Index
OBLATES OF SAINT JOSEPH (Philippine Province)
MANUAL OF PRAYERS
The venerable image of Mary at the Shrine of Our Lady of Mercy in Savona
OBLATES OF SAINT JOSEPH (Philippine Province) MANUAL OF PRAYERS
Published in 2012 by OBLATES OF SAINT JOSEPH— PHILIPPINE PROVINCE (Province of Saint Joseph) OSJ Provincialate Santuario de San Jose East Greenhills, Mandaluyong City
“Let us pray. In these days, prayer has become the greatest, the most powerful apostolate.” - Saint Joseph Marello
Table of Contents
PART I: Communitarian Piety ...... General Prayers (English, Latina, Italiano, Filipino) . . . . Sign of the Cross ...... I Believe ...... Our Father ...... Hail Mary ...... Glory Be ...... Angel of God ...... Eternal Rest ...... Prayer of Rising and Before Going to Bed ...... The Morning Offering ...... Before and After Mass ...... Blessings for Meals ...... Intercessory Prayers for Vocations ...... Prayer for Vocations ...... Prayer for Priests ...... Common Invocations ...... Devotional Prayers ...... Visit to the Blessed Sacrament (English, Italiano) . . . . Examination of Conscience ...... Holy Hour for Vocations ...... Formula 1 ...... Formula 2 ...... Exposition ...... O Salutaris Hostia ...... Prayers Before Benediction ...... Prayer to Christ and His Eucharistic Heart . . . . Benediction ...... Tantum Ergo ...... The Divine Praises ...... Reposition ...... O Sacrament Most Holy ...... Formula 3 ...... Formula 4 ...... Formula 5 ...... Devotions to the Blesssed Virgin Mary ...... Ángelus ......
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Regína Cæli ...... Holy Rosary (English, Latina) ...... The Holy Rosary (Italiano, Filipino) ...... Mysteries (Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious, Luminous) . . . Hail Holy Queen ...... Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary ...... Memorare ...... Novena to Our Lady of Sorrows ...... First Schema (Popularized in Lipa) ...... Litany of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows . . . . . Prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows ...... Second Schema (Popularized by the Ursuline Sisters of Somasca) . . . . . Act of Contrition ...... Prayer of Thanksgiving for Favors Received . . . Third Schema (Pagsisiyam sa Mahal na Ina ng Hapis) . . Pambungad na Panalangin sa Bawat Araw . . . . Litaniya ng Mahal na Ina ng Hapis ...... Prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows for Vocations . . . . The Founder’s Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary . . . Devotions to St. Joseph ...... Litany of Saint Joseph (English, Latina) ...... Litany of Saint Joseph (Italiano, Filipino) ...... The Seven Sorrows and Joys of St. Joseph . . . . . First Schema (Popularized in Lipa) ...... Second Schema (for Religious) ...... Third Schema (Panalangin sa Karangalan ng Pitong Sákit at Pitong Tuwa ni Poong San Jose) . . . . . St. Joseph Rosary ...... Joseph, Son of David… ...... Mysteries in the Life of St. Joseph ...... Memorare to St. Joseph ...... An Act of Consecration of the Congregation to St. Joseph . Prayer to St. Joseph for Vocations ...... Prayer to St. Joseph to Know One’s Vocation . . . . Prayer to St. Joseph for Purity ...... Prayer to St. Joseph for a Happy Death ......
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Prayer of Pius X to St. Joseph the Worker . . . . . Invocation to St. Joseph by St. Joseph Marello . . . . Prayer to St. Joseph (Leo XIII) ...... Oratio ad Sanctum Ioseph (Leo XIII) ...... Preghiera a San Giuseppe (Leone XIII) ...... Panalangin kay San Jose (Leo XIII) ...... Devotions to the Holy Family ...... Prayer to the Family ...... Holy Spouses Rosary ...... Mary, Full of Grace… ...... Mysteries ...... Devotions to St. Joseph Marello ...... Novena to St. Joseph Marello ...... Prayer to St. Joseph Marello ...... Litany of St. Joseph Marello ...... Other Devotions ...... Prayer to St. Alphonsus Liguori ...... Prayer to St. Thomas Aquinas ...... Prayer to St. Alphonsus Rodriguez ...... Prayer to St. John Berchmans ...... Novena to St. Stanislaus Kostka ...... Litany of St. Stanislaus Kostka ...... Prayer to St. John Mary Vianney ...... The Way of the Cross ...... Spiritual Enrichment ...... Meditation ...... Holy Spirit! Lord of Light (Veni, Sancte Spiritus) . . . . Come, Holy Spirit, Creator Blest (Veni, Creator Spiritus) . . Spiritual Reading ...... Come, O Holy Spirit (Veni, Sancte Spiritus) . . . . . Monthly Meeting ...... Retreat ...... Devotional Renewal of Vows ...... Confession ...... Act of Contrition ...... Spiritual Direction ...... Religious Discipline and Practices ......
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Silence ...... Fasting and Other Forms of Mortification ...... Prayer for the Dying ...... Remembrance of the Dead ...... Prayer for the Deceased Bishop or Priest ...... Prayer for the Deceased Cleric or Religious Brother . . . Prayer for the Deceased Brethren, Relatives and Benefactors . Prayer for the Faithful Departed ...... PART II: Proper Liturgy for the Congregation ...... Proper Liturgical Texts ...... Holy Spouses Mary and Joseph (January 23) . . . . . Liturgy of the Hours ...... Office of the Readings ...... Morning Prayer ...... Daytime Prayer ...... Evening Prayer ...... Holy Mass ...... St. Joseph, Husband of Mary (March 19) ...... St. Joseph the Worker (May 1) ...... St. Joseph Marello (May 30) ...... Liturgy of the Hours ...... Office of the Readings ...... Holy Mass ...... Anniversary of the Dedication of St. Joseph’s Shrine in Asti (July 12) . . . . . Our Lady of Sorrows (September 15) ...... St. Stanislaus Kostka (November 13) ...... Liturgy of the Hours ...... Office of the Readings ...... Holy Mass ...... St. John Berchmans (November 26) ...... Liturgy of the Hours ...... Office of the Readings ...... Holy Mass ...... Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph (Sunday within the Octave of Christmas) ...... Votive Mass in Honor of St. Joseph Marello . . . . .
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APPENDICES: Proper Songs of the Congregation, Thoughts of the Founder ...... Songs to the Blessed Virgin Mary ...... O Dolce Nome ...... Salve Regina, Dolce Madre Nostra ...... Alma Redemptoris Mater ...... Ave, Regina Cælorum ...... Sa Piling ng Krus (Dalit sa Mahal na Ina ng Hapis) . . . . Songs to St. Joseph ...... Dear Guardian of Mary ...... Let’s Sing the Name of Joseph ...... Look Down to Us, St. Joseph ...... Bunying Anak ni David ...... Patriarkang San Jose ...... O Foster Father of the Lord ...... O St. Joseph ...... San Jose, Manggagawa ...... Dalit kay Poong San Jose ...... Songs to St. Joseph Marello ...... Wika ni Marello ...... Dakilang Pag-ibig ...... Bigyang Parangal ...... Awitan ang Poon ...... Banal na Pag-ibig ...... Santo Jose Marello ...... San Jose Marello, Aming Idolo ...... Monsignor Marello ...... Payak na Paraan ...... Thoughts of the Founder ......
PART I Communitarian Piety
General Prayers
GENERAL PRAYERS
*English+ *Latina+ Sign of the Cross Signum Crucis
In the name of the Father In nómine Patris, et Fílii, et and of the Son and of the Holy Spíritus Sancti. Amen. Spirit. Amen.
I Believe Credo
I believe in God, the Father Credo in Deum Patrem almighty, Creator of heaven omnipoténtem, Creatórem cæli and earth, and in Jesus Christ, et terræ, et in Iesum Christum, his only Son, our Lord, who was Fílium eius únicum, Dóminum conceived by the Holy Spirit, nostrum, qui concéptus est de born of the Virgin Mary, Spíritu Sancto, natus ex María suffered under Pontius Pilate, Vírgine, passus sub Póntio was crucified, died and was Piláto, crucifíxus, mórtuus, et buried; he descended into hell; sepúltus, descéndit ad ínferos, on the third day he rose again tértia die resurréxit a mórtuis, from the dead; he ascended ascéndit ad cælos, sedet ad into heaven, and is seated at déxteram Dei Patris omnipoténtis, the right hand of God the inde ventúrus est iudicáre vivos Father almighty; from there he et mórtuos. Credo in Spíritum will come to judge the living Sanctum, sanctum Ecclésiam and the dead. I believe in the cathólicam, Sanctórum com- Holy Spirit, the holy catholic muniónem, remissiónem pec- Church, the communion of catórum, carnis resurrectió- saints, the forgiveness of sins, nem, vitam ætérnam. Amen. the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.
Table of Contents Sign of the Cross
*Italiano+ *Filipino+ Segno della Croce Antanda ng Krus
Nel nome del Padre e del Sa ngalan ng Ama, at ng Figlio e dello Spirito Santo. Anak, at ng Espiritu Santo. Amen. Amen.
Io Credo Sumasampalataya
Io credo in Dio, Padre Sumasampalataya ako sa onnipotente, creatore del cielo Diyos Amang makapangyarihan e della terra; e in Gesù Cristo, sa lahat, na may gawa ng langit suo unico Figlio, nostro Signore, at lupa. Sumasampalataya ako il quale fu concepito di Spirito kay Hesukristo, iisang Anak ng Santo, nacque da Maria Diyos, Panginoon nating lahat. Vergine, patì sotto Ponzio Pilato, Nagkatawang-tao siya lalang ng fu crocifisso, morì e fu sepolto: Espiritu Santo, ipinanganak ni discese agli inferi; il terzo giorno Santa Mariang Birhen. risuscitò da morte; salì al cielo, Pinagpakasakit ni Poncio Pilato, siede alla destra di Dio Padre ipinako sa krus, namatay, onnipotente; di là verrà a inilibing. Nanaog sa kinaro- giudicare i vivi e i morti. Credo roonan ng mga yumao. Nang nello Spirito Santo, la santa may ikatlong araw nabuhay na Chiesa cattolica, la comunione mag-uli. Umakyat sa langit. dei santi, la remissione dei pec- Naluluklok sa kanan ng Diyos cati, la risurrezione della carne, Amang makapangyarihan sa la vita eterna. Amen. lahat. Doon magmumulang paririto at huhukom sa nangabubuhay at nangamatay na tao. Sumasampalataya naman ako sa Diyos Espiritu Santo, sa banal na Simbahang
Table of Contents General Prayers
Our Father Pater Noster
Our Father in heaven, holy Pater noster, qui es in cælis, be your name, your kingdom sanctificétur nomen tuum, come, your will be done on advéniat regnum tuum, fiat earth as in heaven. volúntas tua, sicut in cælo et in Give us today our daily terra. bread. Forgive us our sins as we Panem nostrum quoti- forgive those who sin against diánum da nobis hódie; et us. Do not bring us to the test dimítte nobis débita nostra, but deliver us from evil. Amen. sicut et nos dimíttimus debitóribus nostris; et ne nos indúcas in tentatiónem; sed líbera nos a malo. Amen.
Hail Mary Ave, Maria
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Ave, María, grátia plena, Lord is with you. Blessed are Dóminus tecum. Benedícta tu in you among women, and muliéribus, et benedíctus fructus blessed is the fruit of your ventris tui, Iesus. womb, Jesus. Sancta María, Mater Dei, Holy Mary, Mother of God, ora pro nobis peccatóribus, pray for us sinners, now and at nunc et in hora mortis nostræ. the hour of our death. Amen. Amen.
Table of Contents Our Father
Katolika, sa kasamahan ng mga banal, sa kapatawaran ng mga kasalanan, sa pagkabuhay na muli ng nangamatay na tao at sa buhay na walang hanggan. Amen.
Padre Nostro Ama Namin
Padre nostro, che sei nei Ama namin, sumasalangit cieli, sia santificato il tuo nome, ka. Sambahin ang ngalan mo. venga il tuo regno, sia fatta la Mapasaamin ang kaharian mo. tua volontà, come in cielo così Sundin ang loob mo dito sa lupa in terra. para nang sa langit. Dacci oggi il nostro pane Bigyan mo kami ngayon ng quotidiano, e rimetti a noi i aming kakanin sa araw-araw. At nostri debiti come noi li patawarin mo kami sa aming rimettiamo ai nostri debitori, e mga sala para nang pagpapa- non ci indurre in tentazione, ma tawad namin sa nagkakasala sa liberaci dal male. Amen. amin. At huwag mo kaming ipahintulot sa tukso. At iadya mo kami sa lahat ng masama. Amen.
Ave, o Maria Aba Ginoong Maria
Ave, o Maria piena di grazia Aba Ginoong Maria, napu- il Signore è con te. Tu sei puno ka ng grasya, ang benedetta fra le donne, e Panginoong Diyos ay benedetto è il frutto del tuo sumasaiyo, bukod kang seno, Gesù. pinagpala sa babaeng lahat at Santa Maria, Madre di Dio, pinagpala naman ang iyong prega per noi peccatori, adesso Anak na si Jesus. e nell’ora della nostra morte. Santa Maria, Ina ng Diyos, Amen. ipanalangin mo kaming
Table of Contents General Prayers
Glory Be Glória Patri
Glory be to the Father, and Glória Patri, et Fílio, et to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Spirítui Sancto. As it was in the beginning, is Sicut erat in princípio, et now, and ever shall be, world nunc et semper et in sǽcula without end. Amen. sæculórum. Amen.
Angel of God Ángele Dei Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God’s love com- Ángele Dei, qui custos es mits me here. Ever this day be mei, me, tibi commíssum at my side, to light and guard, pietáte supérna, illúmina, to rule and guide. Amen. custódi, rege, et gubérna. Amen.
Eternal Rest Réquiem Ætérnam
Eternal rest grant unto Réquiem ætérnam dona eis, them, O Lord, and let perpetual Dómine, et lux perpétua lúceat light shine upon them. eis. May they rest in peace. Requiéscant in pace. Amen. Amen.
Table of Contents Glory Be
makasalanan, ngayon at kung kami’y mamamatay. Amen.
Gloria al Padre Luwalhati
Gloria al Padre, e al Figlio, e Luwalhati sa Ama, at sa allo Spirito Santo. Anak, at sa Espiritu Santo. Come era nel principio, ora Kapara noong una, ngayon e sempre, nei secoli dei secoli. at magpakailan man at Amen. magpasawalang hanggan. Amen.
Angelo di Dio Anghel ng Diyos
Angelo di Dio, che sei il mio Anghel ng Diyos, tagatanod custode, illumina, custodisci, kong mahal, na sa pag-ibig niya reggi e governa me, che ti fui ako sa iyo ay ipinaubaya. Sa affidato dalla pietà celeste. araw na ito, sa piling ko ay Amen. huwag lumisan. Ako ay tangla- wan, ingatan, at alalayan. Amen.
L’eterno Riposo Pagkalooban Mo Sila
L’eterno riposo dona a loro, Pagkalooban mo sila, O o Signore, e splenda ad essi la Panginoon, ng kapahingahang luce perpetua. walang hanggan, at sinagan sila Riposino in pace. Amen. ng liwanag na walang kata- pusan. Mahimlay nawa sila sa kapa- yapaan. Amen.
Table of Contents General Prayers
PRAYER ON RISING AND BEFORE GOING TO BED
Let us bless the Lord *Benedicamus Domino+; - And give him thanks *Deo gratias+.
(Sign of the Cross)
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I give you my heart and my soul. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, assist me in my last agony. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, may I breathe forth my soul in peace with you.
Hail Mary...
Mary, Most Pure, - Pray for us.
Saint Joseph, our Protector, - Pray for us.
Angel of God…
(Sign of the Cross)
Praised be Jesus Christ, - Now and forever.
THE MORNING OFFERING
O my Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary and through the most pure hands of Saint Joseph, I offer you all my prayers, works, joys and sufferings for this day, for all the intentions of your Sacred Heart, in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, in reparation for my sins, for the intentions of our confreres and collaborators, and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father for this month. Amen.
Table of Contents Before and After the Mass
BEFORE AND AFTER THE MASS
*before procession+ (Celebrant) Procedamus in pace; - In nomine Christi. Amen.
*after the celebration+ Prosit; (Celebrant) -Vobis (tibi) quoque.
BLESSINGS FOR MEALS
Advent Before Meals Our Father…
Merciful God, you sent your Son to give us life, bless us and the food we are about to take. It is your gift and the fruit of man’s labor. Bless it so that as we are strengthened in body we may wait in watchful prayer for his glorious coming. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
After Meals Blessed be the name of the Lord; - Now and forever.
We give you thanks, Almighty God, for the gift of your providence and we pray that what is necessary for the body may not give burden to the spirit. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
May the Lord keep us in his peace. - Amen.
Table of Contents General Prayers
Christmas and Epiphany Before Meals Our Father…
God of infinite goodness, who, in your Son made man, have shown your love for mankind, bless us and the food we are about to receive and make us more solicitous toward our brothers and sisters. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
After Meals Blessed be the name of the Lord; - Now and forever.
We thank you, God our Father, for the earthly bread given to us in joyful remembrance of the birth of Jesus our Lord. Amen.
May the Lord keep us in his peace. - Amen.
Lent Before Meals Our Father…
O God, most kind Father, who pardon the repentant and receive them with joy, bless us and the food we are about to take, and for the conversion of hearts grant us the grace to deserve your paternal embrace. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
After Meals Blessed be the name of the Lord; - Now and forever.
O God, giver of all good, who provide food for those who trust in you, gratefully we beg you to bless our benefactors and to make us ready to share our bread with our brothers and sisters. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Table of Contents Blessings for Meals
May the Lord keep us in his peace. - Amen.
Easter Before Meals Our Father…
God, author of every grace, who in the resurrection of your Son, have made us pass from death to life, bless us and the food we are about to take and grant that we may give witness with our works what we profess with faith. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
After Meals Blessed be the name of the Lord; - Now and forever.
God, source of all life, pour the Easter joy into our hearts and grant to whom you have given material nourishment the grace to persevere in the new life. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
May the Lord keep us in his peace. - Amen.
Ordinary Time Before Meals Our Father…
Lord, our God who provide your children with fatherly love, bless us and the food we are about to take and revive our faith in always seeking your kingdom. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
After Meals Blessed be the name of the Lord; - Now and forever.
God, most loving Father, we thank you for having reunited us in this fraternal meal. We beg you to quicken in us our communion
Table of Contents General Prayers with you and with our brothers and sisters. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
May the Lord keep us in his peace. - Amen.
INTERCESSORY PRAYERS FOR VOCATIONS *the last intercession for Lauds; the penultimate for Vespers+
Sunday Lauds: Send, O Lord laborers into your harvest, - that all men may find life in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Vespers: Lord Jesus Christ, you have sent the Paraclete, - grant that your Church may not lack of those who are filled with the Holy Spirit to be witnesses for you.
Monday Lauds: Our Father, you called your servant Joseph Marello to care for the interest of Jesus in the Church, - following his examples, make us dedicate ourselves for the reign of God. Vespers: Holy Father, you cast down the mighty from their thrones and lift up the lowly, - call humble and generous young people to give them- selves totally to serve you in imitation of Saint Joseph.
Tuesday Lauds: Lord God, similar to Saint Joseph Marello, you have called us to follow the shadows of Christ, our Lord, - dispose us to correspond with gratitude to the grace of vocation.
Table of Contents Intercessory Prayers for Vocations
Vespers: God our Father, inspiration of every vocation, - let the youth, with their words and whole life, present Jesus to the world with the example of Saint Joseph.
Wednesday Lauds: Father, Lord of heaven and earth, you have hidden the mysteries of the Kingdom of God to the learned and the intelligent and have revealed them to the little ones, - grant that as true Oblates we may adhere to Christ, the only Master, and serve him in humility and hard work. Vespers: Lord Jesus, you have grown in the school of Saint Joseph, - make us live in the spirit of the guardian of the Redeemer.
Thursday Lauds: Lord Jesus, you have left to your Church the sacrament of the Eucharist, memorial of your Paschal Mystery, - grant that we celebrate with profound faith this mystery and gain generous apostles of your Body and Blood. Vespers: Christ, Priest of the Most High, - grant that the Church may never lack of those who would serve you in the priestly ministry.
Friday Lauds: Christ Lord, you deign to call us to follow your footsteps, - preserve us in your holy service and call others to continue your saving work. Vespers: Lord Jesus, you have saved us by your cross, - grant that we may not scorn the cross and sacrifice.
Saturday Lauds: Lord Jesus, you called the apostles to follow you, - through the intercession of Mary, give your Church holy ministers and collaborators.
Table of Contents General Prayers
Vespers: Christ, Son of God, you made yourself obedient up to the death on the cross, - increase the number of those who follow your examples in observing the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.
Addenda *everyday+ Lauds: O Holy Spirit, author of holiness in the Church, - help us to know and imitate the virtues of Saint Joseph Marello. Vespers: O Jesus, you honored so much on earth the Blessed Virgin Mary and her chaste spouse, - move us to follow the example of holiness of Saint Joseph Marello, eminent devotee of Mary and Joseph.
PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS
Lord Jesus, who called the ones you wanted to call, call many of us to work for you, to work with you. You, who enlightened with your words those whom you have called, enlighten us with faith in you. You, who supported them in their difficulties, help us to conquer the difficulties we have as young people of today. And if you call one of us to be consecrated fully to you, may your love give warmth to this vocation from its very beginning, and make it grow and persevere to the end. Amen.
*alternative+ O Jesus, the Good Shepherd, seeing the people abandoned like sheep without a shepherd, you exclaimed, “The harvest indeed is great, but the workers are few” and exhorted your Divine Father to send laborers into his harvest. Graciously hear our prayers, and through the intercession of your most holy Mother Mary, Saint Joseph and all the saints, send to your Church true workers inflamed with zeal for the salvation of souls. This we ask of you by
Table of Contents Prayer for Vocations the most precious blood which you shed for them and by the merits of your most Sacred Heart. Amen.
*alternative+ Lord of the harvest, call many generous youth to follow your invitation. Make them available and follow your voice. Make them listen to the voices which seek understanding and help. Make them sensitive to the many needs of those who have not heard about Christ, our God. May they take care of the little ones, those who suffer from poverty. May they look after the needs of countless brothers and sisters who are waiting for comfort and light. Lord consecrate in your truth those you have called. Keep, lead and protect the missionaries of the Gospel. Grant also to us the grace to cooperate in good endeavors for our brothers and sisters, for the glory of your name. Amen.
PRAYER FOR PRIESTS
Lord Jesus, you have chosen your priests from among us and sent them out to proclaim your word and to act in your name, to bring goods news to the poor and healing to the broken-hearted. For so great a gift to your Church, I praise and thank you. I pray for your faithful and tepid priests; for your priests laboring at home or abroad in distant mission fields; for your tempted, lonely and desolate priests; for your young and midlife priests; for your priests who have left the ministry; for your dying priests; for your priests who have left this world in your friendship. Since they are earthen vessels, I pray that your power shine through their weakness and brokenness. I commend to you all priests to whom I am indebted in any way. Lord Jesus, in their afflictions, let them never be crushed, never abandoned. Inspire them through prayer to live each day the mystery of your dying and rising. Instill in them the sense of awe and wonder. And may the Blessed Virgin Mary, a faithful disciple,
Table of Contents Devotional Prayers be a mother to your priests. Lord Jesus, keep them close to you and bless them abundantly. Amen.
COMMON INVOCATIONS
O Sacrament Most Holy, O Sacrament Divine, -All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment thine.
Angel of God...
O Mary, conceived without sin, -Pray for us who have recourse to you. (or: Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us.)
Saint Joseph, our protector, -Pray for us.
(House Patron Saint/Saint of the Day), -Pray for us.
Saint Joseph, Marello, -Pray for us.
Let us also invoke the intercession of Father Joseph Calvi.
(Sign of the Cross)
Praised be Jesus Christ; -Now and forever. (or: Let us bless the Lord; - And give him thanks.)
Table of Contents Visit to the Blessed sacrament
DEVOTIONAL P RAY ER S
“Mindful of the weakness of human nature, the Oblates of St. Joseph should not neglect the use of supernatural aids such as: humble and trustful prayer; contemplation of the mysteries of Christ; worship of the Eucharist which is the sacrament of love, the sign of unity and the bond of charity; sharing in communion the Body and Blood of Christ; frequent use of the sacrament of Penance which purifies the soul and guards against presumption; devotion to the Immaculate Virgin Mary and to their model, St. Joseph whom they should honor as the perfect model of virginal love for Christ and the Church” (C 20).
VISIT TO THE BLESSED SACRAMENT AND EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE
“Every community shall set up a daily schedule of community prayer which shall include the visit to the Blessed Sacrament, the celebration of a portion of the Liturgy of the Hours, and fifteen minutes of spiritual reading…” (C 49). *Every confrere+ should foster the spiritual and liturgical life and a sincere devotion to the Eucharist (C 84). The Oblate community gathers around the Eucharist and presents to the Lord, through the intercession of St. Joseph, the needs of the Church and of the Congregation. “Let us thank the Lord for all the spiritual blessings he has given us. Let us especially thank him for the Holy Eucharist, which is the greatest of his gifts. Let our best thanksgiving be to visit him often, even daily.”
Midday Prayers *in common, if possible+
*English+ *Italiano+
O Holy Banquet, in which O Sacro Convito, in cui Christ is received, the memory Cristo è nostro cibo, si perpetua of his passion is recalled, the il memoriale della sua passione, soul is replenished with grace, l’anima è ricolma di grazia e a and a pledge of eternal life is noi viene dato il pegno della given to us. gloria futura.
You have given them bread Hai dato loro il pane disceso dal from heaven. (Alleluia.) cielo. (Alleluia.) - Containing in itself all delight. - Che porta in sé ogni dolcezza. (Alleluia.) (Alleluia.)
Table of Contents Devotional Prayers
Let us pray, Preghiamo, Lord Jesus Christ, in the Signore Gesù Cristo, che wonderful sacrament of the nel mirabile sacramento Eucharist you have left us a dell’Eucarestia ci hai lasciato il memorial of your passion. May memoriale della tua Pasqua, fa’ we worship with living faith the che adoriamo con viva fede il sacred mysteries of your Body santo mistero del tuo corpo e and Blood so that we may del tuo sangue, per sentire always experience the benefits sempre in noi i benefici della of redemption. This we ask of redenzione. Tu che vivi e regni you who live and reign forever nei secoli dei secoli. Amen. and ever. Amen.
*Easter Season+ *Tempo Pasquale+ Pour into our hearts, Lord Infondi in noi, Signore, il tuo your spirit of love. May all Spirito d’amore, e fa’ che those whom you have vivano concordi nel vincolo nourished with the Easter della fede, coloro che hai sacraments live in unity and nutrito con i sacramenti peace. We ask this through pasquali. Per Cristo nostro Christ our Lord. Amen. Signore. Amen.
Litany of Saint Joseph Litanie di San Giuseppe
Intercessions Preci
Let us pray for the needs of Preghiamo per le necessità the Church and of the Congre- della Chiesa e della Congrega- gation. zione.
For the Holy Father and for our Per il Papa e per coloro che spiritual leaders, sono alla guida delle nostre - Assist them, Lord, and protect anime, them as they guide the people - O Signore, assistili e proteggili of God. nel guidare il popolo di Dio
Table of Contents Visit to the Blessed sacrament
For our Congregation, Per la nostra Congregazione, - Lord, keep our Congregation - O Signore, conservala fedele faithful to its spirit of humility, al suo spirito di umiltà, hard work, and dedication to laboriosità e dedizione agli the interests of Jesus in interessi di Gesù, nell’imita- imitation of Saint Joseph. zione di San Giuseppe.
For our community, Per la nostra comunità, - Preserve us, Lord, in the bond - O Signore, conservaci of love and peace after the nell’amore e nella pace, example of the family of sull’esempio della famiglia di Nazareth. Nazaret.
For vocations to the religious Per le vocazioni religiose e life and the priesthood, sacerdotali, - Grant, O Lord, perseverance - O Signore, dona la perse- to those whom you have called veranza a coloro che hai to carry on the work of chiamati a continuare la tua salvation. Send to our Congre- opera di salvezza; manda alla gation young men filled with nostra Congregazione giovani love for you and their brothers generosi nell’amore verso di te and sisters. e dei fratelli.
For our parents, relatives, Per i nostri parenti e bene- friends, benefactors and fattori e per le persone che si cooperators, and for those raccomandano alle nostre who recommend themselves preghiere, to our prayers, - O Signore, ricompensa - Lord, we ask you to reward largamente coloro che ci generously those who do good fanno del bene nel tuo nome. to us for your sake.
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For our dead confreres, Per i nostri confratelli, parenti e parents, relatives, friends, benefattori defunti, benefactors and cooperators, - L’eterno riposo dona a loro, o - Eternal rest grant unto them, Signore, e splenda ad essi la O Lord, and let perpetual light luce perpetua. Riposino in shine on them. May they rest pace. Amen. in peace. Amen.
Let us pray, Preghiamo, Almighty God, you graciously Dio onnipotente, che hai willed to entrust the beginning voluto affidare gli inizi della of our redemption to the nostra Redenzione alla custodia fatherly care of Saint Joseph. premurosa di San Giuseppe, Grant that by his intercession per sua intercessione, concedi your Church may cooperate alla tua Chiesa di cooperare faithfully in bringing to fedelmente al compimento completion the work of dell’opera di salvezza. Per Cristo salvation. We ask this through nostro Signore. Amen. Christ our Lord. Amen.
*alternative prayer+ God, our Father, you have Dio, nostro Padre, ci hai called us together in prayer. invitati a questo incontro di Following the example of Saint preghiera: concedi a noi che Joseph, may we be living realizzando, sull’esempio di San witnesses of our love for you Giuseppe, la viva testimonianza and so enjoy the gift of true del tuo amore, godiamo peace. We ask this through sempre il dono della vera pace. Christ our Lord. Amen. Per Cristo nostro Signore. Amen. *alternative prayer+ Almighty God, as we come In questro incontro di before you in prayer, bestow preghiera concedi a noi, o Dio on us the same faithfulness and onnipotente, la stessa fedeltà e purity of heart which inspired purezza di cuore che animò San
Table of Contents Examination of Conscience
Saint Joseph in the service of Giuseppe nel servire il tuo your only Son, born of the unico Figlio nato dalla Vergine Virgin Mary. We ask this Maria. Lui che vive e regna nei through Christ our Lord. Amen. secoli dei secoli. Amen.
