Pie Jesu - Merciful Jesus

Pie Jesu or Merciful Jesus

Grant me Thy grace most merciful Jesus, that it may be with me and work with me and persevere with me even to the end.

       Grant that I may always desire and will that which is to Thee most acceptable and most dear.

       Let Thy will be mine, and let my will ever follow Thine and agree perfectly with it.

       Let my willing and not-willing be all one with Thine, and let me not be able to will or not will anything else but what Thou willest or willest not.  Amen. 

(Imitation of Christ, bk. 3, ch. 15, v. 3).

Sissel Kyrkjebø - Pie Jesu (merciful Jesus)

"Pie Jesu" Latin Lyrics

Pie Jesu, pie Jesu, pie Jesu, pie Jesu

Qui tollis peccata mundi

Dona eis requiem, dona eis requiem

Pie Jesu, pie Jesu, pie Jesu, pie Jesu

Qui tollis peccata mundi

Dona eis requiem, dona eis requiem

Agnus Dei, Agnus Dei, Agnus Dei, Agnus Dei

Qui tollis peccata mundi

Dona eis Requiem, dona eis requiem

Sempiternal

Sempiternal

Requiem 

"Pie Jesu" English Translation

Merciful Jesus, merciful Jesus, merciful Jesus,

merciful Jesus

Father, who takes away the sins of the world 

Grant them rest, grant them rest

Merciful Jesus, merciful Jesus, merciful Jesus,

Merciful Jesus

Father, who takes away the sins of the world

Grant them rest, grant them rest

Lamb of God, Lamb of God, Lamb of God, Lamb of God

Father, who takes away the sins of the world 

Grant them rest, grant them rest 

everlasting

everlasting
Rest

Thou Star of The Sea

We salute thee, too, O Mary, thou Star of the Sea that shines on the waters of this life, giving calm and protection to thy tempest-tossed children who invoke thee! Thou didst pray for the Magi as they traversed the desert; guide also our steps, and bring us to Him who is thy Child and thy Light eternal.

Sissel Kyrkjebø - Ave Maris Stella

The Menæa of the Greek Church furnish us with these beautiful stanzas in honor of the holy Mother of God.

O most august Queen! thou wast the untilled land that gavest us our Wheat, Jesus, the Lord and feeder of the universe; by eating this bread we are restored to life.
Seeing our Lord made incarnate from thee, chaste Virgin! we confess thee to be in very deed the Mother of God, that didst thus become, we hesitate not to proclaim it, the cause of the regeneration of all things. 
He, the Being above all being, who was a pure spirit, took flesh to himself from thy pure blood, O Spotless Maid! and remaining God as before, he was made flesh, and lived among men. 
Nature's Laws were truly suspended in thee, most pure Virgin! for thou remainest a Virgin after thy delivery, as thou wast before it, for thou didst give birth to him who is the giver of all laws, Christ.

Spotless Mother of God! heal the passions of my wretched soul appease my mind, tossed by the attacks of my enemy as with tempests, and bring, O Virgin, peace unto my heart. Amen.

The Liturgical Year - Epiphany, Bk 3

by Dom Prosper  Granger O.S.B.

London, 1867

It's Time to Say Goodbye

End of Christmas

The Solemnity of the Epiphany of The Lord

We have devoutly admired and loved thee, O Mary! during these days which have shown us all the glory of thy divine Maternity, which gave joy to all heaven and earth. Thy ineffable happiness, O Mother of God! has been a long feast to us. Thou hast affectionately welcomed us at the Crib of thy Divine Son; thou has received us a brethren of thy Jesus.  Accept once more the tribute of our humble thanks. We are no longer to see our Emmanuel resting in thine arms, or sleeping on thy bosom. The decrees of his heavenly Father call him to the great work of our Redemption, and later on, to the sacrifice of his life for our sake. O Blessed Mother! the sword is already in thy heart; thou foreknowest the future of the blessed /fruit of thy womb. May our fidelity in following him through the coming mysteries of his public life bring some alleviation to the sorrows of thy maternal Heart!

