The Ascension of Our Lord

 (by Fr. Prosper Gueranger 1870)

The sun of the fortieth day has risen in all his splendor. The earth, which shook with gladness at the Birth of our Emmanuel (Ps. xcv. xcvi. xcvii.), now thrills with a strange emotion. The divine series of the mysteries of the Man-God is about to close. Heaven has caught up the joy of earth. The Angelic Choirs are preparing to receive their promised King, and their Princes stand at the Gates, that they may open them when the signal is given of the mighty Conqueror's approach (Ibid. xxiii. 7). The holy souls, that were liberated from Limbo on the morning of the Resurrection, are hovering round Jerusalem, waiting for the happy moment when Heaven's gate, closed by Adam's sin, shall be thrown open, and they shall enter in company with their Redeemer: a few hours more, and then to Heaven! Meanwhile, our Risen Jesus has to visit His Disciples and bid them farewell, for they are to be left, for some years longer, in this vale of tears.

They are in the Cenacle, impatiently awaiting His coming. Suddenly He appears in their midst. Of the Mother's joy, who would dare to speak? As to the Disciples and the holy Women, they fall down and affectionately adore the Master, Who has come to take His leave of them. He deigns to sit down to table with them; He even condescends to eat with them, not, indeed, to give them proof of His Resurrection, for He knows that they have no further doubts of the mystery, but now that He is about to sit at the right hand of the Father, He would give them this endearing mark of familiarity. O admirable repast! in which Mary, for the last time in this world, is seated side by side with her Jesus, and in which the Church, (represented by the Disciples and the holy Women,) is honored by the visible presidency of her Head and Spouse.

What tongue could describe the respect, the recollected mien, the attention of the guests? With what love must they not have riveted their eyes on the dear Master? They long to hear him speak; his parting words will be so treasured! He does not keep them long in suspense; He speaks, but his language is not what they perhaps expected it to be, all affection. He begins by reminding them of the incredulity wherewith they heard of His Resurrection (St. Mark, xvi. 14). He is going to entrust His Apostles with the most sublime mission ever given to man; He would, therefore, prepare them for it by humbling them. A few days hence, and they are to be lights of the world; the world must believe what they preach, believe it on their word, believe it without having seen, believe what the Apostles alone have seen. It is by Faith that man approaches His God: they themselves were once without it, and Jesus would have them now express their sorrow for their former incredulity, and thus base their Apostolate on humility.

Then assuming a tone of authority, such as none but a God could take, He says to them: Go ye into the whole world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved: but he that believeth not, shall be condemned (Ibid. xvi. 15, 16). And how shall they accomplish this mission of preaching the Gospel to the whole world? how shall they persuade men to believe their word? By Miracles. And these signs, continues Jesus, shall follow them that believe: in My name, they shall cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they shall drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay their hands upon the sick, and they shall recover (St. Mark, svi. 17, 18). He would have Miracles to be the foundation of his Church, just as He had made them the argument of His own divine mission. The suspension of the laws of nature proves to us that it is God Who speaks; we must receive the word, and humbly believe it.

Here, then, we have men unknown to the world and devoid of every human means, and yet commissioned to conquer the earth and make it acknowledge Jesus as its King! The world ignores their very existence. Tiberius, who sits on the imperial throne, trembling at every shadow of conspiracy, little suspects that there is being prepared an expedition which is to conquer the Roman Empire. But these warriors must have their armour, and the armour must be of heaven's own tempering. Jesus tells them that they are to receive it a few days hence. Stay, says He, in the city, till ye be endued with power from on high (St. Lluke, xxiv. 49). But what is this armour? Jesus explains it to them. He reminds them of the Father's promise, that promise, says He, which ye have heard by my mouth: for John, indeed, baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence (Acts, i. 4, 5).

But the hour of separation is come. Jesus rises: His blessed Mother, and the hundred and twenty persons assembled there, prepare to follow Him. The Cenacle is situated on Mount Sion, which is one of the two hills within the walls of Jerusalem. The holy group traverses the city, making for the eastern Gate, which opens on the Valley of Josaphat. It is the last time that Jesus walks through the faithless City. He is invisible to the eyes of the people who denied Him, but visible to His Disciples, and goes before them, as, heretofore, the pillar of fire led on the Israelites. How beautiful and imposing a sight! Mary, the Disciples, and the holy Women, accompanying Jesus in His Heaven-ward journey, which is to lead Him to the right hand of His Eternal Father! It was commemorated in the Middle-Ages by a solemn Procession before the Mass of Ascension Day. What happy times were those, when Christians took delight in honouring every action of our Redeemer! They could not be satisfied, as we are, with a few vague notions, which can produce nothing but an equally vague devotion.

They reflected on the thoughts which Mary must have had during these last moments of her Son's presence. They used to ask themselves, which of the two sentiments were uppermost in her maternal heart, sadness, that she was to see her Jesus no more? or joy, that He was now going to enter into the glory He so infinitely deserved? The answer was soon found: had not Jesus said to His Disciples: If ye loved me, ye would indeed be glad, because I go to the Father (St. John, xiv. 28)? Now, who loved Jesus as Mary did? The Mother's heart, then, was full of joy at parting with Him. How was she to think of herself, when there was question of the triumph of her Son and her God? Could she that had witnessed the scene of Calvary do less than desire to see Him glorified, Whom she knew to be the Sovereign Lord of all things, Him Whom, but a short time ago, she had seen rejected by His people, blasphemed, and dying the most ignominious and cruel of deaths?

The holy group has traversed the Valley of Josaphat; it has crossed the brook Cedron, and is moving onwards to Mount Olivet. What recollections would crowd on the mind! This torrent, of which Jesus had drunk on the day of His humiliation, is now the path He takes to triumph and glory. The Royal Prophet had foretold it (Ps. cix. 7). On their left, are the Garden and Cave, where He suffered His Agony and accepted the bitter Chalice of His Passion. After having come as far as what St. Luke calls the distance of the journey allowed to the Jews on a sabbath-day (Acts, i. 12), they are close to Bethania, that favoured village, where Jesus used to accept hospitality at the hands of Lazarus and his two Sisters. This part of Mount Olivet commands a view of Jerusalem. The sight of its Temple and Palaces makes the Disciples proud of their earthly city: they have forgotten the curse uttered against her; they seem to have forgotten, too, that Jesus has just made them citizens and conquerors of the whole world. They begin to dream of the earthly grandeur of Jerusalem, and, turning to their Divine Master, they venture to ask him this question: Lord, wilt thou, at this time, restore again the kingdom to Israel (Acts, i. 6)?

Jesus answers them with a tone of severity: It is not for you to know the times or moments which the Father hath put in His own power (Ibid. 7). These words do not destroy the hope that Jerusalem is to be restored by the Christian Israel; but, as this is not to happen till the world is drawing towards its end, there is nothing that requires our Saviour's revealing the secret. What ought to be uppermost in the mind of the Disciples, is the conversion of the pagan world, the establishing the Church. Jesus reminds them of the mission He has just given to them: Ye shall receive, says He, the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the uttermost part of the earth (Acts, i. 8).