Examination of Conscience Esame di Coscienza The examination of conscience should help us discover in ourselves the values of our vocation, in union with our confreres, to live our religious profession and our priesthood. It should, therefore, focus on three basic areas: union with God, union with our confreres, commitment to our apostolate and to other external activities. It might be appropriate at times to hold a communal examination of conscience to promote fraternal dialogue. Come, O Holy Spirit, Vieni, o Santo Spirito, - fill the hearts of your faithful, - riempi i cuori dei tuoi fedeli, e and enkindle in them the fire accendi in essi il fuoco del tuo of your love. amore.
*Pause for a while and examine oneself.+
Ángelus or L’Angelo o Regína Cæli (Easter Season) Regina del Cielo (Tempo Pasquale)
Angel of God Angelo di Dio
O Sacrament Most Holy, O Sia lodato e ringraziato ogni Sacrament Divine, momento il Santissimo e - All praise and all thanksgiving Divinissimo Sacramento. be every moment thine.
O Mary, conceived without sin, Sia benedetta la santa Immacolata - Pray for us who have recourse Concezione della beatissima to you. Vergine Maria, madre di Dio.
(Sign of the Cross) (Segno della Croce)
Praised be Jesus Christ; Sia lodato Gesù Cristo; - Sempre sia lodato. - Now and forever. Table of Contents Devotional Prayers
HOLY HOUR FOR VOCATIONS
“Every Oblate community should feel its duty to be involved in the work of the vocational recruitment and guidance by encouraging and supporting, in a climate of fraternal witness, those who wish to gain close experience of Oblate life.” (C 87).
Formula 1 *Holy Hour Devotion to Sacred Heart of Jesus on First Friday of the Month+
Formula 2 *with the Liturgy of the Hours+
EXPOSITION: O Salutaris Hostia
O Salutaris Hostia Que cæli pandis ostium. Bella premunt hostilia; Da robur, fer auxilium.
Uni trinoque Domino Sit sempiterna gloria: Qui vitam sine termino, Nobis donet in patria. Amen.
O Sacrament Most Holy, O Sacrament Divine, - All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment thine.
LITURGY OF THE HOURS...
SILENT PRAYER AND MEDITATIONS...
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PRAYERS BEFORE BENEDICTION:
Prayer to Christ and His Eucharistic Heart
Glory be to you, O Christ, true God and true Man, for you are the lover of mankind and the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. The Church has learned to honor and adore your person, especially under the aspect of your Eucharistic Love. On the night on which you were betrayed, you instituted the sacrament of your love. To pour out your riches on humankind, you not only immolated yourself on Calvary, but still offer yourself to the Father in the Eucharistic signs through the hands of the priest. You remain ceaselessly present among us in our tabernacles and desire to unite yourself to each one of us, and through us, with all people. In this great sacrament, O Lord, your Eucharistic Heart beats with sacrificial and joyous love for the Father and for the whole wide world. The Church is grateful that she was born of your pierced heart and is a community of love. By ceaselessly receiving your Body and Blood, the Church perfects her members and seeks the grace to continue your mission of service to be ever grateful for this redemptive love. Guide us, Lord, and our brothers in our life of discipleship until we love everyone as you have loved us. For all glory, honor, worship, and love are due through you to the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, now and always and forever and ever. Amen.
Prayer for Vocations
Prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows for Vocations
Prayer to St. Joseph for Vocations
Prayer to St. Joseph Marello
*Prayer To St. Joseph to Know One’s Vocation+
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BENEDICTION: Tantum Ergo
Tantum ergo Sacramentum Veneremur cernui: Et antiquum documentum Novo cedat ritui: Præstet fides supplementum Sensuum defectui.
Genitori, Genitoque Laus et iubilatio, Salus, honor, virtus quoque Sit et benedictio: Procedenti ab utroque Compar sit laudatio. Amen.
You have given them Bread Panem de cælo præstitisti eis. from heaven. (Alleluia.) (Alleluia.) - Containing in itself all - Omne delectamentum in se delight. (Alleluia.) habentem. (Alleluia.)
Let us pray, Orémus, O God, in the wonderful D e us , qui nobis sub sacrament of the Eucharist you sacramento mirabili, passionis have left us a memorial of your tuæ memoriam reliquisti: passion. May we worship tribue, quæsumus, ita nos with living faith the sacred corporis et sanguinis tui sacra mysteries of your Body and mysteria venerari, ut Blood so that we may always redemptionis tuæ fructum in experience the benefits of nobis iugiter sentiamus. Qui redemption. You who live and vivis et regnas in sæcula reign forever and ever. Amen. sæculorum. Amen.
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The Divine Praises
Blessed be God. Benedictus Deus. Blessed be his Holy Name. Benedictum Nomen Sanctum eius. Blessed be Jesus Christ, true Benedictus Iesus Christus, verus God and true man. Deus et verus homo. Blessed be the Name of Jesus. Benedictum Nomen Iesu. Blessed be his most Sacred Benedictum Cor eius sacratis- Heart. simum. Blessed be his most Precious Benedictus Sanguis eius Blood. pretiosissimus. Blessed be Jesus in the most Benedictus Iesus in sanctissimo Holy Sacrament of the altar. altaris Sacramento. Blessed be the Holy Spirit, the Benedictus Sanctus Spiritus, Paraclete. Paraclitus. Blessed be the great Mother of Benedicta excelsa Mater Dei, God, Mary most holy. Maria sanctissima. Blessed be her holy and Benedicta sancta eius et Immaculate Conception. immaculata Conceptio. Blessed be her glorious Benedicta eius gloriosa assumption. assumptio. Blessed be the name of Mary, Benedictum nomen Mariæ, Virgin and Mother. Virginis et Matris. Blessed be Saint Joseph, her Benedictus sanctus Ioseph, eius most chaste spouse. castissimus Sponsus. Blessed be God in his Angels Benedictus Deus in Angelis suis, and in his Saints. et in Sanctis suis.
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REPOSITION: O Sacrament Most Holy
O Sacrament Most Holy, O Sacrament Divine. All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment thine, be every moment thine.
HYMN: *to the Blessed Virgin Mary or to St. Joseph+
Formula 3 *for Mission Vocation+
EXPOSITION:
Blessed are you God, our Father, you have sent your Son on a mission. Born in humanity, he became like us that we may live new lives as members of his living body, the Church, and that we may work and share in the fulfillment of his mission to free humanity from the slavery of sin.
Praise and thanks every moment… - to the most holy and most divine Sacrament.
In Christ, meek, humble and poor, you have given us the highest example of self-giving. He who was rich became poor for us, he proclaimed blessed are the poor in spirit and opened the treasures of the Kingdom to the little ones.
Praise and thanks every moment… - to the most holy and most divine Sacrament.
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In Christ, you have given us the perfect image of the servant who was obedient until death. His nourishment was to do your will; his service, the rule of his life; and his love, the supreme law of his Kingdom.
Praise and thanks every moment… - to the most holy and most divine Sacrament.
In Christ Jesus, you have commanded us to pray for the gift of laborers to the harvest. In his heart filled with compassion you have given us the sublime model of the Gospel worker who – in his continuous communion with you, leaves nothing undone in order to announce the Gospel – takes care of the tired and abandoned crowd, and welcomes the little ones and the poor.
Praise and thanks every moment… - to the most holy and most divine Sacrament.
Personal Dialogue with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament...
Gospel Reading... *to be determined by the Rector of the house+
Moment of Reflection... *with Homily or Sharing+
Silence...
PRAYERS BEFORE BENEDICTION:
BENEDICTION:
REPOSITION:
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Formula 4 *for the Perseverance of Vocations+
EXPOSITION:
Psalm 23
The Lord is my Shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. In verdant pastures he gives me repose; beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
He guides me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side with your rod and your staff that give me courage. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
First Reading Hosea 2:16-22
So I will allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak to her heart. From there I will give her the vineyards she had, and the valley of Achor as a door of hope. She shall respond there as in the days of her youth, when she came up from the Land of Egypt. On that day, says the Lord, she shall call me “My husband,” and never again “My Baal.” Then will I remove from her mouth the names of
Table of Contents Holy Hour for Vocations the Baals, so that they shall no longer be invoked. I will make a covenant for them on that day, with the beast of the field, with the birds of the air, and with the things that crawl on the ground. Bow and sword and war I will destroy from the land, and I will let them take their rest in security. I will espouse you to me forever: I will espouse you in right and in justice, in love and in mercy; I will espouse you in fidelity, and you shall know the Lord.
*Silent Reflection, Song+
COMMUNITY PRAYER:
My brothers and sisters, the Lord Jesus wants all mankind to be saved and calls us to be faithful to our commitments. Let us pray with sincerity of heart: Grant perseverance to those whom you have called.
We pray to you, Christ Jesus, for the perseverance of all consecrated people, those who, having accepted your call, have left everything for your sake. (R.)
Make them live up to the commitments which they have pledged with gladness and generosity. Do not let them go back and regret their self-oblation. (R.)
Protect them from human seductions that would tempt their hearts to abandon you. Give them your eternal wisdom to be with them always and guide them in moments of doubt and discouragement. (R.)
Renew everyday their strength, enthusiasm and apostolic zeal so that they may bring to completion the mission you have entrusted to them. (R.)
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Lord Jesus Christ, you have brought us out of darkness into the light of faith. Keep us safe, our whole life through, from every sinful inclination. May all our thoughts, words and actions aim at doing what is pleasing in your sight. Amen.
Second Reading (From Conclusive Document on Vocations, Vatican City, 1981, no.56)
It is a common assertion that many young people are open to discussion and accept accompaniment: “The hearts of many young people, and not so young people, are ready to listen to you. Many of them are looking for something to live for; they are waiting to discover a worthwhile mission to devote their lives to. Christ has attuned them to his call and yours. We must call. The Lord will do the rest.” It is therefore necessary to create a climate of friendship and confidence, which facilitates the dialogue and search. Those responsible for accompaniment, above all spiritual directors, must be people of faith and must speak with the testimony of their own lives. The youth are sensitive to this. The local Church must nevertheless encourage the work which the laity, as individuals or associations, carry out in this field with significant results.
*Silent Reflection, Song+
COMMUNITY PRAYER:
(St. Augustine, “Confessions” ) Lord our God, too late have I loved you, O beauty so ancient and so new, too late have I loved you! Behold, you were within me while I was outside: It was there that I sought you, and, a deformed creature, rushed headlong upon these things of beauty which you have made. You were with me, but I was not with you. They kept me far from you, those fair things which, If they were not in you, would not exist at all.
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You have called to me, and have cried out, And have shattered my deafness. You have blazed forth with light, and have shone upon me, And you have put my blindness to flight! You have sent forth fragrance, And I have drawn in my breath, and I pant after you. I have tasted you, and I hunger and thirst after you. You have touched me, and I have burned for your peace. Amen.
Third Reading John 15:1-11
*Jesus said to his disciples+, I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you. Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my com- mandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.
*Silent Reflection, Song+
COMMUNITY PRAYER:
My brothers and sisters, let us turn to Jesus our Lord in prayer.
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Let us trust that he will hear our petitions: Make us faithful to your love.
Lord Jesus, you have said: “Those who persevere to the end will be saved.” Strengthen our steps in the way of salvation, enlighten our decisions, help us overcome our indolence and sloth in doing good, enable us to make sacrifices in order to remain faithful to your love. (R.)
O Lord, the way of salvation is oftentimes a path of expiation which redeems; it is the way of the cross. Enable us to rise after our falls and to keep on following in your footsteps with ever greater generosity, looking forward to our salvation and the salvation of our brothers and sisters. (R.)
Lord Jesus, you said: “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me, and to complete his work.” We pray to you on behalf of those whom you have called to consecrated life: may they seek union with you. May they find in prayer the strength to persevere to the end with generous and faithful love. (R.)
Lord Jesus, you call all who believe in you to grow perfect in love by following in your footsteps. In your love watch over those who wish to follow you more closely, keep them faithful to the demands of the Gospel so that they can be witnesses of your love to the world. Amen.
Our Father...
PRAYERS BEFORE BENEDICTION:
BENEDICTION:
REPOSITION:
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Formula 5 *for the religious and for the seminarians; for the common people in the parish and in schools; for students/teachers, youth assembly, etc.+
EXPOSITION:
Gathered together in Christ, as brothers and sisters, let us open our hearts to Jesus in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. My Jesus, I believe you are present in the most holy Sacrament. I love you above all things and desire to receive you into my soul. Since I cannot receive you now sacramentally, come spiritually into my heart. I welcome you and unite myself entirely with you. Grant me your holy love, perseverance till the end, and never let me be parted from you.
To prepare ourselves for prayer in communion with Jesus, who is present among us in the sacrament of the Eucharist, let us listen to the Word of God which sheds light in our mind and inspires our heart.
(Mt 9:35-38) A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew
Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness. At the sight of the crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so we ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”
The Gospel of the Lord. - Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
*Silent Reflection or Homily, Song+
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Part I Giving Thanks and Praise
Lord Jesus, you said: “I am the Bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst. But I told you that although you have seen me, you do not believe. Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but I should raise it up on the last day.” Encouraged by your words, Lord Jesus, we say: O Lord, our God, how glorious is your name over all the earth! You have exalted your majesty above the heavens. I will give praise and thanks to you, O Lord, with all my heart. I will declare all your wondrous deeds. I will be glad and exalt in you.
Let us call to mind God’s many blessings and give thanks and praise to Jesus present in the Eucharist for the great love he gives to all mankind through his priests and consecrated people. Let us pray together: We give you thanks and praise, O Lord!
We praise and thank you, Jesus, because you desired to perpetuate your presence in the sacrament of the Eucharist and instituted the priesthood to bring your life and salvation to the world. (R.)
Lord Jesus, we praise and thank you because you still call men and women to prayer and contemplative life which, for us, is a sign of the primacy of the Father’s Kingdom and of his justice. (R.)
Jesus, we praise and thank you because you continue to show your loving attention to human sufferings through religious men
Table of Contents Holy Hour for Vocations and women who, in your name, offer their lives to serve the poorest and most neglected in our society. (R.)
Loving Jesus, we praise and thank you because during your earthly life you sanctified daily works and the little joys and sorrows of life. In our days, you offer us this witness through those who consecrate their lives to you. (R.)
We thank you, Jesus, for you were the first missionary sent by the Father to bring salvation to every human being and you continue this work today through our missionaries. (R.)
Let us pray in adoration, O Jesus, Divine Shepherd of souls, and Lord of the harvest, you called the Apostles to be fishers of men. Move now the ardent and generous hearts of your youth and make them your followers and ministers. Let them share your thirst of universal redemption for which you renew your sacrifice on the altar everyday. Extend, O Lord, your loving call to many pure and generous souls, that they may grow in their desire for evangelical perfection and may dedicate themselves to the service of the Church and to those who desperately need their assistance and love. Amen.
*Song+
Part II Being Reconciled
Lord Jesus, you said to the paralytic man, “Have courage, son, your sins are forgiven.” Your words are words of life. Sorry for our sins, and confident in your mercy, as your sons and daughters, we have the courage to say: Loving Jesus, you are the victim of our sins, and the salvation of those who hope in you. In the Eucharist you often remain unknown and forgotten, yet you continue to offer day and night
Table of Contents Devotional Prayers the Sacrifice of Calvary all over the world. We intend to console you, O Lord for the ingratitude and the indifference of so many people. O Lord, do not look at our unworthiness, but forgive our sins and be mindful of our good intention to be here to pray for good laborers for your harvest.
Invocations:
We need to ask you, God, for forgiveness. As we give you thanks and praise in reparation for those who offend you, we offer you our love and our life in repentance for all sins. Let us turn in prayer to Jesus, our merciful and compassionate Lord, present in the sacrament of the Eucharist, and say: Be merciful, O Sacrament Divine.
Toward those who despise your commandments, (R.)
For the sins of our families, relatives and friends, (R.)
For infidelities and sacrileges, (R.)
For our disobedience and infidelity to your holy Church, (R.)
For lack of courage in defending our faith, (R.)
For our laziness in reading and listening to your Word, (R.)
To those who are hesitant and resist the inspiration of your divine grace, (R.)
For our lack of cooperation in building the Christian community, (R.)
For licentiousness, public corruption and scandals, (R.)
For the injustices against the poor, marginalized and minorities, (R.)
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For the sins of violence, and alcohol and drug abuse, (R.)
For lack of respect for the life of the unborn, (R.)
For the violence of human rights in the world, (R.)
For our weak dedication to religious education, (R.)
For divisions and conflicts in our families, (R.)
For our lack of Christian participation in the welfare of society, (R.)
For the errors and sins of the Church’s leaders, (R.)
For the faults and imperfections of priests, and consecrated people in the Church, (R.)
Let us pray in adoration, Lord Jesus, great is the grace we ask of you. Even though our faults are many, remember that your mercy is greater still. Let your grace abound over all sinfulness. Lord of the harvest, hear us: send to us holy vocations. We ask this in faith, through the intercession of Mary, your Mother. Out of love for her and for your glory hear our prayers! Come, Lord, do not delay. Look upon your Sanctuary and see how it has become deserted. Send, O Lord, laborers into your harvest, that all men may find life in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
*Song+
Part III Imploring Vocations
Loving Jesus, you said: “Whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in
Table of Contents Devotional Prayers my name, I will do it.” Confident in your word we say: Divine Master and Savior, we adore your Eucharistic presence among us. You, Lord of the universe, are before us listening to our prayer and looking to find in our hearts a permanent tabernacle and a living monstrance of your love. We want to experience your compassion for the crowd, abandoned like sheep without a shepherd. We raise our prayer to you for holy bishops, zealous priests and religious, generous lay people, exemplary parents and Christian professionals, all committed to the building up of your Kingdom. The entire world is in need of this grace. Listen to our plea, Lord Jesus.
Lord, have mercy on us, - Lord, have mercy on us.
Jesus Christ, have mercy on us, - Jesus Christ, have mercy on us.
God the Father Eternal, - *Send holy priests and fervent religious to your Church.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world,*
God the Holy Spirit,*
Blessed and undivided Trinity,*
Sacred Heart of Jesus, model for priests,*
Jesus, High Priest, crucified for us, - **Sanctify priests, consecrated souls and lay people.
Jesus, Victim of our altars,**
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Jesus hidden in the Eucharistic bread and wine,**
Jesus, loving King of our hearts,**
Jesus, loving King of our families,**
Jesus, loving King of the world,**
Jesus, friend of the workers and of the poor,**
Jesus, hope and salvation of the prisoners,**
Jesus, light of those searching for the truth,**
Jesus, still calling people to be the light of the world and salt of the earth,**
Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, model for all vocations, - Multiply holy vocations throughout the world.
That your holy name may be glorified in our families, in our country, and in the world, - ***Give us many and holy priests, O Lord.
That the divine sacrifice of the Mass may continue to be offered everyday for our sins and sanctification,***
To absolve us from our sins, and to restore life and peace in our hearts,***
To feed us with the Eucharistic Bread, and to strengthen our faith,***
To be comforted by your divine sacraments in life and in death,***
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To teach children to love and serve you,***
To teach our youth modesty, respect for life and the wonderful meaning of Christian charity,***
To care for the children, the orphans, the aged, and the sick,***
To merit your blessings on our homes, land, and goods,***
To console those in sorrow, afflicted and discouraged,***
To bring light and consolation to those who suffer and are in doubt,***
To visit, console, and comfort those who are sick and dying,***
To lead all of us to heaven,***
Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, model for priests,***
Through the intercession of Mary, your mother, Queen of Apostles, - Make holy your priests and all those called to be your witnesses in the world today.
Let us pray in adoration, Lord of the harvest, send holy priests who are zealous co-workers with the bishops, that they may sanctify and lead their brothers and sisters in the faith which they proclaim. Send, Lord, deacons to your Church who, as they teach, encourage, and evangelize, in communion with bishops and priests, walk in your truth. We pray, Lord, that you continue to bless and enrich your Church with the gift of vocations. We pray that many may welcome your call and bring joy to your Church by their generous and faithful response. Amen.
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*Song+
Part IV Asking the Harvest Master
The Gospel says: The Lord appointed a further seventy-two and sent them in pairs before him to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them: “The harvest is rich but the workers are few; therefore, ask the harvest master to send workers to his harvest. Be on your way and remember, I am sending you as lambs in the midst of wolves.” In adoration we turn to God, the harvest Master, and say: Good and gracious God, through baptism you have called us to discipleship with your Son, Jesus Christ, and have sent us to bring the Good News of salvation to all people. We pray to you to grant us more priests and religious to build up your Church. Inspire young men and women to give themselves totally to the work of Christ and his Church. Amen.
Thinking of the people exhausted and like sheep without shepherds, we raise our prayer to God, saying: Lord, send holy laborers into your harvest.
To you, Lord, I lift up my soul. My God, I trust in you. May I not be disappointed! May all those who hope in you may not be confused. (R.)
Lord, let me know your ways, teach me your paths, guide me in your truth and instruct me, because you are the God of my salvation. (R.)
Remember your love, your eternal fidelity. Protect me and give me your salvation. Under your protection I will not be confused. (R.)
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Our Father for Vocations
Our Father in heaven, - You have promised not to leave us orphans. Send your holy ministers of salvation to give us the Spirit’s life through the food of faith and charity.
Holy be your name, - Through your chosen ministers filled with your Holy Spirit, may you be made known and loved by all people on earth.
Your kingdom come, - And may it be built by your faithful ministers through the sanctity of their lives, their burning zeal for your glory and the salvation of all.
Your will be done on earth as in heaven, - Eternal Father, do not cease to provide your Church with your holy ministers who teach all people your holy law.
Give us today our daily bread, - The bread of grace which nourishes us through your sacraments. Enrich your Church with chosen ministers who will bring your sanctifying grace to all men and women.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us, - Send to your people, Lord, chosen and faithful priests who by the sacrament of reconciliation bring back to you numerous hearts in need of your forgiveness.
Do not bring us to the test but deliver us from evil, - Lord, if our sins have deprived us of your friendship we ask you: send your ministers of mercy among us. With personal zeal and sacrifice, may they keep our souls from sin and lead us to sanctification and eternal salvation. Amen.
Table of Contents Holy Hour for Vocations
Let us pray in adoration to Mary for priestly and religious vocations, O Mother, awaken among the young generation a willingness to serve God alone. Implore for us numerous vocations for the priesthood and the religious life. O Mother, confirm the faith of all our lay brothers and sisters that in every area of social, profes- sional, cultural and political life, they may work according to the truth and the law which your Son has proclaimed to humanity in order to lead all to eternal salvation and at the same time to make life on earth more human and more worthy of man. Amen.
*Song+
PRAYERS BEFORE BENEDICTION:
BENEDICTION:
REPOSITION:
Table of Contents Devotional Prayers
DEVOTIONS TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
ÁNGELUS *English+ *Latina+ The Angel of the Lord declared Ángelus Dómini nuntiávit unto Mary, Maríæ, - And she conceived by the - Et concépit de Spírito Sancto. power of the Holy Spirit.
Hail Mary… Ave, María…
Behold the handmaid of the Ecce ancílla Dómini, Lord, - Fiat mihi secúndum verbum - Be it done unto me according tuum. to your word.
Hail Mary… Ave, María…
And the Word was made flesh, Et Verbum caro factum est, - And dwelt among us. - Et habitávit in nobis.
Hail Mary… Ave, María…
Pray for us, O Holy Mother of Ora pro nobis, sancta Dei God, Génetrix, - That we may be made worthy - Ut digni efficiámur promis- of the promises of Christ. siónibus Christi.
Let us pray, Orémus, Pour forth, we beseech you, Grátiam tuam, quǽsumus, O Lord, your grace into our Dómine, méntibus nostris hearts; that we, to whom the infúnde; ut qui, Ángelo Incarnation of Christ, your Son, nuntiánte, Christi Fílii tui was made known by the Incarnatiónem cognóvimus, per message of an angel, may by passiónem eius et crucem, ad
Table of Contents Devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary
“*Every confrere+ should foster the spiritual and liturgical life and a sincere devotion to Our Lady” (C 84).
*Italiano+ *Filipino+ L’angelo del Signore portò Binati ng anghel ng Panginoon l’annuncio a Maria, si Santa Maria, - Ed ella concepì per opera dello - At siya ay naglihi, lalang ng Spirito Santo. Espirito Santo.
Ave, o Maria… Aba Ginoong Maria…
Ecco l’ancella del Signore, Narito ang alipin ng Panginoon, - Sia fatto di me secondo la tua - Maganap nawa sa akin ayon parola. sa wika mo.
Ave, o Maria… Aba Ginoong Maria…
E il Verbo si è fatto carne, At ang Salita ay nagkatawang - E abitò fra noi. tao, - At nakipamayan sa atin.
Ave, o Maria… Aba Ginoong Maria…
Prega per noi, santa Madre di Ipanalangin mo kami, Santang Dio, Ina ng Diyos, - E saremo degni delle - Nang kami ay maging dapat promesse di Cristo. makinabang sa mga pangako ni Kristo.
Preghiamo, Manalangin tayo, Infondi nel nostro spirito la Panginoon naming Diyos, tua grazia, o Padre, tu, che kasihan mo nawa ang aming nell’annuncio dell’Angelo, ci hai mga kaluluwa sa iyong mahal rivelato l’Incarnazione del tuo na grasya at yayamang dahilan Figlio; per la sua passione e la sa pamamalita ng angel ay sua croce, guidaci alla gloria nakilala namin ang pagkaka-
Table of Contents Devotional Prayers his Passion and Cross be resurrectiónis glóriam brought to the glory of his perducámur. Per eúndem Resurrection. Through the Christum Dóminum nostrum. same Christ our Lord. Amen. Amen.
Glory be… (3X) Glória Patri... (3X)
REGÍNA CÆLI Queen of heaven, rejoice, Regína cæi, lætáre, allelúia! alleluia! - Quia quem meruísti portáre, - For he whom you merited to allelúia. bear, alleluia.
Has risen as he said, alleluia. Resurréxit sicut dixit, allelúia. - Pray for us to God, alleluia. - Ora pro nobis, Deum, allelúia.
Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Gaude et lætáre, Virgo Maria, Mary, alleluia, allelúia, - For the Lord has truly risen, - Quia surréxit Dóminus vere, alleluia. allelúia.
Let us pray, Orémus, O God, who through the Deus, qui per resurrectió- resurrection of your Son, our nem Fílli tui Dómini nostri Iesu Lord Jesus Christ, gave joy to Christi, mundum lætificáre dignátus es, præsta quǽsumus,
Table of Contents Devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary della risurrezione. Per Cristo tawang-tao ni Hesukristong nostro Signore. Amen. Anak mo, pakundangan sa pagpapasakit niya sa Krus, papakinabangin mo kami ng kanyang pagkabuhay na mag-uli sa kadakilaan sa langit. Sa pamamagitan ni Hesukristong aming Panginoon. Amen.
Gloria al Padre… (3X) Luwalhati…(3X)
Regina del cielo, rallegrati, O Reyna ng Langit, magalak ka, alleluia! aleluya! - Cristo che hai portato nel - Sapagkat ang minarapat grembo, alleluia. mong dalhin sa iyong sinapu- punan, aleluya.
È risorto, come aveva Ay nabuhay na mag-uli na gaya promesso, alleluia. ng kanyang sinabi, aleluya. - Prega il Signore per noi, alleluia. - Ipanalangin mo kami sa Diyos, aleluya.
Godi e rallegrati, o Vergine Matuwa ka at magalak, O Maria, alleluia. Birheng Maria, aleluya. - Perché il Signore è veramente - Sapagkat tunay na muling risorto, alleluia. nabuhay ang Panginoon, aleluya.
Preghiamo, Manalangin tayo, O Dio, che nella gloriosa O Diyos, na sa pamamagitan risurrezione del tuo Figlio, hai ng muling pagkabuhay ng iyong ridato la gioia al mondo intero, Anak na si Hesukristong per intercessione di Maria Panginoon namin, ay minarapat
Table of Contents Devotional Prayers the world; grant, we beseech ut per eius Genetrícem you, that through the interces- Vírginem Maríam, perpétuæ sion of the Blessed Virgin Mary, capiámus gáudia vitæ. Per his mother, we may obtain the Christum Dóminum nostrum. joys of everlasting life. Through Amen. the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
Glory be…(3X) Glória Patri…(3X)
HOLY ROSARY SACRATISSIMIUM ROSARIUM
I Believe Credo
Our Father Pater Noster
Hail Mary Ave Maria
Glory Be Glória Patri
O my Jesus, forgive us our O mi Iesu, dimítte nobis sins, save us from the fires of débita nostra, salva nos ab igne hell and lead all souls into heaven, inferni, perduc in cœlum omnes especially those who need animas, præsértim illa quæ most of your divine mercy. misericórdiæ tuæ máxime indigent.
Joyful Mysteries Mysteria Gaudiorum *Mondays and Saturdays+ 1. The Annunciation 1. Annuntiatío 2. The Visitation 2.Visitátio
Table of Contents Devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary
Vergine, concedi a noi di godere mong paligayahin ang mundo. la gioia della vita senza fine. Per Hinihiling namin sa iyo na Cristo nostro Signore. Amen. alang-alang sa Birheng Maria na kanyang Ina ay makamtan namin ang kaligayahan sa buhay na walang hanggan. Sa pamamagitan din ni Kristong Panginoon namin. Amen.
Gloria al Padre…(3X) Luwalhati…(3X)
SANTISSIMO ROSARIO ANG SANTO ROSARYO
Io Credo Sumasampalataya
Padre Nostro Ama Namin
Ave, o Maria Aba Ginoong Maria
Gloria al Padre Papuri sa Ama
O Gesù mio, perdona le O Hesus ko patawarin mo nostre colpe, preservaci dal kami sa aming mga sala, iligtas fuoco dell’inferno, porta in mo kami sa apoy ng impiyerno, cielo tutte le anime, special- hanguin mo sa langit ang lahat mente le più bisognose della ng mga kaluluwa sa purgatoryo tua misericordia. lalung-lalo na ang mga nanga- ngailangan ng iyong tulong at awa.