Jackie Evaiko at the Piano

Before I lay me down to rest
I ask the Lord one small request
I know I have all I could need
But this prayer is not for me

Too many people on this day
Don't have a peaceful place to stay
Let all fighting cease that your children may see peace
Wipe their tears of sorrow away

To believe in a day
When hunger and war will pass away
To have the hope amidst despair
That every sparrow's counted
That you hear each cry and listen to each prayer

Let me try always to believe
That we can hear the hearts that grieve
Please help us not ignore
The anguished cries of the poor
Or their pain will never leave

To believe in a day
When hunger and war will pass away
To have the hope amidst despair
That every sparrow's counted
That you hear their cries and listen to each prayer

Father, as you see, I'm just a child
And there's so much to understand
But if Your Grace should surround me
Then I'll do the best I can
I promise, I'll do the very best I can

To believe in a day
When hunger and war will pass away
To have the hope amidst despair
That every sparrow's counted
That you hear each cry and listen to each
Prayer 
{Hear each cry and listen to each prayer}

Help us do Your will Your Father
In the name of all that's true
And we'll see in one another
The loving image of You

Divine Mercy - First Friday

During the month of May, in the year 1688, St. Margaret Mary wrote to her superior in Dijon: "During Holy Communion on a certain Friday the Lord spoke to me, His unworthy servant, the following words: 'I promise thee in the excessive mercy of My heart that My all-powerful love will grant to all those who communicate on the First Friday in nine consecutive months the grace of final penitence; they shall not die in My disgrace nor without having received the sacraments; My Divine Heart shall be their safe refuge at that last moment.'"

TO PRAY THE DIVINE MERCY CHAPLET

Click Below

Dedicated To Father LeRoy

My Priest & Friend

Mary in Two Minutes

Ever wonder what the big deal is with Catholics and the Virgin Mary? Do they worship her or just pray to her? What’s the Annunciation? What’s the Immaculate Conception? What’s the Assumption? All these questions and more answered in this short two (okay, three) minute video.

Further Thoughts:

There was a moment when the salvation of the world depended on the consent of Mary. Man could not be redeemed, satisfaction could not be made for sin, and grace obtained, without the Incarnation, and the Incarnation could not take place without the free, voluntary consent of this humble Jewish maiden. We cannot help feeling deep gratitude to Mary for the consent she gave. We call her blessed for the great things He that is mighty has done to her, and we bless her also for her own consent to the work of redemption. She gave to that work all she had: she gave her will; she gave her flesh; she gave her own Son to one long Passion of thirty-three years, to the agony in the garden, and to the death on the cross. It is true that God had selected her from all eternity to be his mother, and had filled her with grace; but neither the election nor the grace took away her free will, or diminished the merit of her voluntary consent. She could have refused; and does she deserve no love and gratitude from us, who have hope only through her flesh assumed by the Son of God, that she did not refuse? Can we say, in view of this fact, that she has no peculiar relation to our redemption, no share in the work of our salvation? To say so would be simply to deny that we are redeemed and saved by God in the flesh; that the flesh, of human nature, of our Lord performs any office in the work of redemption and salvation. Wherefore, to refuse to honor Mary as connected with and sharing in that work is to deny that it is in his human nature that God redeems and saves us; which is either to deny redemption and salvation altogether, or to contend that God redeems and saves us in his divinity, that is to contend that the divine nature suffered and died!

Mary is really the mother of our Lord, for our Lord did in reality, not in appearance merely, come in the flesh. He is true God, and true man of the flesh of the Virgin. 

Saint Worship

page 108

Orestes A. Brownson

St. Anthony Guild Press, 1963

Hail Full of Grace

We offer Our Lady the fragrant Roses of the Ave Maria by incessant repetition. By the words of this prayer, we remind ourselves that in her soul, God's grace for which we have just petitioned, has done its work perfectly. We address her as "Full of grace." 

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 death.
Amen.

Ave Maria by Luciano Pavarotti, 1999
Rest in Peace 

Our Father

The Our Father

Thomas Verner Moore, S. J.

Prayer, The Newman Bookshop - 1930

     The "Our Father" should become particularly dear to us as the prayer of Christ. In it our Lord teaches us to lift up our minds to our Heavenly Father and realize that He is most truly such, and so when we say, Our Father who art in Heaven, let not the words be hurriedly and mechanically said, but let them carry our soul into the presence of God, the Almighty and Eternal, and let us realize that while we kneel before Him who is Infinite and Eternal, He is most truly our Father and loves us with a father's love. In this realization our vocal prayer already flashes with the sparks of contemplation. Sometimes, perhaps, we may be able to go no farther, and the soul by a few words taught by Christ will be led at once to the heights of contemplation.

     

Our Father by Jackie Evanko

Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed by Thy name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. 

Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. 

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever. Amen.

1,464,706

Panis Angelicas

Are You Listening

Father Albert Powers S. J.

