

R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ

Let us pray

Lord God, Redeemer and inspiration of souls, in the Blessed Virgin Mary, Star of the Sea, You have provided a light in the storm. By her favour and prayer, grant that we may set a course through these times to reach our safe haven in Heaven with You. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.

For private devotion only

The feast day of Our Lady, Star of the Sea, is May 31.

This is a diocesan feast day for Broken Bay diocese, NSW, Australia.

Tomorrow, 13 Oct 2013, Pope Francis in union with all the bishops gathered in Rome and those united spiritually elsewhere in the world, will consecrate the world afresh to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Now this should be big news, but there has been barely a peep about it even from online Catholic sites.

To make this wonderful consecration as powerful as possible, we, too, need to consecrate ourselves, our families, our parishes, our dioceses and our nations in union with this solemn act tomorrow. At the bottom of this blog post there will be a prayer you can use until the full text of the Pope's consecration prayer is available. 

EWTN will be televising the Papal Mass at 7.30pm Sunday 13 October, Sydney time. If you are able to, join in either via their online feed or via satellite.

A thought has been striking me of late. At Fatima the three children were asked to pray specifically for the Pope - but we've never really worked out which Pope they were praying for in particular. They saw visions of him. The Pope they prayed for could well be Pope Francis.

One of the hallmarks of Pope Francis' pontificate has been his frequent and gentle requests that we pray for him. According to the big interview with journalists on the plane trip returning to Rome after WYD Rio de Janiero, asking for prayers is something that he started to do early in his priesthood, and which he increasingly did more of as greater responsibilities were given to him. How wonderful it is to conjecture that Our Lady was answering his requests for prayers some 100 years before his pontificate began, and getting Lucia, Bl Francisco and Bl Jacinta to do the same.  What a model and example our heavenly mother is! She was the very first person to start answering his pleas for prayers. 

Let us do likewise, and pray for Pope Francis - and pray with him the consecration prayer tomorrow.

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us.

Sr Lucia, Bl Francisco, Bl Jacinta, pray for us, for Pope Francis, and for our troubled world.

Consecration Prayer

Immaculate Virgin Mary, Our Lady Help of Christians, Mother of
the Church, we consecrate our family, our parish, our diocese and our nation to your Immaculate Heart. To you we entrust our country, our families, our hearts, our souls and all that we have. We make this consecration in the same spirit in which the Pope, in union with all the Bishops of the world, consecrated the world to your Immaculate Heart, thus recognizing your role as Queen of Peace and Mother of the Church. Obtain for us, through your intercession, God’s grace and protection for our family, our parish, our diocese and our nation. In order that this consecration of our family, parish, diocese and nation may be truly effective and lasting, we renew today the promises of our Baptism and Confirmation; and we undertake to live as good
Christians – faithful to God, the Church and the Holy Father. We desire to pray  the Rosary, partake in the Holy Eucharist and work for the conversion of sinners. Furthermore we promise, O most holy Virgin, that we will spread devotion to you, so that through our consecration to your Immaculate Heart, and
through your own intercession, the coming of the Kingdom of Christ in the world may be hastened. Amen.
 
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us. 
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.
Our Lady Help of Christians, our Hope, pray for us.







 

Today, 7 Sep 2013, is the First Saturday of September, and a day dedicated to devotion to Our Lady. Tomorrow the feast day of Our Lady's birthday would normally be celebrated - except this year it falls on a Sunday and the Sunday liturgy takes precedence. So this blog-post is in honour of Our Lady's special weekend, and hopefully to please her.

Last weekend I was at the counter of the piety stall when an unusual request was made. A gentlemen had been making great progress getting into habits of prayer, and not being too computer savvy, desired a printout of the seven Fatima prayers. Most booklets of prayer don't seem to include these prayers. It was a reasonable request, so I promised him a copy of these prayers.

I thought I knew them all quite well, but until I went searching on Google I hadn't been made aware of the two prayers for peace dictated to Sister Lucia some two decades after the well known apparitions to the three young seers ceased. As with the others, they are nice and short and relatively easy to commit to memory, and an excellent reminder to pray for peace on a regular basis.

The PDF below is an A4 page containing 4 copies of these seven Fatima prayers.

You might like to print them out, stick one in your regular prayer book and share the rest around.

In a few short years, 2017, we will celebrate the 100th anniversary of these apparitions of Our Lady at Fatima - which are so essential for understanding God's perspective on our modern era. If the good God took such extraordinary measures to get our attention, then we should study these events, learn from them and put heaven's messages into daily practice in our lives.

At Medjugorje, war broke out in that region some 10 years after the apparitions took place. Similarly it was about 10 years later that the genocide in Rwanda erupted after the apparitions of Our Lady at Kibeho. In both places she pleaded for peace and for prayers for peace, which largely went unheeded.

Let us not repeat those mistakes and pray the Rosary and pray for Peace on a daily basis, with the Fatima prayers as our reminder and guide.
 
Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us
Our Lady, Queen of Peace, pray for us