We come together to prepare to make our consecration with our bishops, looking especially toward the Holy Family.
May we fall in love with them ever more during these days of prayer, and so gain ever more confidence in them.
They are the only ones who can lead us through the troubled times we face.
They are the only safe refuge for our souls, our families, our nation and our world.
We look to St. Joseph, who was so greatly gifted by the Heavenly Father.
No grace was spared to him, for he was God's chosen one to be the husband of Mary and the earthly father of Jesus.
JOSEPH WAS MADE IMMACULATE IN THE WOMB AND REMAINED SINLESS DURING HIS LIFETIME.
In early October, 1956
About a week after Our Lady’s first appearance, Sister Mildred wrote:
"St. Joseph, though I did not see him at this time, spoke to me the following words:
“It is true my daughter, that
immediately after my conception,
I was, through the future merits of Jesus
and because of my exceptional role
of future Virgin-Father,
cleansed from the stain of original sin.
I was from that moment confirmed in grace and never had the slightest stain on my soul. This is my unique privilege among men.
My pure heart also was from the first moment of existence inflamed with love for God. Immediately, at the moment when my soul was cleansed from original sin, grace was infused into it in such abundance that, excluding my holy spouse, I surpassed the holiness of the highest angel in the angelic choir."
GOD CHOSE HIM TO BE THE VIRGIN-FATHER OF HIS SON FROM ALL ETERNITY.
"The privilege of being chosen by God to be the Virgin-Father of His Son was mine alone, and no honor, excluding that bestowed upon my Holy Spouse, was ever, or will ever, be as sublime or as high as this."
My thoughts regarding these wondrous revelations:
Being made immaculate from the first instant after his conception is an extraordinary privilege of grace. His privilege was greater than the grace given to other souls who likewise were cleansed of sin in the womb that Scripture mentions, because it came immediately after his conception. But the grace is not unheard of in Scripture: remember John the Baptist. When Mary brought Jesus to him in the womb, he was immediately cleansed and made immaculate for his mission.
How greatly does God bless and favor purity and virginity! When virginity is dedicated completely to Him how fruitful is becomes!
The messages of Our Lady of America speak in great detail about the importance of purity. She warns us that is only when America returns to purity that it will it be strong. Tomorrow I will try to share some of these revelations in greater detail.
As St. Joseph protected Jesus and Mary with such love and strength, so he will protect us.
I hope that we take time to deeply ponder these revelations.
Also, let us reflect on this amazing truth regarding placing ourselves in the heart of Mary:
NOVENA PRAYERS:
The Novena prayers are simple, but they are rooted in the messages Our Lady has reiterated and given to us again and again in all her apparitions to try to save us.
Let us always strive to live them ever more fully.
They are:
Pray the full Rosary
Read Scripture together as a family each day -
We are taught and learn so much from reading and meditating on the Mass readings of each day. Here are today's readings, with God's words that stood out to me emphasized:
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/042720.cfm
Monday of the Third Week of Easter
Lectionary: 273
Reading 1 Acts 6:8-15
Stephen, filled with grace and power,
was working great wonders and signs among the people.
Certain members of the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen,
Cyreneans, and Alexandrians,
and people from Cilicia and Asia,
came forward and debated with Stephen,
but they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.
Then they instigated some men to say,
“We have heard him speaking blasphemous words
against Moses and God.”
They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes,
accosted him, seized him,
and brought him before the Sanhedrin.
They presented false witnesses who testified,
“This man never stops saying things against this holy place and the law.
For we have heard him claim
that this Jesus the Nazorean will destroy this place
and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.”
All those who sat in the Sanhedrin looked intently at him
and saw that his face was like the face of an angel.Responsorial Psalm 119:23-24, 26-27, 29-30
R. (1ab) Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Though princes meet and talk against me,
your servant meditates on your statutes.
Yes, your decrees are my delight;
they are my counselors.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
or:
R. Alleluia.
I declared my ways, and you answered me;
teach me your statutes.
Make me understand the way of your precepts,
and I will meditate on your wondrous deeds.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Remove from me the way of falsehood,
and favor me with your law.
The way of truth I have chosen;
I have set your ordinances before me.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
or:
R. Alleluia.Alleluia Mt 4:4b
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
One does not live on bread alone
but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Jn 6:22-29
[After Jesus had fed the five thousand men, his disciples saw him walking on the sea.]
The next day, the crowd that remained across the sea
saw that there had been only one boat there,
and that Jesus had not gone along with his disciples in the boat,
but only his disciples had left.
Other boats came from Tiberias
near the place where they had eaten the bread
when the Lord gave thanks.
When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there,
they themselves got into boats
and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
And when they found him across the sea they said to him,
“Rabbi, when did you get here?”
Jesus answered them and said,
“Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me
not because you saw signs
but because you ate the loaves and were filled.
Do not work for food that perishes
but for the food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you.
For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.”
So they said to him,
“What can we do to accomplish the works of God?”