According to a tradition, which has been handed down from the earliest ages of Christianity (Constit. Apost., lib. v. cap. xix), it is mid-day, the same hour that He had been raised up, when nailed to His Cross. Giving His Blessed Mother a look of filial affection, and another of fond farewell to the rest of the group that stand around him, Jesus raises up His hands and blesses them all. Whilst thus blessing them, He is raised up from the ground whereon He stands, and ascends into heaven (St. Luke, xxiv. 51). Their eyes follow Him, until a cloud comes and receives Him out of their sight (Acts, i. 9).

Yes, Jesus is gone! The earth has lost her Emmanuel! For four thousand years had He been expected: the Patriarchs and Prophets had desired His coming with all the fervour of their souls: He came: His love made Him our captive in the chaste womb of the Virgin of Nazareth. It was there He first received our adorations. Nine months after, the Blessed Mother offered Him to our joyous love in the Stable at Bethlehem. We followed Him into Egypt; we returned with Him; we dwelt with Him at Nazareth. When He began the three years of His public Life, we kept close to His steps; We delighted in being near Him, we listened to His preaching and parables, we saw His miracles. The malice of His enemies reached its height, and the time came wherein He was to give us the last and grandest proof of the love that had brought Him from heaven, His dying for us on a Cross; we kept near Him as He died, and our souls were purified by the Blood that flowed from His Wounds. On the third day, He rose again from His Grave, and we stood by exulting in His triumph over Death, for that triumph won for us a like Resurrection. During the Forty days He has deigned to spend with us since His Resurrection, our faith has made us cling to Him: we would fain have kept Him with us forever, but the hour is come; He has left us; yes, our dearest Jesus is gone! O happy the souls that He had taken from Limbo! they have gone with Him, and, for all eternity, are to enjoy the heaven of His visible presence.

The Disciples are still steadfastly looking up towards heaven, when lo! two angels, clad in white robes, appear to them, saying: Ye men of Galilee! why stand ye looking up to heaven? This Jesus, Who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come as ye have seen Him going into heaven (Acts, i. 10, 11)! He has ascended, a Saviour; He is to return, as Judge; between these two events is comprised the whole life of the Church on earth. We are therefore living under the reign of Jesus as our Saviour, for He has said: God sent not His Son into the world to Judge the world, but that the world might be Saved by Him (St. Joh, iii. 17): and to carry out this merciful design He has just been giving to His Disciples the mission to go throughout the whole world, and invite men, whilst yet there is time, to accept the mystery of Salvation.

What a task is this He imposes on the Apostles! and now that they are to begin their work, He leaves them! They return from Mount Olivet, and Jesus is not with them! And yet, they are not sad; they have Mary to console them; her unselfish generosity is their model, and well do they learn the lesson.

They love Jesus; they rejoice at the thought of His having entered into His rest. They went back into Jerusalem with great joy (St. Luke, xxiv. 52). These few simple words of the Gospel indicate the spirit of this admirable Feast of the Ascension: it is a Festival, which, notwithstanding its soft tinge of sadness, is, more than any other, expressive of joy and triumph. During its Octave, we will endeavour to describe its mystery and magnificence: we would only observe, for the present, that this Solemnity is the completion of the Mysteries of our Redemption; that it is one of those which were instituted by the Apostles (St. Augustine, EP. ad Januar); and finally, that it has impressed a character of sacredness on the Thursday of each week, the day already so highly honoured by the institution of the Eucharist.

We have alluded to the Procession, whereby our Catholic forefathers used, on this Feast, to celebrate the journey of Jesus and His Disciples to Mount Olivet. Another custom observed on the Ascension, was the solemn blessing given to bread and to the new fruits: it was commemorative of the farewell repast taken by Jesus in the Cenacle. Let us imitate the piety of the Ages of Faith, when Christians loved to honour the very least of our Saviour's actions, and, so to speak, make them their own, by thus interweaving the minutest details of His Life into their own. What earnest reality of love and adoration was given to our Jesus in those olden times, when His being Sovereign Lord and Redeemer was the ruling principle of both individual and social life! Now-a-days, we may follow the principle, as fervently as we please, in the privacy of our own consciences, or, at most, in our own homes; but publicly, and when we are before the World, no! To say nothing of the evil results of this modern limitation of Jesus' rights as our King, what could be more sacrilegiously unjust to Him Who deserves our whole service, everywhere and at all times? The Angels said to the Apostles: This Jesus shall come, as ye have seen Him going into heaven: happy we, if, during His absence, we shall have so unreservedly loved and served Him, as to be able to meet Him with confidence when He comes to judge us!

HYMN:

The hymn was composed by St. Ambrose, and is full of sweetness; it was somewhat changed in the 17th century, and in this changed form we now have it.

O Jesus, Redeemer of mankind, joy of our hearts, Creator of the world redeemed, and chaste light of them that love Thee.

What mercy was it that led Thee to take upon Thee our sins? and suffer death, O innocent victim, that Thou mightest free us from death?

Thou brokest the gates of hell, and the chains of them that were bound. A conqueror, with noblest triumph, Thou now sittest at the right hand of the Father.

May Thy clemency lead Thee to repair our losses. Oh! give us to see Thy Face, and enrich us with the blessed light.

Be Thou our guide and path to heaven; be Thou the object of our hearts desire; be Thou the joy of our tears, and the sweet recompense of a life spent for Thee! Amen

V. The Lord, in heaven, alleluia.

R. Hath prepared His throne, alleluia.

The Magnificat-Anthem is an appeal made to our Jesus, that he would be mindful of his own and his Father's promise, and not delay to console his Spouse by sending her the Holy Spirit. The Church repeats this Antiphon every day, till the arrival of the heavenly Guest.

Antiphon of The Magnificat.

O King of glory, Lord of hosts, Who didst this day ascend in triumph above all the heavens! leave us not orphans, but send upon us the Spirit of truth, promised us by the Father, alleluia.

Let us pray:

Grant, we beseech Thee, O Almighty God, that we, who believe that Thine Only Begotten Son, our Redeemer, ascended this day into heaven, may also dwell there in desire. Through the same, &c.

HYMN: (In Assumptione Domini, ad Vesperas.)

When thou, O Christ! camest to Mount Olivet, there to fulfill the good pleasure of Thy Father, the Angels of heaven were in admiration, and the inhabitants of hell trembled. Thy Disciples, too, were there, and they thrilled with joy as Thou spokest unto them. A Cloud, like a throne, hovered above in front, awaiting Thee; the gates of heaven were opened, showing the beauty of its courts, and revealing its hidden treasures to the earth, that Adam might thus learn whence he had fallen and whither he was to re-ascend. Thy feet were suddenly lifted up, as though some hand were raising them. Thy words, as long as they were heard, were nought but blessing. The Cloud received Thee, and Heaven welcomed Thee within its bosom. It was for the salvation of our souls, that Thou, O Lord, didst achieve this great work, this work surpassing nature's law.

