Novena to the Feast of Saint Maximilian Kolbe

O St. Maximilian Kolbe, faithful follower of St. Francis of Assisi, inflamed by the love of God, thou dedicated thy life to the practice of virtue and to works of charity.
Look kindly upon us who devoutly confide the following petitions to thy intercession:
(here our specific requests).
Having consecrated thyself to the Immaculate Virgin Mary, thou founded the Militia of the Immaculata (MI) Movement so that the Blessed Virgin might lead countless souls to holiness by inspiring them to do good, avoid evil, and spread the Kingdom of God.
Obtain for us, through her, the grace of drawing many souls to Christ.
 In thy close conformity to Our Divine Savior, thou reached such an intense degree of charity that thou offered thy life to save that of a fellow prisoner.
Implore God that we, inflamed by such ardent charity, may, through our faith and good works, witness Christ's Love for the world and thus merit to join thee in the blessed vision of God. Amen

Today starts Novena to Saint Philomena ( August 2 -10 ) Feast August 11

Novena to St. Philomena
O great St. Philomena, glorious Virgin and Martyr, wonder-worker of our age, I return most fervent thanks to God for the miraculous gifts bestowed on thee, and beseech thee to impart to me a share in the graces and blessings of which thou hast been the channel to so many souls.
Through the heroic fortitude with which thou didst confront the fury of tyrants and brave the frowns of the mighty rather than swerve from thy allegiance to the King of Heaven, obtain for me purity of body and soul, purity of heart and desire, purity of thought and affection.
Through thy patience under multiplied sufferings, obtain for me a submissive acceptance of all the afflictions it may please God to send me and as thou didst miraculously escape unhurt from the waters of the Tiber, into which thou wert cast by order of thy persecutor, so may I pass through the waters of tribulation without detriment to my soul.
In addition to these favors, obtain for me,O faithful spouse of Jesus, the particular intention I earnestly recommend to thee at this moment. O pure Virgin and holy Martyr, deign to cast a look of pity from Heaven on thy devoted servant, comfort me in affliction, assist me in danger, above all come to my aid in the hour of death.
Watch over the interests of the Church of God, pray for its exaltation and prosperity, the extension of the faith, for the perseverance of the just, the conversion of sinners, and the relief of the souls in purgatory, especially those dear to me.
O great Saint, whose triumph we celebrate on earth, intercede for me, that I may one day behold the crown of glory bestowed on thee in Heaven, and eternally bless Him who so liberally rewards for all eternity the sufferings endured for His love during this short life. Amen.
Oremus/ Let us pray
We beseech Thee, O Lord, to grant us the pardon of our sins by the intercession of Saint , virgin and martyr, who was always pleasing in Thy sight by her eminent chastity and by the profession of every virtue. Amen.
 Illustrious virgin and martyr, Saint Philomena, behold me prostrate before the throne whereupon it has pleased the Most Holy Trinity to place thee. Full of confidence in thy protection, I entreat thee to intercede for me with God, from the heights of Heaven deign to cast a glance upon thy humble client!
Spouse of Christ, sustain me in suffering, fortify me in temptation, protect me in the dangers surrounding me, obtain for me the graces necessary to me, and in particular (Here specify your petition).
 Above all, assist me at the hour of my death. Saint Philomena, powerful with God, pray for us. Amen.
O God, Most Holy Trinity, we thank Thee for the graces Thou didst bestow upon the Blessed Virgin Mary, and upon Thy handmaid Philomena, through whose intercession we implore Thy Mercy. Amen.

Blessed Feast of Saint Alphonsus de Liguori ( today August 2 )