Jesus answered and said to them,
“This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.”
"They could not withstand the wisdom"
In today's first reading we first hear about St. Stephen. He was so on fire with the love of God and so deeply immersed in prayer that all those who came against him "looked intently at him
and saw that his face was like the face of an angel."
and saw that his face was like the face of an angel."
Acts 6: 8-15
St. Stephen, help us to go so deeply into God in prayer that others will not be able to withstand the wisdom with which we speak, and only see one so transformed by grace that they see someone transfixed by God when they look at us.
(we can still do this interiorly if not physically during this time of quarantine through our Spiritual Communions, and visits to Church to pray in front of the tabernacle if they are open, etc.),
Fast twice a week on Wednesdays and Friday - Mary in Medjugorje tells us the best kind of fast is on bread and water, saying to us:
"Pray and fast, because with prayer and fasting you can stop wars and natural disasters".Go to Confession at least monthly (again, if you are unable make frequent heartfelt acts of contrition)…
And each day of this novena, pray especially during the 3 O’clock hour (if possible):
• an act of contrition (in place of or in addition to confession)
• an act of spiritual communion (in place of or in addition to going to Mass and receiving communion;
• the Divine Mercy Chaplet
• the Rosary
Besides consecrating ourselves and our loved ones, our nation(s) and leaders, our Church and the world each day - let us also remember to consecrate Russia and China and all those who are perpetrating such great evil upon the world.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I love you! Save Souls!
Entrusting all of us into the hearts of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
Janet Moore 2020. All Rights Reserved.
See more on the efficacy and importance of praying during the 3 O'clock Hour:
Why 3 O, clock?
Divine Mercy 3 O’clock Prayer
You expired, O Jesus,
but the source of life gushed forth for souls
and an ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world.
O Fount of Life,
unfathomable Divine Mercy,
envelop the whole world
and empty Yourself out upon us.
O Blood and Water,
which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus
as a fount of mercy for us,
I trust in You.
Amen.
________________________________________
More About the Hour of Mercy
From the Sisters of Merciful Jesus
In October 1937, in Cracow (Poland), Lord Jesus instructed Sister Faustina to venerate the hour of His death and to connect with Him in prayer referring to the value and merits of His Passion.
“I desire that you know more profoundly the love that burns in My Heart for souls, and you will understand this when you meditate upon My Passion. Call upon My mercy on behalf of sinners; I desire their salvation. When you say this prayer, with a contrite heart and with faith on behalf of a sinner, I will give him the grace of conversion. This is the prayer: O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of Mercy for us, I trust in You” (Diary 187).
“At three o’clock, implore My mercy, especially for sinners; and, if only for a brief moment, immerse yourself in My Passion, particularly in My abandonment at the moment of agony. This is the hour of great mercy for the whole world. I will allow you to enter into My mortal sorrow. In this hour, I will refuse nothing to the soul that makes a request of Me in virtue of My Passion…” (Diary, 1320).
“…as often as you hear the clock strike the third hour, immerse yourself completely in My mercy, adoring and glorifying it; invoking its omnipotence for the whole world (…). In this hour you can obtain everything for yourself and for others simply by asking; it was the hour of grace for the whole world – mercy triumphed over justice
(…) try your best to meditate on the Stations of the Cross in this hour, provided that your duties permit it; and if you are not able to say the Stations of the Cross, then at least step into the chapel for a moment and adore the Blessed Sacrament, My Heart, which is full of mercy; and should you be unable to step in to the chapel, immerse yourself in prayer wherever you happen to be, if only for a very brief instant. I claim veneration for My mercy from every creature” (Diary, 1572).
“On the Cross, the fountain of My mercy was opened wide by the lance for all souls – no one have I excluded!” (Diary, 1182).
https://divinemercy.life/divine-mercy-3-oclock-prayer/
The Hour of Great Mercy
…In Genesis 18:16-32, Abraham begged God to reduce the conditions necessary for Him to be merciful to the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. Here, Christ Himself offers a reduction of conditions because of the varied demands of our life’s duties, and He begs us to ask, even in the smallest way, for His mercy, so that He will be able to pour His mercy upon us all.
We may not all be able to make the Stations or adore Him in the Blessed Sacrament, but we can all mentally pause for a "brief instant," think of His total abandonment at the hour of agony, and say a short prayer such as "Jesus, Mercy," or "Jesus, for the sake of Your Sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world."
This meditation, however brief, on Christ’s Passion brings us face-to-face with the cross, and, as Pope John Paul II writes in Rich in Mercy, "It is in the cross that the revelation of merciful love attains its culmination" (8). God invites us, the Holy Father continues, "to have ‘mercy’ on His only Son, the crucified one" (8). Thus, our reflection on the Passion should lead to a type of love for Our Lord which is "not only an act of solidarity with the suffering Son of man, but also a kind of ‘mercy’ shown by each one of us to the Son of the Eternal Father."
https://www.thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/hour
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