Thou, O God, didst on this day raise up, together with Thyself, above all Principalities and Powers, the nature of Adam, which had fallen into the deep abyss, but which was restored by Thee. Because Thou lovedst it, thou placedst it on Thine own throne; because Thou hadst pity on it, Thou unitedst it to Thyself: because Thou hadst thus united it, Thou didst suffer with it; because Thou, the impassible, didst thus suffer, thou gave it to share in thy glory. The Angels cried out: "Who is this beautiful Man? nay, not Man only, but God and Man, having the Nature of both?" Other Angels, in white garments, hovered round the Disciples, and exclaimed: "Ye men of Galilee! this Jesus, this Man-God, Who hath left you, will return the God-Man, the Judge of the living and the dead, to give, unto them that are faithful, pardon and abundant mercy."

When thou, O Christ, our God, didst ascend into glory, in the sight of Thy Disciples, a Cloud received Thee in thy Human Nature, and the gates of heaven were uplifted; the Angelic choirs exulted with great joy; the heavenly Powers cried out, saying: "Lift up your gates, O ye Princes! and the King of glory shall enter in!" The Disciples were amazed, and said to thee: "Leave us not, good Shepherd! but send unto us Thy Holy Spirit, that He may guide and strengthen our souls!"

After having, O Lord, in Thy goodness, accomplished the mystery that was hidden from ages and generations, Thou didst go, together with Thy Disciples, to Mount Olivet, having with Thee Her that had given Thee birth,--Thee the Creator and Maker of all creatures. It was meet that she, who, being Thy Mother, had mourned more than all others over Thy Passion, should also have greater joy in the glory thus conferred upon Thy Human Nature. We, therefore, who share in the joy she had in Thine Ascension, we glorify Thy great mercy!

Prayer:

O Jesus, our Emmanuel! Thy work is done, and this is the day of Thy entering into Thy rest. In the beginning of the world, Thou didst spend six days in harmonizing the varied portions of the creation; after which, thou enteredst again into Thy rest. When later on, thou wouldst repair thy work which Satan's malice had deranged, Thy love induced Thee to live among us for three and thirty years, during which Thou didst work our redemption, and restoredst us to the holiness and honour whence we had fallen. Whatsoever had been assigned Thee in the eternal decrees of the Blessed Trinity, whatsoever had been foretold of Thee by the Prophets; all was done, dear Jesus! not an iota of it all was forgotten. Thy triumphant Ascension was the close of the mission Thou hadst so mercifully undertaken. It was thy second entrance into thy rest; but, this time, it was with our Human Nature which Thou hadst assumed, and which was now to receive divine honour. Thou wouldst have companions in Thine Ascension,--the souls thou hadst liberated from Limbo; yea, and when about to leave us, thou saidst this word of consolation to us: I go to prepare a place for You (St. John, xiv. 2)!

Confiding, O Jesus! in this promise; resolved to follow Thee in all the mysteries achieved by Thee for our sakes, in the humility of Thy Birth at Bethlehem, in Thy sufferings on Calvary, in the joy of Thy Resurrection, we hope, also, to imitate Thee, when our mortal course is run, in Thy glorious Ascension. Meanwhile, we unite with the holy Apostles who rejoiced at Thy triumph, and with the ransomed captives of Limbo who entered heaven in Thy company. Watch over us, O Divine Shepherd, whilst we are in our exile! Tend Thy faithful sheep; let none be lost; lead them all to Thy fold. The mystery of Thine Ascension shows us the object of our existence; it re-animates us to study more attentively, and love more warmly, all Thy other mysteries: our one ambition, then, our one desire, shall henceforth be our own Ascension to heaven and to Thee. It was for this Thou camest into the world: by humbling Thyself to our lowliness, to exalt us to Thine own majesty; and by making Thyself Man, to make man a partaker of Thy divinity. But until the happy day of our union with Thee, what would become of us without that Power of the Most High which thou hast promised to send us, that He may bring us patience during our pilgrimage, fidelity to our absent King, and that solace of a heart exiled from its God,--love? Come, then, O Holy Spirit! Support our weakness; fix the eye of our souls on the heaven where our King awaits us; and never permit us to set our hearts on a world which, had it every other charm, has not the infinite one of Jesus' visible presence!

Litany of Jesus Glorified

Lord, have mercy on us.

Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ, have mercy on us.

Christ, have mercy on us.

Lord, have mercy on us.

Lord, have mercy on us.

Jesus in Glory, hear us.

Jesus in Glory, graciously hear us.

God the Father of heaven,

Have mercy on us.*

God the Son, Redeemer of the world,*

God the Holy Ghost,*

Holy Trinity, one God,*

Jesus, King of Glory,*

Jesus, Lord and Christ,*

Jesus, Prince and Saviour,*

Jesus, blessed and only mighty,*

Jesus, Who only hast immortality,*

Jesus, Who didst ascend into heaven,*

Jesus, Who didst ascend above the stars into the Heaven of heavens,*

Jesus, Who didst ascend to Thy Father and our Father, to Thy God and our God,*

Jesus, Who ledst captivity captive,*

Jesus, Who despoiledst principalities and powers, triumphing over them.*

Jesus, Who art exalted by the right hand of God,*

Jesus, Who art exalted far above all principality and power,*

Jesus, to Whom all power is given in heaven and earth,*

Jesus, Who art crowned with glory and honor,*

Jesus, Who art glorified with the glory which Thou hadst with the Father before the world was,*

Jesus, Who art glorified, in Thy Sacred Humanity, at the right hand of the Majesty on high,*

Jesus, Who must reign till Thou hast put all things under Thy feet,*

Jesus, Whose throne is forever and ever,*

Jesus, Who art adored by all the Angels of God,*

Jesus, Who art anointed with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows,*

Jesus, Who art the happiness of the Blessed,*

Jesus, in Whose Presence is life,*

Jesus, Who hast opened the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers,*

Jesus, Who hast entered into heaven itself for us,*

Jesus, the Mediator of the New Testament,*

Jesus, our High Priest forever, according to the order of Melchisedech,*

Jesus, Who always livest to make intercession for us,*

Jesus, Who art able to save forever those that come unto the Father by Thee,*

Jesus, Head over all the Church,*

Jesus, Who didst send down the Holy Ghost on Thine Apostles,*

Jesus, Who didst promise that whatsoever we ask in Thy Name Thou wouldst grant,*

Jesus, Who art gone up into heaven and yet art present with us in the Sacrament of the Altar,*

Jesus, Who didst assume Thy blessed Mother with glory into heaven,*

Jesus, Who didst crown her with the brightest diadem of glory,*

Jesus, Who art gone to prepare a place for us,*

Jesus, Who shall come again in like manner as Thou wentest away,*

Jesus, Who didst promise new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth justice,*

Jesus, Who livest forever,*

Jesus, Son of God the Father,*

We sinners:

Beseech Thee to hear us.**

That we may seek the things that are above, and not the things that are upon earth,**

