Devotion to Our Lady of Perpetual Succour

I grew up with a devotion to Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Tomorrow, the novena for her feast on June 27 will begin. 

May I ask the readers of this blog to dedicate their novenas to the eradication of Liturgical abuse. 

Only our Lady can bring us all back to Her Son!

From AsiaNews.it, comes this wonderful news...

Our Lady indeed would bring us back to Christ, Her Beloved Son.


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For years now plane loads of Muslim women from Iran have been landing at Fatima, Portugal.  They come to pray before Our Lady who appeared to three shepherd children. The reason is that the Madonna was named after the daughter of Muhammad and wife of Ali Ibn Abi Talib. [Fatima.]

In Harissa, Lebanon, Iranian women constantly come to pray to Our Lady, to the point that the rector of the shrine has a chapel prepared especially for them, with icons, signs and prayers to the Virgin in Persian, to facilitate their devotion.

Last year, during the month of May, as I waited for evening Mass to begin in Harissa, I saw hundreds of Muslim families - probably Shiite - who stopped to listen to the hymns before Mass and who only left at the end.  [Was it Gregorian Hymn?  :)]

When I was in Morocco, I found that many women, during pregnancy and after childbirth, continued the so-called "fast of Our Lady," inspired by the Koran, which speaks of this fast.

The Muslims make their way to these shrines, knowing that Mary is the woman most praised in the Koran, the only woman mentioned by name, called "Siddīqah" (true, believer, holy), a title reserved for men (siddīq). She is the only one whom the Koran states that God has "chosen" (inna Allāh istafāqī), and twice, and that God has preferred her to all the women of the earth (wa-faddalaki 'ala nisā' al-'ālamīn); moreover that she was consecrated (innī nadhartu mā fī batnī muharraran) in her mother's womb before birth. Indeed, a scared saying (attributed to Muhammad and thus regarded as a certainty) says that every child, when born, is "touched" by Satan, with the exception of Mary and her son; a saying that draws very close indeed to the concept of the Immaculate Conception...

What drives Muslims to undertake these pilgrimages? First of all people are looking to rediscover their faith in the essential; they are looking for a renewal of faith.  This is also followed by a desire for physical healing. But the question of a spiritual healing is much stronger. This is very similar to the sense of Christian pilgrimages.

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Read more here. You may also want to read this beautiful catechism from EWTN about our Mother, Mary and Islam.

That is why I still believe in this.

Reflect upon this image.

This is our hope for the times.

Devotion to the Eucharist and Our Lady.

Only hope, only refuge...

And Mary is the only way towards ecumenism and bringing the lost sheep to the fold of Christ!

Happy Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel

I always wear my Brown Scapular.

Are you?

Look who always wore them!  :)

I have blogged about this wonderful sacramental so many times in the past.

Click here and here and here to read them.

Ave Maria!  Ora pro nobis!



PS:  The RH Law suffered another blow on this very day.  Coincidence?  I don't think so.

Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary!

And today is the day we consecrate our country to Our Lady!

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Messages given at Fatima:

"My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God."

"Sacrifice yourselves for sinners, and say many times, especially whenever you make some sacrifice: O Jesus, it is for love of You, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary."

"You have seen Hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to My Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace..."To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to My Immaculate Heart, and the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays. If My requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and there will be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be annihilated. In the end, My Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to Me, and she will be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world. In Portugal the dogma of the Faith will always be preserved . . . "

"Have compassion on the Heart of your Most Holy Mother, covered with thorns, with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment, and there is no one to make an act of reparation to remove them."

"Look, my daughter, at My Heart, surrounded with thorns with which ungrateful men pierce Me at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. You at least try to console Me and say that I promise to assist at the hour of death, with the graces necessary for salvation, all those who, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, shall confess, receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the Rosary, and keep me company for fifteen minutes while meditating on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary, with the intention of making reparation to Me."

"The moment has come in which God asks the Holy Father, in union with all the Bishops of the world, to make the consecration of Russia to My Immaculate Heart, promising to save it by this means. There are so many souls whom the Justice of God condemns for sins committed against Me, that I have come to ask reparation: sacrifice yourself for this intention and pray."

Brown Scapular "responsibilities"

Did you know to  that you have an obligation to fulfill once you are imposed with the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel?

Answers tomorrow.

You may chime in your guesses.  :)

Our Lady of Lourdes: The movie we should all watch today!

The Song of Bernadette, a classic! Hollywood does not make this kind of films anymore. :(

Today is the Feast of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal

In our liturgical calendar, Ordinary Form, it is an optional memorial.  The other option is to choose Ordinary Time.