Misteri di Gaudiosi Mga Misteryo ng Tuwa
1. L’ Annunciazione 1. Ang Pagbati ng Anghel kay 2. La Visitazione della Madonna Santa Maria
Table of Contents Devotional Prayers
3. The Nativity 3.Natívitas 4. The Presentation of Jesus in 4.Præsentátio the Temple 5.Invéntio in Templo 5. The Finding of Jesus in the Temple
Sorrowful Mysteries Mysteria Dolorum *Tuesdays and Fridays+ 1. The Agony in the Garden 1. Agonía in Hortu 2. The Scourging at the Pillar 2. Flagellátio 3. The Crowning with Thorns 3. Coronátio Spinis 4. The Carrying of the Cross 4. Baiulátio Crucis 5. The Crucifixion and Death of 5. Crucifíxio et Mors Jesus
Glorious Mysteries Mysteria Gloriæ *Wednesdays and Sundays+ 1. The Resurrection 1. Resurréctio 2. The Ascension 2. Ascénsio 3. The Descent of the Holy 3. Descénsus Spíritus Sancti Spirit. 4. Assúmptio 4. The Assumption 5. Coronátio in Cælo 5. The Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth
Table of Contents Devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary
3. Gesù nasce povero a 2. Ang Pagdalaw ni Santa Maria Betlemme kay Santa Isabel 4. Gesù viene presentato al 3. Ang Pagsilang ni Hesus Tempio 4. Ang Paghahain kay Hesus sa 5. Gesù viene ritrovato al Templo Tempio 5. Ang Pagkakita kay Hesus sa Templo
Misteri di Dolorosi Mga Misteryo ng Hapis
1. L’Agonia di Gesù nell’Orto 1. Ang Pananalangin ni Hesus 2. La Flagellazione di Gesù alla sa Halamanan Colonna 2.Ang Paghampas kay Hesus na 3. La Coronazione di Spine Nakagapos sa Haliging Bato 4. La Salita di Gesù al Calvario 3. Ang Pagpuputong ng Carico della Croce Koronang Tinik 5. La Crocifissione e Morte di 4. Ang Pagpapasan ng Krus Gesù 5. Ang Pagkapako at Pagkamatay ni Hesus sa Krus
Misteri di Gloriosi Mga Misteryo ng Luwalhati
1. La Resurrezione di Gesù 1. Ang Pagkabuhay muli ni Hesus 2. L’Ascensione di Gesù al cielo 2. Ang Pag-akyat sa Langit ni 3. La Discesa dello Spirito Santo Hesus 4. L’Assunzione di Maria al cielo 3. Ang Pagpanaog ng Espiritu 5. L’Incoronazione di Maria Santo Regina del Cielo e della Terra 4. Ang Pag-aakyat sa Langit ng Mahal na Birhen 5. Ang Pagpuputong ng Korona sa Mahal na Birhen Bilang Reyna ng Langit at Lupa
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Luminous Mysteries Mysteria Lucis *Thursdays+ 1. The Baptism of Jesus at the 1. Baptísma apud Iordánem River Jordan 2. Autorevelátio apud 2. The Miracle of the Wine at Cananénse matrimónium the Wedding at Cana 3. Regni Dei proclamátio 3. The Proclamation of the coniúncta cum invitaménto ad Kingdom of God and the Call conversiónem to Repentance 4. Transfigurátio 4. The Transfiguration at Mount 5. Eucharístiæ Institútio Tabor 5. The Institution of the Holy Eucharist as the Sacramental Expression of the Paschal Mystery
Hail, Holy Queen Salve, Regína
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Salve, Regína, Mater miser- Mercy. Hail, our life, our icórdiæ, vita, dulcédo, et spes sweetness, and our hope. To nostra, salve. Ad te clamámus you do we cry, poor banished éxules fílii Evæ. Ad te suspirá- children of Eve. To you do we mus geméntes et flentes in hac send up our sighs, mourning lacrimárum valle. Eia ergo, ad- and weeping in this valley of vocáta nostra, illos tuos miser- tears. Turn then, most gracious icórdes óculos ad nos convérte. advocate, your eyes of mercy Et Iesum, benedíctum fructum toward us, and after this our ventris tui, nobis, post hoc exile show unto us the blessed exsílium, osténde. O clémens, o fruit of your womb, Jesus. O pia, o dulcis Virgo María. clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
Table of Contents Devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary
Misteri di Luminosi Mga Misteryo ng Liwanag
1. Il Battesimo di Gesù al Fiume 1. Ang pagbibinyag kay Hesus Giordano sa Ilog Jordan 2. Le Nozze di Cana 2. Ang Kasalan sa Cana 3. L’Annuncio del Regno di Dio 3. Ang Pagpapahayag ng 4. La Trasfigurazione di Gesù paghahari ng Diyos 5. L’Istituzione dell'Eucaristia 4. Ang Pagbabagong-anyo ni Hesus 5. Ang Pagtatatag ng Eukaristiya
Salve, o Regina Aba Po, Santa Mariang Hari
Salve, o Regina, Madre di Aba po, Santa Mariang Hari, misericordia; vita, dolcezza e Ina ng Awa, ikaw ang speranza nostra, salve. A te kabuhayan at katamisan; aba ricorriamo, noi esuli figli di Eva; pinananaligan ka namin. Ikaw a te sospiriamo gementi e nga po ang tinatawag namin, piangenti in questa valle di pinapanaw na taong anak ni lacrime. Orsù, dunque, avvocata Eva. Ikaw rin ang pinag- nostra, rivolgi a noi quegli occhi bubuntuhang-hininga namin ng tuoi misericordiosi. E mostraci, aming pagtangis dini sa lupang dopo questo esilio, Gesù, il bayang kahapis-hapis. Ay aba, frutto benedetto del tuo seno. pintakasi ka namin, ilingon mo O clemente, o pia, o dolce sa amin ang mga mata mong Vergine Maria. maawain, at saka kung matapos yaring pagpanaw sa amin, ay ipakita mo sa amin ang iyong Anak na si Hesus. Santa Maria, Ina ng Diyos, maawain, maalam, at matamis na Birhen. Table of Contents Devotional Prayers
Litany of the Litaniæ Laurentanæ Blessed Virgin Mary Kýrie, eléison. Lord, have mercy on us. - Kýrie, eléison. - Lord, have mercy on us. Christe, eléison. Christ, have mercy on us. - Christe, eléison. - Christ, have mercy on us. Kýrie, eléison. Lord, have mercy on us. - Kýrie, eléison. - Lord, have mercy on us. Christe, áudi nos. Christ, hear us. - Christe, áudi nos. - Christ, hear us. Christe, exáudi nos. Christ, graciously hear us. - Christe, exáudi nos. - Christ, graciously hear us. Pater de cœlis, Deus, God the Father in heaven, - *Miserére nobis. - *Have mercy on us. Fíli, Redémptor mundi, Deus,* God the Son, Redeemer of the world,* Spíritus Sancte, Deus,* God the Holy Spirit,* Sancta Trínitas, unus Deus,* Holy Trinity, one God,*
Holy Mary, Sancta Maria, - **Pray for us. - **Ora pro nobis. Holy Mother of God, ** Sancta Dei Génitrix,** Holy Virgin of virgins, ** Sancta Vírgo vírginum,** Mother of Christ,** Mater Christi,** Mother of divine grace,** Mater divínæ grátiæ,** Mother most pure,** Mater puríssima,** Mother most chaste,** Mater castíssima,**
Mother inviolate,** Mater inviolata,** Mother undefiled,** Mater intemeráta,** Mother most amiable,** Mater amábilis,** Mother most admirable,** Mater admirábilis,** Mother of good counsel,** Mater boni consílii,** Mother of our Creator,** Mater Creatóris,**
Table of Contents Devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary
Litanie Laurentane Litanya ng Mahal na Birhen
Signore, pietà. Panginoon, maawa ka sa amin. - Signore, pietà. - Panginoon, maawa ka sa amin. Cristo, pietà. Kristo, maawa ka sa amin. - Cristo, pietà. - Kristo, maawa ka sa amin. Signore, pietà. Panginoon, maawa ka sa amin. - Signore, pietà. - Panginoon, maawa ka sa amin. Cristo, ascoltaci. Kristo, pakinggan mo kami. - Cristo, ascoltaci. - Kristo, pakinggan mo kami. Cristo, esaudiscici. - Cristo, esaudiscici. Kristo, pakapakinggan mo kami. Padre celeste, Dio, - Kristo, pakapakinggan mo kami. - *Abbi pietà di noi. Diyos Ama sa langit, Figlio Redentore del mondo, - *Maawa ka sa amin. Dio,* Diyos Anak na tumubos sa Spirito Santo, Dio* sanlibutan,* Santa Trinità, unico Dio,* Diyos Espiritu Santo,* Santisima Trinidad na tatlong Persona at iisang Diyos,* Santa Maria, Santa Maria, - **Prega per noi. - **Ipanalangin mo kami. Santa Madre di Dio,** Santang Ina ng Diyos,** Santa Vergine delle vergini,** Santang Birhen ng mga Birhen,** Madre di Cristo,** Ina ni Kristo,** Madre della divina grazia,** Inang puspos ng biyaya ng Diyos,** Madre purissima,** Inang kalisin-linisan,** Madre castissima,** Inang walang kamalay-malay sa kasalanan, ** Madre inviolata,** Inang kasakdal-sakdalan, ** Madre intemerata,** Inang walang bahid, ** Madre amabile,** Inang kaibig-ibig,** Madre ammirabile,** Inang kahanga-hanga,** Madre del buon consiglio,** Ina ng mabuting kahatulan,** Madre del Creatore,** Ina ng Maylikha,**
Table of Contents Devotional Prayers
Mother of our Savior,** Mater Salvatóris,** Virgin most prudent,** Virgo prudentíssima,** Virgin most venerable,** Virgo veneránda,** Virgin most renowned,** Virgo prædicánda,** Virgin most powerful,** Virgo pótens,** Virgin most merciful,** Virgo clémens,** Virgin most faithful,** Virgo fidélis,**
Mirror of justice,** Spéculum iustítiæ,** Seat of wisdom,** Sedes sapiéntiæ,** Cause of our joy,** Causa nostræ lætítiæ,** Spiritual vessel,** Vas spirituale,** Vessel of honor,** Vas honorábile,** Singular vessel of devotion,** Vas insígne devotiónis,**
Mystical rose,** Rosa mystica,**
Tower of David,** Turris Davidíca,** Tower of ivory,** Turris ebúrnea,** House of gold,** Domus áurea,** Ark of the Covenant,** Fœderis arca,** Gate of heaven,** Iánua cœli,** Morning star,** Stella matutína,** Health of the sick,** Salus infirmórum,** Refuge of sinners,** Refúgium peccatórum,** Comforter of the afflicted,** Consolátrix afflictórum,** Help of Christians,** Auxílium Christianórum,** Queen of angels,** Regína angelórum,** Queen of patriarchs,** Regína patriarchárum,** Queen of prophets,** Regína prophetárum,** Queen of apostles,** Regína apostolórum,** Queen of martyrs,** Regína mártyrum,** Queen of confessors,** Regína confessórum,**
Table of Contents Devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary
Madre del Salvatore,** Ina ng Mananakop,** Vergine prudentissima,** Birheng kapaham-pahaman,** Vergine veneranda,** Birheng dapat igalang,** Vergine degni di lode,** Birheng lalong dakila,** Vergine potente,** Birheng makapangyayari,** Vergine clemente,** Birheng maawain,** Vergine fedele,** Birheng matibay na loob sa magaling,** Specchio della giustizia,** Salamin ng katuwiran,** Sede della sapienza,** Luklukan ng karunungan,** Causa della nostra letizia,** Simula ng tuwa namin,** Vaso spirituale,** Sisidlan ng kabanalan,** Vaso onorabile,** Sisidlang bunyi at bantog,** Vaso insigni di devozione,** Sisidlang bukod ng mahal na loob na makusaing sumunod sa Panginoong Diyos,** Rosa mistica,** Rosang bulaklak, na di mapuspos ng bait ng tao ang halaga,** Torre di Davide,** Tore ni David,** Torre d’avorio,** Toreng garing,** Casa d’oro,** Bahay na ginto,** Arca dell’Alleanza,** Kaban ng Tipan,** Porta del cielo,** Pinto ng langit,** Stella del mattino,** Talang maliwanag,** Salute degli infermi,** Mapagpagaling sa mga maysakit,** Refugio dei peccatori,** Tanggulan ng mga makasalanan,** Consolatrice degli afflitti,** Mapag-aliw sa nagdadalamhati,** Aiuto dei Cristiani,** Mapag-ampon sa mga Kristiyano,** Regina degli angeli,** Reyna na mga angel,** Regina dei patriarchi,** Reyna ng mga patriarka,** Regina dei profeti,** Reyna ng mga propeta,** Regina degli apostoli,** Reyna ng mga apostol,** Regina dei martiri,** Reyna ng mga martir,** Regina dei confessori,** Reyna ng mga kumpesor,**
Table of Contents Devotional Prayers
Queen of virgins,** Regína vírginum,** Queen of all saints,** Regína sanctórum ómnium,** Queen conceived without Regína sine labe origináli original sin,** concepta,** Queen assumed into heaven,** Regína in cœlum assúmpta,** Queen of the most Holy Regína sacratíssimi Rosárii,** Rosary, ** Queen of families,** Regína familiarum,** Queen of peace,** Regína pacis,**
Lamb of God, who take away Agnus Dei, qui tóllis peccáta the sins of the world, mundi, -Spare us, O Lord. - Parce nobis, Dómine.
Lamb of God, who take away Agnus Dei, qui tóllis peccáta the sins of the world, mundi, - Graciously hear us, O Lord. - Exáudi nos, Dómine.
Lamb of God, who take away Agnus Dei, qui tóllis peccáta the sins of the world, mundi, - Have mercy on us. - Miserére nobis, Dómine.
Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, Ora pro nobis, Regína pray for us; sacratíssimi Rosárii; - That we may be made worthy - Ut digni efficiámur promis- of the promises of Christ. siónibus Christi.
Let us pray, Orémus, O God, whose only begotten Deus, cuius Unigénitus per Son, by his life, death and vitam, mortem et resurrectiónem resurrection, has purchased for suam nobis salútis ætérnæ us the rewards of eternal life, præmia comparávit, concéde, grant, we beseech you, that quǽsumus: ut hæc mystéria Table of Contents Devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary
Regina delle vergini,** Reyna ng mga birhen,** Regina di tutti i santi,** Reyna ng lahat ng mga santo,** Regina concepita senza peccato Reynang ipinaglihi na ‘di nagmana originale,** ng salang orihinal,** Regina assunta in cielo,** Reynang iniakyat sa langit,** Regina del santissino Reyna ng kasantu-santuhang Rosario,** Rosaryo,** Regina delle famiglie,** Reyna ng mga pamilya,** Regina della pace,** Reyna ng kapayapaan,**
Agnello di Dio, che togli i Kordero ng Diyos na nakawawala ng peccati del mondo, mga kasalanan ng sanlibutan, - Perdonaci, o Signore. - Patawarin mo kami, Panginoon. Agnello di Dio, che togli i peccati del mondo, Kordero ng Diyos na nakawawala ng - Ascoltaci o Signore. mga kasalanan ng sandaigdigan, - Pakapakinggan mo kami, Agnello di Dio, che togli i Panginoon. peccati del mondo, Kordero ng Diyos na nakawawala ng - Abbi pietà di noi. mga kasalanan ng santinakpan, - Maawa ka sa amin.
Prega per noi, Regina del Ipanalangin mo kami, Reyna ng santissimo Rosario; kasantu-santuhang Rosaryo. - E saremo degni delle - Nang kami'y maging dapat promesse di Cristo. makinabang sa mga pangako ni Hesukristo.
Preghiamo, Manalangin tayo, O Dio, il tuo unico Figlio ci O Diyos, na ang kaisa-isa ha acquistato con la sua vita, mong Anak, sa pamamagitan ng morte e resurrezione, i beni kanyang buhay, pagkamatay at salvezza eterna; concedi a noi, pagkabuhay na mag-uli ay che venerando questi misteri ipinagtamo sa amin ang
Table of Contents Devotional Prayers meditating on these mysteries sacratíssimo Beátæ Mariæ of the most Holy Rosary of the Virginis Rosário recoléntes, et Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitémur quod cóntinent, et imitate what they contain and quod promíttunt assequámur. obtain what they promise, Per eúndem Christum through the same Christ, our Dóminum nostrum. Amen. Lord. Amen.
Memorare
Remember, O most Memoráre, o piísima Virgo gracious Virgin Mary, that María, non esse audítum a never was it known that sǽculo, quemquam ad tua anyone who fled to your curréntem præsídia, tua protection, implored your help implorántem auxília, tua or sought your intercession, peténtem suffrágia, esse was left unaided. Inspired by derelíctum. Ego tali animátus this confidence I fly unto you, O confidentia, ad te, Virgo Virgin of virgins, my Mother. To Vírginum, Mater, curro, ad te you do I come, before you I vénio, coram te gemens stand, sinful and sorrowful. O peccátor assísto. Noli, Mater Mother of the Word Incarnate, Verbi, verba nostra despícere; despise not my petitions, but in sed audi propítia et exáudi. your mercy hear and answer Amen. me. Amen.
Table of Contents Devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary del santo Rosario della Vergine gantipalang buhay na walang Maria, imitamo ciò che hanggan, ipagkaloob mo po, contengono e otteniamo ciò isinasamo namin, na sa pagninilay che promettono. Per Cristo nitong mga misteryo ng kabanal- nostro Signore. Amen. banalang Rosaryo ng Pinagpalang Birheng Maria, matularan namin ang kanilang nilalaman, at makamtan namin ang kanilang ipinangangako. Alang-alang kay Kristong aming Panginoon. Amen.
Ricordati, o piissima Vergine Alalahanin mo, lubhang Maria, che non si è mai udito al maawaing Birheng Maria, mondo che alcuno sia ricorso na kalian man ay ‘di narinig na alla tua protezione, abbia may dumulog na sa iyo'y implorato il tuo aiuto, abbia nagpapaampon, na lumuluhog chiesto il tuo soccorso, e sia na iyong tulungan o hinihingi stato abbandonato. Animato da ang iyong pamamagitan, na tale fiducia, a te ricorro, o iyong pinabayaan. Dala ng Madre, Vergine delle vergini; a pag-asang ito, ako ay dumudulog te vengo, dinnanzi a te mi sa iyo, O Birhen ng mga birhen prostro, peccatore pentito. Non at aking Ina. Narito ako sa iyong volere, o Madre del verbo, harapan, na makasalanan at disprezzare le mie preghiere, lipus ng kalungkutan. O Ina ng ma ascoltami benevola ed Salitang nagkatawang-tao, esaudiscimi. Amen. huwag mo nawang siphayuin ang aking pagsamo ngunit dinggin mo nawa sa iyong kaawaan. Amen.
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Prayer to St. Joseph Oratio ad Sanctum Ioseph
May the divine assistance remain always with us. - Amen
May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God rest in peace. - Amen
And may the blessings of the almighty God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit descend upon us and remain with us always. - Amen
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Preghiera a San Giuseppe Panalangin kay San Jose
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NOVENA TO OUR LADY OF SORROWS
First Schema (Popularized in Lipa)
1. The Prophecy of Simeon I compassionate you, sorrowing Mary, for that affliction which your tender heart suffered at the time of the prophecy of the holy old man, Simeon. O dear Mother, by your heart thus afflicted, obtain for me the virtue of humility and the gift of the fear of God.
Hail Mary…
2. The Flight into Egypt I compassionate you, sorrowing Mary, for those bitter pangs which your most afflicted heart suffered in your flight and sojourn to Egypt. O dear Mother, by your heart immersed with so great sorrows, obtain for me the virtue of liberality especially towards the poor and the gift of piety.
Hail Mary…
3. The Three-Day Loss I compassionate you, sorrowing Mary, for those grief which your solicitous heart experienced in the loss of your son. O dear Mother, by your heart filled with maternal anxieties, obtain for me the virtue of chastity and the gift of knowledge.
Hail Mary…
4. Meeting Jesus Carrying His Cross I compassionate you, sorrowing Mary, for that sorrow which oppressed your maternal heart in meeting Jesus carrying his cross. O dear Mother, by your most loving heart so much afflicted, obtain for me the virtue of patience and the gift of fortitude.
Hail Mary…
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5. The Death of Jesus I compassionate you, sorrowing Mary, for that martyrdom which your generous heart sustained, in being present with your agonizing Jesus. O dear Mother, by your heart undergoing a severe martyrdom, obtain for me the virtue of temperance and the gift of counsel.
Hail Mary…
6. Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross I compassionate you, sorrowing Mary, for those pangs which your afflicted heart endured when the lance pierced the side of Jesus and wounded its most amiable heart. O dear Mother, by your heart thus transfixed, obtain for me the virtue of fraternal charity and the gift of understanding.
Hail Mary…
7. Jesus is Laid in the Sepulcher I compassionate you, sorrowing Mary, for that anguish which your loving heart experienced in the burial of Jesus. O dear Mother, by your Immaculate Heart thus steeped in bitter grief, obtain for me the virtue of diligence and the gift of wisdom.
Hail Mary…
Litany of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows
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. Christ, hear us. - Christ, hear us.
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Christ, graciously hear us. - Christ, graciously hear us. God the Father in heaven, - *Have mercy on us. God the Son, Redeemer of the world,* God the Holy Spirit,* Holy Trinity, one God,* Holy Mary, Mother of God, - **Pray for us. Holy Virgin of virgins,** Mother of the Crucified,** Sorrowful Mother,** Mournful Mother,** Sighing Mother,** Afflicted Mother,** Forsaken Mother,** Desolate Mother,** Mother most sad,** Mother filled with anguish,** Mother overwhelmed by grief,** Mother transfixed by a sword,** Mother crucified in thy heart,** Mother bereaved of thy son,** Sighing dove,** Mother of dolors,** Fount of tears,** Sea of bitterness,** Field of tribulation,** Mass of suffering,** Mirror of patience,** Rock of constancy,** Remedy in perplexity,** Joy of the afflicted,** Ark of the desolate,**
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Refuge of the abandoned,** Shield of the oppressed,** Conqueror of the incredulous,** Solace of the wretched,** Medicine of the sick,** Help of the faint,** Strength of the weak,** Protectress of those who fight,** Haven of the shipwrecked,** Calmer of tempests,** Companion of the sorrowful,** Retreat of those who groan,** Terror of the treacherous,** Standard-bearer of the martyrs,** Treasure of the faithful,** Light of confessors,** Pearl of virgins,** Comfort of widows,** Joy of all saints,** Queen of your servants,** Holy Mary, who alone are unexampled,**
Pray for us, most sorrowful Virgin, - That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray, O God, in whose passion, according to the prophecy of Simeon, a sword of grief pierced through the most sweet soul of your glorious Blessed Virgin Mother Mary; grant that we, who celebrate the memory of her seven sorrows, may obtain the happy effect of your passion, who lives and reigns world without end. Amen.
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Prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows
O most holy Mother, Queen of Sorrows, who did follow your beloved son through all the way to the cross, and whose heart was pierced with a fresh sword of grief at all the stations of the most sorrowful journey, obtain for us we beseech you, O most loving Mother, a perpetual remembrance of our blessed Savior’s cross and death, a true and tender devotion to all the mysteries of his most holy Passion. Obtain for us the grace to hate sin even as he hated it in the agony in the garden; to endure wrong and insult with all patience, as he endured them in the judgment hall; to be meek and humble in all our trials, as he was before his judges; to love our enemies even as he loved his murderers and prayed for them upon the cross; and to glorify God and do good to our neighbors even as he did in every mystery of his sufferings. O Queen of martyrs who, by the dolor of your Immaculate Heart on Calvary, did merit to share in the passion of our blessed Redeemer, obtain for us some portion of your compassion that, for the love of Jesus crucified, we may be crucified to the world in this life; and in the life to come, may, by his infinite merits and your powerful intercession, reign with him in the glory everlasting. Amen.
Second Schema (Popularized by the Ursuline Sisters of Somasca)
Act of Contrition
Virgin most afflicted, how ungrateful have I been in the past to my God in return for all his benefits. Now, I repent in bitterness of heart, humbly asking pardon for the offense done to his infinite goodness, and resolved by the heavenly grace to offend him no more. Ah! By all the pains which you did suffer in the cruel passion of your dear Jesus, I pray you, with fervent sighs, to obtain for me pardon and mercy for all my grievous sins. Receive this holy exercise wherein I am going to engage in memory of your sorrows.
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Obtain that the same sword, which pierced your soul, may pierce mine also that I may live and die in the love of my Lord and share eternally in that glory which he has purchased for me with his most precious blood. Amen.
First Sorrow: Prophecy of Simeon
O Virgin most sorrowful, by the bitter pain which your soul did suffer when your son, Jesus was presented in the temple, and you did hear from the prophetic mouth of Simeon that he was set for the fall of many on account of their malice and for a sign which should be contradicted, and that a sword should pierce your own soul; I pray you, obtain for me this grace that the infinite merits of Jesus may not be vain and unfruitful through my fault.
Hail Mary…
O most sorrowful Virgin, - Pray for us.
Second Sorrow: Flight into Egypt
O Virgin most sorrowful, by the grief which you did suffer when, in order to withdraw your most innocent son from the cruelty of the impious Herod who was seeking him in order to destroy him, you were obliged in the midst of hardship and privation to flee by stealth into Egypt; obtain, I beseech you, that I may never, through sin, force my Redeemer to leave my heart.
Hail Mary…
O most sorrowful Virgin, - Pray for us.
Third Sorrow: Loss of Jesus in Jerusalem
O Virgin most sorrowful, by the anguish which you did suffer when, without any fault of yours, you did lose your most beloved son Jesus who had remained in the temple to fulfill the will of the
Table of Contents Devotional Prayers eternal Father, and did seek him anxiously for three days; obtain for me the grace to find Jesus at once if by misfortune I ever come to lose him through sin.
Hail Mary…
O most sorrowful Virgin, - Pray for us.
Fourth Sorrow: Jesus Meets His Afflicted Mother
O Virgin most sorrowful, by that keen grief with which your soul was embittered when you did meet your beloved son on the way to Calvary, lacerated by the scourges, wet with blood, crowned with thorns, and bearing on his shoulders the heavy cross on which he was to die for my salvation; obtain for me strength and courage that like you I may follow my Redeemer on the way of the cross and submit myself with willingness to whatever tribulations it may please him to send me.
Hail Mary… O most sorrowful Virgin, - Pray for us.
Fifth Sorrow:Mary at the Foot of the Cross
O Virgin most sorrowful and my sweet mother Mary, since you were left to me as such by the last will of your son Jesus, by those unspeakable pangs which you did experience on Calvary at the foot of the cross, when abandoned by all, despised by the people, given gall to drink, after three hours of agony and having cried out with a loud voice, your dearest son commended his spirit to his eternal Father; obtain for me a great love of suffering and the grace to love and serve you as my most sorrowful mother.
Hail Mary…
O most sorrowful Virgin, - Pray for us.
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Sixth Sorrow: Mary Receives the Body of Jesus
O Virgin most sorrowful, by that grief which so bitterly afflicted your most pure soul, when your well-beloved son, taken down form the cross, was placed in your bosom and you did see in all its detail the cruel torment which my sins had caused him; soften, I pray you, my ungrateful heart that I may bewail my sins and learn truly to compassionate you.
Hail Mary…
O most sorrowful Virgin, - Pray for us.
Seventh Sorrow: Mary Returns from the Tomb
O Virgin most sorrowful, by the bitter grief which you did bear when you did accompany the inanimate body of your beloved son Jesus and were constrained to consign him to the tomb; grant that the memory of his sacred passion and death may be deeply impressed on my heart and that I may be consumed with love for my God and for you, my sweetest mother.
Hail Mary…
O most sorrowful Virgin, - Pray for us.
Litany of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows
Prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows
Prayer of Thanksgiving for Favors Received
O Mother of sorrows, you have not abandoned those who prayed to you but you have lent a kindly ear to my prayers in this novena; I thank you for having heard my prayers and for having
Table of Contents Devotional Prayers obtained my wishes from your divine son Jesus. O devoutly I entreat you, O Mother of sorrows, that what I have received through your intercession may make me worthy to be delivered from all evil. Amen.
Third Schema PAGSISIYAM SA MAHAL NA INA NG HAPIS
Pambungad na Panalangin sa Bawat Araw
Alalahanin mo, O Birheng Maria, ang lalong kahapis-hapis sa lahat ng anak ni Eba na sa lahat ng panahon ay hindi nadinig na may isang lumuhog sa inyong tulong at nabigong magtamo ng iyong awa at kalinga. Puspos ng pagtitiwalang dulot nito, akong makasalanan ay lumuluha at nagmamakaawa sa iyong pagtulong. O Ina ni Hesus na namatay sa krus, huwag mong hamakin ang tinig naming namamanhik kundi dinggin mo at ipagkaloob ang aming isinasamo. Amen.
Pagninilay *Mga angkop na pagbasa na naayon sa itinakdang paksa ng bawat araw+
Pangwakas na Panalangin *Mga angkop na panalangin na naayon sa itinakdang paksa ng bawat araw+
Litaniya ng Mahal na Ina ng Hapis
Panginoon, maawa ka sa amin. - Panginoon, maawa ka sa amin. Kristo, maawa ka sa amin. - Kristo, maawa ka sa amin. Panginoon, maawa ka sa amin. - Panginoon, maawa ka sa amin. Diyos Ama sa langit, - *Maawa ka sa amin.