That Thou wouldst cleanse our consciences from dead works to serve the living God,**

That we may live the rest of our time in the flesh, not after the desires of men, but according to the will of God,**

That Thou wouldst dwell in our hearts by faith,**

That Thou wouldst come unto us, and make Thy abode with us,**

That we may hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering,**

That Thou wouldst pour down Thy benedictions upon Thy Church,**

That Thou wouldst order all things for the good of them that love Thee,**

That Thou wouldst draw all men unto Thee,**

That Thou wouldst fill our hearts with love and devotion to Thy most holy Mother,**

That Thou wouldst give us confidence in the prayers of all Thy Saints,**

That Thou wouldst come again and take us to Thyself, that where Thou art, we may be also,**

That when Thou shalt appear, we may receive a never-fading crown of glory,**

That we may behold Thy glory,**

That in Thy light we may see light,**

That Thou wouldst have mercy on the souls of the faithful departed,**

That Thou wouldst let the light of Thy countenance shine upon them,**

That Thou wouldst admit them to the joy of the Beatific Vision,**

That Thou wouldst hasten the day of Thy appearing,**

That Thou wouldst hear us from Thy holy place,**

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world:

Spare us, O Lord,

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world:

Graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world:

Have mercy on us, O Lord.

Christ, hear us.

Christ, graciously hear us.

V. God is ascended with jubilee. Alleluia.

R. And the Lord with the sound of the trumpet. Alleluia.

Let us pray:

Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that we who believe Thine only-begotten Son to have ascended into heaven, may ourselves also in heart and mind thither ascend, and through the same Lord, dwell in heavenly places. Amen.

Special Need Prayer to St. Rita

 

O powerful St. Rita,

rightly called Saint of the Impossible,

I come to you with confidence in my great need.

You know well my trials,

for you yourself were many times burdened in this life.

Come to my help,

speak for me,

pray with me,

intercede on my behalf before the Father.

I know that God has a most generous heart

and that he is a most loving Father.

Join your prayers to mine

and obtain for me the grace I desire

(Make your request…)

You who were so very pleasing to God on earth

and are so much so now in heaven,

I promise to use this favor, when granted,

to better my life,

to proclaim God’s mercy,

and to make you more widely known and loved.

Amen.

Novena of Reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

 

by Rev. Joseph Cacella, 1947

First Day 

Intention: 

Reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Oh Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mother of Jesus, Our Lady of Fatima, inspire me to grieve sincerely for the sins that weigh heavily upon the souls of men. Sorrowfully I recall the bitter and harsh punishments heaped upon thy Divine Son, when He was cruelly scourged at the pillar, unmercifully crowned with thorns. I recall His sad journey to Calvary, His Crucifixion, and ignominious death on the cross. Yet, they were but the instruments of pain. It was my sins that really caused His Precious Blood to be shed. His excessive love willed that He should suffer for my salvation. Thus, I will give my little love to make amends and atone for a thoughtless and unappreciative world.

Oh Immaculate Heart of Mary, you who suffered, and shared with Him each pain caused and inflicted by our sins, intercede for us that we may be privileged to unite our hearts with yours in an effort to make reparation for our sins, and the sins of ungrateful mankind. Amen.

 Our Lady of Fatima inflame our hearts with the love of Reparation.






SECOND DAY
Intention: Greater love and appreciation for the Rosary

Oh Immaculate Heart of Mary Queen of the most holy Rosary, teach us to love those little beads. In every trial, tribulation and sorrow they have been a source of comfort to all who trust in you. We are happy in the possession of our Rosaries. May your Rosary, O Immaculate Heart of Mary, ever strengthen us in all our weaknesses, be our peace in time of affliction, comfort in all matters of doubt, courage in time of temptation, and a source of consolation throughout all our days on this earth. May it be a strong influence on us in success or in failure. In all things, may we live in peaceful union with thee through the medium of thy Rosary. Amen.

 Our Lady of Fatima, Queen of the Rosary, inflame our hearts with the love of reparation.






THIRD DAY
Intention: The True Peace of Christ

Oh Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mother of Jesus and Our Mother, we pray that the hope and promise made by you at Fatima will soon be realized. Our friends and family made the supreme sacrifice, and our loved ones languished in the horror and hardships that came upon a world at war. We know it is your ardent wish and desire that there be peace in the world, and it is only through Reparation to your Immaculate Heart that such can be accomplished. You have told us your wish in the Message of Fatima: Reparation through the Rosary and the practice of the First Saturdays. We beg of you. Oh Mary Immaculate, that, through your pleadings, our prayers and example may show the world the road to the true peace which the world itself cannot give. Bless, we beseech thee, our country, and inspire us and our leaders to receive, understand, and promote that glorious Message delivered by you at Fatima.

 Our Lady of Fatima, Queen of Peace, inflame our hearts with the love of Reparation.




FOURTH DAY
Intention: Relief for the Souls in Purgatory

Oh Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mother most merciful, to thee do we plead the cause of the poor suffering souls in purgatory, especially those most abandoned. In obedience to thy request at Fatima, we beg for their relief. Oh Mother most merciful, we ask thee to lessen their toll of expiation. Deign to accept our humble prayers and sacrifice in reparation and payment for the punishment that is due from them. We pray that through the treasures of your Divine Son, your own special merits, and those of the saints, that God may be mindful of our prayers on behalf of the suffering souls in Purgatory, and bring them into His Kingdom to love and serve Him forever. Amen.

 Our Lady of Fatima, Mother most merciful, inflame our hearts with the love of Reparation.




FIFTH DAY
Intention: Salvation of Souls

Oh Immaculate Heart of Mary, Virgin most powerful, we know that the vision of the terrible fires of hell which you showed to the three little shepherd children at Fatima, was really meant for us. We beseech thee, Oh Mother Mary, to spare us the fate of a judgment that ordains such a punishment. Grant unto us a faith so strong that we may ever realize that the evil of sin will be justly repaid with eternal punishment. I believe in the Infinite Justice of the one true God and the Infinite Love of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. We pray and beseech thee that through your intercession we may be given the grace to live so worthy a life on earth, as to enjoy the reward of eternal happiness in the kingdom of thy Divine Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

 Our Lady of Fatima, Virgin most powerful, inflame our hearts with the love of Reparation.




SIXTH DAY
Intention: Purity of Body and Soul

Oh Immaculate Heart of Mary, Virgin most pure, have compassion on those who are prone to the allurements of impurity. Give us, we beseech thee, strength to overcome our weaknesses, and courage in the struggle against sin. We know it is your ardent wish that we renew our pledge of holy purity. Oh, Immaculate Heart of Mary, we consecrate to thee here and now, without reserve, our eyes, ears, tongues, hearts--our whole beings. We promise that, with thy help, we shall be steady in our purpose to serve thee with undefiled chastity. Give us the courage to resist all temptations, and to avoid all things that may be the occasion of sin.

 Our Lady of Fatima, Virgin most pure, inflame our hearts with the love of Reparation.