Irish Messenger - 1925

     Do you see? why your soul is of value? Jesus Christ had need of you. You were created for Him, to be His friend; to know Him, to appreciate Him, to love Him. 

     This, then, is a wonderful secret which the Catholic Church has to communicate―namely, God's hunger for your soul. 

     But there is a secret more startling still which Holy Mother Church whispers as you nestle confidingly in her arms―namely, that the love-story must be told you personally and individually by the Divine Lover Himself. 

     You, too, must pause to catch His words; they will rivet your attention also as they have riveted the attention of so many others: of Mary the sinner, as she stood enraptured by the spell of His presence in the streets of Magdala; of Saul of Tarsus, when riding to Damascus he heard the whispered reproach, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?"; of Augustine of Hippo as he sat in the garden of Alypius at Milan and read a few verses of St. Paul's Epistle; of Ignatius Loyola as he lay dreaming on a bed of sickness; of Thérèse of Lisieux as she knelt in humble adoration before Our Lady of Victories at Paris. All these and a million others stopped spellbound as they caught the accents of the divine whisper and realized, what you, too, will realize―that the whisper was a confession of Love from the God who made them. 

     I repeat, this story of God's love for your souls must be told you by the Divine Lover Himself, else the tale will fall on cold, incredulous ears. Hence interviews are necessary. And see how He has arranged to make them possible! How He has thought out a scheme whereby, if you accept it, you may come into daily contact with Him and learn from Himself the Divine secrets of which His Soul is a treasure house.  

     And what is the trysting place He has assigned? You know its name―we call it the Eucharist. And the Eucharist is the very heart and essence of the Catholic Faith; it means Jesus living sacramentally in our midst. 

Panis Angelcus by Jackie Evanko

Panis Angelicas fit panis hominum

(The Angel's bread becomes the bread of men)

Dat panis coelicus figuris terminum

(The heavenly bread ends all symbols)

O res mirabilis! Manducat Dominum

(O, miraculous thing! The body of the Lord will nourish)

Pauper, pauper, servus et humilis

(The poor, poor, and humble servant)

Pauper, pauper, servus et humilis

(The poor, poor, and humble servant)

1,449,822

Little Drummer Boy - Part 2

The words and music to the Little Drummer Boy were composed by Katherine Davis, Henry Onorati and Harry Simeone in 1958.

The lyrics of Little Drummer Boy consist of no less than 21 rum pum pum pums' - a major part of the song and therefore presenting an apparently easy task for the lyricist! However, Little Drummer Boy has been a huge hit for several artists.

The most recent rendition of the Little Drummer Boy featured Jackie Evanko and Il Volo on NBC's Today's Show just two weeks ago.

Little Drummer Boy: Lyrics

Come they told me, pa rum pum pum pum

A new born King to see, pa rum pum pum pum

Our finest gifts we bring, pa rum pum pum pum

To lay before the King, pa rum pum pum pum

rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum

So to honor Him, pa rum pum pum pum
When we come.

Little Baby, pa rum pum pum pum
I am a poor boy too, pa rum pum pum pum
I have no gift to bring, pa rum pum pum pum
That's fit to give the King, pa rum pum pum pum
rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum

Shall I play for you, pa rum pum pum pum
On my drum?

Mary nodded, pa rum pum pum pum
The ox and lamb kept time, pa rum pum pum pum
I played my drum for Him, pa rum pum pum pum
I played my best for Him, pa rum pum pum pum
rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum

Then He smiled at me, pa rum pum pum pum
Me and my drum.

1,438,340

Little Drummer Boy

The words and music to the Little Drummer Boy were composed by Katherine Davis, Henry Onorati and Harry Simeone in 1958.

The lyrics of Little Drummer Boy consist of no less than 21 rum pum pum pums' - a major part of the song and therefore presenting an apparently easy task for the lyricist! However, Little Drummer Boy has been a huge hit for several artists.

The most notable rendition was created by the most unlikely combination of Bing Crosby and David Bowie. This version of Little Drummer Boy was a massive hit for the artists and was in fact Bing Crosby's most successful recording since the legendary White Christmas.

Little Drummer Boy: Lyrics

Come they told me, pa rum pum pum pum

A new born King to see, pa rum pum pum pum

Our finest gifts we bring, pa rum pum pum pum

To lay before the King, pa rum pum pum pum

rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum

So to honor Him, pa rum pum pum pum
When we come.

