THE SEVEN SORROWS OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY Friday in Passion Week - Feria Sixth after Sunday of Passion /Commemoration of St. John of Damascus, Confessor and Doctor
In order to show us what the Martyrs
suffered, they are represented with the instruments of their Martyrdom: St.
Andrew with a cross; St. Paul with a sword. Mary is represented with her dead
Son in her arms, for He alone was the cause of her Martyrdom; compassion for
Him made her Queen of Martyrs.
St. Laurence Justinian considers
Jesus on the road to Calvary with His Cross on His shoulders, turning to His
Mother and saying: "Alas, My own dear Mother, whither goest thou? What a
scene thou art going to witness! Thou wilt be agonised by My sufferings, and I
by thine." But the loving Mother would follow Him all the same, though she
knew that by being present at His death she should have to endure tortures
greater than any death. She saw that her Son carried the Cross to be crucified
on it, and she also took up the cross of her Dolours and followed her Son to be
crucified with Him.
Blessed Amadeus writes that
"Mary suffered much more in the Passion of her Son than she would have
done had she herself endured it; for she loved her Jesus much more than she
loved herself." Hence St. Ildephonsus did not hesitate to assert that
"the sufferings of Mary exceeded those of all Martyrs united." St.
Anselm, addressing the Blessed Virgin, says: "The most cruel torments
inflicted on the holy Martyrs were trifling or as nothing in comparison with
thy Martyrdom, O Mary." The same Saint adds: "Indeed, O Lady, in each
moment of thy life thy sufferings were such, that thou couldst not have endured
them, and wouldst have expired under them, had not thy Son, the source of life,
preserved thee." St. Bernardine of Sienna even says, that the sufferings
of Mary were such, that had they been divided among all creatures capable of
suffering, they would have caused their immediate death. Who, then, can ever
doubt that the Martyrdom of Mary was without its equal, and that it exceeded
the sufferings of all the Martyrs; since, as St. Antoninus says, "they
suffered in the sacrifice of their own lives; but the Blessed Virgin suffered
by offering the life of her Son to God, a life which she loved far more than
her own."
By this Martyrdom of thy beautiful
soul, do thou obtain for me, O Mother of fair love, the forgiveness of the
offences I have committed against my beloved Lord and God, and of which I
repent with my whole heart. Do thou defend me in temptations, and assist me at
the hour of my death, that, saving my soul through the merits of Jesus and thy
merits, I may, after this miserable exile, go to Paradise to sing the praises
of Jesus and thee for all eternity. Amen.
The Martyrs suffered under the
torments inflicted on them by tyrants, but Our Lord, Who never abandons His
servants, always comforted them in the midst of their sufferings. The love of
God burning in their hearts rendered all their pains sweet and pleasing to
them. So that the greater their love for Jesus Christ, the less did they feel
their pains; and, in the midst of them all, the remembrance alone of the
Passion of Christ sufficed to console them.
With Mary it was precisely the
reverse; for the torments of Jesus were her Martyrdom, and love for Jesus was
her only executioner. Here we must repeat the words of Jeremias: Great as the
sea is thy destruction: who shall heal thee? As the sea is all bitterness, and
has not within its bosom a single drop of water which is sweet, so also was the
heart of Mary all bitterness, and without the least consolation: Who shall heal
thee? Her Son alone could console her and heal her wounds; but how could Mary
receive comfort in her grief from her crucified Son, since the love she bore
Him was the whole cause of her Martyrdom?
"To understand, then, how
great was the grief of Mary, we must understand," says Cornelius a Lapide,
"how great was the love she bore her Son." But who can ever measure
this love? Blessed Amadeus says that "natural love towards Him as her Son,
and supernatural love towards Him as her God, were united in the heart of
Mary." These two loves were blended into one, and this so great a love,
that William of Paris does not hesitate to assert that Mary loved Jesus
"as much as it was possible for a pure creature to love Him." So
that, as Richard of St. Victor says, "as no other creature ever loved God
as much as Mary loved Him, so there never was any sorrow like Mary's
sorrow."