Father Liguori is the Marian and Morality Doctor of the Church. No other doctor wrote more books or was more particular in his devotion to our Lord and his Blessed Mother. He lived to be the oldest doctor and his books cover many subjects including the Blessed Sacrament, and The Early Martyrs of the Church. Some of his significant theological writings are and listed in the Dogmatic Constitutions of the Catholic Church from the Councils. Before Liguori established the Redemptorist Order, that is a great pillar and mainstay of the church, he practiced law in Italy. It was his custom to attend the holy sacrifice of the mass before he went into the courts. He is best known for his moral theology, but he also wrote well in the field of spiritual and dogmatic theology. St.Alphonsus Liguori is a most distinguished, Catholic, doctor in matters of morality because of his absolute surrender to God in faith and his conscience. Moral philosophy focus is on ethics and the discipline dealing with good and bad and with moral duty and obligations. The Ten Commandments are not a wish list. Christ crystallized them for us by saying they are summed up in love for God and neighbor. We can not attain our victory over immorality unless we possess virtue. Virtue is moral excellence.
St. Alphonsus' writings on the Stations of the Cross and martyrs are most touching and redemptive. Christ's death, and the process that lead to it in the carrying of the cross, should move our conscience profoundly. It was constantly in his thoughts as they are in all sincere Christians. The stations according to some authors and historians actually got started by Jesus' mother, Mary. She wanted to keep the memory of her Son alive and she frequently traced his actual steps in Jerusalem. The closing down of the holy lands during a period in the church's history was another reason the church rejuvenated the Stations of the Cross locally. We do not have to wait for the Lenten season to think or make the stations. There are hardly any catholic churches in the world that do not display the journey that led to Christ's final agony and victory over sin and death. This is Jesus' heroic and dramatic struggle up Calvary. It is a cordial reminder of love bestowed by three mothers: God, our Divine Mother and Author of all creation and redemption, the Mother of God, the holy, Virgin Mary, and the Mother of our mystical life, the Church.
God's will can not be known and achieved without prayer, grace and God's favor.
We are often caught between what the law permits and what are God's laws.

Blessed Feast for everyone !

The Feast of Saint Anne and Saint Joachim the Parents of Holy Mary - the Immaculate Mother of God ( from the Liturgical Year, 1909 )

Uniting the blood of kings with that of pontiffs, the glory of Anne's illustrious origin is far surpassed by that of her offspring, without compare among the daughters of Eve.

The noblest of all, who have ever conceived by virtue of the command to " increase and multiply," beholds the law of human generation pause before her as having arrived at its summit, at the threshold of God; for, from her fruit God himself is to come forth, the fatherless Son of the Blessed Virgin, and the grandson of Anne and Joachim.
Before being favored with the greatest blessing ever bestowed on an earthly union, the two holy grand-parents of the Word made Flesh had to pass through the purification of suffering.
Traditions which, though mingled with details of less authenticity, have come down to us from the very beginning of Christianity, tell us of these noble spouses subjected to the trial of prolonged sterility, and on that account despised by their people; of Joachim cast out of the temple and going to hide his sorrow in the desert; of Anne left alone to mourn her widowhood and humiliation.
For exquisite sentiment this narrative might be compared with the most beautiful histories in Holy Scripture.
 "It was one of the great festival days of the Lord. In spite of extreme sorrow, Anne laid aside her mourning garments, and adorned her head and clothed herself with her nuptial robes. And about the ninth hour she went down to the garden to walk; seeing a laurel she sat down in its shade, and poured forth her prayer to the Lord God, saying: God of my fathers, bless me and hear my supplication, as thou didst bless Sara and didst give her a son! And raising her eyes to heaven, she saw in the laurel a sparrow's nest, and sighing she said: Alas! of whom was I born to be thus a curse in Israel? To whom shall I liken me? I cannot liken me to the birds of the air; for the birds are blessed by thee, O Lord. To whom shall I liken me? I cannot liken me to the beasts of the earth: for they, too, are fruitful before thee. To whom shall I liken me? I cannot liken me to the waters; for they are not barren in thy sight, and the rivers and the oceans full of fish praise thee in their heavings and in their peaceful flowing. To whom shall I liken me? I cannot liken me even to the earth, for the earth, too, bears fruit in season, and praises thee, O Lord. And behold an Angel of the Lord stood by, and said to her: Anne, God has heard thy prayer; "thou shalt conceive and bear a child, and thy fruit shall be honoured throughout the whole inhabited earth. And in due time Anne brought forth a daughter, and said: My soul is magnified this hour. And she called the child Mary; and giving her the breast, she intoned this canticle to the Lord: I will sing the praise of the Lord my God: for He has visited me and has taken away my shame, and has given me a fruit of justice. Who shall declare to the sons of Ruben that Anne is become fruitful? Hear, hear, O ye twelve tribes: behold Anne is giving suck (Protevangelium Jacobi)!"