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Diyos Anak na tumubos sa sanlibutan,* Diyos Espiritu Santo,* Ina ng Sákit, na walang makitang silid na panuluyan, - **Ipanalangin mo kami. Ina ng Sákit, na isinilang mo ang iyong anak sa isang sabsaban,** Ina ng Sákit, na duminig na ang iyong anak ay nilalang upang maging tanda na dapat salungatin,** Ina ng Sákit, na duminig na ang iyong kaluluwa ay lalagusan ng isang balaraw,** Ina ng Sákit, na tumakas sa Ehipto na kasama ang iyong anak,** Ina ng Sákit, na nagdadalamhati sa pagpatayng mga walang malay,** Ina ng Sákit, na sa loob ng tatlong araw ay malungkot mong hinanap ang iyong anak na nawala sa Templo nang siya ay labindalawang taong gulang pa lamang,** Ina ng Sákit, na nakapuna ng labis na pagkamuhi ng mga Hudyo sa kanya,** Ina ng Sákit, na nakabalitang ang banal niyang mukha ay tinampal,** Ina ng Sákit, na nakaalam na siya ay pinagmalupitan ng mga Hudyo at kawal,** Ina ng Sákit, na nakakita sa kanyang hinampas at pinutungan ng koronang tinik,** Ina ng Sákit, na nakamasid sa pagpapako sa kanyang banal na kamay at paa,** Ina ng Sákit, na siyang tumanggap ng mga huling salita ni Hesus sa krus,** Ina ng Sákit, na nanatili sa kanyang piling sa kanyang paghihirap,** Ina ng Sákit, na siyang tumanggap sa iyong kandungan ng walang buhay na katawan ng iyong anak na ibinaba sa krus,** O reyna ng mga martir,** O aliw ng nagdadalamhati,** O lakas ng mahihina,** O sakdalan ng mga makasalanan,**
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Sa pamamagitan ng kapait-paitang paghihirap at pagkamatay ng iyong anak, - ***Iligtas mo kami sa kasalanan, O Reyna ng mga martir. Sa kahapdi-hapdiang lumbay ng iyong puso,*** Sa iyong lubos na kalungkutan at pangungulila,*** Sa iyong lubos na pagkahapis,*** Sa iyong mga himutok at luha,*** Sa paglayo sa iyong makainang pagmamahal,*** Sa walang tuos na kalungkutan,*** Sa isang dungong kalooban,*** Sa mga tukso at mga demonyo,*** Sa lahat ng pagkakataon at panganib ng kasalanan,*** Sa katigasan ng puso,*** Sa hindi pagsisising lubos,*** Sa bigla at hindi handang kamatayan,*** Sa walang hanggang pagkalungi,*** Kaming mga makasalanan ay sumasamong dinggin mo,*** Na kami ay iyong panatilihin sa ilalim ng iyong pagkalinga, sa tapat na pananampalataya, pag-asa at pagkakawang-gawa, - ****Dinggin mo kami. Na ipagtamo mo kami ng lubos na pagkalungkot at pagsisisi sa aming mga kasalanan,**** Na iyong marapating dulutan ng aliw at tulong ang mga nagsisitawag sa iyo,**** Na kami ay marapatin mong ipagtamo ng maligayang kamatayan,**** Ina ng Diyos,****
Kordero ng Diyos na nakawawala ng mga kasalanan ng sanlibutan, -Patawarin mo kami, Panginoon. Kordero ng Diyos na nakawawala ng mga kasalanan ng sandaigdigan, - Pakapakinggan mo kami, Panginoon. Kordero ng Diyos na nakawawala ng mga kasalanan ng santinakpan, - Maawa ka sa amin.
Table of Contents Devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary
Kristo, pakinggan mo kami. - Kristo, pakinggan mo kami. Kristo, pakapakinggan mo kami. - Kristo, pakapakinggan mo kami. Kristo maawa ka sa amin. - Kristo maawa ka sa amin. Panginoon, maawa ka sa amin. - Panginoon, maawa ka sa amin. Sa lahat ng aming hirap at dalamhati. - Saklolohan mo kami.
Manalangin tayo, Itanim mo, O nahahapis na Ina, sa nagtitika naming puso, ang iyong pitong sakit at ang limang duguang sugat na tinamo ng mahal mong anak, upang mabanaag namin doon ang pasisisi at wagas na pag-ibig; pagsisisi upang magtiis alang-alang kay Hesus at kay Santa Mariang may pusong wasak, ngayon at magpakailan man. Sa pamamagitan din ni Hesukristong Panginoon namin. Amen.
(Alang-alang sa iyong hiling sa pagsisiyam na ito) Aba Ginoong Maria…(3X)
Luwalhati…
PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF SORROWS FOR VOCATIONS
O sorrowful Mother of our Redeemer, Queen of vocations, great was the agony you felt at the passion and death of your son. Much greater is the sorrow you have for the Church founded by our Lord Jesus, deprived of ministers who will spread your son’s message. We beseech you to pray to your divine son to send many vocations to serve the Church in the priesthood and religious life, especially in the Oblates of Saint Joseph, who serve God by imitating your spouse, Saint Joseph.
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THE FOUNDER’S PRAYER TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
You are immaculate, O Mary, and there are no stains in you. Turn now your eyes upon our miseries; see how sorely burdened we are with sin; and do not deny us your powerful aid that we may arise from the dust in which we are buried; shake off the yoke of our passions that we may become saints. Deign to make us feel the efficacy of your mighty patronage already experienced by many of your children who won the battles of the spirit and are now enjoy- ing eternal blessedness. Amen.
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The image of Our Lady of Sorrows in OSJ House of the Junior Professed Chapel
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DEVOTIONS TO ST. JOSEPH
*English+ *Latina+ LITANY OF SAINT JOSEPH LITANIÆ SANCTI IOSEPH
Lord, have mercy on us. Kýrie, eléison. - Lord, have mercy on us. - Kýrie, eléison. Christ, have mercy on us. Christe, eléison. - Christ, have mercy on us. - Christe, eléison. Lord, have mercy on us. Kýrie, eléison. - Lord, have mercy on us. - Kýrie, eléison. Christ, hear us. Christe, áudi nos. - Christ hear us. - Christe, áudi nos. Christ, graciously hear us. Christe, exáudi nos. - Christ, graciously hear us. - Christe, exáudi nos. God the Father in heaven, Pater de cœlis, Deus, - *Have mercy on us. - *Miserére nobis. God the Son, Redeemer of the Fíli, Redémptor mundi, Deus,* world,* God the Holy Spirit,* Spíritus Sancte, Deus,* Holy Trinity, one God,* Sancta Trínita, unus Deus,*
Holy Mary, Sancta Maria, - **Pray for us. - **Ora pro nobis. St. Joseph,** Sancte Ioseph,** Illustrious son of David,** Proles David inclyta,** Light of patriarchs,** Lumen patriarcharum,** Spouse of the Mother of Dei Genetricis sponse,** God,** Chaste guardian of the Custos pudice Virginis,** Virgin,** Foster father of the Son of Filii Dei nutricie,** God,**
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“*Every confrere+ should foster the spiritual and liturgical life and a sincere devo- tion to St. Joseph” (C 84).
*Italiano+ *Filipino+ LITANIE DI SAN GIUSEPPE LITANIYA NG POONG SAN JOSE
Signore, pietà. Panginoon, maawa ka sa amin. - Signore, pietà. - Panginoon, maawa ka sa amin. Cristo, pietà. Kristo, maawa ka sa amin. - Cristo, pietà. - Kristo, maawa ka sa amin. Signore, pietà. Panginoon, maawa ka sa amin. - Signore, pietà. - Panginoon, maawa ka sa amin. Cristo, ascoltaci. Kristo, pakinggan mo kami. - Cristo, ascoltaci. - Kristo, pakinggan mo kami. Cristo, esaudiscici. Kristo, pakapakinggan mo kami. - Cristo, esaudiscici. - Kristo, pakapakinggan mo kami. Padre celeste, Dio, Diyos Ama sa langit, - *Abbi pietà di noi. - *Maawa ka sa amin. Figlio, Redentore del mondo, Diyos Anak na tumubos sa Dio,* sanlibutan,* Spirito Santo, Dio,* Diyos Espiritu Santo,* Santa Trinità, Unico Dio,* Kabanal-banalang tatlong Persona na iisang Diyos,* Santa Maria, Santa Maria, - **Prega per noi. - **Ipanalangin mo kami. San Giuseppe,** San José,** Illustre figlio di Davide,** Bunying anak ni David,** Splendore dei patriarchi,** Ilaw ng mga patriarka,** Sposo della Madre di Dio,** Kaisa-isang puso ng Ina ng Diyos,**
Custode purissimo della Kalinis-linisang tagatanod ng Vergine,** Birhen,** Tu che hai nutrito il Figlio di Inaring ama ng Anak ng Diyos,** Dio,**
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Watchful defender of Christ,** Christi defensor sedule,**
Head of the Holy Family,** Almæ Familiæ præses,**
Joseph, most just,** Ioseph iustissime,** Joseph, most chaste,** Ioseph castissime,** Joseph, most prudent,** Ioseph prudentissime, Joseph, most valiant,** Ioseph fortissime,** Joseph, most obedient,** Ioseph obœdientissime,** Joseph, most faithful,** Ioseph fidelissime,** Mirror of patience,** Speculum patientiæ,
Lover of poverty,** Amator paupertatis,** Model of workers,** Exemplar opificum,** Glory of domestic life,** Domesticæ vitæ decus,** Guardian of virgins,** Custos virginum,** Support of families,** Familiarum columen,** Comfort of the suffering,** Solatium miserorum,** Hope of the sick,** Spes ægrotantium,** Patron of the dying,** Patrone morientium,** Terror of demons,** Terror dæmonum,** Protector of the Holy Church,** Protector Sanctæ Ecclesiæ,**
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, Agnus Dei, qui tóllis peccáta - Spare us, O Lord. mundi, - Parce nobis, Dómine. Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, Agnus Dei, qui tóllis peccáta - Graciously hear us, O Lord. mundi, - Exáudi nos, Dómine.
Table of Contents Devotions to St. Joseph
Tu che hai difeso Cristo Maingat ng tagapagtanggol ni Gesù,** Kristo,** Tu che hai guidato la Sacra Púno ng Banal na Angkan,** Famiglia,** Giuseppe giustissimo,** Kabanal-banalang San José,** Giuseppe castissimo,** Kalinis-linisang San José,** Giuseppe prudentissimo,** Mahinahong San José,** Giuseppe fortissimo,** Magiting na San José,** Giuseppe obbedientissimo,** Pinakamasunuring San José,** Giuseppe fedelissimo,** Pinakamatapat na San José,** Esempio luminoso di Salamin ng katiyagaan,** pazienza,** Amante della povertà,** Maibigin sa karukhaan,** Modello dei lavoratori,** Uliran ng mga manggagawa,** Decoro della vita domestica,** Kaluwalhatian ng namamahay,** Custode dei vergini,** Tagatanod ng mga birhen,** Sostegno delle famiglie** Tanggulan ng mga angkan,** Conforto dei miseri,** Aliw ng namimighati,** Speranza dei malati,** Pag-asa ng mga maysakit,** Patrono dei morenti,** Pintakasi ng mga naghihingalo,** Terrore dei demoni,** Sindak ng mga demonyo,** Protettore della Santa Tagapagtangkilik ng Santa Chiesa,** Iglesiya,**
Agnello di Dio, che togli i Kordero ng Diyos na nakawawala ng peccati del mondo, mga kasalanan ng sanlibutan, - Perdonaci, O Signore. - Patawarin mo kami, Panginoon. Agnello di Dio, che togli i Kordero ng Diyos na nakawawala ng peccati del mondo, mga kasalanan ng sandaigdigan, - Ascoltaci, O Signore. - Pakapakinggan mo kami, Panginoon.
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Lamb of God, who take away Agnus Dei, qui tóllis peccáta the sins of the world, mundi, - Have mercy on us. - Miserére nobis, Dómine.
He made him the lord of his Constituit eum dominum household. domus suæ. - And prince over all his - Et principem omnis possessions. possessionis suæ.
Pray for us, St. Joseph. Ora pro nobis, Sancte Ioseph; - That we may be made worthy - Ut digni efficiámur of the promises of Christ. promissiónibus Christi.
Let us pray, Orémus, O God, in your infinite Deus, qui in ineffabili wisdom and love, you chose providentia beatum Ioseph Joseph to be the husband of sanctissimæ Genetricis tuæ Mary, the mother of your Son. Sponsum eligere dignatus es, May we have the help of his praesta, quǽsumus, ut quem prayers in heaven and enjoy his protectorem veneramur in protection on earth. We ask terris, intercessorem habere this through Christ our Lord. mereamur in cælis. Qui vivis et Amen. regnas in sæcula sæculorum. Amen. *alternative prayer+ Almighty God, as we come before you in prayer, bestow on us that same faithfulness and purity of heart which inspired Saint Joseph in the service of your only Son, born of the Virgin Mary. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Table of Contents Devotions to St. Joseph
Agnello di Dio, che togli i Kordero ng Diyos na nakawawala ng peccati del mondo, mga kasalanan ng santinakpan, - Abbi pietà di noi. - Maawa ka sa amin.
Lo costituì signore della sua Ginawa siyang panginoon ng casa. kanyang bahay. - E principe di tutti i suoi beni. - At tagapamahala ng lahat niyang mga pag-aari.
Prega per noi, San Giuseppe; Ipanalangin mo kami, mahal na - E saremo degni delle Poong San José. promesse di Cristo. - Nang kami’y maging dapat makinabang ng mga pangako ni Hesukristo.
Preghiamo, Manalangin tayo, O Dio, che con ineffabile Panginoong Diyos, na sa providenza ti degnasti di isang tanging hindi masayod na eleggere il beato Giuseppe a pamamahala mo ay hinirang sposo della tua Santissima Ma- mo si San José na maging dre, concedi che, come lo esposo ng iyong Ina, ang veneriamo protettore in terra, kabanal-banalang Birheng così meritiamo d'averlo Maria; maawa ka’t ipagkaloob intercessore nei cieli. Tu che mo sa amin na, yayamang vivi e regni nei secoli dei secoli. siya’y iginagalang naming Amen. pintakasi dito sa lupa, ay siya rin namang bukod na kumlara sa amin sa kaharian ng langit. Na nabubuhay ka’t naghahari magpasawalang hanggan. Amen.
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*alternative prayer+ In your loving care which goes beyond our understanding, O God, you chose Blessed Joseph to be the husband of your most holy Mother. As we honor him on earth as our protector, let him intercede for us in heaven. You who live and reign forever and ever. Amen.
THE SEVEN SORROWS AND JOYS OF ST. JOSEPH
First Schema (Popularized in Lipa)
Opening Prayer
Glorious Saint Joseph, first man to love Mary and hold Jesus in your arms, accept the prayers we now offer to honor the almighty God and to ask his blessing upon us. We pray that all the families will be spiritually and physically protected through life, and guided to fulfill wisely and with love the vocations God has given us. Bless our community; bless God’s family of faith in the Church throughout the world; bless the good works we do to be faithful followers of your foster son, Jesus. We pray especially that God will grant us the favor we ask, or if it is his will, one that he knows is better for us.
1. Chaste lover of Mary, how overwhelmed you were when they thought that you have to end your betrothal to Mary. But when the angel of God came to you in a dream, you were filled with awe to realize that Mary would be your wife, and you would be the guardian of the Messiah. - Help us, Saint Joseph, help our families and all our loved ones to overcome all sadness of heart and develop an absolute trust in God’s goodness. Glory be….
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2. Faithful guardian of Jesus, what a failure you thought you were, when you could only provide a stable for the birth of the holy Child. And then, what a wonder it was taken when the shepherds came to tell of angel choirs, and wise men came to adore the King of kings. - Through your example and prayers, help us, Saint Joseph and all we love to become like sinless mangers where the Savior of the world may be received with absolute love and respect. Glory be…
3. Tender-hearted Joseph, you too felt pain when the blood of Jesus was first shed at his circumcision. Yet how proud you were to be the one privileged to give the name Jesus, Savior, to the very Son of God. - Pray for us, Saint Joseph, that the sacred Blood of Christ, poured out for our salvation, may guard our families so that the divine name of Jesus may be written in our hearts forever. Glory be…
4. Joseph, loving husband, how bewildered you were when Sime- on spoke the words of warning that the hearts of Jesus and Mary would be pierced with sorrows. Yet his prediction that this would lead to the salvation of innumerable souls filled you with consolation. - Help us, Saint Joseph, to see with eyes that even the sorrows and pains of those we deeply love can become the pathway to salvation and eternal life. Glory be…
5. Courageous protector of the Holy Family, how terrified you were when you had to make the sudden flight with Jesus and Mary to escape the treachery of King Herod and the cruelty of his soldiers. But when you reached Egypt, what satisfaction you had to know that the Savior of the world had come to replace the pagan idols. - Teach us by your example, Saint Joseph, to keep far from the
Table of Contents Devotional Prayers false idols of earthly attractions, so that, like you, we may be entirely devoted to the service of Jesus and Mary. Glory be…
6. Ever-obedient Joseph, you trustingly returned to Nazareth at God’s command in spite of your fear that King Herod’s son might still be a threat to Jesus’ life. Then what fatherly pride you had in seeing Jesus grow in wisdom and grace before God and men under your care. - Show us, Saint Joseph, how to be free from all useless fear and worry so that we may enjoy the peace of a tranquil conscience, living safely with Jesus and Mary in our hearts. Glory be…
7. Dependable father and husband, how frantic you and Mary were when, through no fault of yours, you searched for three days to find Jesus. What incredible relief was yours when you found him safe in the temple of God. - Help us, Saint Joseph, never to lose Jesus through the fault of our own sins. But if we should lose him, lead us back with unwearied sorrow until we find him again so that we, like you, may finally pass from this life, dying safely in the arms of Jesus and Mary. Glory be…
Antiphon: Jesus himself was about thirty years old being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph.
Pray for us, O holy Joseph, - That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Litany of Saint Joseph
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Final Prayer
O blessed Saint Joseph, tender-hearted father, faithful guardian of Jesus, chaste spouse of the Mother of God, I pray and beseech you to offer to God the Father my praise to him through his divine Son who died on the cross and rose again to give us, sinners a new life. Through the holy name of Jesus, pray with us that we may obtain from the eternal Father the favor we ask…*pause+…. We have been unfaithful to the unfailing love of God the Father, beg of Jesus mercy for us. Amid the splendor of God’s loving presence, do not forget the sorrows of those who suffer, those who pray, and those who weep. By your prayers and those of your most holy Spouse, our Blessed Lady, may the love of Jesus answer our call of confident hope. Amen.
Second Schema (for Religious)
1. Saint Joseph Chosen by God to be the Foster Father of Jesus Saint Joseph, chaste and just man, the mystery of the mother- hood of Mary, your spouse, caused you inner pain and torments; but after coming to know of your vocation by means of an angel, you generously placed your entire life at the service of the Incarnation and the salvation of mankind. - Help us, we pray, always to maintain a clear understanding of our vocation and foster by our example new vocations to the Church and to the Congregation. Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be...
2. Birth of Jesus in Bethlehem O Saint Joseph, next to the Virgin Mary you were the first to hold in your arms the infant Savior, and thus you began your mission of taking the place of the heavenly Father and of guarding on earth the Son of God and his Mother. - Be the pattern ofour ministry, which, like your own, is a ministry
Table of Contents Devotional Prayers of intimate relationshipwith the divine Word, so that we may cherish and present to the world him alone and his Word. Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be…
3. Circumcision of Jesus and His Presentation in the Temple Saint Joseph, obedient servant of the will of God, by giving the Savior the name “Jesus” in the rite of circumcision and presenting him in the temple, you set him apart as an “oblate,” the one consecrated to the work of redemption. - Pray for us that by an intelligent and efficient obedience we may learn to work for God and may be always mindful that this is our mission: to carry the cross generously in the footsteps of the divine Master. Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be…
4. Flight and Stay in Egypt Saint Joseph, the hardships you had to bear in your flight into Egypt and your stay there make you resemble so closely those who suffer because of the injustice and pride of their own fellowmen. - In your great love for Jesus and Mary you found the strength to overcome every obstacle. May we, your sons, also keep growing more in that spirit of charity which leads us to love all men as our brothers and sisters. Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be…
5. Return from Egypt Saint Joseph, man of faith, in your return from Egypt you were able to combine openness to God’s word, speaking to you in a dream, with watchful prudence in the face of new threats to the Holy Family. - Defend the Church against the many dangers that beset her. Grant that we too may be always open and faithful to the Word of God and use all our gifts and abilities to carry out his will. Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be…
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6. Jesus Lost and Found Saint Joseph, man of deep and fervent piety, in the mystery of the loss of Jesus in the temple you heard the voice of the Savior stressing the primacy of his heavenly Father’s business. - Help us also to imitate the Son of God by seeking constantly the Father’s glory, never clinging to our personal failures and to the daily slighting of self-love provided that his Kingdom come. Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be…
7. Life in Nazareth Saint Joseph, you spent many years in the intimacy of family life in Nazareth with Jesus and Mary, giving yourself in toil and sacrifice on behalf of the Holy Family. - May we too serve the interests of Jesus in the Church by working in a humble, constant manner until the moment of our death. Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be…
He made him the lord of his household. - And prince over all his possessions.
Let us pray, Almighty God, you graciously willed to entrust the beginning of our redemption to the fatherly care of Saint Joseph. Grant that, by his intercession, your Church may cooperate faithfully in bringing to completion the work of salvation. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Third Schema Panalangin sa Karangalan ng Pitong Sákit at Pitong Tuwa ni Poong San José
1. O Kalinis-linisang esposo ni Mariang kabanal-banalan, maluwalhating San José, kung malaki man ang sákit at ligalig ng
Table of Contents Devotional Prayers iyong puso doon sa pag-aalinlangan mong pagtanggap sa kalinis- linisan mong esposa, malaki rin namang ‘di-masabi ang nakamtan mong tuwa nang ipahayag sa iyo ng anghel ng Kataas-taasang Kababalaghan ang pagkakatawang-tao ng Anak ng Diyos. - Alang-alang dito sa unang sákit mo’t tuwa ay hinihingi namin sa iyo na aliwin mo ngayon ang aming kaluluwa ng tuwa ng isang banal na pamumuhay, at doon naman sa huli naming sákit ay pakamtan mo sa amin ang tuwa ng isang magandang pagkamatay sa gitna ni Hesus at ni Maria.
Luwalhati sa Ama...
O San José, mahal na Pintakasi, - Ipanalangin mo kaming napapaampon sa iyo.
2. O lubhang mapalad na Patriarka, maluwalhating San José, hinirang ka sa lahat na maging ama sa turing ng Berbong nagkatawang-tao, ang dakilang sákit na dinamdam ng puso mo nang makita mong ipanganak ang Sanggol na si Hesus sa lubos na kasalatan ay napawi niyong tuwang-langit na kinamtan mo sa pakikinig ng pag-aawitan ng mga anghel at sa pagkakita ng mga kahima-himalang nangyari noong gabing yaon na lubhang maliwanag. - Alang-alang dito sa ikalawang sákit mo’t tuwa ay ipinagmamakaawa namin sa iyo na kung matapos itong aming lakad sa buhay na ito ay mapakinggan namin ang pag-aawitan ng mga anghel at mapanood tuloy ang kaliwanagan ng kaluwalhatian sa langit.
Luwalhati sa Ama....
O San José, mahal na Pintakasi, - Ipanalangin mo kaming napapaampon sa iyo.
3. O lubhang masunuring gumaganap ng kautusan ng Diyos, maluwalhating SanJosé , ang kamahal-mahalang dugong ibinubo ng Sanggol na Mananakop ay naging sákit na tumagos sa iyong puso,
Table of Contents Devotions to St. Joseph ngunit ang pangalang “Hesus” ay naging mula ng ‘di-masabing tuwa. - Alang-alang dito sa ikatlong sákit mo’t tuwa ay pakamtan mo sa amin na mabuhay kaming malayo sa dilang kasalanan, at sa pagkalagot ng aming hininga ay may katuwaan sambitin ng aming loob at bibig ang kabanal-banalang pangalang “Hesus.”
Luwalhati sa Ama...
O San José, mahal na Pintakasi, - Ipanalangin mo kaming napapaampon sa iyo.
4. O santong lubhang tapat na loob, kasangguni sa mga talinhagang gawa ng pagsakop sa atin, maluwalhating San José, kung ang paghula ni Simeon ng mga karalitaang hirap ni Hesus at ni Maria ay naging sákit mong kamatay-matay, ang paghula niya naman na yao’y ikagagaling ng ‘di-mabilang na mga kaluluwa ang siyang ikinapuspusang tuwa ng loob mo. - Alang-alang dito sa ikaapat na sákit mo’t tuwa ay pakamtan mo sa amin na kami ay ibilang mo sa mga mabubuhay na mag-uli na magsisiluwalhati sa langit pakundangan sa mga karapatan ni Hesus at sa pagmamakaawa ni Maria.
Luwalhati sa Ama...
O San José, mahal na Pintakasi, - Ipanalangin mo kaming napapaampon sa iyo.
5. O lubhang maingat na tagatanod at laging kasama ng nagkatawang-taong Anak ng Diyos, maluwalhating San José, anong laking págod mo’t sákit sa pag-aalaga at pag-aalis sa Anak ng Kataas-taasang Diyos, lalung-lalo na noong mapilitan kang mapasa- Ehipto. - Alang-alang dito sa ikalimang sakit mo’t tuwa ay ipagkamit mo kami ng grasya na málayo sa mga kaaway ng aming kaluluwa sa pamamagitan ng paglayo sa mga panganib na ipagkakasala, upang mabunot naman sa aming puso ang lahat ng mga anito,
Table of Contents Devotional Prayers mga makamundong hilig, nang kami ay mabuhay at magkapalad na mamatay sa paglilingkod lamang kay Hesus at kay Maria.
Luwalhati sa Ama...
O San José, mahal na Pintakasi, - Ipanalangin mo kaming napapaampon sa iyo.
6. O anghel ka dito sa lupa, maluwalhating SanJosé , natatausan ka ng ‘di-masabing pagkamangha noong makita mong sumusunod sa iyo ang Hari ng langit, kung malaki man ang nakamtan mong tuwa sa pag-uwi galing Ehipto, nahaluan naman iyon ng sákit ng takot kay Arkelao; ngunit sa pagsunod mo sa bilin ng anghel ay tumáhan kang maligaya sa Nazaret. - Alang-alang dito sa ikaanim na sákit mo’t tuwa ay pakamtan mo sa amin na kung ang aming puso ay ligtas sa mga nakaliligalig na pangamba ay malubos ang kapayapaan ng aming loob, at kung kami ay mabuhay na tahimik na kasama ni Hesus at ni Maria, kami ay tulungan nila sa aming paghihingalo.
Luwalhati sa Ama...
O San José, mahal na Pintakasi, - Ipanalangin mo kaming napapaampon sa iyo.
7. O maluwalhating San José, uliran ka ng dilang kabanalan, malaking ‘di-kapala ang dinamdam mong sákit doon sa tatlong araw na ipinaghanap mo kay Hesus na bata. Ngunit humalili naman ang ‘di-masabing tuwa noong makita mo sa templo ang kinabubuhayan mo na napapagitna sa mga doktor. - Alang-alang dito sa ikapitong sákit mo’t tuwa ay isinasamo namin sa iyo mula sa ikabuturan ng aming puso na sa tulong ng mahal mong saklolo ay huwag sanang mawala sa amin si Hesus dahil sa kasalanang dakila, at kung sakaling kami ay datnan ng gayong kasamaang palad ay makita nawa naming muli ang kanyang awa, lalo na sa oras ng kamatayan, nang makamtan
Table of Contents Devotions to St. Joseph namin siya doon sa langit at kami ay makasama sa iyo sa pagpupuri sa kanyang mga kaawaan maparating saan man.
Luwalhati sa Ama…
O San José, mahal na Pintakasi, - Ipanalangin mo kaming napapaampon sa iyo.
Antipona:Noong malapit na sa tatlumpung taon ang gulang ni Hesus ay inari siyang anak ni José.
Litaniya kay Poong San Jose *p. 79+
O San José, ama sa turing ni Hesukristo at tunay na esposo ng Birheng Maria, -Ipanalangin mo kami at ang mga naghihingalo sa araw na ito.
ST. JOSEPH ROSARY *May be prayed just as the Marian Rosary substituting the following prayer for the Hail Mary+
Joseph, son of David and husband of Mary, we honor you, guardian of the Redeemer, and we adore the Child you named “Jesus.” Saint Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church, pray with us that we may imitate you in lifelong dedication to the interests of the Savior. Amen.
Mysteries in the Life of St. Joseph
1. Betrothal to Mary (Mt 1:18). 2. Annunciation to Joseph(Mt 1:19-21). 3. Birth and Naming of Jesus (Mt 1:22-25). 4. Flight into Egypt (Mt 2:13-15). 5. Hidden Life at Nazareth (Mt 2:23; Lk 2:51-52).
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Prayer of Pius X to St. Joseph the Worker *p. 97+ *in place of the Hail Holy Queen+
Litany of St. Joseph *p. 78+
Memorare to St. Joseph
Remember, O most pure spouse of the blessed Virgin Mary, my great protector, Saint Joseph, that no one ever had recourse to your protection or implored your aid without obtaining relief. Confiding therefore in your goodness, I come before you and humbly supplicate you. Oh, despise not my petitions, foster father of the Redeemer, but graciously receive them. Amen.
May the divine assistance remain always with us. - Amen
May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. - Amen
And may the blessings of the almighty God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit descend upon us and remain with us always. - Amen
AN ACT OF CONSECRATION OF THE CONGREGATION TO ST. JOSEPH
Glorious Patriarch, Saint Joseph, whom the Church invokes as her powerful intercessor, look with favor upon our Congregation which renews its consecration to you and proclaims you anew as its father and protector. In the presence of God, of our blessed Mother Mary, and of all the heavenly court, we humbly offer to you not only ourselves but
Table of Contents Devotions to St. Joseph also our Congregation. Take possession of us, for we are yours. Guard and defend us as you protected the Holy Family of Nazareth. In your care we place our superiors, our brothers and priests, our novices and seminarians. Purify their hearts, sanctify their affections, guide their minds, and make them worthy servants of the Church, for whose triumph we are working and will always work with zeal and devotion of obedient sons. Saint Joseph, bless our communities and all the members of our Congregation. Grant the spirit of counsel to all our superiors, the spirit of zeal to our priests and brothers, the spirit of fortitude to our missionaries, the spirit of wisdom to our teachers, the spirit of piety and industry to our students. Glorious Saint Joseph, our great protector, who held in your arms Jesus, the Son of God, protect and guide our religious society. Help it to grow in number and to spread everywhere your spirit of humility, prayer and sacrifice. You, who protected the infant Jesus, the Savior of humanity, guide through the rough times of life all the youth entrusted to our care. You faced the dangers of the desert and hardships of exile, and you travelled under the strain of numberless privations. Come to aid in the hour of our need and sustain us in time of trial. Saint Joseph, you willingly participated in the mystery of the salvation of mankind. Fill our hearts with the same desire to listen and respond to the Lord’s will for us; help us to love others as you love the Holy Family, so that we may receive the blessings of eternal life. Amen.
PRAYER TO ST. JOSEPH FOR VOCATIONS
Saint Joseph, patron of the Church, we ask you to intercede before God, so that in our days as always in the Church, many young people may be attracted to the service of souls and to the ideal of evangelical perfection.
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Among Christian nations, the faithful desire to better understand and practice the virtues preached by Christ; and among non-Christian peoples, a great number of men and women of good will may hear the call of faith and want to receive the message of peace. Please pray on our behalf that the Lord of the harvest will send workers to his vineyard. Obtain for us many priestly and religious vocations that correspond to the immense needs of the world today and that are fully dedicated to the service of the Lord and of his Church. Amen.
PRAYER TO ST. JOSEPH TO KNOW ONE’S VOCATION
O great Saint Joseph, you were completely obedient to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Obtain for me the grace to know the state of life that God in his providence has chosen for me. Since my happiness on earth and perhaps my final happiness in heaven depend on this choice, let me not be deceived in making it. Obtain for me the light to know God’s will, to carry it out faithfully, and choose the vocation which will lead me to a happy eternity. Amen.