Wha?!?

You can that an option?!

Choosing the Blessed Mother over, uhm, Ordinary Time?

Duh!

Just in case you forget.  We blogged about the proper way of blessing and receiving the Medal of the Immaculate Conception aka Miraculous Medal.

Click here.

PS:  You might think I don't have this medal.  I actually DO.  Came all the way from Rue du Bac.  :)

May 13 is the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima

I actually prefer this image of the Lady of Fatima over the traditional ones where she has her hands joined together in prayer.  My statue has the Brown Scapular on the right hand.  :)

 
Many witnessed the miracle of the Sun. Even atheist reporters wrote what they saw.

But hateful and full of pride atheists of today who did not witness the event, question the news article that their fellow atheist wrote. Such a bunch of freethinkers. Full of hot air....stinking hot air.

It was 31 years ago that Blessed John Paul was shot in St. Peter's Square.

The exact spot where the Popemobile was when the Pope was shot is now marked

And here is the news report about the fatal shooting

The Message of Fatima is relevant today as it was before...

1. Punishment of the World: Our Blessed Mother can no longer restrain the hand of her Divine Son from striking the world with a just punishment for its many crimes.

2. Amendment of Life: "I have come to warn the faithful to amend their lives and ask pardon for their sins. They must not continue to offend Our Lord, Who is already too much offended."

3. Five Warnings: "If my requests are not granted, Russia will spread her errors throughout the world, provoking wars and persecutions against the Church. Many good people will be martyred, there will come another great war, and various nations will be destroyed."

4. War: "Wars are a punishment for the sins of mankind."

5. Sins of the Flesh: "More souls go to Hell because of the sins of the flesh than for any other reason."

6. Immodest Fashions: "Certain fashions are being introduced that offend Our Lord very much."

7. Sinful Marriages: "Many marriages are not good; they do not please Our Lord and are not of God."

8. Daily Rosary: "Say the Rosary every day to obtain peace for the world. And after each decade say the following prayer: 'O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell, and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who have most need of Thy mercy.'"

9. Prayer and Sacrifice: "Pray, pray a great deal, and make sacrifices for sinners, for many souls go to Hell because they have no-one to make sacrifices and pray for them."

10. Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary: "God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If people do what I tell you, many souls will be saved and there will be peace.

11. First Saturday Devotion: "I promise to help at the hour of death with the graces needed for salvation those who, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, go to confession, receive Holy Communion, say five decades of the Rosary and keep me company for fifteen minutes while meditating on the mysteries, with the intention of making reparation to my Immaculate Heart."

12. World Peace: "Tell everybody that God gives His 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, for the Lord has confided the peace of the world to her... In the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph, Russia will be converted and there will be peace."

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Live your life according to your own state of life.  Be holy where you are called.


Pray the Rosary and wear the Brown Scapular always.

Do the Communion of Reparation every First Fridays and Saturdays of every month.
    (Ask your parish priest about this.)
 

The Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes

Hail Mary, poor and humble Woman, Blessed by the Most High! Virgin of hope, dawn of a new era, We join in your song of praise, to celebrate the Lord’s mercy, to proclaim the coming of the Kingdom and the full liberation of humanity.

Hail Mary, lowly handmaid of the Lord, Glorious Mother of Christ! Faithful Virgin, holy dwelling-place of the Word, Teach us to persevere in listening to the Word, and to be docile to the voice of the Spirit, attentive to his promptings in the depths of our conscience and to his manifestations in the events of history.

Hail Mary, Woman of sorrows, Mother of the living! Virgin spouse beneath the Cross, the new Eve, Be our guide along the paths of the world. Teach us to experience and to spread the love of Christ, to stand with you before the innumerable crosses on which your Son is still crucified.

Hail Mary, woman of faith, First of the disciples! Virgin Mother of the Church, help us always to account for the hope that is in us, with trust in human goodness and the Father’s love. Teach us to build up the world beginning from within: in the depths of silence and prayer, in the joy of fraternal love, in the unique fruitfulness of the Cross.

Holy Mary, Mother of believers, Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.

Amen.


(This prayer was said during the Blessed John Paul II's August 15, 2004 visit to Lourdes, France. The Pope asked her among other things to "be our guide along the paths of the world.")

Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary with St. Joseph as our Model

Click, save, print, share...

Sign it, frame it...

It would be better if you can do it in the presence of a priest.

In case we forget..

Yesterday was the Feast of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal.

I wear mine all the time.  And it was imposed on me using the Traditional Ritual.