The feast of St. Joachim, which the Church celebrates on the Sunday within the octave of his blessed Daughter's Assumption, will give us an occasion of completing the account of these trials and joys in which he shared. Warned from heaven to leave the desert, he met his spouse at the golden gate which leads to the Temple on the east side. Not far from here, near the Probatica piscina, where the little white lambs were washed before being offered in sacrifice, now stands the restored basilica of St. Anne, originally called St. Mary of the Nativity. Here, as in a peaceful paradise, the rod of Jesse produced that blessed branch which the Prophet hailed as about to bear the flower that had blossomed from eternity in the bosom of the Father. It is true that Sephoris, Anne's native city, and Nazareth, where Mary lived, dispute with the holy City the honour which ancient and constant tradition assigns to Jerusalem. But our homage will not be misdirected if we offer it today to Blessed Anne, in whom were wrought the prodigies, the very thought of which brings new joy to heaven, rage to satan, and triumph to the world.

Saint Anne was, as it were, the starting-point of Redemption, the horizon scanned by the prophets, the first span of the heavens to be empurpled with the rising fires of aurora; the blessed soil whose produce was so pure as to make the Angels believe that Eden had been restored to us. But in the midst of the aureola of incomparable peace that surrounds her, let us hail her as the land of victory surpassing the most famous fields of battle; as the sanctuary of the Immaculate Conception, where our humiliated race took up the combat begun before the throne of God by the Angelic hosts; where the serpent's head was crushed, and Michael, now surpassed in glory, gladly handed over to his sweet Queen, at the first moment of her existence, the command of the Lord's armies.

~ Saint Anne and Saint Joachim - pray and intercede for us ~

( source Catholic Harbor of Faith and Morals )

Today is the Feast of Saint James the Greater

Among the twelve Apostles, three were chosen to be the close companions of our Blessed Lord, and of these James was one. He, with Peter and John, was admitted to the house of Jairus when his dead child was raised to life (Luke 8:40 ff.); only these three were taken up to the high mountain of Thabor and beheld the face of Jesus shining as the sun, and His garments white as snow (Mark 9:2-7). These three alone witnessed the fearful agony in Gethsemane. (Luke 22:39-45)

What was it that won James a place among the favorite three? Faith, burning, impetuous and outspoken, the straightforwardness of the true Israelite, were visible in him; but these qualities needed purifying before the “Son of Thunder” could proclaim the Gospel of peace. It was James who suggested fire from heaven to consume the inhospitable Samaritans, and who sought a place of honor beside Christ in His kingdom. Yet Our Lord, in rebuking his presumption, prophesied his faithfulness unto death. (Mark 10:38-40) He went to Spain after the death of Our Lord, and remained there for nine years, according to tradition. The famous Basilica of Saint James of Compostello, one of the most frequented pilgrimage sites of Europe, the site also of countless miracles, commemorates the memory of the nation’s beloved Apostle.

In the year 44 Saint James, who was at that time in Jerusalem, was brought before King Herod Agrippa. The Apostle had been preaching fearlessly there, curing the sick and the blind, and delivering possessed persons. Two magicians were sent by the authorities to stop his doings by their charms, but both were converted. His enemies were not defeated by that, however, and paid two Roman captains to incite a sedition during the Apostle’s preaching, then seize him as its author. A certain Josias, a scribe among the Pharisees, put a cord around his neck and took him before the third Herod, grandson of the first, murderer of the Innocents, and nephew of the second, who had the Baptist decapitated. This new sycophant of the Roman Emperors, desiring to conciliate the Jews and make them forget his non-Jewish origins, decided to do so by persecuting the Christians. Without delay he condemned Saint James to die by the sword. The Apostle’s fearless confession of Jesus crucified so moved the scribe Josias, that he too confessed Christ and begged pardon of the Saint. He was taken with the Apostle to the place of execution, where Saint James and his convert died together.

The Apostle won the three crowns of heroism: he is a Doctor par excellence of the Faith, he was the first Apostle to be martyred, and according to Saint Epiphanus and other historians, he always conserved his virginity. He is the patron of Spain. A Spanish author by the name of Tamayo reports fifteen different apparitions of Saint James to the kings and princes of Spain, followed each time by some specific assistance for the benefit of the land.

Reflection: We must all desire a place in the kingdom of our Father; but can we drink the chalice which He holds out to each one of us? Possumus, we must say with Saint James — “We can!” — but only in the strength of Him who drank it first for us.

( thanks to the awesome source Magnificat )