My sorrowful Mother, by the merit
of that grief which thou didst feel in seeing thy beloved Jesus led to death,
obtain me the grace, that I also may bear with patience the crosses God sends
me. Happy indeed shall I be, if I only know how to accompany thee with my cross
until death. Thou with thy Jesus--and You were both innocent--hast carried a
far heavier cross; and shall I, a sinner, who have deserved hell, refuse to
carry mine? Ah, Immaculate Virgin, from thee do I hope for help to bear all
crosses with patience. Amen.
*****
MARY,
BY HER HUMILITY BECOMES THE MOTHER OF GOD.
The Blessed Virgin already
understood the Sacred Scriptures; she well knew that the time foretold by the
Prophets for the coming of the Messias had arrived; she knew that the Seventy
Weeks of Daniel were completed, and that the sceptre of Juda had passed into
the hands of Herod, a stranger, according to the prophecy of Jacob; she also
knew that the Mother of the Messiah was to be a Virgin. She then heard the
Angel give her praises, which it was evident could apply to no other than the
Mother of God. May not a thought or doubt have entered her mind, that she was
perhaps this chosen Mother? No; her profound humility did not even allow her to
have a doubt. Those praises only caused her so great fear, that the Angel
himself was obliged to encourage her not to fear, as St. Peter Chrysologus
writes: "As Christ was pleased to be comforted by an Angel, so had the
Blessed Virgin to be encouraged by one." St. Gabriel said, Fear not, Mary;
for thou hast found grace with God. (Luke i. 30). As if he had said, Why
fearest thou, O Mary? Knowest thou not that God exalts the humble? Thou in
thine own eyes art lowly and of no account, and therefore He in His goodness
exalts thee to the dignity of being His Mother. Behold, thou shalt conceive in
thy womb, and shalt bring forth a Son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus.
(Luke i. 31).
In the meantime the Angel waits to
know whether she is willing to be the Mother of God. St. Bernard addresses her,
saying: "The Angel awaits thy reply; and we also, O Lady, on whom the
sentence of condemnation weighs so heavily, await the word of mercy."
"Behold, O holy Virgin, the price of our salvation, which will be the
Blood of that Son now to be formed in thy womb. This price is offered to thee
to pay for our sins, and deliver us from death; we shall be instantly
delivered, if thou consentest." "Thy Lord Himself desires thy
consent; for by it He has determined to save the world. He desires it with an
ardour equal to the love with which He has loved thy beauty."
"Answer, O sacred Virgin," says St. Augustine, "why delayest
thou the salvation of the world, which depends on thy consent?"
But see, Mary already replies to
the Angel. Behold the handmaid of the Lord: be it done unto me according to thy
word. (Luke i. 38). O admirable answer, which rejoiced Heaven, and brought an
immense treasure of good things to the world. An answer which drew the
only-begotten Son from the bosom of His eternal Father into this world to
become Man; for these words had hardly fallen from the lips of Mary before the
Word was made flesh: the Son of God became also the Son of Mary. "O
powerful fiat!" exclaims St. Thomas of Villanova; "O efficacious
fiat! O fiat to be venerated above every other fiat!" for with that fiat
Heaven came down to earth, and earth was raised to Heaven.
Let us now examine Mary's answer
more closely: Behold the handmaid of the Lord. By this answer the humble Virgin
meant: Behold the servant of the Lord, obliged to that which her Lord commands;
since He well sees my nothingness, and since all that I have is His, who can
say that He has chosen me for any merit of my own? Behold the handmaid of the
Lord. What merits can a servant have, for which she should be chosen to be the
Mother of her Lord? Let not the servant, then, be praised, but the goodness
alone of that Lord, Who is graciously pleased to regard so lowly a creature,
and make her so great.
