If Only - Jan 31

IF ONLY

          I wish I'd been a child, dear God,
          When You were little too!
          O! Think of all the lovely things
          We would have thought to do!
          Perhaps I would have lived across
          The street, and every day
          Perhaps You would have asked me to
          Come over, God, and play?
          Perhaps You would have taught me how
          To saw up wood or clean
          The shop or build a little house?
          What fun that would have been!
          And then perhaps when we had worked
          At that for quite a while,
          Your Mother would have come right in
          And kissed us with a smile!
          O! If only I'd been a child
          When You were little too!
          Just think, dear God, of all the things
          We would have thought to do!

Mary Dixon Thayer

Faith & Freedom , Ginn & Company, 1949
For use in Catholic Grade Schools

St. Michael Pray of Us!

784,540

On the Way Back Home - Jan 30

"On the Way Back Home" is a simple road map to our true home - the Church.  If it is true that "all roads lead to Rome" - It is equally true that Father Linden's map shows the simplest, most trouble-free route.  Step by step, with simple, yet masterful logic, he shows the non-Catholic "home" not only by the light of Faith but by the light of Reason  

Father Linden is a native of Milwaukee, and graduated from Marquette University, entering the Society of Jesus in California in 1914.  From 1918 to 1921 he studied philosophy at Mount St.  Michael's, Hillyard, Washington, taught at Loyola college in Los Angeles, and then went to Ore Place Hastings, England, to continue his theological training.  He was ordained in Dublin in 1925.

Completing this theological studies at St. Louis University, he was assigned to Gonzaga University in Spokane, and has been a faculty member there since 1928.  He has been regent of the university's school of law since 1932.

Father Linden's literary works include a text on fundamental religion, a biographical pamphlet entitled "God's Boy, Tommy," and another popular work in the LUMEN series of Catholic pocket books "Come With Me to Mass."

Here's The Entire Book

My Mothers Angelus - Jan 29

Twelve o'clock - six o'clock!  The Church bell rings out its deep, clear tones, to recall our minds to Mary.  The Angelus!  What a sweet and necessary reminder of Heaven.

    

     Click Here⬇︎

The Angelus

The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary: And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.  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. Behold the handmaid of the Lord:  Be it done unto me according to Thy word. 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. And the Word was made Flesh:  And dwelt among us.         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. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God,  that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Let us pray:  Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Recorded at Littlemore Library, Scottsdale, Arizona.

Years ago I was browsing through a Religious Goods store in Boston when an old cement statue of Our Lady standing behind the front door caught my eye.  I was entirely captivated by her aged beauty.  I was told by the salesman that Our Lady had stood in a nearby convent yard for 80 years and was in need of a new home.  That is how the Lady's peeling paint figure and I met.  From Boston she traveled to Littlemore Farm in Iowa and stood in a shrine that I built with a thousand brick and a summer's labor.  When my wife and I left the farm Our Lady came with us and now stands in her niche to greet all who visit our home.  

The farm shrine stands empty.  The video was taken at Littlemore Farm.