Yup, there is a special rite.

I will post it here as soon as I find it.

The symbolisms of the Medal is a Catechism in itself of our Faith, and numerous blessings that our Lady promised and I have personally experiences and received...ineffable.

So, are you wearing one?

For more about the Miraculous Medal, click here

"Come to the foot of the altar. Here graces will be shed on all who ask for them. Graces will be shed especially on those who ask for them."

- Our Lady to St. Catherine Laboure'

This day in 1917

The Blessed Mother appeared to 3 young shepherd children at Fatima.

What an opportune date to announce the name of the new archbishop of Manila!

Pray for the new archbishop.

Consecrate him to the Immaculate Heart of Mary!

Benedictine Altar Arrangement in Sto. Domingo

Seen during the last Mass for the Novena to Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of La Naval in the National Shrine.

Will this be seen in Manila Cathedral?

How bout it, Fr. Genny and Fr. Godwin and Fr. Reginald, eh?

Praying...... :)

***

PS:  The Mass proper songs in this Mass were in Latin (Missa De Angelis)


Will this be seen in Manila......

Well, just pray!

"Wrap your mantle around us dear Mother!"

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, JULY 17, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI today noted that the scapular is a "particular sign of union with Jesus and Mary."

The Pope commented on the use of this devotion when he addressed Polish-speaking pilgrims gathered at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo to pray the midday Angelus.

Saturday was the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the feast to which the scapular is linked. Simon Stock, general superior of the Carmelite Order, received the scapular in 1251, during an apparition of the Virgin, when she promised special assistance in life and in death to all those who wear it with devotion.  [You would never hear liberals talk about this when they celebrate this Feast.  IF they celebrate it since it is an Optional Memorial in the Calendar!]

The word scapular originally referred to a form of clothing, which monks wore when they were working. [An apron used by the cloistered religious.] The scapular came to symbolize Carmelite devotion to Mary; the devotion developed over time so that today, the scapular has various forms.

Benedict XVI referred to wearing the scapular as a "particular sign of union with Jesus and Mary."

"For those who wear it, it is a sign of filial abandonment to the protection of the Immaculate Virgin," he said. "In our battle against evil, may Mary our Mother wrap us in her mantle."  [How beautiful!]

The Holy Father's praise of the scapular while he was greeting the Polish pilgrims brings to mind his predecessor's own devotion to the scapular.

Blessed John Paul II spoke about the sign on the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in 2003. The Polish Pontiff said: "Even I, from my youngest days, have worn around my neck the scapular of Our Lady and I take refuge with trust under the mantle of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus."  [Blessed John Paul wore the scapular even under his clothing while he was pope.  He even insisted to the surgeons operating on him after the failed assasination attempt, that he be operated while the scapular was on him.  He does not want it off!]


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Remember our past posts about the Brown Scapular in the life of Blessed John Paul II and an actual miracle of a man who was saved by the Brown Scapular.

Miraculous Medal Associations

From a TPC reader named Una:

Just wondering if you could tell me how to enrol in the Confraternity of the Miraculous Medal?

Thanks,

Una

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Thanks for asking Una. And I am happy to note that you are interested in joining a group that is devoted to the Medal of the Immaculate Conception or more famously known as the Miraculous Medal due to the innumerable miracles received by those who wear it devoutly, of course as promised by Our Lady Herself.

It depends on what country you came from but I have two suggestions for you.

First, if you are here in the Philippines, you can go and contact the Miraculous Medal Apostolate which is located at the San Vicente de Paul Parish in Adamson University in San Marcelino St., Manila.

You can find all the info you need, including types of membership and contact details by visiting their Facebook page.

The other one is based in Perrville, Missouri, USA. You can find all the details you need in their website. They even have a gift shop where you can find beautiful medals.

Hope this helps and do not forget to have your medals blessed according to the approved rite and have them imposed on you by the priest using the approved formula as well. You can find it here.

God bless you!

Look who is wearing his brown scapular!

Marian Exhibit

Spent the whole day traveling via bus to...believe or not...the Department of Foreign Affairs to get my passport.

No, the process was surprisingly very quick for a government office.  What I was ranting about is the two hour travel from home to the DFA.  No, thanks to the traffic of Metro Manila.

After processing my passport, I went to the SM Mall of Asia to have a quick lunch.  I am a lover of veggies so from among the gastronomic and cholesterol laden delights in the humongous mall's foodcourt, I chose to eat a Mongolian vegetable stir fry served on a hot plate.  Nope I did not take any photos.  I leave it to Fr. Z.  I am not as good as a cook as he is.  And besides, I ate at a foodcourt...at SM...what's gourmet in that?!