"O humility," exclaims
the Abbot Guerric, "as nothing in its own eyes, yet sufficiently great for
the Divinity! Insufficient for itself, sufficient in the eyes of God to contain
Him in her womb, Whom the Heavens cannot contain!" Let us also hear the
exclamations of St. Bernard on this subject. He says: "And how, O Lady,
couldst thou unite in thy heart so humble an opinion of thyself with so great
purity, with such innocence, and the so great a plenitude of grace as thou
didst possess?" "Whence this humility," continues the Saint,
"and so great humility, O blessed one?" Lucifer, seeing himself
enriched by God with extraordinary beauty, aspired to exalt his throne above
the stars, and to make himself like God: I will exalt my throne above the stars
of God … I will be like the Most High. (Is. xiv. 13) O, what would that proud
spirit have said had he ever been adorned with the gifts of Mary! He, being
exalted by God, became proud, and was sent to hell; but the more the humble
Mary saw herself enriched, so much the more did she concentrate herself in her
own nothingness; and therefore God raised her to the dignity of being His
Mother, having made her so incomparably greater than all other creatures, that,
as St. Andrew of Crete says "there is no one who is not God who can be
compared with Mary." Hence St. Anselm also says, "there is no one who
is thy equal, O Lady; for all are either above or beneath thee: God alone is
above thee, and all that is not God is inferior to thee."
To what greater dignity could a
creature be raised than that of the Mother of her Creator? "To be the
Mother of God," St. Bonaventure writes, "is the greatest grace which
can be conferred on a creature. It is such that God could make a greater world,
a greater Heaven, but He could not exalt a creature more than to make her His
Mother." This the Blessed Virgin was pleased herself to express when she
said, He that is mighty hath done great things to me. (Luke i. 49). But here
the Abbot of Celles reminds her: "God did not create thee for Himself
only; He gave thee to the Angels as their restorer, and to men as their
repairer." So that God did not create Mary for Himself only, but He
created her for man also; that is to say, to repair the ruin entailed upon him
by sin. St. Alphonsus Liguori
St. John of Damascus
He was of noble birth, and studied sacred
and profane letters at Constantinople, under the monk Cosmas. At what time the
Emperor Leo the Isaurian was making a wicked attack upon the honouring of holy
images, John, at the desire of the Roman Pontiff, Gregory III., earnestly
defended both by his words and his writings, the holiness of this honor. By
this he roused against him so great a hatred on the part of Leo, that that
Prince, by forged letters, accused John as a traitor to the Caliph of Damascus,
whom he was serving as a councillor and minister. John denied the charge, but
the Caliph was deceived by it, and caused his right hand to be cut off. He
called earnestly for the help of the. Most holy Virgin, and she manifested the
innocency of her servant by reuniting his hand to his arm, as though it had
never been cut off. This miracle moved John to carry out a design which he had
long had in mind. He obtained from the Caliph, albeit with difficulty, leave to
go away, distributed all his goods to feed the poor, and freed all his slaves,
then visited as a pilgrim the holy places in Palestine, and at length withdrew,
along with his teacher Cosmas, to the monastery of St Saba, between Jerusalem
and the Dead Sea. There he was ordained priest.
As a monk John set a bright example to all
the others, especially as regarded lowliness and obedience. He sought for the
lowest offices in the community, as though they were in a peculiar sense his
own, and fulfilled them with the greatest care. When he was sent to Damascus to
sell baskets made by himself, he welcomed the mockery and jests of the lowest
classes in that city where he had before time been charged with the most
honorable offices. He was so devoted to obedience that he not only started up
to obey every nod of his superiors, but also never thought it right to ask the reason
of any duty laid upon him, however difficult or however strange it might be.
While thus living he never ceased earnestly to defend the Catholic doctrine as
to the honouring of holy images. For this reason he drew upon himself the
hatred and persecution of the Emperor Constantine Copronymus, as he had first
done that of the Emperor Leo the Isaurian, and this all the more because he
freely rebuked the arrogance of these Emperors, who must needs take in hand
matters concerning the faith, and pronounce sentence upon them according to
their own judgment. It is a marvel how many things John devised both for the
protection of the faith, and for the encouragement of godliness, and expressed
in his writings both in prose and verse. He was worthy of the high praise which
was given him by the Second Council of Nice. On account of the golden streams
of his eloquence, he was surnamed Chrysorrhoas, or John of the golden streams.