SEVENTH DAY
Intention: Forgiveness of Sin

Oh Immaculate Heart of Mary, Refuge of Sinners, to whom else will we turn in our sorrow for sin, if not to thee. From whom shall we find comfort and consolation, in the shame of our sins, except from thee? Lead us back, dear Mother of Love, to the path of righteousness that leads to the Sacred Heart of thy Divine Son. We have sinned often, oh dear Mother, and the remembrances of the errors of our ways trouble us. It shall be no more. We know that thy protecting care will find peace and hope for us, and the remission of our sins. We know too that as with Mary Magdalene of old, thy Son shall welcome us with a loving smile, because you have always pleaded for us. Amen.

 Our Lady of Fatima, Refuge of sinners, inflame our hearts with the love of Reparation.




EIGHTH DAY
Intention: Conversion of Russia

Oh Immaculate Heart of Mary, Refuge of the human race, you have given unto us the means of destroying the menace of atheism and godless communism. Your Promise of conversion for those unfortunate victims of those false beliefs, has instilled joy and hope into the nations of the earth. We grieve for those war-torn, homeless and persecuted people who are victims of such mundane ideology. Grant, we beseech thee. Oh Mother, that peace may come to those separated from thy Son by error and discord. We fail, if we heed not thy Message of Fatima. We know thy wishes, and therefore we promise to make Reparation to thy Immaculate Heart through the Rosary and the Five First Saturdays, that Russia again may hear the word of God, and keep it.

 Our Lady of Fatima, Refuge of the human race, inflame our hearts with the love of Reparation.




NINTH DAY
Intention: The Spiritual Welfare of our Children

Oh Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mother of the Infant Babe of Bethlehem, and Our Mother, enkindle in our hearts the spark of youthful innocence. We know of thy great love for little children. It was to innocent children that you deigned to appear, revealing the Message of Fatima, and charging them with its propagation. We know no better way to show our regard for them, dear Mother, than to offer our prayers for all children everywhere.

Therefore, O Mother dear, we ask thee to watch over all children in all parts of the world, to guard and protect their homes, to preserve the schools wherein they learn, and to keep them from being tainted with godless education. Direct them in their play and in all their works, that they may grow in age, wisdom, and the love of God. Grant too, Blessed Mother, that the prayers of our children may hasten the end of all wars of carnage and devastation and grant unto this world an era of just and lasting peace. We pray that the world may return to Jesus, thy Son, through Reparation to thy Immaculate Heart.

 Our Lady of Fatima, we beseech thee to inflame our hearts with the love of Reparation.

Download the book, "Fatima and the Rosary

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Prayer in Time of Urgent Need, with the Apostles Creed five times

 

I. O my Lord Jesus Christ crucified, Son of the most Blessed Virgin Mary, open thine ears, and listen to me as Thou didst listen to the Eternal Father on Mount Tabor. Credo (I believe in God etc.)

II. O my Lord Jesus Christ crucified, Son of the most Blessed Virgin Mary, open thine eyes, and look upon me as Thou didst look from the tree of the Cross upon thy dear Mother sorrowing and afflicted. Credo (I believe in God etc.)

III. O my Lord Jesus Christ crucified, Son of the most Blessed Virgin Mary, open thy blessed mouth, and speak to me as Thou didst speak to St John when Thou gavest him for a son to thine own most beloved Mother. Credo (I believe in God etc.)

IV. O my Lord Jesus Christ crucified, Son of the most Blessed Virgin Mary, open thine arms and embrace me as Thou didst open them upon the Cross to embrace the whole human race. Credo (I believe in God etc.)

V. O my Lord Jesus Christ crucified, Son of the most Blessed Virgin Mary, open thy Heart and receive therein my heart, and hear me in all that I ask of Thee, if so be it be agreeable to thy most holy will. Credo (I believe in God etc.)

Saint Pius V, the true reformer Pope, who Saved the Church and Christendom

 

We have already met with the names of several Pontiffs on the Paschal Calendar. They form a brilliant constellation around our Risen Jesus, Who, during the period between His Resurrection and Ascension, gave to Peter, their predecessor, the Keys of the kingdom of heaven. Anicetus, Soter, Caius, Cletus and Marcellinus, held in their hands the palm of martyrdom: Leo was the only one that did not shed his blood in the cause of his Divine Master. Today, there comes before us a holy Pope, who governed the Church in these latter times; he is worthy to stand amidst the Easter group of Pontiffs. Like Leo, Pius the Fifth was zealous in combating heresy; like Leo, he saved his people from the Barbarian yoke.

The whole life of Pius the Fifth was a combat. His Pontificate fell during those troubled times, when Protestantism was leading whole countries into apostasy. Italy was not a prey that could be taken by violence: artifice was therefore used, in order to undermine the Apostolic See, and thus envelope the whole Christian world in the darkness of heresy. Pius, with untiring devotedness, defended the Peninsula from the danger that threatened her.

Even before he was raised to the Papal Throne, he frequently exposed his life by his zeal in opposing the preaching of false doctrines. Like Peter the Martyr, he braved every danger, and was the dread of the emissaries of heresy. Placed upon the Chair of Peter, he kept the innovators in check by fear, he roused the sovereigns of Italy to energy, and, by measures of moderate severity, he drove back beyond the Alps the torrent, that would have swept Christianity from Europe, had not the Southern States thus opposed it. From that time forward, Protestantism has never made any further progress: it has been wearing itself out by intestine anarchy of doctrines. We repeat it: this heresy would have laid all Europe waste, had it not been for the vigilance of the Pastor, who animated the defenders of Truth to resist it where it already existed, and who set himself as a wall of brass against its invasion in the country where he himself was the Master.

Another enemy, taking advantage of the confusion caused in the West by Protestantism, organized an expedition against Europe. Italy was to be its first prey. The Ottoman fleet started from the Bosphorus. Here again, there would have been the ruin of Christendom, but for the energy of the Roman Pontiff, our Saint. He gave the alarm, and called the Christian Princes to arms. Germany and France, torn by domestic factions that had been caused by heresy, turned a deaf ear to the call. Spain alone, together with Venice and the little Papal fleet, answered the Pontiff's summons. The Cross and Crescent were soon face to face in the Gulf of Lepanto. The prayers of Pius the Fifth decided the victory in favor of the Christians, whose forces were much inferior to those of the Turks.

We shall have to return to this important event when we come to the Feast of the Rosary, in October. But we cannot omit mentioning, today, the prediction uttered by the holy Pope, on the evening of the great day of October 7th, 1571. The battle between the Christian and Turkish fleets lasted from six o'clock in the morning till late in the afternoon. Towards evening, the Pontiff suddenly looked up towards heaven, and gazed upon it, in silence, for a few seconds. Then turning to his attendants, he exclaimed: "Let us give thanks to God! The Christians have gained the victory!" The news soon arrived at Rome; and thus, Europe once more owed her salvation to a Pope! The defeat at Lepanto was a blow to the Ottoman Empire, from which it has never recovered: its fall dates from that glorious day.