Mary's Little Office - Jan 28

Sunday Morning Theology - Jan 24

THE VIRGIN MOTHER

ACCORDING TO THEOLOGY

REV. JOHN BAPTIST PETITALOT
― 1889 ―

       "What shall I say and how shall I speak of that glorious and Blessed Virgin? God alone excepted, she is above every other being: more beautiful than the cherubim and seraphim, and all the angelic host, it is not enough to praise her with human lips or even with the voice of angels. O Blessed Virgin, pure dove, heavenly spouse! O Mary! heaven, temple and throne of the Divinity, thou possessest the sun which shines in heaven and upon earth―JESUS CHRIST. Luminous cloud, to enlighten the world, thou hast drawn down from heaven the brightest of the stars―JESUS CHRIST. Hail, full of grace, gate of heaven, whom the prophet of the Canticles in his inspired discourse, hath clearly pointed out, crying: Thou art a garden enclosed, my sister, my spouse, a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed up. The Virgin is the lily without spot, which has brought forth the unfading rose―JESUS CHRIST. O holy Mother of God, immaculate lamb, who hast given to the world the Word incarnate of thyself, the Lamb JESUS. O Virgin most holy, who dost cause wonder in the angelic hosts! A great sign appeareth in the heavens, a woman clothed with the sun, bearing the moon in her arms. Yes, a great wonder in heaven: the nuptial couch of the Virgin, bearing the Son of God. A great wonder in heaven: the Lord of angels has become the Child of a Virgin. The angels accused Eve, but now they glorify Mary, who hath raised up the fallen Eve, and opened heaven to Adam, chased out of Paradise. For MARY is the mediatress between heaven and earth, uniting these two extremes. The grace of the Blessed Virgin is immense. So Gabriel begins his salutation, saying: Hail, full of grace, resplendent heaven. Hail, full of grace, Virgin adorned with every virtue. Hail, full of grace, golden urn containing the celestial manna. Hail, full of grace, who dost satiate the thirsty with the sweetness of an inexhaustible fountain. Hail, fun of grace, golden urn containing the celestial manna. Hail, full of grace, who dost satiate the thirsty with the sweetness of an inexhaustible fountain. Hail, most holy Immaculate Mother, who has conceived Christ, existing before thee. Hail, royal purple, who hast clothed the King of heaven and earth. Hail unknown book, who has exposed and made known to the world, the Word, the Son of the Father."

St. Epiphanius, 

4th century

Our Lady of Zeitoun - Jan 23

A bus mechanic named Farouk Mohammed Atwa was working at a Public Transport garage across the street from the Virgin Mary Orthodox Coptic Church in Zeitoun, Egypt (a suburb of Cairo) after sunset on the evening of April 2, 1968 when the figure of a woman standing on top of one of the church’s domes caught his attention. Alarmed because he saw the woman moving and thought she was preparing to commit suicide by jumping off the church’s roof, Farouk alerted two of his coworkers, and they all shouted at the woman to be careful so she wouldn’t fall. Their shouting attracted the attention of many people passing by on Tumanbay Street, who also saw the glowing white female figure when they looked up. 

A photo of the Virgin Mary above the Church of Virgin Mary in Zeitoun, Cairo - Egypt, April 2nd, 1968. According to Coptic tradition this is one of the sites where the Holy family stayed during their flight to Egypt.

The Virgin and the Lilies - Jan 22

William Adolphe Bouguereau • The Virgin of the Lilies 1899 

Pray Today's Rosary.

Pray Today's Divine Office.

To know you, my Lady―this itself is God's gift to me and I am very grateful to Him for it. If I did not know you or if I forgot you, what a calamity it would be for me! Then the chance of my salvation would be poor indeed. But I do know you, my dear Mother. I bless you, I love you and I have full confidence in you. In your hands I place my whole life.

Blessed is he who knows you, O Mary, and who trusts in you.

How to Pray Always

"As you breathe in," he told him, say, 'Lord Jesus Christ,' and as you breathe out, say, 'Have mercy on me.'"

The Girl from Philly - Jan 20

 Young Grace Kelly

Pray Today's Divine Office

I can hardly believe, O Lord, that your fatherly love has brought me my dear husband. Yet I see him kneeling here beside me and I can hear him saying the words which will bind us for our entire lives.

We pray you, O God, extend your hands over us and bless us. May our married life continue to the very end as you have begun it for us today.  Amen.

April 19th, 1956

  Grace Kelly's Catholic Prayer Book

The Light that Lies in Mary's Eyes - Jan 17

The light that lies in Mary's eyes,

Has been my heart's undoing.  

Only God can Make a Tree - Jan 16

Alligator Juniper, Pine, Arizona

I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest;

Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear

a nest of robins in her hair,

Upon whose bosom snow has lain,

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me

But only God can make a tree. 