It was not against the enemies of holy images alone that he defended the
orthodox faith. He fought stoutly against the Acephali, the Monothelites, and
the Theopaschites. He maintained the laws and the power of the Church. He
taught with great learning the Primacy of the Prince of the Apostles, and many
times calleth him the Pillar of the Churches, the unbroken rock, and the
Teacher and Ruler of the world. The whole of his writings are not only steeped
in learning and teaching, but have a certain savour of simple piety, especially
when he is praising the Mother of God, toward whom he was filled with a special
reverence and love. But the greatest praise of John is that he was the first
who arranged in order a complete course of theology, and prepared the way in
which holy Thomas of Aquino has so clearly dealt with the whole body of sacred
doctrine. This truly holy man, full of days and good works, fell asleep in the
peace of Christ about the year of salvation 754. The supreme Pontiff, Leo
XIII., established his office and Mass throughout the universal church, whereof
he also gave him the title of doctor.
FRIDAY IN PASSION WEEK: THE SEVEN DOLORS OF THE
BLESSED VIRGIN ( Our Lady of Compassion) - MASS PROPERS
The Station, at Rome, is in the Church of Saint
Stephen, on Monte Celio. By a sort of prophetic presentiment, this Church of
the great Proto-Martyr was chosen as the place where the Faithful were to
assemble on the Friday of Passion Week, which was to be, at a future time, the
Feast consecrated to the Queen of Martyrs.
INTROIT John 19: 25
Stabant juxta
crucem Jesu mater ejus, et soror matris María Cléophæ, et Salóme, et María
Magdaléne. Múlier, ecce fílius tuus:
dixit Jesus; ad discípulum autem: Ecce mater tua. Gloria Patri.
There
stood by the cross of Jesus, His mother, and His mother's sister Mary of
Cleophas, and Salome, and Mary Magdalen. Woman, behold thy son, said Jesus; and
to the disciple, Behold thy mother. Glory be to the Father.
COLLECT
O God,
in Whose Passion, according to the prophecy of Simeon, the sword of sorrow did
pierce the most sweet soul of the glorious Mary, Virgin and Mother; mercifully
grant that we who call to mind with veneration her anguish and suffering, may
obtain the blessed fruit of Thy Passion through the glorious merits and prayers
of all the Saints who have faithfully stood by the cross interceding for us:
Who livest and reignest.
Second Collect of St. John of Damascus,
CD
Almighty
and everlasting God, who, for the defence of the honour of holy images, didst
endue thy blessed Saint John with heavenly learning and wondrous strength of
spirit: grant unto us, we pray thee, that, by his intercession, and example; we
may so honour the images of thy Saints, that we may follow them in all true
godliness, and feel the effectual succour of their advocacy.
Third Collect of the Friday in Passion
Week
We
beseech thee, O Lord, mercifully to pour thy grace into our hearts: that we,
who willingly by the chastisement of the flesh do refrain from sin, may in such
wise mortify ourselves in this life, that we may be delivered in the end from
everlasting damnation. Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord. Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the
unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one
God, world without end. R. Amen.
EPISTLE Judith 13: 22, 23-25
BENEDÍXIT
te Dóminus in virtúte sua, quia per te ad níhilum redégit inimícus nostros.
Benedícta es tu fília a Dómino Deo excélso, præ ómnibus muliéribus super
terram. Benedíctus Dómine, qui creávit cœlum et terram: quia hódie nomen tuum
ita magnificávit, ut non recédat laus tua de ore hóminum, qui mémores fúerint
virtútis Dómini in ætérnum, pro quibus non pepercísti ánimæ tuæ propter
angústias et tribulatiónem géneris tui, sed subvenísti ruínæ ante conspéctum
Dei nostri.
The Lord
hath blessed thee by His power, who by thee hath brought our enemies to nought.
Blessed art thou, O daughter, by the Lord the Most High God, above all women
upon the earth. Blessed be the Lord Who made Heaven and earth, because He hath
so magnified thy name this day, that thy praise shall not depart out of the
mouth of men, who shall be mindful of the power of the Lord forever; for that
thou hast not spared thy life by reason of the distress and tribulation of thy
people, but hast prevented our ruin in the presence of our God.
TRACT - Lamentations 1: 12
STABAT
sancta Maria cœli Regina, et mundi Domina, juxta crucem Domini nostri Jesu
Christi dolorosa. O vos omnes, qui transitis per viam, attendite, et videte, si
est dolor meus.