The zeal of this holy Pope for the reformation of Christian morals, his establishing the observance of the laws of discipline prescribed by the Council of Trent, and his publishing the new Breviary and Missal, have made his six years' Pontificate to be one of the richest periods of the Church's history. Protestants themselves have frequently expressed their admiration of this vigorous opponent of the so-called Reformation. "I am surprised," said Bacon, "that the Church of Rome has not yet "canonized this great man." Pius the Fifth did not receive this honor till about a hundred and thirty years after his death; so impartial is the Church, when she has to adjudicate this highest of earthly honors even to her most revered Pastors!

Of the many miracles which attested the merits of this holy Pontiff, even during his life, we select the two following. As he was one day crossing the Vatican piazza, which is on the site of the ancient Circus of Nero, he was overcome with a sentiment of enthusiasm for the glory and courage of the Martyrs, who had suffered on that very spot, in the first Persecution. Stooping down, he took up a handful of dust from the hallowed ground, which had been trodden by so many generations of the Christian people since the peace of Constantine. He put the dust into a cloth, which the Ambassador of Poland, who was with him, held out to receive it. When the Ambassador opened the cloth, after returning to his house, he found it all saturated with blood, as fresh as though it had been that moment shed: the dust had disappeared. The faith of the Pontiff had evoked the blood of the Martyrs, which thus gave testimony, against the heretics, that the Roman Church, in the 16th Century, was identically the same as that for which those brave heroes and heroines laid down their lives in the days of Nero.

The heretics attempted, more than once, to destroy a life, which baffled all their hopes of perverting the Faith of Italy. By a base and sacrilegious stratagem, aided as it was by an odious treachery, they put a deadly poison on the feet of the Crucifix, which the Saint kept in his Oratory, and which he was frequently seen to kiss with great devotion. In the fervor of prayer, Pius was about to give this mark of love to the image of his Crucified Master, when suddenly the feet of the Crucifix detached themselves from the Cross, and eluded the proffered kiss of the venerable old man. The Pontiff at once saw through the plot, whereby his enemies would fain have turned the life-giving Tree into an instrument of death.

In order to encourage the Faithful to follow the sacred Liturgy, we will select another interesting example from the life of this great Saint. When, lying on his bed of death, and just before breathing his last, he took a parting look at the Church on earth, which he was leaving for that of Heaven. He wished to address a final prayer for the Flock which he knew was surrounded by danger; he therefore recited, but with a voice that was scarcely audible, the following stanza of the Paschal Hymn: " We beseech thee, O Creator of all things! that, in these days of Paschal joy, thou defend thy people from every assault of death!"

Let us now read the eulogy of this Saintly Pope of modern times, as given in the Divine Office.

Pius was born at Bosco, a town in Lombardy, though his parents were the Ghisleri, a noble family at Bologna. He entered the Order of the Friars Preachers, when he was fourteen years of age. He was remarkable for his patience, deep humility, great mortifications, love of prayer and religious discipline, and most ardent zeal for God's honor. He applied himself to the study of Philosophy and Theology, and with so much success, that, for many years, he taught them in a manner that gained him universal praise. He preached the word of God in many places, and produced much fruit. For a long period, he held with dauntless courage the office of Inquisitor; and, at the risk of his life, preserved many cities from the then prevalent heresy.

Paul the Fourth, who esteemed and loved him on account of his great virtues, made him bishop of Nepi and Sutri, and, two years later, numbered him among the Cardinal Priests of the Roman Church. Having been translated by Pius the Fourth to the Church of Mendovi, in Piedmont, and finding that many abuses had crept in, he made a visitation of the whole diocese. Having put all things in order, he returned to Rome, where he was intrusted with matters of the gravest importance; all of which he transacted with an apostolic impartiality and firmness.

At the death of Pius the Fourth, he was, contrary to everyone's expectation, chosen Pope. With the exception of his outward garb, he changed nothing of his manner of life. The following are the virtues in which he excelled: unremitting zeal for the propagation of the Faith, untiring efforts for the restoration of Ecclesiastical discipline, assiduous vigilance in extirpating error, unfailing charity in relieving the necessities of the poor, and invincible courage in vindicating the rights of the Apostolic See.

A powerful fleet having been equipped, at Lepanto, against Selimus, the emperor of the Turks, who was flushed with the many victories he had gained, the Pontiff won the battle, not so much by arms as by prayers. He, by a divine revelation, knew of the victory the moment it was won, and announced it to his household. Whilst engaged in preparing a new expedition against the Turks, he fell dangerously ill. He suffered the most excruciating pains with exceeding great patience. When his last hour approached, he received the Sacraments, according to the Christian practice, and most calmly breathed forth his soul into God's hands in the year 1572, and in the sixty-eighth year of his age, after a pontificate of six years, three months, and twenty-four days. His body is honored by the devout veneration of the Faithful; it lies in the Church of Saint Mary Major. Through his intercession, many miracles have been wrought by God; which being authentically proved, he was canonized by Pope Clement the Eleventh.

St. Pius is one of the leading glories of the Dominican Order. We find the following Responsories and Hymns in the Breviary of that Order.

RESPONSORIES

R. Whilst this new Moses was praying to God on the mount, with hands extended, the perfidious Amalec, Israel's foe, was put to flight on the gulf of Lepanto, * And the victory was revealed to Pius. Alleluia.

V. Whilst he stretched forth the rod of the Rosary, the wicked enemies were drowned in the sea. * And the victory was revealed to Pius. Alleluia.

R. The white waxen Lambs, that were blessed by Pius, gave health to the sick: the bullets that were fired, rebounded: * They that were shot at, escaped injury. Alleluia.

V. They multiplied flour, they quenched fire, they calmed the sea. * They that were shot at, escaped injury. Alleluia.

R. To show the ancient combats of the Martyrs of Rome, he works a great miracle: * Before a crowd of people. Alleluia.

V. He gives to a Christian Ambassador some dust impregnated with blood, which he took up from the Vatican ground. * Before a crowd of people. Alleluia.

R. He wished to kiss the feet of Christ fasted to the Cross; but the feet withdrew, that the life of Christ's dear servant might be saved: * They were covered with poison, and would not be kissed. Alleluia.

V. God forbid that I should glory, God forbid that I should seek to imprint my kisses, save in the Cross of my Lord. * They were covered with poison, and would not be kissed. Alleluia.

Hymn

Let our sweet organs give forth their glad sound in honor of blessed Pius! Let the joys of this sacred day dispel all dismal storms.

His name in baptism was Michael, and he conquered the devil in battle: he took the name of Pius, and repressed the impious foe.

He was the firm shield against the dangers that attacked the Church: he was the strong sword that mowed down the ranks of the heretics.

He was the zealous Phinees who stood for the defense of the Holy City, that he might protect the Faithful from the scimitar of the Turks.

His strenuous care redisciplined morals; and to impious errors he opposed a barrier of restraint.

Pius had too generous a heart to hide his wealth in a napkin; he threw open his whole treasury, that he might relieve the necessities of his people.