                              

Read More:  Poet, Soldier, Knight

Hiroshima's Priestly Survivors - Jan 15

Suddenly, a terrific explosion filled the air with one bursting thunderstroke. An invisible force lifted me from the chair, hurled me through the air, shook me, battered me, whirled me 'round and 'round like a leaf in a gust of autumn wind. 

Father Hubert F. Schiffer

Ave Maria, a 1911 recording - Jan 14

Favorite Photos - Jan 13

This first photo and the following were taken by Life Magazine's John Philips. Here we see the Parish Priest and sacristan walking up the sidewalk on home visitation. We can assume this is a serious visit as the children of the house are kneeling alongside the road.

 

In this second photo we become aware of a second photographer who must have been standing alongside of the house.  The little girl continues to kneel in prayer.

Life Magazine revealed to us that the Priest was indeed on a serious visit as he was carrying a Consecrated Host to a dying child.

O Mary, Mother of Mercy, we pray for the child for whom the Eucharist was being carried so carefully and with such dignity and holy reference.  He was a child so we know he is safe in your arms and heaven's abode. We pray also for all the other folks caught in these historical photos for they have all surely passed into the beyond.  

But I fear and tremble when I think of my sins, and of the hour of my own death which draws nearer with each day, indeed with each hour. 

If now, already, I feel the pang of a sin-stained conscience, if now the weight of my sins press me almost to despair, what shall I do in the sad hour of my death?

O my protectress, in the blood of thy divine Son, and in thy mighty intercession, I place my hope. Obtain for me from my blessed Redeemer, sincere sorrow for my sins, true contrition and a resolute will of amendment. And when the moment of death approaches, help me, Mary, in my struggle, strengthen me against all assaults of Satan, assist me to gain the crown of victory. Let me now frequently call upon thee, that with the sacred name of Jesus, and thy holy name upon my tongue, I may depart from this life in peace and enter the celestial abodes of eternity. Amen.

Heavenly bread

That becomes the bread for all mankind;

Bread from the angelic host

That is the end of all imaginings;

Oh, miraculous thing!

This body of God will nourish

Even the poorest,

The most humble of servants.

Even the poorest,

The most humble of servants.

Heavenly bread

That becomes the bread for all mankind;

Bread from the angelic host

That is the end of all imaginings;

Oh, miraculous thing!

This body of God will nourish

Even the poorest,

The most humble of servants.

Even the poorest,

The most humble of servants.

From the Classroom -- Jan 12

There is no better way for Christian friends to greet and part company than to say , "The Lord be with you." Your friend may rejoin "and with your spirit."  

Now you can learn this friendship greeting in the beautiful language of the Church by using the simple translation below.  The Latin phrase is in blue with the translation directly beneath.  Remember that some words in English are implied in Latin so there is not a word for word translation.

Greeting:
Dóminus,      vobíscum.    
The Lord       (be) with you.     

Response:
Et        cum      spíritu   tuo.
And     with     your spirit.

Continue to Morning Prayer (Matins)

Ave Maria Shield Us All - Jan 11

Lady, thy soldier I would be,

This day I choose thy shield,

And go, thrice-armored for the fight,

Forth to the world's wide field.

There I shall meet the dark allies,

The Flesh, the Fiend, the World,

And fiercely shall their darts of fire 

Upon my heart be hurled.

But I will raise my buckler strong

Betwixt me and the foe,

And, with the spirit's flaming sword,

Shall give them blow for blow.

Lady, thy sailor I would be,

This day I sign my name

To sail the high seas of the earth

For glory of thy fame.

The tempest may besiege my bark,

The pirate lie in wait;

The perils of the monstrous deep

May tempt o'erwhelming fate:

Yet, whereso'er my ship may steer

Upon the waters wide,

Thy name shall be my compass sure,

Thy star my midnight guide.

Thy poet, Lady, I would be

To sing thy peerless praise;

Thy loyal bard, I'd bring to thee

Heart-music from all lays.