PRAYER TO ST. JOSEPH FOR PURITY
O Saint Joseph, guardian and father of virgins, to whose faithful custody Christ Jesus, innocence itself, and Mary, virgin of virgins, were entrusted; I pray and beseech you, by each of these most dear pledges, Jesus and Mary, that, being preserved from all uncleanness, I may with spotless mind, pure heart, and chaste body, serve Jesus and Mary most chastely all the days of my life. Amen.
PRAYER TO ST. JOSEPH FOR A HAPPY DEATH
O blessed Saint Joseph, you gave forth your last breath in the loving embrace of Jesus and Mary. When the seal of death shall
Table of Contents Devotions to St. Joseph close my life, come with Jesus and Mary to aid me. Obtain for me this solace for that hour: to die with their holy arms around me. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I commend my soul, living and dying, into your sacred arms. Amen.
PRAYER OF PIUS X TO ST. JOSEPH THE WORKER
Glorious Saint Joseph, model of all who work, obtain for me the grace to work conscientiously, putting the call of duty above my many sins; to work with gratitude and joy, considering it an honor to employ and develop, by my labor, the gifts received from God; to work with order, peace, moderation and patience,never recoiling before weariness or difficulties;to work, above all, with pure intention and detachment from self, having always before my eyes death and the account which I must then render of time lost,of talents wasted, of good omitted, and of vain complacency in success, so fatal to the work of God. All for Jesus, all through Mary, all in imitation of you, O Patriarch Joseph. This shall be my motto in life and death. Amen.
INVOCATION TO ST. JOSEPH BY ST. JOSEPH MARELLO
O glorious Saint Joseph, after the Blessed Virgin, you were the first to enfold in your arms the Redeemer. Be our exemplar in our ministry, which like your own, is a ministry of intimate relationship with the Divine Word. May you teach us, may you assist us, may you make us worthy members of the Holy Family.
PRAYER TO ST. JOSEPH (Leo XIII)
To you, O blessed Joseph, we have recourse in our afflictions, and after having implored the help of your thrice holy spouse, we now with hearts filled with confidence earnestly beg you also to
Table of Contents Devotional Prayers take us under your protection. By that charity wherewith you were united to the immaculate Virgin Mother of God, and by that fatherly love with which you did cherish the Child Jesus, we beseech you and we humbly pray that you will look down with gracious eyes upon that inheritance which Jesus Christ purchased by his blood and will succor us in our needs by your power and strength. Defend, O most watchful guardian of the Holy Family, the chosen offspring of Jesus Christ. Keep from us, O most loving father, all blight of error and corruption. Aid us from on high, O most valiant defender, in this conflict with the powers of darkness. And even as of old, you did rescue the Child Jesus from the peril of his life, so now defend God’s holy Church from the snares of the enemy and from all adversity. Shield us ever under your patronage that, imitating your example and strengthened by your help, we may live a holy life, die a happy death and attain everlasting bliss in heaven. Amen.
ORATIO AD SANCTUM IOSEPH (Leo XIII)
Ad te beate Ioseph, in tribulatione nostra confugimus, atque, implorato sponsæ tuæ sanctissimæ auxilio, patrocinium quoque tuum fidenter exposcimus. Per eam, quǽsumus quæ te cum immaculata Virgine Dei Genetrice coniunxit, caritatem, perque paternum, quo Puerum Iesum amplexus es, amorem, supplices deprecamur, ut ad hereditatem, quam Iesus Christus acquisivit sanguine suo, benignus respicias, ac necessitatibus nostris tua virtute et ope succurras. Tuere, o Custos providentissime divinæ Familiæ, Iesu Christi subolem electam; prohibe a nobis, amantissime Pater, omnem errorum ac corruptelarum luem; propitius nobis, sospitator noster fortissime, in hoc cum potestate tenebrarum certamine e cælo adesto; et sicut olim Puerum Iesum e summo eripuisti vitæ discrimine, ita nunc Ecclesiam sanctam Dei ab hostilibus insidiis
Table of Contents Devotions to St. Joseph atque ab omni adversitate defende: nosque singulos perpetuo tege patrocinio, ut ad tui exemplar et ope tua suffulti, sancte vivere, pie emori, sempiternamque in cælis beatitudinem assequi possimus. Amen.
PREGHIERA A SAN GIUSEPPE (Leone XIII)
A te, o beato Giuseppe, stretti dalla tribolazione, ricorriamo, e fiduciosi invochiamoil tuo patrocinio dopo quello della tua santissima sposa. Per quel sacro vincolo di carità, che ti strinse all'immacolata Vergine Madre di Dio, e per l'amore paterno che portasti al fanciullo Gesù, riguarda, te ne preghiamo, con occhio benigno la cara eredità che Gesù Cristo acquistò col suo sangue, e con il tuo potere ed aiuto sovvieni ai nostri bisogni. Proteggi, o provvido custode della divina Famiglia, l'eletta prole di Gesù Cristo; allontana da noi, o padre amantissimo,la peste di errori e di vizi che ammorba il mondo, assistici propizio dal cielo in questa lotta col potere delle tenebre, o nostro fortissimo protettore, e come un tempo salvasti dalla morte la minacciata vita del bambino Gesù, così ora difendi la santa Chiesa di Dio dalle ostili insidie e da ogni avversità, e stendi su ciascuno di noi il tuo patrocinio, affinché con il tuo esempio e con il tuo soccorso possiamo virtuosamente vivere, piamente morire e conseguire l'eterna beatitudine in cielo. Amen.
PANALANGIN KAY SAN JOSÉ (Leo XIII)
Sa iyo po, maluwalhating San José, nagsasakdal kami sa aming mga kapighatian, at pagkahingi namin ng saklolo sa iyong kabanal-banalang esposa, idinadalangin din namin ang iyong saklolo taglay ang buong pananalig. Alang-alang sa dalisay na
Table of Contents Devotional Prayers pag-ibig na ipinakisama mo sa kalinis-linisang Birheng Mariang Ina ng Diyos, at sa maka-amang pagsinta na iniyakap mo sa banal na Sanggol na si Hesus ay isinasamo namin sa iyo nang lubos na kapakumbabaan ng loob na ilingap mo ang mga mata mong maawain sa manang kinamtan ni Hesukristo ng kanyang dugo, at ampunin mo ang aming mga pangangailangan ng iyong tulong at kapangyarihan. O lubhang maingat na tagapagtangkilik ng mag-ina ni Hesus, ampunin mo ang hirang na lipi ni Hesukristo. Ilayo mo sa amin ang tanang karungisan ng maling aral o masamang ugali. O maka- pangyayari at maawaing Pintakasi, tulungan mo kami buhat sa langit sa pakikipaglaban namin sa demonyo. Ipagtanggol mo ngayon ang Santa Iglesya ng Diyos sa kalupitan at sa mga silo ng kanyang kaaway at sa dilang hilahil, gaya ng pagliligtas mo noon sa mahal na Sanggol na si Hesus sa panganib na kinalagyan ng kanyang buhay. At kupkupin mo naman kaming lahat lagi ng iyong saklolo upang sa pamamagitan ng iyong pag-aampon at tulad mo ay matuto rin kaming mabuhay at mamatay sa kabanalan at makamtan namin ang kapalarang walang hanggan sa langit. Amen.
Table of Contents Devotions to the Holy Family
Picture of St. Joseph by C. Dalle Ceste above the main altar of the Shrine of St. Joseph in Asti
Devotional Prayers
DEVOTIONS TO THE HOLY FAMILY
PRAYER TO THE HOLY FAMILY
O most loving Jesus, who, by your sublime and beautiful virtues and by the example of your domestic life, did bless with peace and happiness the family which you did choose on earth. In your clemency look upon this household humbly prostrate before you and imploring your mercy. Remember that this family belongs to you, for to you we have in a special way dedicated and devoted ourselves. Look upon us in your loving kindness, preserve us from dangers, and grant us the grace to persevere to the end in the imitation of your Holy Family that having revered you and loved you faithfully on earth we may bless and praise you eternally in heaven. O Mary, most sweet mother, to your intercession we have recourse, knowing that your divine son will hear your prayers. And you, O glorious Patriarch, St. Joseph, assist us by your powerful mediation, and offer by the hands of Mary our prayers to Jesus. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, enlighten us, assist us, save us. Amen.
HOLY SPOUSES ROSARY *May be prayed as the Marian Rosary, substituting the following prayer for the Hail Mary+
Mary, full of grace, and Joseph, son of David, honor to you, Mother of God, and to you, guardian of the Redeemer. Eternal praise to the Child with whom you formed a family, Jesus. Holy Spouses, pray for us sinners, our families and communities, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
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Mysteries
1. Betrothal of Mary and Joseph (Mt 1:18, Lk 1:26-27, 2:4-5). 2. Annunciation to Mary(Lk 1:28-38). 3. Annunciation to Joseph(Mt 1:19-23). 4. Joseph takes Mary as his wife (Mt 1:24-25). 5. Birth of Jesus (Lk 2:6,15-16). 6. Circumcision and Naming of Jesus (Lk 2:21). 7. Presentation of Jesus(Lk 2:22-40). 8. Escape into Egypt (Mt 2:13-15). 9. Finding of Jesus in the Temple (Lk 2:41-50). 10. Hidden Life at Nazareth (Lk 2:51-52).
May the divine assistance remain always with us. - Amen.
May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. - Amen.
And may the blessings of the almighty God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit descend upon us and remain with us always. - Amen
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DEVOTIONS TO ST. JOSEPH MARELLO
NOVENA TO ST. JOSEPH MARELLO *from the Homily of John Paul II+
O Saint Joseph Marello, as a young man full of goodness and endowed with intelligence, passionately in love with culture and involved in civil tasks, you have found a perfect model in Christ and you consecrated yourself to him in the priesthood; Obtain for us the grace “to serve the interests of Jesus” in imitation of Saint Joseph as you did, drawn by his example of humble service nourished with deep interior life. Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be…
O Saint Joseph Marello, you were formed in holiness amidst many forms of hostility against the Church and the Catholic faith; Help us to “be extraordinary in ordinary things” and to admire the ineffable beauty of Mary, a beauty made up of many little virtues that make her irresistibly attractive. Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be…
O Saint Joseph Marello, you transfigured yourself in the Eucharistic celebration and adoration and taught us that Christ is an infinite companion in our hearts; Grant that we may be grateful to God who, in providing us with such a great proof of his love, wants us to be ever closer to one another in holy fraternity as “Carthusians indoors and apostles outdoors.” Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be…
Prayer to St. Joseph Marello
O Saint Joseph Marello, like your patron and model, Saint Joseph, you are a proof that sanctity consists not in extraordinary
Table of Contents Devotions to St. Joseph Marello achievements that attract the world’s attention, but in the daily exercise of the virtues of simplicity, charity and humility. With complete trust in divine Providence, you founded the Oblates of Saint Joseph, to serve the interests of Jesus in imitation of his guardian and protector. Father of youth, protector of the poor and the aged, gentle shepherd of your flock, model of charity, you blended strength with kindness, prayer with action, and faithfulness to the Church with zealous attention to the signs of the times. May your holy life inspire the youth to take the Gospel as their sure guide; your Oblates to be hidden and faithful instruments of God’s work; priests and bishops to be loyal and loving shepherds. Pray with us that we may all live with that peacefulness of mind and heart that comes only from a trusting surrender to God’s will. Amen.
Litany of St. Joseph Marello
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. Christ, hear us. - Christ hear us. Christ, graciously hear us. - Christ, graciously hear us. God the Father in heaven, - *Have mercy on us. God the Son, Redeemer of the world,* God the Holy Spirit,* Holy Trinity, One God,*
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Immaculate Mary, - **Pray for us. Sorrowful Mother,** Saint Joseph, our protector,** Saint Joseph Marello, our founder,** Sharer in Christ’s exaltation to the glory of God the Father,** Loyal son of the Church,** Defender of papal authority,** Image of the Good Shepherd,** Most worthy bishop,** Our spiritual father,** Apostle of the youth,* Gifted catechist,** Promoter of vocation,** Guide of seminarians,** Director of souls,** Most zealous preacher,** Gem among bishops,** Hidden pearl,** Tireless worker,** Vessel of election,** Most generous pastor,** Skillful adviser,** Glory of the Church of Asti,** Father of the poor,** Help of the aged,** Healer of sick,** Protector of orphans,** Comfort of the outcasts,** Friend of the handicapped,** Support of the needy,** Consoler of the afflicted,** Model of perfection,** Treasure of virtues,**
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Fount of wisdom,** Martyr of charity,** Exemplar of piety,** Mirror of humility,** Lover of poverty,** Model of hidden life,** Example of meekness,** Light of the world,** Salt of the earth,** Favorite child of Mary,** Devoted son of Joseph,** Successor of the apostles,** Emulator of angels,** Imitator of the saints,** New Saint Francis de Sales,**
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, - Spare us, O Lord. Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, - Graciously hear us, O Lord. Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, - Have mercy on us.
Pray for us, St. Joseph Marello. - That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray, Lord God, who for the salvation of the souls wanted St. Joseph Marello to become all things to men, mercifully grant that, by his guiding counsels and helping merits, we may obtain eternal happiness. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
THOUGHTS OF THE FOUNDER
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OTHER DEVOTIONS
PRAYER TO ST. ALPHONSUS LIGUORI Patron of Oblate Students of Theology
O my glorious and well-beloved patron, Saint Alphonsus, you who did toil and suffer so abundantly to assure to men the fruits of redemption, behold the miseries of my poor soul and have pity on me. By your powerful intercession with Jesus and Mary, obtain for me true repentance for my sins together with their pardon and remission, a deep hatred of sin and strength evermore to resist all temptations. Share with me, I pray, at least a spark of that fire of love wherewith your heart did ever burn; and grant that, following your example, I may make the will of God the only rule of my life. Obtain for me likewise a fervent and lasting love of Jesus, and a tender and childlike devotion to Mary, together with the grace to pray without ceasing and to persevere in the service of God even to the end of my life, so that I may finally be united with you in praising God and the Virgin Mary for all eternity. Amen.
PRAYER TO ST. THOMAS AQUINAS Patron of the Oblate Students of Philosophy
O Angelic Doctor, Saint Thomas, prince of theologians and model of philosophers, bright ornament of the Christian world, light of the Church and patron of all Catholic schools, who did learn wisdom diligently and did communicate it liberally, pray for us to the Son of God, Wisdom itself, that by the coming of the Spirit of Wisdom upon us, we may clearly understand what you have taught and imitate what you have done, that we may be partakers both of your doctrine and your holiness, whereby you did shine on earth as the sun; and finally that we may rejoice withyou in heaven, praising together the divine Wisdom for all eternity. Amen.
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PRAYER TO ST. ALPHONSUS RODRIGUEZ Patron of Oblate Lay Brothers
O glorious Saint Alphonsus Rodriguez, perfect model of religious perfection and of detachment from the world, we bless the Lord for having bestowed upon you the abundant gifts of di- vine grace. Obtain for me that purity which made you an angel on earth, that seraphic love which inflamed your heart for the Blessed Sacrament, that spirit of penance which likened you to Jesus cruci- fied, that filial tenderness toward the Mother of God, that blind obedience to your rules and your superiors, that spirit of prayer and sacrifice that made you a religious dear to the heart of Jesus. Pray for me, blessed Brother, help me to practice all religious virtues so that by living in the perfect observance of my holy rules and cultivating a tender devotion to Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I may attain eternal salvation. Amen.
PRAYER TO ST. JOHN BERCHMANS Patron of Oblate Novices
Oh, blessed John, who on your deathbed did clasp the crucifix, the rosary and the book of the holy rules in your hands as the most powerful weapons against the enemy and exclaimed, “These three things have been most dear to me in life. With them I gladly die.” I beseech you by the precious blood of Jesus Christ to obtain for me such reverence for the holy precepts of the Gospel, such devo- tion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and such love for Jesus Christ crucified, that these three sentiments may ever be my strongest armor to ward off the darts of the evil one. And when my last hour shall come, may I, too, in accordance with your example and with full confidence repeat, “These three things have been most dear to me in life, with them I gladly die.” Amen.
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NOVENA TO ST. SATANISLAUS KOSTKA Patron of Oblate Aspirants
Saint Stanislaus, my patron most chaste, angel of my purity, I rejoice with you in that singular gift of virginal purity which graced your spotless heart; and I humbly beseech you to obtain for me the strength to overcome temptations, and inspire me to continual vigilance in keeping intact the virtue of holy purity. Glory be . . .
Saint Stanislaus, my patron most loving, seraph of charity, I rejoice with you in the glowing flame of love that kept your pure and sinless heart always at peace and united to your God; I humbly beseech you to obtain for me such a flame of divine love as shall consume every affection for things of earth, and set me on fire with heavenly love alone. Glory be . . .
Saint Stanislaus, my patron most tender and most powerful, angel of purity and seraph of love, I rejoice with you in your happy death, a death caused by your longing to see Mary who was taken bodily into heaven, and consummated by a mighty impulse of love toward her. I give thanks to Mary who was pleased to hear and answer your prayers, and I implore you by the glory of your happy death to be the advocate and patron of my death, if not so happy as yours, may at least be peaceful under the protection of Mary, my advocate and you, my special patron. Glory be...
Litany of St. Stanislaus Kostka
Lord, have mercy on us. - Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us. - Christ, have mercy on us.
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Lord, have mercy on us. - Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us. - Christ hear us. Christ, graciously hear us. - Christ, graciously hear us. God the Father in heaven, - *Have mercy on us. God the Son, Redeemer of the world,* God the Holy Spirit,* Holy Trinity, One God,* Holy Mary, - **Pray for us. St. Stanislaus,** Destined for the service of God from your conception,** Faithful follower of Jesus Christ,** Well-beloved child of Mary,** Called by her to the Company of Jesus,** Faithful to the vocation and grace of God,** Most worthy son of St. Ignatius,** Fair ornament of the Company of Jesus,** Model and patron of aspirants,** Enemy of the world and its riches,** Condemner of human glory,** Severe chastiser of your innocent flesh,** Admirable in your matchless purity,** Vanquisher of every evil passion,** Exact observer of religious discipline,** Devout adorer of the Sacrament of the altar,** Mirror of obedience, humility and patience,** Model of candor, modesty and piety,** Ardent lover of evangelical poverty,** Lover of brotherly charity,** Penetrated with self-contempt,**
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Victim of divine love,** Example of Christian youth,** Honored with the sensible presence of the Infant Jesus,** An angel in your life and manners,** Fed by angels with bread from heaven,** An apostle in zeal and merits,** A martyr in faith and desire,** A confessor in constant piety,** Ushered into heaven amid a choir of virgins,** Perfect in all virtues notwithstanding your short life,** The refuge and safeguard of all who call upon you,** Illustrious in the miracles wrought both before and after your death,**
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, - Spare us, O Lord. Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, - Graciously hear us, O Lord. Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, - Have mercy on us.
Pray for us, St. Stanislaus Kostka. - That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray, O God, who among other miracles of your wisdom, have be- stowed even in tender age the grace of mature sanctity; grant, we beseech you, that, redeeming the time by instant labor after the example of St. Stanislaus, we may hasten to enter into eternal rest. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Final Prayer
My most loving patron, Saint Stanislaus, seraph of charity, I rejoice with you for the burning flame of love which ever kept your pure and innocent heart elevated to God and united with him. I humbly pray that you kindle in me a flame of the love of God so burning as to consume all earthly love and set me on fire with his love alone.
St. Stanislaus Kostka, - Pray for us.
PRAYER TO ST. JOHN MARY VIANNEY Patron of Parish Priests
O glorious St. John Mary, patron of priests and model of evangelical perfection, we thank the Almighty for having crowned your profound humility and zeal with eternal glory. We beseech you, by that tender charity which on earth would have made you sacrifice a thousand lives to save one soul, to obtain for us that simplicity, mortification and humility, that ardent zeal for the salva- tion of others, and constant union with God, which were your favorite virtues and which are the essence of our holy vocation. Ask for us, O blessed Saint, the help and cooperation of which we are in need for promoting God’s glory and for aiding the poor sinners whom you did love so exceedingly while on earth. Obtain for every member of our community those virtues which are required for our own perfection while we labor for the good of others. O dear Saint, whose characteristics were, besides humility and apostolic zeal, an eminent spirit of prayer and constant recollection of your soul in God, obtain for us the grace that we may love pray- er and walk constantly in the presence of God, so that we may attain eternal union with him in heaven. Amen.
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THE WAY OF THE CROSS
Opening Prayer Lord Jesus Christ, as we gather here to meditate on your Paschal Mystery, grant us all the grace to detest sin as you did, and to spend our life for our neighbor as you taught us through your example. Thus shall we be able to share not only in your sufferings, but also in your resurrection, you who live and reign forever and ever. Amen.
FIRST STATION Jesus Institutes the Eucharist
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. - Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
The Lord Jesus, on the night in which he was betrayed, took bread, and after he had given thanks, broke it and said: “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper, he took the cup saying: This“ cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” Every time then you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes!( 1 Cor 11:23-26)
*pause for silent reflection+
Lord Jesus, you loved us to the utmost. You loved us to the end. You remained in the Eucharist to be for us the food and drink that give eternal life. You remained with us to be the continuous sign of God’s saving presence in all circumstances of life. Forgive us Lord, for the time we have failed to appreciate your gift of self to us and your loving presence in the Eucharist.
*To the tune of “O Sacrament Most Holy”+ Your Body and Blood most holy Our food divine we share, To quench our thirst and hunger And make us also care.
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The Way of the Cross
SECOND STATION Jesus Prays in Gethsemane
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. - Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
Jesus went up and made his way, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives. His disciples accompanied him. On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not be put to the test.” He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, then went down on his knees and prayed in these words, “Father, if it is your will, take this cup from me; yet not my will but yours be done.” In his anguish, he prayed with even greater intensity, and his sweat be- came like drops of blood flowing to the ground. Then he rose from prayer and came to his disciples, only to find them asleep, exhausted with grief. (Lk 22:39-42,44-45)
*pause for silent reflection+
It was a long, terrible night, Lord. And not one of your disciples found the strength to keep you company in your agony. Your only strength was your determination to do the Father’s will at all costs. And your solitary agony continues, even to this day, in the loneliness of those who have no friends, no home, no hope, no future. Our society is filled with them, but we pretend not to know, and slumber noisily while they die, victims of neglect.
Your agony in the garden, How dreadful, Lord, it was! With you, we’ll watch in prayer, But you remain with us.
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THIRD STATION Jesus Before the Sanhedrin
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. - Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
The high priest stood up before the court and interrogated Jesus: “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” Then Jesus answered, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Almighty, coming with the clouds of heaven.” At that, the high priest tore his robes and said, “What further need do we have of witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy. What is your verdict?” They all concurred in the verdict guilty, with the sentence of death. As soon as it was daybreak, the chief priest, with the elders and scribes, bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. (Mk 14:60-64; 15:1)
*pause for silent reflection+
Lord Jesus, you are the judge of all the human beings, yet you accepted to be judged by biased judges. You are all-holy, the only innocent on earth, yet you endured the condemnation of obstinate sinners. And the unfair trial goes on, duplicated in all unjust sentences through which innocent people are condemned and rascals are acquitted. You are still the victim of these injustices perpetrated against the weak, the defenseless, and the voiceless of our society, in whom you live and suffer.
Condemned you were, dear Lord, O God the only Son, By leaders of the people, To heal and save you’d come.
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FOURTH STATION Jesus is Scourged with Thorns
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. - Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
Pilate asked the crowd, “What am I to do with Jesus, the so-called Messiah?” They all shouted, “Crucify Him!” He said, “Why? What crime has he committed?” But they shouted the loud- er, “Crucify Him!” After having Jesus scourged, Pilate delivered him to be crucified. Then the soldiers, weaving a crown out of thorns, fixed it on his head, and struck a reed in his right hand. Then, they began to mock him by dropping to their knees before him saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” (Mt 27:22-30, passim)
*pause for silent reflection+
Instigated by your enemies, the mob wanted you dead, dear Jesus, and Pilate did not think it was worthwhile to uphold justice and protect your innocence. So the mad mob had its way. The Roman soldiers had their way as they reduced your body to a bleeding wound and crowned your head with thorns and mockery. You didn't open your mouth in protest. You endured it all, meek like a lamb to be slaughtered; silent like the millions of exploited people, oppressed by the ruthless, while many of us turn a blind eye to such blatant injustices.
Your body, pure and holy, Disfigured by the scourge, Your head so bright and noble With thorns they tried to purge.
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FIFTH STATION Jesus Carries the Cross to Calvary
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. - Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
When they had finished mocking Jesus, they stripped him of the cloak, dressed him in his own clothes, and led him off to crucify him. (Mt 27:31)
*pause for silent reflection+
Dear Lord, the cross was the punishment for criminals and insurgents. Who could believe that it was placed on the shoulders of the Son of God, the source of all holiness and goodness? And yet you accepted it in all humanity, because you knew that such was the condition to save us from eternal damnation. The cross You accepted to carry was our cross, the cross of our sins, the cross of our weaknesses, our discouragements, our failures, our wickedness. This very day, innocent men, women and children are made to bear the cross of other people’s faults, greed, pride, lust. Dear Lord, grant us the grace that we may never burden others with our moral defects, and that we may bravely carry with you the cross of our daily duty.
Upon your shoulder full of wounds, The cross for sins were laid. You bore it all, dear Jesus That we might all be saved.
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SIXTH STATION Jesus Falls Under the Weight of the Cross
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. - Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
As he staggered along the road to Calvary, Jesus felt crushed by the cross he was carrying in his shoulders. Much more, perhaps, he felt overwhelmed by the savage jeering of the mob that kept insulting him as if he were a criminal. Exhausted by the sleepless night and the tortures he has already endured, Jesus fell to the ground under the weight of the cross and the moral torture he has suffered.
*pause for silent reflection+
The distance from the Praetorium to Calvary was not long, just a few hundred meters. But it took you long, Lord, to walk that stretch, staggering faithfully, groping in vain for help. Your strength has long deserted you. The road was uneven. The crowd was merciless. The cross was becoming heavier and heavier, until it weighed you down, down to the dust. Like you, Lord, so many of us stagger and fall along the hard way of the cross that our life becomes when trials and failures overwhelm us and crush us to the ground. When we stumble and fall, Lord, be our support! And when our brothers and sisters seem unable to carry the burden of their trials, Lord, give us a compassionate heart, that we may not add insult or injury.
The sins of all mankind Your feeble knees did bend. Your gentle body’s made to fall That we might so amend.
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SEVENTH STATION Jesus is Helped by Simon of Cyrene
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. - Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
A man named Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was coming in from the field. The soldiers pressed him into service to carry the cross of Jesus. (Mk 15:21)
*pause for silent reflection+
Simon happened to pass there on his way home from the fields. He was forced to make a detour – a detour that changed the course of his life. Forced to carry your cross, Lord Jesus, he himself became a victim of oppression and injustice. He experienced a share of your pain, Lord, and thus discovered what life can be if one wants to help others. Send us more Simon of Cyrene, Lord. Send us people who have the courage to shoulder the crosses of others in brotherly solidarity and patience. Make us like Simon, Lord. Grant us the strength and generosity to carry one another’s burden, for our society is crowded with poor Christs crushed by the crosses of all shapes and weights.
Simon, the farmer helper, Relieves you of your cross, We wish we could, like him, Help others in their loss.
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EIGHTH STATION Jesus Meets the Pious Women of Jerusalem
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. - Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
A great crowd of people followed Jesus, including some women who beat their breasts and lamented over him. Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but for yourselves and for your children.” The days are coming when they will say, “Happy are the sterile, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed.” Then they will begin saying to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!” If they do these things in the green wood, what will happen to the dry?” (Lk 23:27-31)
*pause for silent reflection+
Lord Jesus, those women of Jerusalem were suddenly sincere in their sorrow for you. They were brave enough to follow you along the road to Calvary. But you directed their attention to the cause of their suffering, SIN, and to the punishment which unrepentance would bring down on all. We wish we were as sincere as they were in lamenting the unfair treatment to which you were subjected. And we wish likewise, that we were equally sensitive to the suffering of our neighbors, especially the squatters, the jobless, the homeless and all the victims of human injustices and exploitation. For it is all these forms of sin that bring down God’s well-deserved punishments on our society.
The weeping women met you With tears they mourn your pain. May we, too, weep copiously, And never sin again.
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NINTH STATION Jesus is Nailed on the Cross
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. - Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
When they came to the place called “The Skull,” they crucified Jesus there, together with two criminals. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; they do not know what they are doing.” The people stood there watching, and the leaders kept jeering at him, saying, “He saved others. Let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, the Chosen One.” (Lk 23:33-35)
*pause for silent reflection+
Lord, those hands of yours which caressed the children, blessed the sick and chased demons away are now nailed mercilessly at the wood of the cross. Your feet which had taken you from village to village in an effort to bring the Good News of the Kingdom to all, are now immobilized forever. Your enemies dared you to come down from the cross. But you didn’t. Not because of the nails, but because of your love for us sinners. It was love that brought you there. It is love that keeps you there. Lord Jesus, grant us the grace to do our duties out of love and with love, even when all these resemble the pain of the crucifixion.
Between two thieves of Calvary Nailed to the cross you were, Insulted by your enemies Responded you in prayer.
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TENTH STATION Jesus Promises Heaven to the Repentant Thief
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. - Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
One of the criminals hanging in crucifixion blasphemed Jesus: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Then save yourself and us!” But the other one rebuked him, “Have you no fear of God, seeing that you are under the same sentence? We deserve it afterall. We are only paying the price for what we have done, but this man has done nothing wrong.” He then said, “Jesus, remember me when you enter upon your reign.” And Jesus said, “I assure you, this day you will be with me in Paradise.” (Lk 23:39-45)
*pause for silent reflection+
Lord Jesus, there was so much sincerity in the public confession of the repentant thief; so much faith and trust in the words he addressed to you. The man really believed in your mercy. He believes in your kingdom, and you did not disappoint him. We often meet people who have done wrong and would like to begin a new life. Lord, grant that we may always be as well disposed to them as you were to the repentant thief. In this way, we too, will end the course of our life sharing the faith and the trust of the good thief, and hearing the promise of your eternal life.
“Remember me in your Kingdom,” Cried the repentant thief. Remember us, poor sinners And bring us some relief.