Little Baby, pa rum pum pum pum
I am a poor boy too, pa rum pum pum pum
I have no gift to bring, pa rum pum pum pum
That's fit to give the King, pa rum pum pum pum
rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum

Shall I play for you, pa rum pum pum pum
On my drum?

Mary nodded, pa rum pum pum pum
The ox and lamb kept time, pa rum pum pum pum
I played my drum for Him, pa rum pum pum pum
I played my best for Him, pa rum pum pum pum
rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum

Then He smiled at me, pa rum pum pum pum
Me and my drum

Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God

Dedication of Oneself to Mary

OH Most Holy Virgin Mother of God, Mary, I, Your Name., although most unworthy of being thy servant, yet moved by thy wonderful mercy and by the desire to serve thee, choose thee to-day, January 1st, 2017, in presence of my guardian angel, and of the whole celestial court, for my especial Lady, Advocate, and Mother, and make the firm resolution that I always will love and serve thee for the future, and do whatever I can to induce also others to love and serve thee. I pray thee, Mother, of God, and my most kind and amiable mother, by the blood of thy divine Son which was shed for me, that thou wilt receive me into the number of thy servants for thy child and servant forever; assist me in all my thoughts, words, and actions, at every moment of my life, that every step and breath may be directed to the greater glory of my God, and through thy most powerful intercession obtain for me that I may never more offend my beloved Jesus, that I may glorify and love him in this life, and that I may also love thee, my most beloved and dear mother, that I may love thee and enjoy thee through eternity in holy paradise. Amen.

My Mother Mary, I recommend to thee my soul, especially at the hour of my death.
  

1,413,555

Botticelli's Angels

Detail of Angels from Botticelli's Magnificat

In 2012 ten year old Jackie Evancho mustered up courage to walk onto the stage of America's Got Talent. If one could have put a voice to a Botticelli Angel - here it was.

My Mother's Christmas Pie

Rich Squash Pie

As a little boy growing up on an Iowa farm I never knew what pumpkin pie was.  My mom who was an avid gardener raised butternut squash and always made squash pie for Christmas and almost every other Sunday! Here's the recipe!

Basic Pastry dough for 9-inch pie shell

1 cup pureed cooked butternut squash

1 cup heavy cream (I always like to use Organic Valley or Horizon brand.  My mom always used cream from the separator room which was a room in our milking barn where a little machine separated the cream from whole milk. 

1 cup sugar

3 eggs, slightly beaten

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger 

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon mace

Preheat the oven to 425ºF (220ºC). Line a 9-inch pie pan with the pastry dough. Combine the remaining ingredients in a large bowl and beat until smooth and well blended. Pour into the lined pie pan. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 300ºF (150ºC) and bake for 45-60 minutes more or until the fill is firm.  

To avoid cracking I always take the pie out of the oven just a bit early while there is still a little jiggle in the middle.  😇

I always top this rich pie with a bit of whipped cream. Again I use Organic Valley's heavy whipping cream (eight ounces will do) and whip it with an electric  mixer until fluffy.  I like to keep the cream a bit on the left side of sweet by using just a tablespoon or a bit more of sugar.  

Merry Christmas

This could have been me and my mom.  She was always working and my eyes were always fixed on her.  She taught me how to give and how to live! And I'm missing her today. . . 

Christmas Morning

Good Morning and Merry Christmas!

Ancient Christmas Hymn used in Morning Prayers 

O Jesu! (Jesus) Redeemer of mankind! born before the light was made, and born of the Eternal Father, equal to him in infinite glory;

O thou the Light and brightness of the Father! O thou the everlasting hope of all men! hear the prayers offered thee by thy servants throughout the world.

Be mindful, O Creator of all things! that heretofore thou didst assume a Body like unto ours, and was born from the sacred womb of a Virgin. 

Glory be to thee, O Jesus who wast born of the Virgin! and to the Father and the Holy Ghost, for everlasting ages.

         Amen.

1,312,394

Christmas Eve

This day ye shall know that the Lord will come, and in the morning ye shall see his glory.

Sanctify yourselves this day, and be ye ready: for on the morrow ye shall see the Majesty of God amongst you. Tomorrow the iniquity of the earth shall be cancelled, and over us shall reign the Saviour of the world. 

1,321,324

Be Glad, O Full of Grace

From The Anthology of The Greeks

   The Mother of God, when the birth of Christ was near, spoke thus to her spouse; Be not sad, Joseph, finding that I am Mother; for thou shalt see him who is to be born of me, and thou shalt rejoice and adore him as thy God. Let us commemorate this divine Mother, saying; 

Be glad, O full of grace! the Lord is with thee, and with us by thee.