Soft melody, outpoured in June

By God's dear feathered throng,

Would mingle with the organ's roll

To glorify my song;

And Dante's voice and Petrarch's strain

And Milton's matchless line

Would lend to my poor minstrel note

A harmony divine.

Lady, I choose to be thy son;

For Mother thee I choose;

O, for thy sweet and holy Child,

Do not my claim refuse!

Alone and motherless am I:

Tho' strong, I long for rest―

The thunder of the world's applause

Is not a mother's breast.

Ave Maria! Shield us all.

Thy sons we choose to be.

Mother of grace, we raise our hearts, 

Our hearts, our love to thee!

AVE MARIA

By John Jerome Rooney

Joyce Kilmer's Anthology of Catholic Poets
Halcyon House, New York - 1939

Page  225

Scatter Me Here - Jan 10

Sorrowful Mother Headstone, 
Rapperswil Catholic Cemetery

I put my trust forever,

O Mary, pure, in thee.

Then show thyself a mother,

And daily succour me.

And when death's hand shall touch me,

Thy pity I implore;

Oh, lead me, dearest Mother,

To God―for evermore!

Payers of an Irish Mother

Brian O'Higgins

38 Up. O'Connell Street, Dublin, 1934

                    ⬆︎  ⬆︎

Our Sorrowful Mother's Image was taken at this headstone, Rapperswil, Switzerland, 2015

Her Eyes, A Study - Jan 9

Ave Maria

Maiden mild!

Oh, listen to a maidens prayer.

For thou canst hear amid the wild

Tis thou, tis thou canst save amid despair

We slumber safely till the morrow

Though we've by man outcast reviled

Oh, maiden, see a maidens sorrow

Oh, mother, hear a suppliant child!

Ave Maria

Ave Maria, gratia plena

Maria, gratia plena

Maria, gratia plena

Ave, ave dominus

Dominus tecum

The murky caverns air so heavy

Shall breathe of balm if thou hast smiled

Oh, maiden, hear a maiden pleadin

Oh, mother, hear a suppliant child

Ave Maria

Ave Maria

Continue to Matins (Morning Prayer)

Do it Anyway! Jan 8

  

 

I remember Father Roger Linnan saying "If you know something is right and don't want to do it - do it anyway! Those words still ring in my head!

Christ, the literal person we call Christ, is Christianity. All begins and ends with Him.

O.A. Brownson,  1842

PRAY YOUR ROSARY EVERY DAY

10,440,443

On Leaving the Church - Jan 7

Photo Story

I Rise Today - Jan 4

Detroit, Michigan - 1942

I Rise today

I rise today:
     by the strength of the birth of Christ and His baptism.
     by the strength of His crucifixion and burial.
     by the strength of His resurrection and ascension.

I rise today with:
     the love of the Cherubim,
     and the strength of the Seraphim.

I rise today with:
     the prayers of the patriarchs.
     the prophecies of the prophets,
     the faith of the martyrs,
     the purity of the holy virgins,
     the courage of the confessors of the faith,
     the heroic deeds of the saints.

I rise today between:
     the forces of heaven and earth,
     the light of the sun,
     and the splendor of the moon,
     the flash of lightning,
     and the spray of the sea.

I consecrate myself today to:
     God's powerful guidance,
     God's protecting hand,
     God's directing wisdom, 
     Gods sheltering shield,
     God's saving legions.

I protect myself today from:
     the snares of the devil,
     temptation and sin,
     everyone who wills me ill.
     be they far or near.
     be I alone or in the crowd.

I guard myself today from every merciless and brutal force which threatens my body or my soul. I stand the test today against the suggestions of false prophets, godless men, and cheap companions.

     May Christ be with me!
     May Christ be in me!
     He is strength, He is peace!
     May Christ be where I recline.
     May Christ be where I stand.
     May Christ be where I sit.
     Christ, my Lord,
     Christ, my Redeemer!
     I rise today with renewed strength at the summons of the Triune God, believing in the unity of three divine persons in one God.  Amen.

    ☼

Women Before God

Newman Press, 1961

695,633