Holy
Mary, the Queen of heaven and mistress of the world, stood by the cross of our
Lord Jesus Christ, full of sorrows. O all ye that pass by the way, attend, and
see if there be any sorrow like to my sorrow.
Stabat
mater dolorosa
juxta
Crucem lacrimosa,
dum
pendebat Filius.
Cuius
animam gementem,
contristatam
et dolentem
pertransivit
gladius.
O quam
tristis et afflicta
fuit
illa benedicta,
mater
Unigeniti!
Quae
mœrebat et dolebat,
pia
Mater, dum videbat
nati
pœnas inclyti.
Quis est
homo qui non fleret,
matrem
Christi si videret
in tanto
supplicio?
Quis non
posset contristari
Christi
Matrem contemplari
dolentem
cum Filio?
Pro
peccatis suæ gentis
vidit
Iesum in tormentis,
et
flagellis subditum.
Vidit
suum dulcem Natum
moriendo
desolatum,
dum
emisit spiritum.
Eia,
Mater, fons amoris
me
sentire vim doloris
fac, ut
tecum lugeam.
Fac, ut
ardeat cor meum
in
amando Christum Deum
ut sibi
complaceam.
Sancta
Mater, istud agas,
crucifixi
fige plagas
cordi
meo valide.
Tui Nati
vulnerati,
tam
dignati pro me pati,
pœnas
mecum divide.
Fac me
tecum pie flere,
crucifixo
condolere,
donec ego
vixero.
Juxta
Crucem tecum stare,
et me
tibi sociare
in
planctu desidero.
Virgo
virginum præclara,
mihi iam
non sis amara,
fac me
tecum plangere.
Fac, ut
portem Christi mortem,
passionis
fac consortem,
et
plagas recolere.
Fac me
plagis vulnerari,
fac me
Cruce inebriari,
et
cruore Filii.
Flammis
ne urar succensus,
per te,
Virgo, sim defensus
in die
iudicii.
Christe,
cum sit hinc exire,
da per
Matrem me venire
ad
palmam victoriæ.
Quando
corpus morietur,
fac, ut
animæ donetur
paradisi
gloria. Amen.
At the
Cross her station keeping,
stood
the mournful Mother weeping,
close to
her Son to the last.
Through
her heart, His sorrow sharing,
all His
bitter anguish bearing,
now at
length the sword has passed.
O how
sad and sore distressed
was that
Mother, highly blest,
of the
sole-begotten One.
Christ
above in torment hangs,
she
beneath beholds the pangs
of her
dying glorious Son.
Is there
one who would not weep,
whelmed
in miseries so deep,
Christ's
dear Mother to behold?
Can the
human heart refrain
from
partaking in her pain,
in that
Mother's pain untold?
For the
sins of His own nation,
She saw
Jesus wracked with torment,
All with
scourges rent:
She
beheld her tender Child,
Saw Him
hang in desolation,
Till His
spirit forth He sent.
O thou
Mother! fount of love!
Touch my
spirit from above,
make my
heart with thine accord:
Make me
feel as thou hast felt;
make my
soul to glow and melt
with the
love of Christ my Lord.
Holy
Mother! pierce me through,
in my
heart each wound renew
of my
Savior crucified:
Let me
share with thee His pain,
who for
all my sins was slain,
who for
me in torments died.
Let me
mingle tears with thee,
mourning
Him who mourned for me,
all the
days that I may live:
By the
Cross with thee to stay,
there
with thee to weep and pray,
is all I
ask of thee to give.
Virgin
of all virgins blest!,
Listen
to my fond request:
let me
share thy grief divine;
Let me,
to my latest breath,
in my
body bear the death
of that
dying Son of thine.
Wounded
with His every wound,
steep my
soul till it hath swooned,
in His
very Blood away;
Be to
me, O Virgin, nigh,
lest in
flames I burn and die,
in His
awful Judgment Day.
Christ,
when Thou shalt call me hence,
be Thy
Mother my defense,
be Thy
Cross my victory;
While my
body here decays,
may my
soul Thy goodness praise,
Safe in
Paradise with Thee.