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ELEVENTH STATION Jesus Entrusts Mary and John to Each Other
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. - Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary, the wife of Cleopas, and Mary Magdalene. Seeing his mother there with the disciple whom he loved, Jesus said to his mother, “Woman, there is your son.” In turn, he said to the disciple, “There is your mother.” From that hour onward, the disciple took Mary into his care. (Jn 19:25-27)
*pause for silent reflection+
“Suffering, like a sword, will pierce your heart,” had prophesied old Simeon. On Calvary, Mary experienced the fulfillment of that prophecy in its fullness. And once again, she said in her heart, “Let it be done to me as you said.” No one on earth loved you as your mother did, nor did you love one person on earth as you loved her. And she was there, witness and sharer to your redeeming suffering. By entrusting her to John, you provided for the remaining days of your mother. By entrusting John to her, you provided for all mankind, for you gave us all your very own mother as our mother. May we be as loving children to her as you were.
How deep was Mary’s pain, How great her love for you. You gave her to us all To be our mother true.
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THE TWELFTH STATION: Jesus Died on the Cross
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. - Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
It was now around midday, and darkness came over the whole land until mid-afternoon with an eclipse of the sun. Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” They struck a sponge soaked in wine on some hyssop and raised it to his lips. After Jesus took the wine, he said, “Now, it is finished.” He uttered a loud cry and said, “Father, into your hands, I commend my spirit.” After he said this, he died.(Lk 23:44,46; Jn 19:28-30)
*pause for silent reflection+
We were all condemned to die because of our sins, and you took upon yourself the death penalty that you alone did not deserve. You had only one life, dear Lord, like all of us, and you gave it up by your own free will that we might live forever. It was our sins, it was the love for us that killed you, dearest Jesus. Before you breathed your last, you said you were thirsty – thirsty for love. Today, we offer you the solace of our repentant love. We want to love you also for the days when we failed to do so. We want to love you for all those who refuse to love. And may we, at the end of our stormy life, die confidently pronouncing your last words, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”
Your life you gave to all of us, To save us from hell’s fire. May we for you in faithfulness Day after day aspire.
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THIRTEENTH STATION Jesus is Laid in the Tomb
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. - Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
When evening fell, a wealthy man – Joseph of Arimathea, arrived. He was another of Jesus’ disciples, and had gone to request the body of Jesus. Thereupon Pilate issued an order for its release. Taking the body, Joseph wrapped it in fresh linen, and laid it in his own new sepulcher that had been hewn from a formation of rock. Then he rolled a huge stone across the entrance of the tomb and went away. (Lk 27:50-60)
*pause for silent reflection+
Lord Jesus, the dark night of death has engulfed You. The only bright lights are the tender love of Your mother, the faithfulness of John and the friendship of Joseph of Arimathea and few others. You are laid in the tomb, like a precious pearl place in a chest, like a seed hidden in soil. Your burial gives meaning and hope to our burials. Thanks to you, they have become the tranquil sleep in the lap of mother earth, where we trustfully await our joyful awakening when the dawn of our resurrection will break the fetters of death forever.
With silent grief and tears They laid you in the tomb, The noblest of all victims, Our hope for years to come.
Table of Contents The Way of the Cross
FOURTEENTH STATION Jesus Rises from Death
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. - Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene came with the other Mary to inspect the tomb. Suddenly, there was a mighty earthquake as the angel of the Lord descended from heaven. He came to the stone, rolled it back and sat on it. Then the angel spoke, addressing to the woman, “Do not be frightened. I know you were looking for Jesus crucified. He is not here. He has been raised, exactly as he promised. Go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead.’” (Mt 28:1-2,5-5)
*pause for silent reflection+
Jesus, your holy body could not undergo the corruption of the sepulcher. The tomb could not hold you any longer than it was needed to prove that your death was real. Now, the shattered seals, the entrance stone rolled back and the testimony of the angel prove that your resurrection is real. They also prove in advance that we too shall rise from the death of sin to a life of grace. Jesus, you are the Lord of the living. Thank you, Lord, for dying for us. Thank you for rising for us!
The doors of death you shattered, Hell’s might you did break, As gloriously you gave new life When you rose from the grave.
Table of Contents Spiritual Enrichment
*For the intentions of the Holy Father+ Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be…
Let us pray, All-powerful Father and ever-living God, your only Son died for our sins and rose triumphantly from the dead. In your goodness, raise up your faithful people to be one with him in eternal life in heaven, where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.
Table of Contents Meditation
SPIRITUAL ENRICHMENT
MEDITATION “Every Oblate must spend at least a half hour daily in private meditation and shall give careful attention to the daily examination of conscience” (C 50).
Opening Hymn Holy Spirit! Lord of Light! Veni, Sáncte Spíritus, From your clear celestial height, et emíttecǽ litus Your pure beaming radiance give! Lúcis túǽ rádium.
Come, you Father of the poor. Véni, páter páuperum, Come with treasures which endure; Véni, dátor múnerum Come, you Light of all that live! Véni, lúmen córdium.
You, of all consolers best, Consolátor óptime, Visiting the troubled breast, Dúlcis hóspes ánimæ, Dost refreshing peace bestow. Dúlce refrigérium.
You in toil art comfort sweet, In labóre réquies, Pleasant coolness in the heat, In ǽstu tempéries Solace in the midst of woe. In flétu solátium.
Light immortal! Light Divine! O lux beatíssima, Visit tou these hearts of thine, Réple córdis íntima And our inmost being fill! Tuórum fidélium.
If you take your grace away, Sine túo númine, Nothing pure in man will stay; Nihil est in hómine, All his good is turned to ill. Nihil est innóxium.
Heal our wounds, our strength Láva quod est sórdidum, renew; Ríga quod est áridum,
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On our dryness pour your dew, Sána quod est sáucium. Wash the stains of guilt away.
Bend the stubborn heart and will, Flécte quod est rígidum, Melt the frozen, warm the chill. Fóve quod est frígidum, Guide the steps that go astray! Rége quod est dévium.
You, on those who evermore Da túis fidélibus, You confess and you adore, In te confidéntibus, In your sevenfold gift, descend. Sácrum septenárium.
Give them comfort when they die; Da virtútis méritum, Give them life with you on high; Da salútis éxitum, Give them joys which never end. Da perénne gáudium. Amen. (Alleluia) Amen. (Alleluia)
*alternative+ Come, Holy Spirit, Creator blest, Veni, Creátor Spíritus, and in our souls take up thy rest; Méntes tuórum vísita, come with thy grace and Imple supérna grátia heavenly aid Quæ tu creásti péctora. to fill the hearts which thou hast made.
O comforter, to thee we cry, Qui díceris Paráclitus, O heavenly gift of God Most High, Altíssimidó num Déi, O fount of life and fire of love, Fons vivus, ignis, cáritas, and sweet anointing from above. Et spiritális únctio.
Thou in thy sevenfold gifts are Tu, septifórmis múnere, known; Dígitus patérnæ déxteræ, Thou, finger of God's hand we own; Tu rite promíssum Pátris, Thou, promise of the Father, thou Sermóne ditans gúttura. Who dost the tongue with power imbue.
Table of Contents Meditation
Kindle our sense from above, Accénde lúmen sénsibus: and make our hearts o'er flow Infúnde amórem córdibus: with love; Infírman óstri córporis with patiencefirm and virtue high Virtúte fírmans pérpeti. the weakness of our fleshsupply.
Far from us drive the foe we dread, Hóstem repéllas lóngius, and grant us thy peace instead; Pacémque dónes prótinus: so shall we not, with thee for guide, Ductóre sic te prævio turn from the path of life aside. Vitémus ómne nóxium.
Oh, may thy grace on us bestow Per te sciámus da Pátrem, the Father and the Son to know; Noscámus atque Fílium; and thee, through endless Téque utriúsque Spíritum times confessed, Credámus ómni témpore. of both the eternal Spirit blest.
Now to the Father and the Son, Déo Pátri sit glória, Who rose from death, be glory given, Et Fílio, qui a mórtuis with thou, O Holy Comforter, Surréxit, ac Paráclito, henceforth by all in earth and In sæculórum sæcula. heaven. Amen. (Alleluia). Amen. (Alleluia).
Send forth your Spirit and they Emítte Spíritum tuum et shall be created. creabúntur. - And you shall renew the face - Et renovávis fáciem terræ. of the earth.
Let us pray, Orémus, O God, who have taught the Deus, qui corda fidélium hearts of the faithful by the Sancti Spíritus illustratióne light of the Holy Spirit, grant docuísti, da nobis in eódem
Table of Contents Spiritual Enrichment that by the gift of this same Spíritu recta sápere, et de eius Spirit we may be always truly semper consolatióne gauderé. wise and ever rejoice in his Per Christum Dóminum consolation. Through Christ our nostrum. Amen. Lord. Amen.
Invocations Mother of good counsel, Mater boni consilii, - Pray for us. - Ora pro nobis.
Saint Joseph, our protector, Sancte Ioseph, dulcissime - Pray for us. protector noster, - Ora pro nobis.
Saint Joseph Marello, Sancte Ioseph Marello, - Pray for us. - Ora pro nobis.
Concluding Prayers You, O Lord, have mercy on us. Tu autem, Domine, miserere -Thanks be to God. nobis. - Deo gratias.
(Sign of the Cross) (Signum Crucis)
Praised be Jesus Christ, Laudetur Iesus Christus, - Now and forever. - Semper laudetur.
Table of Contents Spiritual Reading
SPIRITUAL READING
“Every community shall set up a daily schedule of community prayer which shall include fifteen minutes of spiritual reading” (C 50).
Opening Prayer
Come, O Holy Spirit, Veni, Sancte Spirítus, - Fill the hearts of your faithful - reple tuórum corda fidélium et and enkindle in them the fire tui amóris in eis ignem ac- of your love. cénde.
Send forth your Spirit and they Emítte Spíritum tuum et shall be created. creabúntur. - And you shall renew the face - Et renovávis fáciem terræ. of the earth.
Let us pray, Orémus, O God, who have taught the Deus, qui corda fidélium hearts of the faithful by the Sancti Spíritus illustratióne light of the Holy Spirit, grant docuísti, da nobis in eódem that by the gift of this same Spíritu recta sápere, et de eius Spirit we may be always truly semper consolatióne gauderé. wise and ever rejoice in his Per Christum Dóminum consolation. Through Christ our nostrum. Amen. Lord. Amen.
Invocations Mother of good counsel, Mater boni consilii, - Pray for us. - Ora pro nobis.
Saint Joseph, our protector, Sancte Ioseph, dulcissime - Pray for us. protector noster, - Ora pro nobis.
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Saint Joseph Marello, Sancte Ioseph Marello, - Pray for us. - Ora pro nobis.
Concluding Prayers You, O Lord, have mercy on us. Tu autem, Domine, miserere -Thanks be to God. nobis. - Deo gratias.
(Sign of the Cross) (Signum Crucis)
Praised be Jesus Christ, Laudetur Iesus Christus, - Now and forever. - Semper laudetur.
MONTHLY MEETING
Holy Hour
An Act of Consecration of the Congregation to St. Joseph*p. 94+
RETREAT
Holy Hour
Devotional Renewal of Vows
“For the glory of God and motivated by a firm desire to consecrate myself more intimately to Him and to follow Christ more closely for my entire life, I N. N. renew my vows of chastity, poverty and obedience in the Congregation of the Oblates of Saint
Table of Contents Confession
Joseph. With my whole heart I continue to commit myself to membership to this family, so that, by the grace of the Holy Spirit and with the help of the Blessed Virgin Mary, I may live in perfect love, at the service of God and of the Church” (C 110).
CONFESSION
“Superiors shall encourage the celebration of the Sac rament of Penance and shall provide suitable confessors so as to make it possible for the confreres to go to confession at least every two weeks” (RG 25).
Act of Contrition
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended you, and I detest all my sins because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell, but most of all because I offended you, my God, who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve with the help of your grace to confess my sins, to do penance and to amend my life. Amen.
SPIRITUAL DIRECTION
“Careful attention should also be given to the practice of spiritual direction” (RG 25).
Table of Contents Religious Discipline and Practices
RELIGIOUS DISCIPLINE AND PRACTICES
SILENCE
“Following the example of St. Joseph, whom our Founder pointed out as the saint of silence, the Oblates will cultivate silence as an indispensable aid to recollection and to serious application to study andas an expression of respect for the community” (C 39). “(The exercise of freedom and responsibility) requires also some periods of silence, which are not only necessitated by reason of so many people living together, but also because silence is of great value toward achieving personal recollection and growth in the spiritual life and in contemplation, in accordance with the teaching of the Founder who wanted the Oblates to be Carthusians indoors” (C 47).
Magnum Silentium. “From the ringing of the bell for night prayers to the signal for morning recreation, rigorous silence must be observed; and if there is any reason to talk, one must do so in a low voice, just enough to be heard” (Rules of 1982, Ch. 6: The Exercises of Piety and Religious Discipline).
Moderate Silence. “During the other periods of silence, if one has to talk, one should do so in a low voice and should avoid the slightest noise” (ibid.).
FASTING AND OTHER FORMS OF MORTIFICATION
“In addition to what is ordered by the Church, the Congregation prescribes fasting only for the day preceding each temporaryor perpetual profession. Other forms and times of mortification are contemplated by the Directory or may be determined by the competent superiors” (C53). “Also recommended is the practice of community mortification in a variety of forms and on appropriate occasions. It is well to keep in mind that the primary form of mortification, even for the Oblates of St. Joseph, is the acceptance of reality with all its demands and uncertainties. Genuine mortification, however, can in no way prescind from even physical forms of penance” (RG26). “Following the tradition of our Congregation and as prescribed by Art. 53 of our Constitution, the vigils of the Solemnity of St. Joseph, of the Feast of the Holy Spouses, and of the memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows are days of mortification and penance.
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On these days frugality of meals, giving up tel evi si on programs, dedicating oneself to extended periods of silence and recollection are to be implemented” (RG 26b).
PRAYER FOR THE DYING
O Saint Joseph, reputed father of Jesus Christ and true spouse of Mary ever Virgin, pray for us and for those who are in their agony this day (night).
REMEMBRANCE OF THE DEAD
“On the death of the Pope, or of the local Bishop, services shall be held befitting their dignity. On the death of a Superior General, whether incumbent or not, each priest shall celebrate a Mass for him. For every deceased member of the Congregation, including novices, a Mass shall be celebrated in every community of the Congregation. Ten Masses shall be said for a deceased parent of a professed religious or a novice. Every year in each of our communi ties a Mass shall be sai d for all dec eased confreres and a Mass for deceased benefactors” (RG 27).
Prayer for the Deceased Bishop or Priest
O God, who did raise your servant N. to the dignity of bishop (priest) in the apostolic priesthood, grant we beseech you, that he may be joined in fellowship with your apostles for evermore.
Prayer for the Deceased Cleric or Religious Brother
Incline your ear, O Lord, to our prayers, in which we humbly entreat your mercy, and bring to a place of peace and light the soul of your servant N., whom you have summoned to go forth from this world, and bid him to be numbered in the fellowship of your saints.
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Prayer for the Deceased Brethren, Relatives, and Benefactors
O God, who are ever ready to forgive sins and who ever seek the salvation of men, we most humbly entreat of your mercy, through the intercession of Blessed Mary ever Virgin and of all your saints, that the brethren, friends and benefactors of our Congregation, who have passed from this world, may together enjoy that happiness which has no end.
Prayer for the Faithful Departed
O God, the Creator and Redeemer of all the faithful, grant to the souls of your departed servants the remission of all their sins, that through our devout prayers they may obtain the pardon which they have always desired, who lives and reigns world without end. Amen.
Eternal rest grant unto them, Lord. -And let perpetual light shine upon them.
May they rest in peace. -Amen.
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PART II Proper Liturgy for the Congregation
Proper Liturgical Texts
PROPER LITURGICAL TE XTS
January 23 HOLY SPOUSES MARY AND JOSEPH Feast Liturgy of the Hours
Invitatory Ant. Come, let us worship Christ, the Son of God, who was obedient to Mary and Joseph.
Office of the Readings
Hymn from the common of the Blessed Virgin Mary or from the Solemnity of St. Joseph (March 19)
Ant. 1 How can this be since I do not know man? (Psalm 19) Ant. 2 The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. (Psalm 24) Ant. 3 I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be done to me as you say. (Psalm 45)
FIRST READING From the Book of the Prophet Isaiah 7:10-14;11:1-5; 62:1-3,5
The virgin birth brings joy to all the earth
Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz: Ask for a sign from the Lord, your God; let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky! But Ahaz answered, “I will not ask! I will not tempt the Lord!” Then he said: “Listen, O house of David! Is it not enough for you to weary men, must you also weary my God? Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.” But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord, and
Table of Contents Holy Spouses Mary and Joseph his delight shall be the fear of the Lord. Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide, but he shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the land’s afflicted. He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. Justice shall be the band around his waist, and faithfulness a belt upon his hips. For Zion’s sake I will not be silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet, until her vindication shines forth like the dawn and her victory like a burning torch. Nations shall behold your vindication, and all kings your glory; you shall be called by a new name pronounced by the mouth of the Lord. You shall be a glorious crown in the hand of the Lord, a royal diadem held by your God. As a young man marries a virgin, your Builder shall marry you; and as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride so shall your God rejoice in you.
RESPONSORY Blessed is the Virgin Mary and worthy of all praise; - From her was born the Sun of Justice, Christ our Lord. Let us celebrate with joy the feast of Mary, Spouse of Joseph; - From her was born the Sun of Justice, Christ our Lord.
SECOND READING From the Commentary of Saint Ambrose, bishop of Milan on Luke 1:26-27 (Expositio super Lucam, Liber II: CCL 15, 1554-1555)
The Virgin conceived us in the Spirit
The evangelist made a fitting division of work between them- selves. Saint Matthew shows us that Joseph was told by the angel not to divorce Mary. The evangelist Luke testifies that they had not have relations. Mary herself testifies to this when she says to the angel, “How can this be since I do not know man?” Luke himself proclaims her virginity when he says, “And the virgin’s name was Mary,” while the prophet had already told us so with the words, “The virgin shall conceive.”
Table of Contents Proper Liturgical Texts
Joseph in turn confirms this because, on noticing the pregnancy of the woman he had not possessed, he had in mind to divorce her. Joseph preserves the merit and the image of the just man, and this fact adds strength to his testimony. In fact, the mouth of the just man does not know falsehood; his tongue utters wisdom; his judgment is truth. Do not be surprised if the Scripture frequently calls Mary by the name “spouse.” This word does not express the loss of virginity; rather, it affirms that the betrothal took place and that the nuptials were celebrated. Indeed, no one would think of divorcing a woman he had not married; therefore, the fact that Joseph wanted to divorce her shows that he admitted having married her. At the same time, we must not be surprised when the evangelist says: “He had no relations with her till she gave birth to her son,” we are dealing here with a Scriptural mode of expression, which is also found elsewhere. For example, “I am with you until you grow old.” Does this mean that after you grow old God ceases to exist? Also, we read in the Psalm: “The Lord said to my lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool.” Does this mean that after his enemies have been defeated the Lord will no longer be seated at the right hand of the Father? Or, it may be a question of one who is defending a case: he deems it sufficient to state what pertains to his case, without adding anything else. In fact, it is enough for him to settle the case he has taken up and then move on. Having, then, proposed to demonstrate the virginal aspect of the mystery of the Incarnation, the writer did not think it necessary to insist further on witnessing to the virginity of Mary, so as not to appear more intent on defending the virgin than of affirming the mystery. Surely, by declaring that Joseph was a just man, he made it abundantly clear that he could not profane the temple of the Holy Spirit, the Mother of the Lord, the womb consecrated by the mystery.
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We know a succession of true facts; we have understood their design. Let us now attempt to grasp their hidden meaning. It is significant that she married, while remaining a virgin, for she represents the Church who is without blemish, yet is a spouse. While remaining a virgin, she has conceived us by the Spirit, and while remaining a virgin, she brings us to birth without pain. It may be, then, that Mary became a mother by him who was not her spouse, because even the individual Churches, made faithfully by the Spirit and by grace, are nevertheless united to the person of a mortal pontiff.
RESPONSORY You are rightly blessed among women, for you have changed Eve’s curse to a blessing; - Through you the blessing of the Father has come upon mankind. Through you our first parents obtain salvation; - Through you the blessing of the Father has come upon mankind.
Morning Prayer
HYMN Wife did she live, yet virgin did she die; Untouched by man, yet Mother of a son; To save herself and Child from fatal lie, To end the web where of the treat was spun; In marriage bonds to Joseph was tied, unwonted works and wonted veils to hide.
God lent his Paradise to Joseph’s care, Wherein he was to plant the Tree of Life; His Son of Joseph’s child to the title bear, Just cause to make the Mother Joseph’s wife, O Blessed man betrothed such a Spouse, More blessed to live with such a Child in house!
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No Carnal love this blessed league procured, all vain delight was far from their assent; Though both in wedlock-bands themselves assured, Yet straight by vows they sealed their chaste intent: Thus had the virgins’, wives’, and widows’ crown, and by chaste childbirth doubled her renown. (Blesssed Robert Southwell, SJ 1560-1595)
Ant. 1 Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. It was of her that Jesus who is called the Messiah was born. Psalms and canticles from Sunday, Week I Ant. 2 The shepherds went in haste and found Mary and Joseph and the Baby lying in the manger. Ant. 3 The Child’s father and mother were wondering at what was being said about him.
READING Isaiah 61:10-11 I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul; for he has clothed me with the robe of salvation, and wrapped me in a mantle of justice, like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem, like a bride bedecked with her jewels. As the earth brings forth its plants, and a garden makes its growth spring up, so will the Lord God make justice and praise spring up before all the nations.
RESPONSORY Let us celebrate the blessed Virgin Mary, spouse of Saint Joseph. - Let us... Let us live faithfully the mystery of the blessed Virgin Mary, - Spouse of Saint Joseph... Glory be to the Father… - Let us…
CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH Ant. Let us celebrate with joy the blessed Mary ever Virgin, Mother of God that together with Saint Joseph, her husband, she may intercede for us with the Lord.
Table of Contents Holy Spouses Mary and Joseph
INTERCESSIONS Today, we celebrate our Savior, who was born of the Virgin Mary and chose to be called the son of Joseph. Let us pray with joy in our heart, saying: Lord, may the blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph intercede for us. Savior of the world, by the virtue of your redemption, you preserve your Mother from every stain of sin, - keep us also free from sin. (R.) Our Redeemer, you were subject to Mary and Joseph, - teach us the virtue of obedience. (R.) Eternal Word, you spent your life in poverty with Mary and Joseph, - teach us to love poverty. (R.) Jesus, during your life on earth you chose to be called the son of Joseph, - teach us to cultivate humility and simplicity. (R.) Christ, our Savior, you prayed to the Father for the unity of those who believe in you, - grant to all the members of our Congregation the gift of your wonderful love. (R.)
Our Father…
Prayer Holy Father, you joined together by a virginal bond the glorious mother of your Son and the just man, Saint Joseph, that they might be faithful cooperators in the mystery of the Word Incarnate. Grant that we who are united with you by the bond of baptism may live more intimately our union with Christ and may walk joyfully in the way of love. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Table of Contents Proper Liturgical Texts who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
Daytime Prayer Psalms from the current weekday in the Psalter
MIDMORNING
Ant. When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had directed him and received her into his home as his wife.
READING Matthew 1:20 As he considered this, behold an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, since that which is conceived is her is of the Holy Spirit.”
Blessed Mother and inviolate Virgin, glorious Queen of the world, - Intercede for us with the Lord.
MIDDAY
Ant. The father and mother of Jesus were wondering about what was being said about him.
READING Luke 2:22-23 And when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord.”
How glorious is the mother, - Who gave birth to the King of heaven.
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MIDAFTERNOON
Ant. Son, why have you done this to us? You see that your father and I have been searching for you in sorrow.
READING Luke 2:41-44 The parents of Jesus used to go every year to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover, and when he was twelve they went up for the celebration as was their custom. As they were returning at the end of the feast, the child Jesus remained behind unknown to his parents. Thinking he was in the party, they continued their journey for a day, looking for him among their relatives and acquaintances.
Mary treasured all these things, - And reflected on them in her heart.
Prayer, as in Morning Prayer.
Evening Prayer
HYMN, *Wife did she live...+
Ant. 1 The angel Gabriel was sent to the Virgin Mary, spouse of Saint Joseph. (Psalm 122) Ant. 2 Mary, the mother of Jesus was engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together she was found with child through the power of the Holy Spirit. (Psalm 147) Ant. 3 An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph and said: “Joseph, son of David, have no fear of taking Mary as your wife.” (Canticle from Revelation 19:1-7)
READING Galatians 4:4-7 When the designated time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to deliver from the law those who were subjected to it, so that we might receive our status
Table of Contents Proper Liturgical Texts as adopted sons. The proof that you are sons is the fact that God sent forth into our hearts the spirit of his Son which cries out “Abba” (“Father!”). You are no longer a slave but a son! And the fact that you are a son makes you an heir, by God’s design.
RESPONSORY Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. - Hail Mary... The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, -The Lord... Glory be to the Father…- Hail Mary...
CANTICLE OF MARY Ant. We celebrate with joy the ever-virgin Mother of God, because together with Saint Joseph her spouse, she intercedes for us with the Lord.
INTERCESSIONS Let us give thanks to Christ, our Redeemer, who on earth lived subject to Mary and Joseph, and let us ask him: Look upon Mary and Joseph, O Lord and hear us. Divine Master, grant that we may hear your word and keep it with a pure and generous heart, - just as Mary, your mother welcomed it and pondered it in her heart. (R.) Christ, builder of the universe, you were called son of the carpenter, - may we undertake in generous spirit our daily tasks. (R.) Jesus Redeemer, you chose Mary and Joseph as your guardians, - protect our Congregation. (R.) Jesus, you united Mary and Joseph to yourself in the glory of heaven, - welcome our deceased brothers and sisters into the family of the blessed. (R.)
Our Father...
Prayer, as in Morning Prayer.
Table of Contents Holy Spouses Mary and Joseph
Holy Mass
Entrance Antiphon Hail Mary, Mother of God, united by a sacred bond to Joseph, faithful guardian of your virginal motherhood.
OPENING PRAYER Holy Father, you joined together by a virginal bond the glorious mother of your Son and the just man, Saint Joseph, that they might be faithful cooperators in the mystery of the Word Incarnate. Grant that we who are united with you by the bond of baptism may live more intimately our union with Christ and may walk joyfully in the way of love. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
FIRST READING Isaiah 61:9-11
I rejoice heartily with the Lord, for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation.
A reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah
*The+ descendants *of the poor+ shall be renowned among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge them as a race the Lord has blessed. I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul; for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation, and wrapped me in a mantle of justice, like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem, like a bride bedecked with her jewels. As the earth brings forth its plants, and a garden makes its growth spring up, so will the Lord God make justice and praise spring up before all the nations.
The Word of the Lord.
Table of Contents Proper Liturgical Texts
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm 113
Blessed be the name of the Lord, both now and forever.
Praise, you servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord.
Blessed be the name of the Lord, both now and forever.
From the rising to the setting of the sun is the name of the Lord be praised.
Blessed be the name of the Lord, both now and forever.
High above all nations is the Lord, above the heavens is his glory.
Blessed be the name of the Lord, both now and forever.
SECOND READING Galatians 4:4-7
God sent his Son born of a woman.
A reading from the Letter of Paul to the Galatians
When the designated time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to deliver from the law those who were subjected to it, so that we might receive our status as adopted sons. The proof that you are sons is the fact that God sent forth into our hearts the spirit of his Son which cries out “Abba” (“Father!”). You are no longer a slave but a son! And the fact that you are a son makes you an heir, by God’s design.
The Word of the Lord.
GOSPEL VERSE (Luke 2:51) Alleluia! Alleluia! Jesus went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. Alleluia! Alleluia!
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GOSPEL Luke 2:41-52
Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been searching for you in sorrow.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke
Each year his parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom. After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances, but not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?” But they did not understand what he said to them. He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus advanced (in) wisdom and age and favor before God and man.
The Gospel of the Lord.
PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS Lord, look graciously upon the gifts which we present at your altar on the feast of the Holy Spouses, Mary and Joseph, and enkindle in us the spirit of your love. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
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PREFACE of the Holy Spouses Mary and Joseph Holy Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord. You give the Church the joy of celebrating the feast of the Holy Spouses, Mary and Joseph.
In her, full of grace and worthy mother of your Son, you signify the beginning of the Church, resplendently beautiful bride of Christ; you chose him, the wise and faithful servant, as husband of the virgin Mother of God, and made him head of your family, to guard as a father your only Son, conceived by the work of the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ our Lord.
For this gift of your kindness, we join with the angels and saints to proclaim with one voice the hymn of your praise:
Communion Antiphon (Matthew 1:20) Joseph, son of David, have no fear about taking Mary as your wife. It is by the Holy Spirit that she has conceived this child.
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION Lord, by your holy gifts you have filled us with joy. By venerating the blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph, her spouse, may we be strengthened in your love and live in continual thanksgiving. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
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March 19 ST. JOSEPH, HUSBAND OF MARY Solemnity Everything as in the Roman Missal and in the Liturgy of the Hours.
May 1 ST. JOSEPH THE WORKER Memorial This memorial is celebrated in the Congregation “in a special manner” (Proper Calendar, Remarks, no. 1: “It is permitted, for the sake of greater solemnity, to recite or sing the Glory and the Creed, especially when there is significant gathering of the faithful.” Everything as in the Roman Missal and in the Liturgy of the Hours, May 1; all the rest, from March 19
May 30 ST. JOSEPH MARELLO Feast From the Common of Pastors, for a bishop, except the following:
Liturgy of the Hours
Office of the Readings
SECOND READING From the Sixth Pastoral Letter of Saint Joseph Marello, bishop, on the Catechism (January 20, 1894) (“Scritti e insegnamenti” del Beato Giuseppe Marello)
To believe and to teach belief.