The Liturgical Year - Advent

by Dom Prosper  Granger O.S.B.

London, 1867

2,003,752

The Covenant Made

The Cluny Missal of 1523

   The covenant made, instantly there was present the Word made flesh; and yet the pure Maid a Virgin still for ever.
   He is our Jesus, the good Jesus, lovely burden of a lovely Mother! He who has a throne in heaven, has a stable for his birth-place!
   May he, that for our sake was thus born, wipe away all our guilt; for our sojourn here is full of dangers.

Amen.

The Liturgical Year - Advent

by Dom Prosper  Granger O.S.B.

London, 1867

This Happy Mother

In Honor of The Blessed Virgin
(St. Peter Damian)

   May all earth and heaven be glad and resound with the praises which are sung to the maternity of the Virgin. 
   Yea, this Virgin, Mother of the Word, is made the gate of heaven; she gave God to the world, and, by this, opened heaven to us.
   This happy Mother of Jesus conceived him without humiliation, and bore him without a moan; such a Mother could not be under the law put on Eve.
   O that rich treasure of Mary's womb! it held the price which purchased our redemption, setting us free from the yoke of our debt.
   The Son of the eternal Father dwelt within her; the Holy Ghost overshadowed her; what is such a Virgin's womb but a new-made heaven?
   To thee, Most High, who wast born of the Virgin, be praise! Honor ineffable be to the Father, and to the Holy Spirit.

         Amen.

   

The Liturgical Year - Advent

by Dom Prosper  Granger O.S.B.

London, 1867

1, 269,100

Of Thee is Born Jesus!

Composed by St. Ambrose 
(Ambrosian Breviary)

   It is a mystery of the Church, it is a hymn that we sing to Christ, the Word of the Father, become the Son of a Virgin.

   Among women, thou alone, O Mary! wast chosen in this world, and wast made worthy to carry in thy holy womb him who is thy Lord.

   This is a great mystery, that is given to Mary: that she should see the God, who created all things, become her own Child!

   How truly art thou full of grace, ever glorious Virgin! for of thee is born the Christ, by whom all things were made.

   Come then ye people, let us pray to the virgin Mother of God, that she would obtain for us peace and indulgent mercy.

   Glory be to thee, O Lord, who wast born of the Virgin! and to the Father and the Holy Ghost, for everlasting ages.  

   Amen.
   

The Liturgical Year - Advent

by Dom Prosper  Granger O.S.B.

London, 1867

1, 248,206

The Bells of St. Mary's

The Bells of St. Mary's is a 1945 American drama film produced and directed by Leo McCarey and starring Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman.

O Thou Tabernacle of God

Ancient Hymn from the Anthology of The Greeks

     As a royal throne, thou carriest the Creator; as a living couch, thou encircles the King, O creature most dear to God:
     Branch most vigorous, thou didst bud forth the Christ on whom we lean and are supported; for Aaron's branch, which, of old, budded unplanted, was a type of thee, thou chaste dove, and ever a Virgin.
     To sing the more than wonderful manner of thy extraordinary and incomprehensible maternity, is above the power of all the choirs of men; for no mind, no thought, no understanding, no words, can reach the mystery.  

Rejoice, O thou tabernacle of God!

The Liturgical Year - Advent

by Dom Prosper  Granger O.S.B.

London, 1867

What Bliss is Thine

Prose In Honor of The Blessed Virgin
(Taken from an ancient Roman-French Missal) 

Hail! Mother of the divine Word! Hail, most humble and most spotless Virgin!
   Rejoice, thou Mother of a Son who supports thee! Rejoice, thy burden is a burden most sweet to bear!
     Hail, branch of Jesse, Fruit-bearing branch! Hail gate of the temple, closed to all but God!
     Be glad, thou fleece of Gideon, full of the dew of the holy Spirit! Be glad, thou tent of Solomon, of all the first in beauty!
     What bliss is thine, that thou the humble star shouldest be clad with the Sun, and then bring forth the Sun! What bliss is thine, that thou shouldest be elected the bright ladder reaching up to heaven!
     Sing to thy God, thou aurora rising in the light of the new Star! Sing, thou ark of the covenant, bearing unto us sinners thy three treasures.
     Oh! let thy soul magnify Jesus! and oh! sweet Mary, pray that, with thee, we too may magnify him.  Amen.

The Liturgical Year - Advent

by Dom Prosper  Granger O.S.B.

London, 1867

1,220,114