GOSPEL John 19: 25-27
In illo
tempore: Stabant autem juxta crucem Jesu
mater ejus, et soror matris ejus, Maria Cleophæ, et Maria Magdalene. Cum
vidisset ergo Jesus matrem, et discipulum stantem, quem diligebat, dicit matri
suæ: Mulier ecce filius tuus. Deinde dicit discipulo: Ecce mater tua. Et ex
illa hora accepit eam discipulus in sua.
At that
time: There stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother and his mother's sister,
Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen. When Jesus therefore had seen His mother
and the disciple standing whom He loved, He saith to His mother: Woman, behold
thy son. After that, He saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that
hour, the disciple took her to his own.
OFFERTORY - Jeremias 18: 20
Recordare,
Virgo Mater Dei, dum stéteris in conspéctu Dómini, ut loquáris pro nobis bona,
et ut avértat indignatiónem suam a nobis.
Remember,
O Virgin Mother of God, when thou standest in the presence of the Lord, that
thou speak good things for us and turn His wrath from us.
SECRET
We offer
unto Thee our prayers and oblations, O Lord Jesus Christ, and humbly beseech
Thee that, even as in our prayers we recall the piercing of the most sweet soul
of Thy blessed Mother Mary, so through the merits of Thy death, and the
repeated loving intercession of Thy Mother and her holy companions at the foot
of the cross, we may share in the reward of the blessed: Who livest and
reignest.
SECOND SECRET - St. John of Damascus, CD
O Lord,
through the prayer of blessed John, and the pleading of Thy Saints, whose
images are set before us for veneration in our churches through his zeal: grant
that the gifts which we offer be accounted worthy in Thy sight. Through Jesus
Christ, thy Son our Lord. Who liveth and
reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God. Amen.
Third Secret Prayer of the Friday in
Passion Week
Grant, we
beseech thee, merciful God:that we being ever found meet to do thee worthy
service at thine holy altar, may continually be made partakers of the same unto
our salvation. Through Jesus Christ, thy
Son our Lord. Who liveth and reigneth
with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God,
PREFACE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
It is
very meet, right, and our bounden duty, that we should at all times, and in all
places give thanks unto thee, O Lord
holy Father almighty, everlasting God.
And that on the Transfixion of the blessed Mary, ever a virgin, we
should praise, bless and tell forth thy wonders; in that by the overshadowing
of the Holy Ghost, she conceived thine only-begotten Son; and without let to
the glory of her abiding maidenhood, brought forth for man the light eternal,
even Jesus Christ our Lord. Through whom
the angels praise, the dominations adore, the powers, trembling with awe,
worship thy majesty: which the heavens, and the forces of heaven, together with
the blessed seraphim, joyfully do magnify.
And do thou command that it be permitted to our lowliness to join with
them in confessing thee and unceasingly to say:
SANCTUS, SANCTUS, SANCTUS Dominus Deus
Sabaoth. Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua. Hosanna in excelsis. Benedictus
qui venit in nomine Domini. Hosanna in excelsis.
COMMUNION
Happy
the heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary who without death gained the palm of
martyrdom beneath the Cross of the Lord.
POSTCOMMUNION
POSTCOMMUNION
Grant,
we pray thee, O Lord Jesu Christ: that
we who have here been partakers of this holy sacrifice in devout remembrance of
the Piercing of the soul of thy Virgin Mother:
may by the same obtain of thy mercy all such blessings as are necessary
unto us for our salvation. Who livest
and reignest with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, world without
end.
R. Amen.
Second Postcommunion St. John of
Damascus, CD
We pray
thee, O Lord, that the gifts of thy bounty, which we have here received, may
defend us with heavenly protection: and
that the advocacy of thy blessed servant John, united with the prayers of all
the company of thy Saints, the veneration of whose images in thy holy Church he
defended, may guard us against all evils that beset us.
Third Postcommunion of Passion Week
We pray
thee, O Lord, that this holy sacrifice whereof we have been made partakers, may
never fail to succor and defend us, and evermore to drive far from us all things
that may do us harm. Through Jesus
Christ, thy Son our Lord.
*****
A METHOD OF HEARING MASS FOR THOSE WHO CANNOT
ASSIST AT THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS…
The Catholic Church and the faithful have been forewarned about the disastrous changes that have come about since Vatican II 1962-1965, Novus Ordo Mess & Motu/Extraordinary
– 1962 False Rites.