To my surprise, there was, right below the foodcourt, a beautiful exhibit of Marian Images organized by Radio Veritas.  The image below is courtesy of the radio station.  You can see the run dates of the exhibit.

 Upon entering, some of the staff will give you free Holy Cards of Our Lady of Veritas and of the Immaculate Conception, principal patron of the Philippines.  There is a also an empty envelope and a blank form which you can use to write your Mass intentions.  You can also use the envelope to give your donations.

Here are some of the images I took with my "trusty" cellphone:

Our Mother of Perpetual Help

Our Lady of La Salette

The Queen of the Philippine Islands

(Notice the Maria Clara gown Our Lady is wearing.)

Our Lady, Mary, Mediatrix of All Graces (aka Our Lady of Lipa)

One of my personal favorite titles of Our Lady.  

I held the hand of this image and prayed for my intentions and for those who visit, read and follow my blog.  For both sinner and saint...from a sinner working diligently to become a saint.

Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of La Naval Manila

(This beautiful statue is owned by Fr. Jojo Zerrudo)

There are other beautiful statues in the exhibit that I took photos of.  I will post them later as you can see in the photo below, there are A LOT!

Left row from the main entrance.

Right row from the main entrance

As you can see, there are A LOT of images in this exhibit.  You cannot even see the far end of the exhibit.

Oh before I end this post, here is something of particular interest that caught my eye.

I was looking at this image of Our Lady of Salvation when I noticed people milling around.  Nope.  I was hoping they were praying, but they were not.  They were playing the lottery!  Yup, that is a Lotto station right at the side of the exhibit.  Ah...my fellow and beloved Pinoy Catholics.  How cold are we!

Maybe praying that they'll win?

HAPPY MARYMAS!!!

I was checking my posts and to my horror I found out that this post that was supposed to be posted automatically by blogger last week was obviously not posted! So, I'd better post it than not post it at all.

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Today is the birthday of our dear Mother, the Ever Blessed and Immaculate, Mary.

Please pray for me and mu wife too as we celebrate our wedding anniversary.  I remember after our wedding reception, my wife and I went to Malate Church to pray before Our Lady of Remedies, where we consecrated our married life to Her and Her Son.

Include us in our prayer and say an Ave and Memorare for me, my wife and my family.

Thank you very much and God bless you!

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PRAYER ON THE BIRTH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN

Come, all you faithful, let us hasten to the Virgin: for long before her conception in the womb, the one who was to be born of the stem of Jesse was destined to be the Mother of God. The one who is the treasury of virginity, the flowering Rod of Aaron, the object of the prophecies, the child of Joachim and Anne, is born today and the world is renewed in her. Through her birth, she floods the church with her splendor. O holy Temple, Vessel of the Godhead, Model of virgins and Strength of kings: in you the wondrous union of the two natures of Christ was realized. We worship Him and glorify your most pure birth, and we magnify you.


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For meditations on the Birth of the Virgin Mary, click here.

Our Lady of Peñafrancia Stamps

 
The Queen of Bicolandia will have Her own stamp!

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MANILA, August 24, 2010—The Archdiocese of Caceres is set to launch a commemorative stamp series as part Bicol Catholics’ 300 years of devotion to Our Lady of Peñafrancia. [The devotion is even older than Bible-thumping born-against Catholics!]

The commemorative stamps feature two different images of the Our Lady of Peñafrancia, Naga City’s Metropolitan Cathedral as well as the Penafrancia Basilica Minore. [which I had the opportunity to visit and its...ghastly.]

The stamp is a joint project between Caceres archdiocese and the Philippine Postal Corporation which allowed the printing of stamps in four different designs.

The unveiling of the commemorative stamps will be led by Caceres Archbishop Leonardo Legaspi and Postmaster General Hector Villanueva at the Holy Rosary Seminary in Naga City on September 11.

The activity is one of the major highlights in observance of the tercentenary of the devotion in Naga City, introduced in Bicol by Spanish priest Miguel Robles de Covarrubias.

A short lecture on the history of the devotion will also be delivered by local historian, Professor Danilo Gerona, during the launch.

“Stamps are miniature works of art. These commemorative stamps will serve as ‘evangelizers’ to promote the devotion all throughout the world,” said Fr. Wilmer Tria, chair of the Committee on commemorative stamps. (CBCPNews)

The miracles of Lourdes

I found this very informative video about the miracles of Lourdes and how they are investigated.