For human moral perfection, the culture of the mind without the education of the heart is not enough. Or, to put it better, instruction unaccompanied by religion is not able to give us true light to the intellect nor move the will effectively toward the good. For moral progress it is necessary that one knows the end by which he is moved, the end towards which he tends, the model which
Table of Contents Proper Liturgical Texts ought to serve as his norm, and the force which ought to give him necessary and opportune help. Now, it is only the Catechism that reveals to us the mystery of the original sin. It teaches that at present we are born weak and corrupt. The first law in moral progress, therefore, is not to favor the instincts of this corrupt nature but to restrain them, not to give in to every pleasure, but to subdue, mortify and deny oneself. Whoever believes in eternal life knows the goal of this earthly pilgrimage, knows that his end is not earth but heaven, not the creature but the Creator. He knows that the soul aspiring to something other that the eternal Truth, the eternal Beauty and the eternal and infinite Good, does not rise, but falls headlong. Believing in Jesus Christ, one hears the voice of faith that shouts: here is the ideal of your life; conform your thoughts to his thoughts, your affections to his affections, your actions to his action; transform yourself into his image. Believing, finally, in the efficaciousness of prayer, the sacraments, and the divine Sacrifice, the Christian says with Saint Paul: “I can do all in him who strengthens me.” By glorying in his own weakness, without fear of obstacles or of enemies, he advances in the arduous but luminous way of holy virtue, aspiring to be perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect. Of all these things you are very well convinced, my dear people, and you conserve as a precious treasure mind and heart that divine science which is necessary and useful for the present life, just as it is indispensable for the life to come. Yet you must not keep this inestimable treasure only for yourselves. It is your duty to share it abundantly with the new generation, employing all of your zeal so that this generation may also grow educated at the school of religion. First of all, we direct ourselves to you, parents and heads of families. You are the first teachers and your lips, as a great doctor of the Church wrote, are the first books which this salutary school begins: Libri sunt labia parentum. Your children carry the image of
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God impressed on their souls. It is your duty to give life, so to speak, to the holy name of God, that infinite Being who created all things from nothing, and who is our first principle and ultimate end. It is your duty to make known Jesus Christ, the immense love that he had and still has for us now, his teachings, example and good works. It is your duty to educate your children to observe the divine law from their earliest years, to recognize in you and in every other superior the very authority of God, to be just and charitable with all.
RESPONSORY (Sirach 6:37) Meditate on the commandments of the Lord; - And continuously practice his precepts. He will give light to your mind, and you will obtain wisdom as you desire; - And continuously practice his precepts.
Prayer O God, you inspired in Saint Bishop Joseph Marello the ardent desire to express by his interior life and in his apostolate the Christian mystery as lived by Saint Joseph, guardian of the Redeemer, by his intercession grant that we may imitate him in his intimate union with you and in his zeal for the service of the Church. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
Holy Mass *see Votive Mass in Honor of St. Joseph Marello+
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July 12 ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEDICATION OF ST. JOSEPH’S SHRINE IN ASTI Solemnity in Asti; Memorial in other houses Everything as in the Roman Missal and in the Liturgy of the Hours, Common of the Dedication of a Church
September 15 OUR LADY OF SORROWS Memorial Everything as in the Roman Missal and in the Liturgy of the Hours, September 15
November 13 ST. STANISLAUS KOSTKA, RELIGIOUS, Patron of OSJ Aspirants Feast in OSJ Minor Seminaries; Memorial in other houses From the Common of Holy Men, for a religious, except the following:
Liturgy of the Hours
Office of the Readings
SECOND READING From the Letters of Vienna of the Society of Jesus and from a letter of St. Peter Canisius (Litt. Ann. Coll. Vindobonensis, Kal. Sept. 1567; Arch. Rom. S.I., Epist. Germaniae, 140, ff.75r.-v.; B. Petri Canisii epist. Et Acta: Braunsberger S.I., vol. 6, Friburgi Brisgoviae, 1913, pp.63-64)
Jesus and the Society occupied his thoughts day and night.
A Polish youth, noble by birth, but even more by virtue, had pleaded for two whole years with our men in Vienna to be admitted to the Society. He had always been refused because it did not seem advisable to admit him without the consent of his parents, not only because he had been one of our boarders and was still an external student in our lower division school, but also for other reasons. A
Table of Contents St. Stanislaus Kostka few days ago, no longer hoping to be admitted here, he left in an attempt to get a hearing elsewhere. He gave a great example of constancy and piety. He was loved by all and never gave trouble to anyone. A child in age, he was an adult in prudence. Small of body, he was great, very great of soul. Everyday he attended two Masses. He went to confession and communion more frequently than the others, and he prayed at length. Meanwhile he not only equaled his schoolmates in progress (he was a student of rhetoric), but he ended by surpassing even those who had at first been ahead of him. Jesus and the Society occupied his thoughts day and night. With tears on his eyes he pleaded with his superiors to be admitted. He also had recourse by letter to the papal legate, urging him to put pressure on our men to accept him. But it was all in vain. And so, against the will of his parents, brothers, relatives and friends, he decided to turn elsewhere and to try some other way to obtain admission to the Society. In the event that he did not succeed somewhere else, he decided that he would be a pilgrim for the rest of his life and would lead a very humble and poor existence for the love of Christ. When our men, however, came to know his plans, they tried to dissuade him. They urged him to return to his country together with his bother, who, it was said, was planning to return there. They thought that his parents, seeing his determination, would eventually consent to his just wishes, but he remained unshaken. “It is vain to hope for the consent of my parents. I know them better than anyone else. I must absolutely carry out what I have promised Christ.” Neither the headmaster nor the confessors were able to prevail upon him to change his mind. And so, one fine morning, unknown to his schoolmaster and his brother, he bade farewell to his conspicuous wealth, put aside the clothes he wore at home and at school, and put on a very plain linen suit. Then, looking like a poor country boy, he set out, staff in hand, from Vienna. What will happen next, God only knows. We hope, however, that this departure has not happened without divine counsel. He
Table of Contents Proper Liturgical Texts demonstrated, in fact, such constancy that he appears to have acted not from a boyish whim but moved by an inspiration from God. The same opinion was held by Saint Peter Canisius, then head of the province of upper Germany. In fact, when Stanislaus arrived at Silinga, he directed him to Rome, with the following letter for the superior general, Saint Francis Borgia: “We are sending you from this province the bearer of this letter under the guidance of Christ. He is Stanislaus, a Polish nobleman, a good and studious youth. Our men in Vienna declined to admit him to the novitiate in order not to upset his family. When he came to us, wishing to fulfill his long-standing vow (in fact, before being admitted he had already for some years committed himself totally to the Society), he was tested for a while in the boarding school and he always proved himself faithful in the various assignments and constant in his vocation. Meanwhile, it was his desire to be sent to Rome so as to be farther away from his family, who, he feared, would persecute him, and to make greater progress in piety. He has never lived with our novices. There he could be admitted to the novitiate to give an exact proof of his preparation. We rest great hopes in him.”
RESPONSORY (Psalm 27:13.14) I believed that I shall see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living. - One thing I ask of the Lord; this I seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. To me, “life” means Christ; hence, dying is so much gain. - One thing I ask of the Lord; this I seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
Prayer O God, you showed special love to Saint Stanislaus for the ardor with which he consecrated to you his youth.
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Grant that by redeeming our time by constant dedication to good works, we may run in the way of your precepts. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, you Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
Holy Mass Entrance Antiphon Psalm( 107:2) My heart is steadfast, O God; my heart is steadfast; I will sing my soul.
OPENING PRAYER O God, you showed special love to Saint Stanislaus for the ardor with which he consecrated to you his youth. Grant that by redeeming our time by constant dedication to good works, we may run in the way of your precepts. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, you Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
FIRST READING 2 Peter 1:2-11
Brother, be solicitous to make your call and election permanent.
A reading from the Second Epistle of Peter
Dearly beloved, may grace be yours and peace in abundance through your knowledge of God and of Jesus, our Lord. That divine power of his has freely bestowed on us everything necessary for a life of genuine piety, through knowledge of him who called us by his power and glory. By virtue of them he has
Table of Contents Proper Liturgical Texts bestowed on us the greatest and precious things he promised, so that through these you who have fled the world corrupted by lust might become sharers of the divine nature. This is reason enough for you to make every effort to undergird your virtue with faith, your discernment with virtue, and your self-control with discernment; this self-control, in turn, should lead to perseverance, and perseverance to piety, and piety to care for your brother, and care for you brother, to love. Qualities like these, made increasingly your own, are by no means ineffectual; they bear fruit in true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Any man who lacks these qualities is shortsighted to the point of blindness. He forgets the cleansing of long-past sins. Be solicitous to make your call and election permanent, brothers; surely those who do so will never be lost. On the contrary, your entry into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for.
The Word of the Lord.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm 122
We will go up to the house of the Lord.
I rejoiced because they said to me, “We will go up to the house of the Lord.” And now we have set foot within your gates, O Jerusalem.
We will go up to the house of the Lord.
They go up, according to the decree for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord. In it are set up judgment seats, seats for the house of David.
We will go up to the house of the Lord.
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Because of my relatives and friends, I will say, “Peace be with you!” Because of the house of the Lord, our God, I will pray for your good.
We will go up to the house of the Lord.
GOSPEL VERSE (Matthew 11:25) Alleluia! Alleluia! Father, Lord of heaven and earth, to you I offer praise; For what you have hidden from the learned and the clever, you have revealed to the merest children. Alleluia! Alleluia!
GOSPEL Luke 2:41-50
Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke
The parents of Jesus used to go every year to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover, and when he was twelve they went up for the celebration, as was their custom. As they were returning at the end of the feast, the child Jesus remained behind unknown to his parents. Thinking he was in the party, they continued their journey for a day, looking for him among their relatives and acquaintances. Not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem in search for him. On the third day they came upon him in the temple sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. All who heard him was amazed at his intelligence and answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? You see that your father and I have been searching for you in sorrow.” He said to them, “Why did you search for me? Did you know that I had to be in my Father’s house?” But they did not grasp what he said to them. He went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was
Table of Contents Proper Liturgical Texts obedient to them. His mother meanwhile kept all these things in memory, Jesus for his part, progressed steadily in wisdom and age and grace before God and man.
The Gospel of the Lord.
PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS Graciously accept, Lord, our offerings and hear our prayers that they may be in conformity with your will. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon (Psalm 73:28) For me, to be near is my good; To make the Lord my refuge.
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION Teach us, Lord, to walk directly toward you and to seek our strength from the bread of life. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
November 26 ST. JOHN BERCHMANS, RELIGIOUS, PATRON OF OSJ NOVICES Feast in OSJ Novitiate Houses;Memorial in other houses Everything from the Common of Holy Men, for a religious, except the following:
Liturgy of the Hours
Office of the Readings
SECOND READING From the Letter of Saint John Berchmans, religious (Letter: August 1616; T. Severin, S. Jan Berchmans, Les ecrits, Louvain 1931, pp. 35-38).
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I have determined to give myself to Christ Jesus with my whole heart.
When he was seventeen, in order to dedicate himself to God as soon as possible and that his parents might not make any plans for his future, Saint John Berchmans decided to reveal to them what he had already determined to do with all his heart. From Malines he wrote the following letter: “Reverend father and dearest mother: it is already four months that the Lord has been knocking at the door of my heart, which I have so far in some ways kept shut. Since then, in fact, I have been aware of no other thought entering my mind, whether I was studying or resting. So, also, when I walked or whatever else I did, no other preoccupation has prevailed on me to reflect than that of deciding what state of life I ought to choose. After many Communions and good works, I have finally decided to take a vow to serve God in a religious order, if he assists me by his grace. It is true that, as a rule, friends and parents do not take kindly the absence of their loved ones. But I look at the matter differently. If there stood before me on one side my father and mother, with my sister and the other relatives, and on the other side our Lord with his, and, as I hope, also my blessed Mother; and if the former were to say, ‘Dearest son, do not leave us, we implore by the hard work and sufferings we have borne for you...,’ and Jesus were to say, ‘Follow me instead; for you was I born, for you was I scourged, for you was I crowned with thorns and nailed to a cross. These five sacred wounds which you see, did I not receive them for your welfare? Do you not realize that up to now I have nourished your soul with my most holy flesh and have purified it with my sacred blood? And are you not ashamed not to show me any gratitude...?’ Oh, dearest parents, whenever I meditate on these things, I am so excited that, if it were possible, I would embrace the religious life immediately. Indeed, my heart and my soul have no peace till they find the one they love. I have, then, determined to give myself to Christ Jesus with my whole heart and to fight his battles in his Company. One thing only I expect from you now: not to show
Table of Contents Proper Liturgical Texts yourselves so bereft of reason as to oppose your designs to those of Christ. I commend myself to your holy prayers, and I implore the Lord not to deny me perseverance in my holy resolutions till death. May he then grant eternal life to you and me.
Obedient son of Christ and your son, John Berchmans”
RESPONSORY Here I stand, knocking at the door. If anyone hears me calling and opens the door, - I will enter his house and have supper with him, and he with me. Happy the servant whom his master discovers at work on his return. - I will enter his house and have supper with him, and he with me.
Prayer God, you are always inviting us to your love, and you love those who give with joy. Grant, that while imitating the holy youth, John, we may in all things joyfully seek you and strive to please you. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Holy Mass
Entrance Antiphon Psalm( 42:5) I led the multitude in the procession to the house of God amid loud cries of joy.
OPENING PRAYER God, you are always inviting us to your love,
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and you love those who give with joy. Grant, that while imitating the holy youth, John, we may in all things joyfully seek you and strive to please you. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord.
FIRST READING 1 John 4:1-8
Let us love one another because love is God.
A reading from the First Epistle of John
Beloved, do not trust every spirit, but put the spirits to a test to see if they belong to God, because many false prophets have appeared in the world. This is how you can recognize God’s spirit: every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ come in the flesh belongs to God, while every spirit that fails to acknowledge him does not belong to God. Such is the spirit of the antichrist, which, as you have heard, is to come; in fact, it is in the world already. You are of God, you little ones, and thus you conquered the false prophets. There is One greater in you than there is in the world. Those others belong to the world; that is why theirs is the language of the world and why the world listens to them. We belong to God and anyone who has knowledge of God gives us a hearing, while anyone who is not of God refuses to hear us. Thus do we distinguish the spirit of truth from the spirit of deception. Beloved, let us love one another because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten of God and has knowledge of God. The man without love has known nothing of God, for God is love.
The Word of the Lord.
*alternative+ Phil. 4:4-9 Let us rejoice in the Lord always.
A reading from the letter of Saint Paul to the Philippians
Brethren, rejoice in the Lord always! I say it again: Rejoice!
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Everyone should see how unselfish you are. The Lord is near. Dismiss all anxiety from your minds. Present your needs to the Lord in any form of prayer and in petitions full of gratitude. Then God’s own peace, which is beyond all understanding, will stand guard over your hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus. Finally, my brothers, your thought should be wholly directed to all that is true, all that deserves respect, all that is honest, pure, admirable, decent, virtuous, and worthy of praise. Live according to what you have learned and accepted, what you have heard me say and seen me do. Then will the God of peace be with you.
The Word of the Lord.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm 100
Sing joyfully to the Lord, all you lands; serve the Lord with gladness.
Sing joyfully to the Lord, all you lands; serve the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful song.
Sing joyfully to the Lord, all you lands; serve the Lord with gladness.
Know that the Lord is God; he made us, we are his; his people, the flock he tends.
Sing joyfully to the Lord, all you lands; serve the Lord with gladness.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving, his courts with praise; give thanks to him, bless his name.
Sing joyfully to the Lord, all you lands; serve the Lord with gladness.
GOSPEL VERSE (Psalm 95:2) Alleluia! Alleluia!
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Sing to the Lord, bless his name. Announce his salvation day after day. Alleluia! Alleluia!
GOSPEL Luke 9:57-62
Whoever puts his hand to the plow but keeps looking back is unfit for the reign of God.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke
As they were making their way along, someone said to Jesus, “I will be your follower wherever you go.” Jesus said to him, “The foxes have lairs, the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Come after me.” The man replied; “Let me bury my father first.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their dead; come away and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Yet another said to him, “I will be your follower, Lord, but first let me take leave of my people at home.” Jesus answered him, “Whoever puts his hand to the plow but keeps looking back is unfit for the reign of God.”
The Gospel of the Lord
*alternative+ John. 15:9-17
This is my commandment: Love one another as I have loved you.
A reading from the Gospel according to John
Jesus said to his disciples: As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Live on in my love. You will live in my love if you keep my commandments, even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and lived in his love. All this I tell you that my joy will be yours and your joy may be complete. This is my commandment: love one another as I have loved you. There is no greater love than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer speak of you as slaves, for a slave does not know what his master is about. Instead I call you friends,
Table of Contents Proper Liturgical Texts since I have made known to you all that I heard from my Father. It was not you who chose me, it was I who chose you to go forth and bear fruit. Your fruit must endure, so that all you ask the Father in my name he will give you. The command I give you is this, that you love one another.
The Gospel of the Lord.
PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS Lord, grant that we may not abandon our first fervor, so that, filled with the joy of the sacrifice of your Son we may carry out in love and action what the Spirit prompts the Church to do. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon (Psalm 33:9) Taste and see how good is the Lord; happy are they who take refuge in him.
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION Lord God, in the Eucharistic meal you strengthen in us fraternal love. As you made Saint John a witness of your goodness, grant that we may become true friends of the Lord, who lives and reigns forever and ever.
SOLEMN BLESSING May God our Father, who has gathered us together this day to celebrate the feast of Saint John Berchmans, patron of Oblate Novices, bless you, protect you, and confirm you in his peace. - Amen.
May Christ the Lord, the author of grace, transform you into his image, and make you authentic witnesses of his Gospel. - Amen.
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May the Holy Spirit, who has aroused in our hearts the desire for sanctity, make you strong in faith and ardent in love, like your holy patron John. - Amen.
Sunday within the Octave of Christmas (or December 30) Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph Feast Everything as in the Roman Missal and the Liturgy of the Hours
VOTIVE MASS IN HONOR OF ST. JOSEPH MARELLO From the Common of Pastors, for a bishop
Entrance Antiphon (Cf. Sirach 45:24) The Lord sealed a covenant of peace with him, and made him a prince, bestowing a priestly dignity upon him forever.
OPENING PRAYER O God, you inspired in Saint Bishop Joseph Marello the ardent desire to express by his interior life and in his apostolate the Christian mystery as lived by Saint Joseph, guardian of the Redeemer, by his intercession grant that we may imitate him in his intimate union with you and in his zeal for the service of the Church. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
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PRAYERS OF THE FAITHFUL P: The omnipotence of God is manifested above all in his mercy and forgiveness. In faith, let us offer to him our needs, confiding in the powerful intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, of Saint Joseph, and of Saint Joseph Marello. In every petition, let us say:
Through the intercession of Saint Joseph Marello, hear us O Lord.
L: For the Holy Church of God, that she may always grow more in faith, hope and charity, and give generous testimony of that Christian spirit which Saint Joseph Marello assiduously inculcated with his preaching, in his writings and by his life, we pray...
L: For the supreme Pontiff, that the Lord may give him grace and health, and sustain him in the proclamation of the Gospel and in his service for unity and peace, we pray…
L: For the Oblates of Saint Joseph, that in following the footsteps of their Founder and in faithfulness to their charism, they may dedicate themselves untiringly in working for the Kingdom of God in the formation of the youth in catechesis, and in the service of the poor, we pray...
L: For Christian families, that in obedience to the Gospel and according to its demands, they may rediscover the sure road for their stability and growth, we pray...
L: For the youth, that they may open their heart in confidence to Christ and know how to give a generous and faithful “yes” to their Christian vocation, we pray …
P: O God, our Father, fount of holiness, we give you thanks for the gift made to the Church and to the world of Saint Joseph Marello, who lived his experience of the faith in complete openness to your will, and by faithfully and charitably serving his brothers and sisters. Through our Christ our Lord.
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PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS Bless, O Father, the gifts of your festive family, and grant that, by the example and through the intercession of Saint Joseph Marello, our lives be transformed into an oblation pleasing to you. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
PREFACE From the Common of Pastors
Communion Antiphon *John 15:13+ No one has greater love, says the Lord, than the one who lays down his life for his friends.
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION O God, in your abundant goodness, you nourish us with the Body and Blood of your Son. Grant that following the example of Saint Joseph Marello, we may make the Eucharist the innermost strength of our lives and the source of our charity toward our brothers and sisters. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
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Joseph Marello by Cosimo Musio
APPENDICES Proper Songs of the Congregation, Thoughts of the Founder
Appendices
SONGS TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
O DOLCE NOME O dolce nome, Maria, Maria Allor che l’alba rimena il giorno, speme e conforto dell’alma mia, allor che il sole fa in mar ritorno, col cuor sul labbro, finch’io ovunque io sia, ovunque andrò, vivrò, o dolce nome, t’invocherò. o dolce nome, t’invocherò.
SALVE REGINA, DOLCE MADRE NOSTRA
Salve Regina, dolce Madre Orsù quegli occhi tuoi, dolce nostra, Maria tutta bontà, tutta clemenza e Pieni d’amore a noi rivolgi tu: amor. sì che si sveli nella patria, O Pia, a te, gemendo l’animo si prostra, Il puro fiore del tuo seno, Gesù. sola speranza all’umano dolor.
ALMA REDEMPTORIS MATER
Alma Redemptoris Mater tuum sanctum Genitorem, quæ pervia cæli porta manes, Virgo prius ac posterius, et stella maris, succure cadenti, Gabrielis ab ore sumens illud surgere qui curat, populo: Ave, tu quæ genuisti, natura mirante, peccatorum miserere.
AVE, REGINA CÆLORUM Ave, Regina cælorum, Gaude, Virgo gloriosa, Ave, Domina angelorum, super omnes speciosa; salve, radix, salve, porta, vale, O valde decora, ex qua mundo lux est orta. et pro nobis Christum exora.
Table of Contents Songs to the Blessed Virgin Mary
SA PILING NG KRUS (Dalit sa Mahal na Ina ng Hapis)
I V Sa piling ng krus ng Anak, Kaluluwa ko’y iyong gawing ang Ina ay umiiyak mag-alab at pagningasin; sa laki ng habag; si Hesus ay ibigin. Dibdib ay halos mawarat Banal na Ina ng Diyos, dahil sa sakit at hirap iukit mo sa aking puso ‘di makapangusap. mga sugat ni Kristo.
II VI At aling pusong matigas Tulutan mong damayan ka ng Ina ang ‘di maagnas diyan sa ‘yong pagdurusa sa anyo ng Anak? dahil sa aking sala. Puso’y sisikdo-sikdo Ito ring mga luha ko, ng Inang nanlulumo sana’y ipakisama mo sa Anak niyang bunso. sa habag mo kay Kristo.
III VII At sino kayang tao O Hesus kong mahabagin, na ang luha’y ‘di tutulo kung ako’y iyong tatawagin, kung makita ang anyo? ang Birhen ay isama rin. At nakitang lahat ng Ina At kung mamatay na ako, paghampas at pag-alimura kalul’wa’y salubungin mo, sa sintang Anak niya. dalhin sa paraiso.
IV Ang Anak ay pinahirapan sa pagtubos ng kanyang bayan, ngunit walang dumamay. O Inang masintahin, puso ko’y iyong pukawin, sákit mo ay damdamín.
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SONGS TO ST. JOSEPH
DEAR GUARDIAN OF MARY Dear guardian of Mary, dear Ah, blessed Saint Joseph, how nurse of her Child, safe should I be, Life’s ways are full weary, the Sweet spouse of our Lady, if desert is wild, thou wert with me! Bleak sands are all ‘round us, no home can we see, O blessed Saint Joseph, how Sweet spouse of our Lady, we great was thy worth, lean safe on thee! The one chosen shadow of God upon earth, For thou to the pilgrim art father The father of Jesus, ah, then wilt and guide, thou be, And Jesus and Mary felt safe at Sweet spouse of our Lady, a thy side, father to me!
LET’S SING THE NAME OF JOSEPH
Let’s sing the name of Joseph, We praise thee, blest Saint Joseph, the Father’s image on earth. the perfect model of men, To him the Lord confided his The weary workman’s sunshine gems of precious worth, that brings him joy again. The Son of the Eternal, the How great if we are chosen Virgin Mother of God. another Joseph to be, Most privileged of fathers that To work for Christ in silence and e’er this earth has trod, true humility, Most privileged of fathers that To work for Christ in silence and e’er this earth has trod! true humility.
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LOOK DOWN TO US ST. JOSEPH
Look down to us, Saint Joseph We venerate your justice, the protector of Our Lord, gospels praise your name, Who followed you through You are the saint all humble, deserts, and gave you who gained eternal fame; blessed reward; In your devoted family our souls Our foes are yet about us, be in trust confide, strength now at our side, Direct our way to heaven. Be light against the darkness. Saint Joseph, be our guide! Saint Joseph, be our guide!
BUNYING ANAK NI DAVID
Bunying anak ni David, ilaw na nagniningning Ng mga patriarka, esposo ni Maria. Ikaw ay pinupuri ng langit at ng lupa. Ang aming panalangi’t pag-ibig tanggapin.
PATRIARKANG SAN JOSE Patriarkang San Jose, pintakasi, Ama nami’t patrong tagatanod kami sa iyo’y nagbubunyi kami sa ‘yo ay nais maglingkod. Ang pag-ibig nami’t pagtatangi Ang dasal namin at mga handog kailan man ay ‘di maduduhagi. tanggapin mo sana nang lubos.
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O FOSTER FATHER OF THE LORD (Tune of “Bunying Anak ni David”)
O foster father of the Lord, great The eternal deed of charity guardian of our Savior, deign to exclaim you “father,” Spouse of the Virgin Mary, And as a son that is docile, he treasure of humility. obeyed all wish of thine. For thou to whom the angels The mighty and the nobles fail, sing, O father, model of the the heavenly choir extols thee. saints. O great Saint Joseph, with our Hear, then, our supplication, pray’r, list’n while we sing to deign to receive our love. thee.
O ST. JOSEPH
Once I have seen a Child in a Angels from high singing their manger praises Sleeping in peace, embraced by Shepherds awakened by a mother heavenly voices And there stood a man of great “Come and see the Child in his patience little manger Watching still the Child humble give him gifts of love, proclaim and mild. him divine.”
O Saint Joseph, humble and mild O Saint Joseph, humble and mild You gave yourself to comfort You gave yourself to comfort me and the Child. me and the Child.
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SAN JOSE, MANGGAGAWA
San Jose! San Jose! Mga manggagawa, tanging sa Pintakasing dakila ng ‘yo manggagawa Tiwalang tunghay ang noo sa iyo Sa Simbaha’y lagi kang Sa gawa’y tulungan at nang nagbabantay umunlad Amang butihin, gabay sa lupa Ang buhay na aba at sa ‘yo ay ni Hesukristong dinarakila. matulad.
Kami’y dumudulog sa ‘yong Sa tulo ng pawis at banat ng pamamagitan laman Sa Diyos ating Amang Sa gitna ng hirap at kasiphayuan mapagmahal Kami’y magsisikap magbangon Na sana’y pagpalain at dangal pagyamanin Sintang pintakasi, kami’y Aming parokyang pinamayanan. tulungan. O San Jose! O San Jose!
DALIT KAY POONG SAN JOSE
I sa mahal mong harap at O Santong mapalad, na idinudulot. iginagalang Kaluluwa’t buhay, sampung mga ng tanang angeles at kilos sangkalangitan, ng buong pagsinta’t lubos na Kami’y dumudulog na pag-irog. nangagdiriwang taglay ang adhikang kayo’y ipag- II dangal. Ipanaing mo po sa mahal mong Anak, Sabay-sabay kaming ngayo’y nang aming masunod ang dumudulog magandang hangad.
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O kung magkagayo’y ‘di man IV kami dapat, Ikaw ang pinili na pinapag-ingat mapapakibilang sa mga sa Birheng pinuspos ng langit sa mapalad. dilag. Ano pa at kayong dalawa’y Sabay-sabay kaming ngayo’y binatbat dumudulog ng grasya’t biyayang walang sa mahal mong harap at pagkalipas. idinudulot. Kaluluwa’t buhay, sampung mga Naririto na nga at pisan-pisan kilos halos ng buong pagsinta’t lubos na sa mahal mong harap at pag-irog. inihahandog Nang buong pag-ibig, kaluluwa’t III loob, Pinagpalang santo, San Joseng sampu ng panatang sa mundo’y hinirang paglimot. ng Diyos sa lahat na lalaking tanan. V Bukod na pinuspos at Sa araw na ito’y tanging pinagbiyayaan hinihiling ng mga dakila’t tanging namin, santong mahal, iyong kabanalan. marapatin Na ang muntinghan dog ngayon Naririto na nga at pisan-pisan ay tanggapin, halos ihain sa Diyos Amang maawain. sa mahal mong harap at inihahandog Mal’walhating Poon, pintakasing Nang buong pag-ibig, kaluluwa’t hayag loob, ng nangaghihingalo’t sampu ng panatang sa mundo’y nangababagabag, paglimot. Kami’y kalingain, mata mo’y ilingap
Table of Contents Songs to St. Joseph sa nangaghahandog sa ‘yo ng pagliyag. H’wag mong ikait sa amin ang habag. VI Tungkod mo’y iabot, kami’y Hingin mong mapilit ang manghahawak. ipag-aalab S’yang gagabayin sa aming n’yaring aming puso sa paglakad pagsintang wagas sa gitna ng mundong bayan ng Una nga’y kay Hesus, sa Birheng bagabag. marilag, at saka sa iyo, O santong VIII mapalad. Magluwalhati ka’t silayan ng mata kaming nabubuhay sa Mal’walhating Poon, pintakasing madlang balisa. hayag Kahimanawari ang ipagdurusa, ng nangaghihingalo’t matubos ang aming tapat na nangababagabag, pagsinta. Kami’y kalingain, mata mo’y ilingap H’wag mong ikait sa amin ang sa nangaghahandog sa ‘yo ng habag. pagliyag. Tungkod mo’y iabot, kami’y manghahawak. VII S’yang gagabayin sa aming Kami’y naririto’t muling paglakad dumudulog, sa gitna ng mundong bayan ng galing sa adhikaing ‘di ka bagabag. malilimot. Bagu’t bagong puri aming ihahandog sa iyong pangalan, ama naming irog.
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SONGS TO ST.JOSEPH MARELLO
WIKA NI MARELLO “Mabuhay sa araw-araw na ‘Yan ang wika ni Marello, inaasam tularan ang Poong San Jose. at tinutupad ang kalooban ng Ama.” “Katalinuha’y walang saysay “Magsikap maging ganap sa kung walang pag-ibig. lahat ng oras Ang taong matuwid, maging sa mga mumunting mga magpapabago ng mundo.” bagay.” “Manalangin sa tuwina. Ito ang pinakadakila Koro: ‘Yan ang wika ni Marello, na paglilingkod,” wika ni maglingkod sa Poon katulad ni Marello. (Koro) Jose.
DAKILANG PAG-IBIG
Siya sa buhay at kabanalan ay ‘di Si Inang Maria ang inspirasyon mapaparisan. sa kanyang pagsunod sa Poon. Salamin ng mga kabataan at ng Kaakibat, tumutugon sa hamon sambayanan. ng bawat panahon. (Koro)
Koro: Si San Jose at Inang Maria, Koda: Purihin ka, O San Jose Tanging tanglaw sa buhay niya Marello, Handog ay pag-ibig at pag-asa Dakila ang pag-ibig mo. Upang itaas sa Diyos Ama. Loob ko’y pinukaw mo Upang yapak mo’y sundan ko. (Koro)
Upang itaas sa Diyos Ama.
