What Is This All About?

The tradition of letting a saint “pick you,”is not a new one. St. Faustina and her order practiced it and she herself wrote about it in her diary, "Divine Mercy in My Soul".

The excerpt is below. . .

“There is a custom among us of drawing by lot, on New Year's Day, special Patrons for ourselves for the whole year. In the morning, during meditation, there arose within me a secret desire that the Eucharistic Jesus be my special Patron for this year also, as in the past. But, hiding this desire from my Beloved, I spoke to Him about everything else but that. When we came to refectory for breakfast, we blessed ourselves and began drawing our patrons. When I approached the holy cards on which the names of the patrons were written, without hesitation I took one, but I didn't read the name immediately as I wanted to mortify myself for a few minutes. Suddenly, I heard a voice in my soul: ‘I am your patron. Read.’ I looked at once at the inscription and read, ‘Patron for the Year 1935 - the Most Blessed Eucharist.’ My heart leapt with joy, and I slipped quietly away from the sisters and went for a short visit before the Blessed Sacrament,where I poured out my heart. But Jesus sweetly admonished me that I should be at that moment together with the sisters. I went immediately in obedience to the rule.”

Excerpt from "Divine Mercy in My Soul, the Diary of St. Faustina"

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Saturday, March 21, 2015

TWELVE STEPS TO AVOIDING PURGATORY

1. In every prayer you say, every Mass you hear, every Communion you receive, every good work you perform have the express intention of imploring God to grant you a holy and happy death and no Purgatory. Surely God will hear a prayer said with such confidence and perseverance.

 2. Always wish to do God’s will. It is in every sense the best for you. When you do or seek anything that is not God’s will, you are sure to suffer. Say, therefore, fervently each time you recite the Our Father: Thy will be done.  

3. Accept all the sufferings, sorrows, pains and disappointments of life, be they great or small, ill health, loss of goods, the death of your dear ones, heat or cold, rain or sunshine as coming from God. Bear them calmly and patiently for  of Him and in penance for your sins. Of course, one may use all his efforts to ward off trouble and pain, but when one cannot avoid it let him bear it patiently. Impatience and revolt make sufferings vastly greater and more difficult to bear.

 4. The greatest act in Christ’s life was His Passion. As He had a Passion so each one of us has a Passion. Our Passion consists in the sufferings and labors of every day. Therefore, let us do our work, accept its disappointments and hardships and bear our pains in union with the Passion of Christ. We gain more merit by a little pain than by years of pleasure.  

5. Forgive all injuries and offences for in proportion, as we forgive others, God forgives us. Go to confession. This sacrament does more than “just” rid us of our sins; it gives us a tremendous increase in sanctifying grace. It wins for us a higher place in Heaven, with increased union with God. Each time we go to confession, we are preserved from many dangers and misfortunes which might otherwise have befallen us. A devout confession helps us to hear the inspirations of the , and to hear and follow the advice of our guardian angels.  

6. Avoid mortal sins, deliberate venial sins and break off bad habits. Then it will be relatively easy to satisfy God’s justice for sins of frailty. Above all avoid sins against charity and chastity in thought, word and deed for these sins are the reason why many souls are detained in Purgatory for a long time.  

7. If afraid of doing too much work, do many little things, acts of kindness and charity, give the alms you can, don’t grumble or complain when things are not as you please, don’t complain of others, never refuse to do a favor for others when possible. These and such acts are a splendid penance.  

8. Do all in your power for the  in Purgatory. Pray for them constantly, get others to do so, join the Friends of the Poor Souls and ask all those you know to do likewise. The  will repay you most generously.

 9. There is no more powerful way of obtaining from God a most holy and happy death than by weekly confession, daily Mass and daily communion. Masses may be arranged after or before someone’s death to expedite their time in Purgatory.  

10. A daily visit to the Blessed Sacrament – if only for three or four minutes – is an easy way of obtaining the same grace. Kneel in the presence of  with eyes fixed on the Tabernacle or Monstrance, sure that He is looking at you, then repeat little prayers like these: My . My , have pity on me a sinner. My, I  you. My , give me a happy death.  

11. Enroll in and wear the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. “Whosoever dies clothed in this scapular shall not suffer eternal fire.” This is the ’s Promise, made July 16, 1251 to St. Simon Stock. The Sabbatine Privilege is Mary’s promise to release from Purgatory soon after death all those who: 1) wear the brown scapular 2) observe chastity according to their state in life and 3) say the Little Office of the  every day. To be eligible for this scapular promise, one must be enrolled in the Family of Carmel. This is a simple ceremony which takes only a moment and may be done by any Carmelite or duly authorized priest. Mary’s motherhood is not limited to Catholics. It is extended to all men. Many miracles of  have been wrought in favor of non-Catholics who have practiced the scapular devotion.  

12. Use holy water. Holy water is a sacramental that remits venial sin. Because of the blessing attached to it, Holy Church strongly encourages its use upon her children especially when danger threatens such as fire, storms, sickness and other calamities. Every Catholic home should have a supply of holy water. Keep your soul beautifully pure in God’s sight by making the Sign of the Cross carefully while saying: “By this holy water and by Thy Precious Blood, wash away all my sins and the sins of the Poor Souls in Purgatory, O Lord."

Sunday, March 8, 2015

Would you do this and feel comfortable and be ready to explain what this is and why you did this?

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Please Pray for the Health and Protection of Our Pope especially now that ISIS has targeted the Vatican. 

Please pray for the health and protection of our Pope Francis especially now that ISIS has targeted the Vatican.... just a simple Hail Mary.
 
THE HOLY FATHER MAKES A REQUEST FOR PRAYERS THAT GOD PROTECTS HIM AND GIVES HIM FORCES TO MEET THIS DIFFICULT TASK ... SO BE IT!!
 
We pray for the Holy Father that the heavenly Mother intercedes for him and protects him in his ministry:
 
Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death. Amen.