Which may be used by those, who are hindered from being present at the Great Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. It is proper that they should endeavor to assist at least in spirit, which may be done with great fruit to their souls in the following manner:
Let them make choice of a proper time in the morning, and either by
themselves, or, if they have a family, summoning them together, let them go
into their oratory, and there present themselves in spirit.
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| Mass - (Pre 1956) |
Before
the altar of God
After having bewailed their misfortune in being kept from these heavenly
mysteries, let them join themselves in heart and affection with all that are offering
this sacrifice to God at that time; representing more particularly to
themselves that man which is then offered in the place where they commonly hear
mass, and applying themselves to the devotions which they commonly use in time
of hearing mass.
At
the Confiteor
Let them confess their sins with hearty repentance;
At
the Kyrie Eleison
Let thorn cry out to God for mercy.
At
the Gloria in Excelsis
Let them give adoration and glory to God
At
the Collects
Let them recommend to him their own and the church's necessities.
Epistle
and Gospel
Let them beg God's grace that they may conform their lives to his holy
word. And so, in like manner, let them accommodate their devotion to all the
other parts of the Mass; remembering always the four intentions of the
sacrifice, the Passion of Christ. And a Spiritual Communion; nulling themselves
in every part of this sacrifice with Jesus Christ and offering themselves to
God with him and through him.
OUR LADY OF GOOD SUCCESS - Prophecy for Our Times
The red lamp burning in Catholic Churches
signifies that God is really present before them in the Most Blessed Eucharist
– Pope Pius XII is here prophesying that the Most Blessed Sacrament will no
longer be able to be found in the ‘Catholic’ churches, a reality which took
place shortly after his death as a result of Vatican Council II.
Our Lady of Good Success
In the early 17th century, a Conceptionist
nun in Ecuador, Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres (1563–1635), was the recipient
of various apparitions from the Mother of God, including many prophecies
concerning the 20th century the only approved apparition of Our Lady that gives
actual time periods of upcoming events- which indeed did come to pass. The fact
that these prophecies date back 400 years makes them especially noteworthy.
Mother Mariana’s incorrupt body was discovered in 1906 and can still be seen
today.
“Thus I make it known to you that from the
end of the 19th century and shortly after the middle of the 20th century… It
will be difficult to receive the Sacrament of Baptism, and also that of
Confirmation… The Catholic spirit will rapidly decay; the precious light of the
Faith will gradually be extinguished…”
“Various heresies will be propagated in
this land, then a free Republic. As these heresies spread and dominate, the
precious light of Faith will be extinguished in souls by the almost total
corruption of customs [morals]… The small number of souls who, hidden, will
preserve the treasure of the Faith and the virtues will suffer an unspeakably cruel
and slow martyrdom…”
“In the 20th century… the corruption of
customs will be almost universal and the precious light of Faith all but
extinguished.”
Again, referring to the 20th century:
“How the Church will suffer on that
occasion – the dark night of the lack of a Prelate and Father (Bishop of
Rome/the Pope) to watch over them… The lukewarmness of all the souls
consecrated to God in the priestly and religious state will delay the coming of
this Prelate and Father.”
One of the most striking of the prophetic
visions occurred on the Feast of the Purification, February 2, 1634, the 40th
anniversary of the first appearance of Our Lady of Good Success to Mother
Mariana. Mother Mariana was praying in the upper choir loft before the Blessed
Sacrament, the Sanctuary lamp went out. Mother Mariana was left in complete
darkness. The extinguishing of the Sanctuary Light signified the dire straits
the Church would be in during this future epoch.
Our Lady of Good Success was quite clear on
what would be the demise of the Catholic Church, the general theme, a lax and
perverse clergy. Certain members of the Catholic clergy would become as thieves
stealing that Tabernacle light…thieves that would steal what is rightfully ours
by virtue of our baptism in the Catholic Church—our Faith. They would rob us of
Doctrine, Dogma and Tradition — ransacking the Church as it were leaving us in
total darkness without even as much as the light of the Sanctuary Lamp (which
signifies the presence of the Holy Eucharist, Jesus Christ, Himself.) Our Lady
of Good Success went into great detail to explain what the five reasons were
for the extinguishing of the light.