Kind father of the poor, with his hands ever pouring forth charity, he fed and amply provided for his subjects when suffering famine.

We beseech thee, O Creator of all things! that, in these days of Paschal joy, Thou defend thy people from every assault of death. Amen.

Prayer:

Pontiff of the living God! thou wast, whilst on earth, the pillar of iron and wall of brass, spoken of by the Prophet (Jerem. i. 18). Thine unflinching firmness preserved the flock entrusted to thee from the violence and snares of its many enemies. Far from desponding at the sight of the dangers, thy courage redoubled, just as men raise the embankments higher, when they see the torrent swell. By thee was the spread of Heresy checked; by thee was the Mussulman invasion repelled, and the haughty Crescent humbled. God honoured thee, by choosing thee as the avenger of His glory, and the deliverer of the Christian people: receive our thanks, and the homage of our humble praise! By thee were repaired the injuries done to the Church during a period of unusual trial. The true reform, the reform that is wrought by authority, was vigorously applied by thy strong and holy hand. To thee is due the restoration of the Divine Service, by the publication of the Books of holy Liturgy. And all these glorious deeds were done in the six short years of thy laborious Pontificate!

Hear, now, the prayers addressed to thee by the Church Militant, whose destinies were once in thy hands. When dying, thou didst beseech our Risen Jesus to grant her protection against the dangers which were then threatening her: oh! see the state to which licentious error has now reduced almost the whole Christian world! The Church has nothing left to her, wherewith to make head against her countless enemies, save the promises of her Divine Founder; all visible support is withdrawn from her; she has been deprived of everything except the merit of suffering and the power of prayer.

Unite, O holy Pontiff, thy prayers to hers, and show how unchanged is thy love of the Flock of Christ. Protect, in Rome, the Chair of thy Successor, attacked as it now is by open violence and astute hypocrisy. Princes and Peoples seem to have conspired against God and His Christ: disconcert the schemes of sacrilegious ambition, and the plots of impiety which would fain give the lie to the word of God. Avert, by thine intercession, the scourges which are threatening Europe, that has become ungrateful to the Church, and indifferent to the attempts made against her to whom they owe all they have. Pray that the blind may see, and the wicked be confounded. Pray that the True Faith may enlighten those numberless souls that call error truth, and darkness light.

In the midst of this dark and menacing night, thine eyes, O holy Pontiff, discern them that are the faithful sheep of Christ: bless them, aid them, increase their number. Engraft them to the venerable Tree which dieth not, that so they may not be drifted by the storm. Get them docility to the Faith and traditions of holy Church; it is their only stay amidst the tide of error, which is now threatening to deluge the whole world. Preserve to the Church the holy Order, in which thou wast trained for the high mission destined for thee; keep up within her that race of men, powerful in work and word, zealous for the Faith and sanctification of souls, of which we read in her Annals, and which has yielded Saints such as thyself. And lastly, O Pius, remember that thou wast once the Father of the Faithful: oh! continue to be so, by thy powerful intercession, till the number of the elect be filled up!

A Mother's Prayer for the Conversion of Her Child

St. Monica, a model for mothers, who pray for the conversion of their sons.

Catholic Harbor Of faith and morals

A Mother's Prayers

by the Catholic Truth Society, 1899

"Cast thy bread upon the running waters; for after a long time thou shalt find it again." We read these words, yet we do not take heart. We pray and see no immediate answer to our prayers; and then we lose hope, we lose courage, we lose faith; and so we obtain nothing.

The following true story may perhaps help us to greater perseverance:-- It came to my knowledge that in a certain house not far from the church of the Servite Fathers, there was an old gentleman suffering from an incurable disease, who had been born and brought up a Catholic, but had become a Protestant to please his wife on the occasion of his marriage, and had, therefore, for a long time given up all practice of his religion. He had spent the greater part of his life in India, and had only been back in England a few years. His mother had been a most saintly person, the sister of a bishop; and her sorrow at the apostasy of her son, in spite of her careful training, had been lifelong and bitter. Still she never gave up hope, and never ceased praying for his return to the Faith of his childhood. At the time when I became acquainted with him, his wife was dead, and he was living in lodgings, where the landlady was covetous, suspicious, grasping, and believing that no one could be interested in her lodger save for his money. Alas! there are many such in London, and the suffering they are able to inflict on their victims, especially if of the kind called by the French les pauvres honteux--ladies and gentlemen who have seen better days--would fill a volume.

One of the Servite Fathers, who was the parish priest, heard of this case and went at once to see him. But the landlady was inexorable. First she asked what possible business he could have with this gentleman, who was a Protestant. Father S_ replied that he knew, as a fact, that he was a Catholic; and that, as one of his flock, it was a duty on his part to come and see him.

After a long debate on this point, the woman began to tell him a long story; how her lodger had run through all his money; how he had not a penny left of his own; and how she was keeping him entirely out of charity and on account of the intimate friendship she had formerly had with his wife. All this, I may remark in passing, was entirely false.

Father S_ replied that he had nothing whatever to say to his money; that the only object of his visit was to save his soul; and persisted in his request to be allowed to go upstairs.

Then the landlady tried another tack, and said he was such a violent man, and flew into such fearful passions, that she would not dare introduce a priest, as he would certainly insult him.

To which Father S_ replied, smiling, that he should not mind that, and that all he wanted to do was to satisfy his own conscience by seeing and speaking to him.

Then she said that he would not even see his own clergyman, and had dared him to come near him.

"You mean the Protestant clergyman?" continued the Father. "That I understand; and it is precisely for that reason that I wish to see him. Will you do me the favour of sending up my card to him?"

Then she had recourse to another stratagem. She said his disease was so far advanced that it was impossible for any one to endure the smell. He had already had ever so many nurses, and none of them would remain. The fact was that nurses were too expensive. She was anxious to get all his money, and would not have anything spent which she could avoid.

Father S_ replied that no bad smell or contagious disease would deter a Catholic priest from doing his duty to the dying; and that if she wished for a nurse for nothing, she could have one of the Sisters of La Misericorde de Seez, who would come at once.

He saw that she was taken aback at this, and that the idea of having a nurse for nothing rather pleased her. Finally, she told him she would think over it and ask her husband; on which the holy priest, finding he could do nothing more that day, went away, promising to call on the morrow.

In the meantime, however, he went to see a lady who knew the case and had some acquaintance with the landlady, and begged her to go and try to persuade her to engage one of the Sisters for the sick man. This lady went at once, and succeeded beyond her hopes; the idea of unpaid service evidently brought about the wished-for arrangement.

The Sister sent was a Frenchwoman, full of zeal, energy and piety; and she and another Sister, for three whole months, took it by turns, day and night, to nurse the poor man, remaining in that fetid atmosphere and never shrinking from any service, however loathsome. The French Sister at once won the sick gentleman's heart; she was so different from the nurses he had previously endured: the delicacy of her touch in dressing his wounds, and the heroic charity and patience which she showed, in spite of his occasional fits of irritability and temper, produced a marvellous effect upon him.

After a little time she began to say a few words on religious subjects; but when she suggested his seeing a priest, the sick man became furiously angry. The good Sister, however, bore all his reproaches with gentleness and in silence: she was determined that his soul should be saved, and never ceased to pray for that object all the time she was in his room, and to offer up everything for that intention.

Once, while she was talking to him on the subject, a terrific knocking was heard in the room, which seemed at the same time as if shaken by an earthquake. The Sister was startled, for there was no way of accounting for it; but the sick man was so extremely frightened that he began to tremble all over, declared it was the devil, and implored the Sister not to leave him and to put on him whatever holy thing she might have about her. She gave him a medal, which at once tranquillized him, and he became calm.

This fright, whatever may have occasioned it, had the good effect of making him consent to see Father S_, who called the following day and was most politely received, though the conversation was confined to general subjects and to inquiries as to his health. The sick man was very much pleased with his visitor, and entreated him to come again. On this second occasion, Father S_ began on the subject of religion, and found him imbued with all the most absurd prejudices which a Protestant could have against the Catholic Faith, especially against confession, infallibility, devotion to Our Lady, and the Blessed Sacrament. However, he was not averse from discussing these subjects. The good priest came every day, and with the greatest sweetness and patience answered all his objections. What he did not fully agree to or understand, he would talk over afterwards with the Sister, who generally succeeded in satisfying him.

At last his eyes were opened, and then his only anxiety was to be prepared for Confession and Holy Communion, which again the Sister undertook to do. She found that the one soft place in his heart was his love for his pious mother, who had always prayed so earnestly for him. Amidst all his wanderings he had carefully kept one little thing which she had given him as a boy. It was a small cardboard shape of the foot of St. Rose of Viterbo, and a piece of the veil which had covered her body on the shrine, with its authentication. Who knows what grace he obtained by his fidelity to this one recollection of his holier days? Anyhow, Sister C_ never alluded to his mother without the tears coming into his eyes. "Would that she could see the answer to her prayers!" he would exclaim: "but doubtless she is still watching over and helping me from heaven."

At last the day came when he was to make his confession and be reconciled to God. Scarcely had Father S_ sat down by his bedside, when that appalling knock was again heard in the room. It sounded like a most furious blow on a large copper cauldron, and shook the whole room, as the Sister had before experienced. The sick man was most violently agitated, clasped the priest's hand tightly, and implored him not to leave him.

Father S_ told him to be calm and not to mind the wiles of his spiritual enemy. His penitent then said that he belonged to one of the worst lodges of Freemasonry, and that he was sure the noise was diabolical.

The priest sprinkled him with holy water, when he became suddenly quiet, and made a full and general confession; after which he was reconciled to God and to the Church, and received the Blessed Sacrament with the deepest penitence and joy. The consolation he then experienced continued to the end of his life, although his landlady did her very best to embitter it by her unfounded jealousy and avarice. She took it into her head that the priest and the Sister were trying to get all the old gentleman's money--"or else," she was overheard saying, "that nurse, who is quite a lady toe, would never endure that smell for so many days and nights; and that young clergyman would not come to see him so frequently and remain with him so long!" She became as disagreeable to them both as possible, and there was no spite or ill-nature that she did not vent upon the poor Sister, who was naturally more in her power than the priest.

At last, in a rage, she told Father S_ that she knew the Sister had got a lot of money out of the patient, whereas it had all been promised to her; that the sick man paid nothing for his board and lodging or medicines, and that it was all at her expense; and a great deal more in the same strain.

Father S_ found out that the whole of this statement was absolutely false; but she made the poor invalid so miserable by her abuse and continual suspicion, that he implored the priest to take him to another lodging. However, when it came to the time, he was too ill to be moved, so that things were obliged to go on as before.

The poor sufferer himself seemed willing to accept everything in a spirit of penitence for the past. His patience was wonderful, in spite of the most terrible sufferings. Towards the end of his illness, his feet mortified and bred worms, causing him excessive pain; but the only remark he made about this was that Almighty God was punishing him in that way, because he had formerly been so vain about his feet. In fact, his dispositions were most edifying. He received the Sacrament frequently, and always with the greatest fervour and contrition. His death was calm and free from all terrors. To both the Sister and Father S_ it was the source of unmixed consolation--how much more to the poor mother who would meet him in heaven her ransomed child--the object of so many apparently hopeless tears and prayers!

The landlady's astonishment was very great when, on opening his desk, she found all and more than all the money she expected. She owned to the priest that she was ashamed of her unjust suspicions: but that she had never seen so much patience and charity as was shown to that poor man by the Sisters; and that she could not believe, till now, that any one living would have made such sacrifices for a stranger, without any gain or profit! Certainly, if example and teaching could have made her a Catholic, she had both. But her covetousness and love of money were, like Judas's, too strong impediments to her conversion. Her feelings, however, are greatly softened towards those "nurses," as she persists in calling the Sisters, who are so willing to "spend and be spent" for the sake of the suffering members of their Lord. May their great work for the bodies and souls of men obtain a glorious place for them in heaven!

Prayer for the Conversion of a Child To the Heart of Jesus

O Heart of Jesus, I humbly prostrate myself before You, adoring You as the Heart of my Lord and my God! Pardon the sins by which I have offended You and rendered myself unworthy of Your mercies. For Your own sake, O Lord, for the honor and glory of Your infinite mercy, have pity on me! Hearken to my supplications for grace and salvation for my strayed child. From all eternity You have loved it and borne it in Your Heart. Have mercy on it. You will that it should be converted and live. Effect in it what You have decreed. You can do all that You will! You do not will the perdition of my child. Draw him (her) from the deep abyss into which he (she) has sunk. From Your cross You drew all to Yourself--loosen the bonds in which he (she) lies chained. You have bought him (her) at a great price --take possession of Your property. He (she) was once dedicated to You in holy Baptism--let not Your enemies rejoice longer over him (her.) You have opened in Your Church a fountain of pardon and grace--lead him (her) to where he (she) may imbibe new life. O give me back the child that hell has torn from my embrace! You, O Heart of Jesus, can do this! Hearken to the prayers of Your Blessed Mother, of Your saints, and of all the elect for this my child, that once belonged to their society, but now is so far astray, Listen to my prayers, the prayers of a mother, O You Who cannot hear unmoved a mothers supplication for her child! Grant me what is dearest to me on earth, the salvation of my child, and I will eternally praise Your holy name! Amen.

_____________________________

Prayer to St. Monica

The Sacred Heart of Jesus, comforter of the sorrowful and salvation of them that put their trust in Him, mercifully regarded thy tears, Blessed Monica, sainted mother of Augustine the sinner. His conversion and heroic sanctification were the fruit of thy prayers. From the heights of thy heavenly home, happy mother of thy saintly son, pray for those who wander afar from God, and add thy prayers to those of all mothers who sorrow over the straying souls of their sons or daughters. Pray for us, that following thy example and that of all God's children, we may at length enjoy the eternal vision of our Father in heaven. Amen.