The first reason why the lamp was snuffed
out was because in the end of the 19th Century and during the 20th Century,
heresies would prevail not only in Ecuador but universally. “As these heresies
spread and dominate, the precious light of Faith will be extinguished in souls
by the almost total corruption of customs.” The second reason was that in these
times the Conceptionist Community would shrink and even be infected with bad
attitudes and false charity as a result of the pervading situation of the
Church at the time. Many vocations would be lost as a direct result. (This was
to be considered a reflection of a more universal condition during these
times.) However, “The faithful souls would suffer a continuous and slow
martyrdom, weeping in secret and imploring that such dire times be shortened.”
The third reason the lamp failed was due to the fact that during this century a
worldwide campaign against the virtues of chastity, and purity would succeed in
ruining the youth. Our Lady of Good Success affirmed, “There will be almost no
virgin souls in the world.”
The fourth reason the lamp was put out was
to demonstrate how the Masonic and other secret sects would have so much
influence on society and even the Church. “During these unfortunate times,” she
foretold, “evil will invade childhood innocence. In this way, vocations to the
priesthood will be lost, resulting in a true calamity.”
Our Lady of Good Success could foresee that
there would still be some good, faithful religious that would be willing to
suffer all for the salvation of souls and sustenance of the Holy Catholic
Church...“The secular clergy will leave much to be desired because priests will
become careless in their sacred duties. Lacking the divine compass, they will
stray from the road traced by God for the priestly ministry, and they will
become attached to wealth and riches, which they will unduly strive to attain.
How the Church will suffer during this dark night! Lacking a prelate and a
father (Bishop of Rome/Pope) to guide them …many priests will lose their
spirit, placing their souls in great danger.” The poor priestly souls that
would be left to uphold the Church would suffer greatly.
“Against them the impious will rage a cruel
war, overwhelming them with vituperations, calumnies and vexations in order to
stop them from fulfilling their ministry. But they, like firm columns, will
remain unswerving and will confront everything with a spirit of humility and
sacrifice with which they will be vested, by virtue of the infinite merits of
my most Holy Son, Who will love them in the innermost fibers of His Most Holy
and Tender Heart."
Our Lady of Good Success implored that the
people of this time should “clamor insistently” to the Heavenly Father for an
end to ‘these ominous times’ sending to the Church a prelate and father (Bishop
of Rome/Pope) who would restore the spirit to the priests.”
The fifth reason the lamp went out was due
to those who have the financial means to help the Church but do nothing.
Because of their uncaring attitude toward God and His Church, they would have
allowed evil to seemingly triumph.
The Sanctuary Lamp is a symbol of the true
presence of Christ, with it going out it would seem that Our Lady is showing us
that the corruption of the liturgy would indeed be invalid by the mid-twentieth
century.
Dire Warnings from Our Lady of Sorrows
Fr Isaac Mary Relyea
Our Lady of Good Success
Liturgical Reform, having as one of its basic principles the abolition of all mystical acts and formulations, insists upon the usage of modern languages for the divine service.... Hatred for the Latin language is inborn in the heart of all enemies of Rome. They recognize it as the bond that unites Catholics throughout the world, as the arsenal of orthodoxy against all the subtleties of the sectarian spirit. They consider it the most powerful arm of the Papacy....We must admit that it is a master blow of Protestantism to have declared war on the sacred language. If it should ever succeed in ever destroying it, it would be well on the way to victory. Exposed to a profane gaze, like a virgin who has been violated, from that moment on the liturgy has lost much of its sacred character, and very soon people find that it is not worthwhile putting aside one's work or pleasure in order to go and listen to what is being said in the way one speaks in the marketplace. How long do you think the faithful will go to hear these self-styled liturgists cry "The Lord be with you" and how long will they continue to respond "and with your spirit"? Liturgical Institutions, vol. 1, chapter IV
The Antiliturgical Heresy - Dom Prosper Gueranger, O.S.B.
Fr. Isaac Mary Relyea Speaks on
the Catholic Church and the Mass
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