Table of Contents Songs to St. Joseph Marello
BIGYANG PARANGAL
Ikaw ang puno na s’yang Kahangahanga ang iyong mga nagtatag, katangian Ama’t tanggulan ng bayang At karapat-dapat na bigyang hinirang. parangal. Ika’y napakabuti, tunay na sandigan Ngayon ay ating ibantayog Nitong Oblatos na sa ‘yo Kanyang kabanala’y tunay at isinilang. totoo. Ama ng Oblatos ni Poong San O Marello, ikaw ang aming Jose, huwaran Pinili at hinirang ng bayan ng Tagapag-alaga ng Diyos. nangangailangan Apostol ng mga kabataan O Marello, ikaw ang aming At tunay na gabay sa daang huwaran kabutihan. Tagapag-alaga ng nangangailangan Koro: Tunay ngang ikaw ang Apostol ng mga kabataan aming patnubay At tunay na gabay sa daang Patungo kay Hesus, Maria at kabutihan.(Koro) Jose.
AWITAN ANG POON
Ipagdiwang natin ngayon, mga Isipin ang maglingkod lalo na sa anak ng Diyos. dukha. Papurihan natin siya, magalak at Kapit-kamay na kilanlin dignidad magsaya! ng kapwa. (Koro)
Koro: Ating awitan ang Poon, Magbigaya’t gawing lahat tungo banal na Marello’ng sandigan. sa kabanalan. Ngayon at magpakailan man, Kababaan ng loob ating ibahagi. larawan ni San Jose. (Koro)
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BANAL NA PAG-IBIG
Ako’y isang tupa na noo’y Tinulungan mo akong tumayo sa walang alam, pagkalugmok. Punò ng alinlangan at ‘di alam Punò ka ng pag-ibig, pag-asa at ang gagawin. pananalig. (Koro)
Ngayong nakilala kita, nabuhay Koda: Ikaw ang nagbigay ng ang aking pag-asa. bagong pag-asa, Ikaw ang aking liwanag sa Mabuhay na walang ibang madilim kong landas. hinahangad. Inisip mo ako, buhay ma’y itaya Koro: Binhi ng pag-ibig, sa akin At ngayon ika’y aking pinupuri. ay inihasik. (Koro) Tumulad kay Kristo, buhay ang paglingkod O San Jose Marello, banal na pag-ibig.
SANTO JOSE MARELLO
Kabanalan niya ay ‘di nilimot ng Upang marating ng karamihan kahapon. ang daan sa kabanalan. Patuloy na nananahan sa puso ng kasalukuyan. S’ya’y mababang-loob, ngunit dakila sa mata ng ating Diyos Ang buhay n’ya’y isang kaloob Patuloy na pinagyayaman ang sa Diyos at sa tao. buhay, isang pag-aalay. Nag-iwan s’ya ng bakas na ‘di mabubura ng anumang bukas. Ang buhay n’ya’y isang kaloob sa Diyos at sa tao. Koro: Santo Jose Marello, isang Nag-iwan s’ya ng bakas na ‘di payak na buhay ang naging mabubura ng anumang bukas. tulay (Koro)
Table of Contents Songs to St. Joseph Marello
SAN JOSE MARELLO, AMING IDOLO
‘Di ba tayo’y magkaiba, may galing sa hilaga, sa timog ang Guro ka mula pa noon, itinuro sa iba? amin, kababaang-loob Kahit gaano kalayo, buong Inalay mo ang buhay sa pusong dumalo’t magpugay paglingkod, kami ay hinubog sa kanya. na Kristyanong totoo.
Turo mo ang nagbuklod sa amin, Turo mo ang nagbuklod sa amin, Ang wika mo’y aming kapiling Ang wika mo’y aming kapiling Na mabuhay nang may pag-ibig Na mabuhay nang may pag-ibig At sa Diyos ay laging manalig. At sa Diyos ay laging manalig. (Koro) Koro: O San Jose Marellong pastol, Koda: Kami’y binigyan ng gabay O Santo Marello na aming idolo, patungo sa kabanalan. Wika mo ang nagdulot sa amin Sa hirap man o kapighatian, Ng pag-asa at buhay at pag-ibig liwanag mo’y aming sa lahat. nakamtan. (Koro)
MONSIGNOR MARELLO
Sapienza e bonta, Potenza del Chorus: Monsignor Marello Signor perla nascosta Spuntava un fiore per la vita in Al mondo esaltavi Cristo nella una terra ricca di Santi. Gloria del Padre. Un seme nascosto di un terreno Monsignor Marello, luce che fertile viene Nasceva in terra una spiga da cui A noi brillando dentro i cuori per si attinge pane del Signor. la nostra fede.
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Maestro di umiltà sorriso nel Coda: Sulle fundamenta del tuo cuor amore Ti sentivi un vero Oblato di un Abbiamo costruito le nostre case Dio che ama. Le nostre famiglie e la nostra Sagezza soave grazia del Signor fede. (Chorus) Donato alle nostre vite in questa terra che ha sete di te. (Chorus)
PAYAK NA PARAAN
Ang buhay mo ay nagsilbing Liwanag mo’y nagniningning, inspirasyong natatangi. gumagabay sa aming landas Ang iyong mga salita’y Patungo sa minimithing isinabuhay sa gawa. kabanalang walang wakas. (Koro) Liwanag mo’y nagniningning, gumagabay sa aming landas Koda: Lahat ng mga Oblato’y Patungo sa minimithing tumitingala sa iyo kabanalang walang wakas. Ipanalangin mo kaming sumusunod sa yapak mo. Koro: San Jose Marellong banal, Turuan kaming magmahal Koro 2: San Jose Marellong Upang Diyos ay dakilain banal, Sa ‘ming payak na paraan, Turuan kaming magmahal Mga payak na paraan. Halimbawang tinularan Kay San Joseng aming huwaran Bagay na simple’y ginawang Upang Diyos ay dakilain lubos na kahangahanga Sa ‘ming payak na paraan, Laging isinasaisip kadakilaan ng Mga payak na paraan. Ama. Mga payak na paraan. Mga payak na paraan.
Table of Contents Thoughts of the Founder - January
THOUGHTS OF THE FOUN DER
JANUARY
1. Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. It was well said by Saint Gregory of Nazianzus that whoever does not hold Mary to be the true mother of God, does not believe in the divinity and is an atheist. Kneeling at your holy feet, O Mary, we proclaim you true mother of God and we choose you to be now and forever our heavenly mother.
2. And so, my dear friend, when are we really going to start? In nomine Domini nostri Jesus Christi, right now!
3. “Now I start.” That is what the great teachers used to say who have gone before us. Let us also repeat these words firmly and sincerely in the presence of God.
4. Let us start all over again in earnest. Let us call on the Holy Spirit to enlighten us. Let us walk in the presence of God with the simplicity of a little child playing under his mother’s gaze.
5. As long as we have not yet reached the summit of perfection, we shall always find ourselves in that cycle (though a source of many merits) of rising and falling, of prayer to obtain the grace of a firm resolution, and of a firm resolution to obtain the grace of prayer.
6. Solemnity of Epiphany. Let us revive our faith. This is the torch that must light up to us the new and difficult paths of virtue.
7. Let us exert continual violence against ourselves. With every passing hour let us cry out with Saint Teresa: “Courage! One hour less to struggle.”
8. Every hour that strikes means one step less to take. Courage!
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One day the battle will end and the combatants will receive their reward.
9. Let us exert ourselves courageously in the mortification of this obstinate spirit, this rebellious flesh of ours. Let us train ourselves to sacrifice all that our hearts hold most dear.
10. O God, how many imperfections do we discover in ourselves? We are resolved to become better, but it is up to You alone to give firmness to our faltering resolutions.
11. Loquere, Domine (Speak, Lord). What is my duty? No curiosity? I accept the sacrifice. No thoughts of self? I will strive with all I have in me. No disorderly affection? Yes, from now on I want to love you alone; you alone in your saints, in Mary, in Joseph, in my protecting angels; you alone in your Church.
12. Whenever we commit a sin, let us ask the Lord’s pardon and say: By hating sin I will destroy it. The Lord teaches me how to renew myself at every moment. Nunc coepi; now I start. Yes, Lord, even at the final hour the worker can become deserving of his pay. Nunc coepi. I still have time.
13. Anniversary of the Clerical Investiture of St. Joseph Marello (1864). Nunc coepi my God, my Jesus, my mother Mary, my protector Saint Joseph, my Guardian Angel. Nunc coepi. I will always listen to you. Nunc coepi. I will throw away the robe of my sinfulness. Nunc coepi. I will set out on the journey to Heaven, following the inspirations which you will send from above.
14. Whoever goes about his work full of worry and anxiety gives offense to God and does not say the “Our Father” with his heart. Let us accept purely and simply whatever God sends us, without getting sad and upset.
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15. We must at every moment renew our trust in the good God and be convinced that He sometimes denies us the consolations of the Spirit but never wishes to deprive us of resignation to His will, which is the root of our merit.
16. The union of our will with that of God must be our only task below. It must be the beginning of that perfect union which will be completed in Heaven. Everything else must be subordinated to this.
17. Even our slowness in acquiring virtue must not cause us any apprehension once we realize that virtuous habits are the means and not the end, and that the man who is constantly struggling against his disorderly inclinations and humbly praying for the victory is more closely united to God than one who already possesses many virtues but perhaps forgets to give due thanks to God.
18. To cultivate a fighting spirit, but also a spirit of acceptance; to seek the glory of God, but in conformity with His will; to desire much, but to be satisfied also with little; to strive for the triumph of the Church, but to acknowledge our own personal defeats and the daily mortifications of self-love — that is how we must live and ever strive to live in union with our Divine Master.
19. O Lord, inspire us with the best way to address our prayer to You, and then grant us the grace always to adore Your divine decrees.
20. At any moment our salvation can be achieved. Let us not underestimate that moment. Oh, the value of a moment! In a moment sin is destroyed and grace is regained; in it, is decided our eternal destiny. O God, give me this moment, make it the first link in the chain that must lead me to You. Yes, You can give it to me at this very moment.
21. Saint Agnes. Saint Agnes obtained the glorious crown of
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22. Let us pray for one another for strength to bear in a Christian spirit the burden of human frailty. Let us remember that we have our inheritance in Heaven, not here below.
23. Whenever I talk about good and worthwhile things, I feel within myself a power that lifts me up to a pure and peaceful region, one that is not of this earth. I feel, I might say, an instinct toward progression, a desire for perfection, an aspiration toward Heaven.
24. Saint Francis de Sales. Choose a beautiful soul for your model and follow it at all cost.
25. Conversion of Saint Paul. Why not achieve in ourselves what we desire to see in others? O Lord, help us to take this first step that shall open up to us the way of perfection which till now we have merely skirted and never resolutely entered. Yes, whatever may be the present state of our conscience, we have urgent need to change our lives.
26. How much time lost; how many useless preoccupations; how much self-love; how little detachment from things that do not relate to God; what a skimpy measure of abandonment to the Lord; what scanty effort at uniformity with the divine will; what dangerous arbitrariness in spiritual exercises; what indolence, what inordinate concern, what vanity, what disorder in affections. Let us begin, let us really begin all over again.
27. The devil does his job when he tempts us, and we must do our job by having recourse to God.
28. Saint Thomas Aquinas. A priest according to the spirit of Jesus
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Christ must be equipped with great doctrine, and this doctrine he must communicate to the nations.
29. We have to suffer many trials in the flesh and in the spirit. But this is our mission: to carry the cross generously in the footsteps of the Master. Surely, He will give us the strength we need to arrive, without turning aside, to the great goal that is Heaven.
30. Human beings are like fluids; they always settle at the level of the objects surrounding them.
31. Saint John Bosco. Why shirk toil when we know that it is our lot? The saints used to say: either to suffer or to die. The least we can say is: either to toil or to die.
FEBRUARY
1. Let us seek our inspiration from great models and get down to work.
2. Presentation of the Lord. Let us learn to detach ourselves completely from ourselves, our likes, our will, our judgment. In all our actions let us seek only to do as perfectly as possible the holy will of God.
3. Let us arm ourselves, and let us do it soon. Prayer, detachment from the things that pass away, zeal for God’s glory, hunger and thirst for justice, intense work for souls, the spirit of sacrifice, of mortification and penance: these are the weapons we must furbish while we rally closely around the same banner, ready to respond to the same call, members of the standing army of the Church who has called us to defend her against powerful and numberless foes.
4. Our nerves are tense, our hearts beat fast, our spirits soar on the
Table of Contents Appendices wings of prayer, above the horizons of the future. We are determined to fight, dragging this wretched flesh of ours on the bloody field of battle, without uttering one bitter word or withdrawing one step from the path of martyrdom.
5. In the fervor of our zeal we must remember not to yield to discouragement if we suddenly hit those unexpected reefs that remind us of the trail and wretched nature that we bear.
6. The knights of the Middle Ages were always alert lest a moment’s cowardice should rob them of the hard-won glory of many years. We too must be constantly on the watch, our hand on the hilt and our eyes fixed on Christ.
7. Whenever you feel tired, lift up your eyes, place your right hand on your heart. You are in the presence of the Lord, you are with friends, you are with the whole Catholic world. The Communion of Saints is a great dogma...Father, children, brothers, one single current of love.
8. Courage! Time presses on. Woe to us if we find ourselves unprepared for the day of battle.
9. Let us prepare our weapons, let us strengthen ourselves in the spirit, let us purify our affections, let us train ourselves for every kind of struggle, so that in the hour of need our courage will not waver and our strength will not yield to the arms of our foes.
10. May God inspire and help us, because it will be to our misfortune if we turn out to be unfit soldiers on the field of battle.
11. Our Lady of Lourdes. The humility of Mary most holy is almost infinite, one that we cannot even imagine. So low did she descend in humility that only a God made-man could surpass her. Surely,
Table of Contents Thoughts of the Founder - February next to Jesus Christ the humblest of all creatures is Mary.
12. At every moment we find occasion to humble ourselves. At every moment we feel within ourselves the resurgence of our original sin, and yet can we dare with ridiculous arrogance to raise our proud heads? Why not rather confess our frailties?
13. Let us renew our spirit at every moment, and let us rest in the mercy of God who absorbs all the frailties of our ailing nature.
14. If the body is assailed by a thousand ailments, let the soul be always in the presence of God, whom all of us must turn to at every moment to renew our strength.
15. If we perform the work of God in silence without relying on men or even ourselves, but full of trust in supernatural help, everything will turn out for the best.
16. Any advice coming from human prudence is more a hindrance than a help in the work of God.
17. Anniversary of the Episcopal Ordination of Saint Joseph Marello (1889). Let us place no reliance on the influence of wealth, connections, esteem, or encouragement from the world.
18. In all things let us proceed according to the principles of faith, with unlimited reliance on the help of Heaven and an unwavering feeling of gratitude to the Lord, and to Him alone, both in time of plenty and of scarcity. Let us be ever mindful that “sufficit diei malitia sua; today has troubles enough of its own”.
19. At the proper time — we know this from experience — our difficulties disappear; whoever caused them has a change of heart; and the work of God proceeds, surrounded by the new favors.
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20. Let us be glad that contradictions have not ceased and that there is no lack of opponents to make us grow in confidence in God.
21. The Lord is visiting us, but He will not reject our prayers as we implore Him to deal with us in a fatherly way, giving us at this time the strength of resignation and later the grace of consolation.
22. Let us pray and let us bow in resignation to the will of the most provident God.
23. We are in the hands of God and it behooves us to be resigned to his just judgment.
24. In the midst of doubts and anxieties, may our hearts be ever confident and serene.
25. Sunt bona mixta malis. There are things that satisfy even our human feelings, mixed with other things that seem to be bad if reason does not borrow its light from faith.
26. Let us always keep repeating that omnia cooperantur in bonum; everything works for the good, even in smallest things, as we have come to find out from lengthy experience.
27. While suffering by God’s will in one of its members, the Congregation will enjoy more flourishing health throughout its body.
28. Let us take comfort in the thought that God asks us to sacrifice some beautiful flowers of our garden. He will deign to make an abundant return by causing many others to sprout under the dew of heaven and by protecting them ever so tenderly against the frost and the freeze until He decides to transplant them in Heaven.
29. The Lord comes to meet us by a thousand different pathways.
Table of Contents Thoughts of the Founder - March
MARCH
1. Let us pause and wait for St. Joseph to let us hear his voice. This is his beautiful month.
2. Saint Joseph is still the choir master who gives the pitch. But sometimes he lets some jarring notes come through. During this month, however, he wants all our notes to be right and melodious so that they will lift our souls heavenward where harmony reigns supreme.
3. We will say to our great Patriarch: Here we are. We are all yours and you are all ours.
4. Joseph, show us the way, support us at every step, lead us where Divine Providence wants us to arrive.
5. Whether the journey is long or short, smooth or rough, whether or not the goal is within the range of human eye, whether our pace is fast or slow, with you, Joseph, we are sure of always going the right way.
6. A son of Saint Joseph needs not so much to learn the refinements of the mother tongue as to learn the language of the saints.
7. Let us go to the glorious saint, Joseph, guide and teacher of the spiritual life, peerless model of the interior and hidden life.
8. We will pray to Saint Joseph to obtain for all of us the grace to know and follow the divine will.
9. Let us pray to Saint Teresa, Saint Joseph’s favorite, to make us also his favorites.
10. O glorious Saint Joseph, do not forget us as we prod along with our wretched flesh in this rough land of exile.
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11. Next to the Blessed Virgin, you, Saint Joseph, were the first to enfold in your arms Jesus our Redeemer. Be then our exemplar in our ministry, which, like yours, is a ministry of intimate relationship with the Divine Word.
12. Teach us, help us, Saint Joseph, and make us worthy members of the Holy Family.
13. God grant that we may always remain worthy of belonging to the blessed family of Saint Joseph and may merit to receive from its head our daily bread.
14. Anniversary of the Founding of the Oblates of Saint Joseph (1878). May all of you be of good heart under the paternal mantle of Saint Joseph, a place of safe refuge in tribulationibus et angustiis (in times of tribulation and hardship).
15. Let us commend ourselves to our good father, Saint Joseph, the Patriarch of troubled people, since he himself went through so much trouble.
16. In this world, joy and suffering always alternate. And did not also the life of Saint Joseph alternate between consolation and fear?
17. May God fill our hearts with the confidence that strengthened our holy Patron in every step of life.
18. Anniversary of the Approval of the Oblates of Saint Joseph as a Diocesan Institute (1901). Filius accrescens Joseph (Joseph is a growing son). And so too must the sons of Saint Joseph keep growing, at least in devotion to their holy Patron.
19. Solemnity of Saint Joseph. Let us all pray on the feast of our great Patriarch that, by beginning to exalt him in our hearts we may deserve to see him exalted throughout Christendom.
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20. Pray to our great patriarch Saint Joseph that he will obtain for you from God what is good for you, or rather, what is best for you.
21. If in imitation of the great patriarch Saint Joseph you were to serve Jesus in humble tasks that are inferior to those of Saint Peter, realize that the humble guardian of Jesus is higher in heaven than the great apostle.
22. May Saint Joseph teach us how to take care of our students, or rather, may he himself take care of them.
23. May our holy Patriarch obtain for all of us from God every grace we need.
24. We must take our inspiration from Saint Joseph, who was the first one on earth to look after the interests of Jesus. It was he who took care of Him as an infant, protected Him as a boy, and was His father during the first thirty years of His life on earth.
25. Feast of the Annunciation to Mary and, by participation, also to Saint Joseph, who unknowingly received from God many graces in common with his spouse, even though he was unaware of the great mystery.
26. Saint Joseph was always so humble that he wanted to be held in no account. He always remained silent and hidden and gave every credit to Mary, his holy and virginal spouse.
27. Saint Joseph practiced the humble and hidden virtues. He was always calm, always serene and peaceful, observing in everything perfect conformity to the will of God.
28. Saint Joseph desired nothing, wanted nothing but gave God the greatest pleasure. Therefore he was always calm, even in times of
Table of Contents Appendices adversity. Let us mirror ourselves in this sublime model and always keep calm and serene in all the circumstances of life.
29. We must ask Saint Joseph for a peaceful and balanced spirit. He was always in control of himself both when he gave orders to Jesus with a fatherly wisdom, and when he went about his trade by working at the humblest and most menial tasks.
30. If Saint Joseph did not obtain graces, he would no longer be Saint Joseph.
31. May Saint Joseph shelter under his paternal mantle his devoted children.
APRIL
1. Let us all work, let us keep working in the manner and with the intensity that God wants. Surely, He knows how to make use of our work to achieve His designs.
2. Work, keep on working for the welfare of the youth. Even the little we do is something, and the prevention of evil in these times is already a great good.
3. Poor youth, too sadly neglected and left to yourselves! Poor rising generation, too much abandoned to your own devices, too often condemned or at least harshly judged for your frivolity and your misguided generosity, for your wrongly developed need for action, for your misguided affections that cause you to turn away from the right path through no fault of your own! Poor youth! Let us pray and pray especially for them.
4. Different positions mean different opportunities to do good, different ways to pile up merits.
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5. There is neither time nor place where one cannot do something worthwhile. Every word, every step, every desire can be the raw material for the interests of Jesus.
6. A good word is worth a treasure, and the Lord never leaves unrewarded the smallest action performed for His glory on behalf of our neighbor.
7. There are so many ways to preach: in one’s home, to visitors, in the home of the sick, to those who are well, to children out in the streets, and to adults wherever possible, and to everyone everywhere: with your eyes, your lips, your entire person, with that unfailing “imitatores mei estote” (be imitators of me) and “luceat lux vestra” (let the light of your good deeds shine).
8. A preacher who has the personal endowments and the mission of his superiors has also the help of God to ensure that everything goes well.
9. Remember to look for the secret of your eloquence in charity.
10. Let us plant, let us irrigate, but above all let us keep our eyes fixed on the great Divine Star from which descends the kindly heat that gives supernatural growth.
11. Anniversary of the Approval of the Oblates of Saint Joseph by the Holy See (1909). Let us keep on praying very much to Him who, in accordance with His designs, will bestow growth on the work of His ministers.
12. Let us pray. In these days, prayer has become the greatest, the most powerful apostolate.
13. Pray, pray, and pray. I have nothing else to recommend to you,
Table of Contents Appendices because I know that the devil is tempting us more than ever and is attacking us from every direction. There is no better way for us to defeat him.
14. Every other means of defense can turn into a weapon, when we do not know how to use it prudently; but the weapon of humble and persevering prayer never fails to its purpose.
15. Let us pray a lot and from the heart. Let us pray even when we do not feel like praying, let us pray even in dryness of spirit. Let us pray to the good God to teach us to love Him and to finally put an end to our lukewarmness.
16. May our mouths be always full of God’s praises; may we give voice beginning here on earth to the hymn of praise and thanksgiving which we hope to continue eternally in Heaven.
17. Next to the Eucharist, communion of prayer is the most consoling article of faith found in the Creed. All others make us fear; this one instead places in our hands the powerful means to do violence, so to speak, to God’s mercy.
18. Let us make use of this great means which is reciprocal prayer. Let us link together our prayers, and may the angel of mercy hold them in account in the awesome book of atonement.
19. Is it not a beautiful means we have of joining in conversation by reciprocal prayer, as good colleagues in the ministry, whenever we have an audience with the King of immortal glory?
20. The solidarity of good works among us priests is the only resource left to us in these times when our sphere of action is so limited.
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21. A balance made necessary and the events of our time consists in strengthening the measure in which those bonds of unity among good are weakened among the bad.
22. Let us pray and keep on praying. The times keep getting more perverse and ugly. Individual and selfish interests must yield to the common interests of Mother Church.
23. Let us apply ourselves chiefly to the work that is available to all of us: persevering prayer.
24. Let us ask the Lord to enlighten us to do His will.
25. Blessed be God for making our fields fruitful, and may He be doubly blessed when, in punishing us for our sins, He also arouses in our hearts faith and piety.
26. In a frightful variety of ways the kingdom of God is being demolished. Let us strive to do everywhere our work of restoration with help from Heaven.
27. We must return to the catechism, the book par excellence that offers truth, advice, and teaching to everyone. It teaches the art of governing to kings and defines for people the principles of equality and liberty. It provides the norms of legislation to men in government; it regulates the administration of power to those who wield it. It points out to magistrates the ways of justice, to workingmen the moral standards of work. It guarantees for the rich man his property rights and ensures for the poor man the daily bread of charity.
28. The catechism is the book par excellence! Uneducated indeed is the man who spurns this great book as being of no account — this book which displays with remarkable power the whole range of religion. It makes of a ten-year-old child a profound thinker who
Table of Contents Appendices possesses all the great principles of true philosophy and who is able to discuss at any moment the nature and attributes of God and to speak without confusion on the Unity and Trinity, the generation and procession of the Divine Persons. He knows about the origin of the world, the fall of man and the coming of the Redeemer, the necessity of grace and the means to transmit it and the sacrament of reconciliation and the communion of prayer. Surely no philosopher can match a Christian child in the accurate exposition of the great truths that make up our religious heritage.
29. The world is suffering for want of faith, hope, and charity.
30. One single thought of charity nurtured in the heart of our Cottolengo is worth more than a thousand philanthropic projects that are supposed to be promoted at the cost of millions squeezed out of the veins of the people.
MAY
1. Saint Joseph the Worker. Intellectual and manual work must both go together as two means leading to the same end: the service of God in imitation of Saint Joseph.
2. Let us return during this month to the school of Mary, our loving teacher and our guide to Heaven.
3. Let us always mirror ourselves in Mary. Let us strive to imitate her virtues. One who contemplates a beautiful painting is so absorbed and fascinated by it that he can hardly turn away from it. We should feel the same way when contemplating Mary.
4. Let us open up our hearts and throw ourselves with tender confidence into the arms of Mary. She will never desert us.
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5. In all your needs throw yourselves confidently into the arms of Mary, your most loving mother. No matter how great are your dangers and temptations, you will always come victorious.
6. Like Saint John the Beloved Disciple, let us always keep close to Mary, our most sweet mother. Let us be loyal and devoted to her, let us ever hang from her lips and make her the queen of our hearts.
7. We must always look up to Mary and remain continually at her side.
8. Let us become little disciples of Mary and ask her for the grace to imitate her, not in the great and sublime virtues but in the lowly and hidden ones, which are proper to Mary and so well suited to the common life.
9. Let us imitate Mary in her silence by not talking more than what is necessary.
10. The soul of Mary is the sum of all perfections, a sweet and pleasant harmony of all choicest virtues, so that in contemplating her, we feel moved to love and imitate her.
11. Let us admire the ineffable beauty of Mary’s soul, a most marvelous design made up of so many tiny parts of flawless perfection. Mary’s beauty consists in so many little virtues, all of which are so perfect that, united in her beautiful soul, they confer on it an irresistible attraction and a heavenly charm.
12. O Mary, we love to contemplate you in Heaven as sovereign of the elect, dispenser of all graces. But it most seems that the great distance separating you and us may be an obstacle to your compassion for us. We would much rather contemplate you in your role as Queen of Sorrows standing at the feet of Jesus crucified. We live in
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13. Our Lady of Fatima. Mary clasped all of us in her embrace at the foot of the cross. The more trouble we gave her, the more she loved us. The depth of her love was measured by the depth of her suffering.
14. Mary is the mother of God. The dignity of the mother of God borders on the infinite and not even the angels can fathom it. To comprehend it, one would first have to understand who God is. Now, the mother of God is also our mother.
15. God has bestowed a priceless gift on the world by giving it Mary. And to think that had it been necessary for me alone, He would have given her just the same.
16. The Church gives Mary to us as our guide and teacher. She wishes us to meditate often on the heart of Mary, which is like a terse mirror reflecting all the sentiments of Jesus.
17. While those who dare to diminish devotion to the Virgin Mother are to be condemned, we on our part must multiply our efforts to promote her devotion.
18. God has loved Mary immensely and has raised her to such heights of holiness that they surpass our understanding.
19. Some Fathers of the Church have said that the distance between Mary and us is infinite. But we can always shorten that distance by being genuinely devoted to her.
20. Without you, Mary, most loving mother, how could we, poor children, have the courage to tread uncharted paths? Jesus, Mary,
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Joseph, Guardian Angels and Patron Saints, we want to come along with you. Which is the safest road?
21. From her throne in Heaven where she reigns as queen, our Blessed Lady is ever looking down at us with boundless and tender affection and prayerful anxiety. Like a most loving mother she awaits us to admit us to Heaven.
22. Let us be at peace. God keeps a watchful eye over us, and our Immaculate Mother is ever ready to come to our aid in time of danger.
23. Mary is always holding out her maternal hand to help us climb more easily into Heaven. All we have to do is accept her charitable offer.
24. O Mary, make me entirely yours that I may belong entirely to Jesus.
25. Let us place everything in the hands of Mary, so that she may present everything to Jesus.
26. Saint Philip Neri. Paradise! May this word communicate to us that peace of soul which shone on the face of Saint Philip when he pronounced it.
27. Saint John the Beloved Apostle, was the first member of Mary’s family. He was a virgin and this is a beautiful proof of Mary’s love for virginity.
28. There is a virtue that shines in a very particular way in the Immaculate Virgin, our mother; a virtue which Jesus dearly loved and which we must all acquire because it is the most beautiful ornament of the soul. I mean the virtue of purity, the virtue by which man rivals the angels, indeed surpasses them in merit since they are pure by necessity, we by choice, since we must fight, be watchful, pray much and mortify ourselves to obtain and preserve this most delicate virtue.
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29. Holy purity is safeguarded by the virtue of humility, her sister. It is impossible to be pure without being humble. The Blessed Virgin was endowed with such singular and shining purity because she was so humble.
30. Feast and Anniversary of the Death of Saint Joseph Marello (1895). The palm of victory awaits in Heaven those who die victoriously.
31. Visitation of Mary. May the most holy Mother ever shelter us under her mantle.
JUNE
1. When our hearts feel harsh and angry, let us draw some sweetness from the Heart of Jesus.
2. We must be strong and gentle.
3. Our goodness must not be exclusive, sour, and narrow, like that of people who would like everyone to be like themselves. True holiness must be gentle, supple, universal, multiform. It must extend to all individuals, it must adapt itself to all states and all conditions and not limit itself within the confines of a sort of goodness that is exclusive and fashioned our way, the kind that is not in accordance with the spirit of Jesus.
4. Charity must dominate all our actions. It strengthens faith, increases hope, and unites us more intimately to God.
5. When it comes to charity, we must be as gentle and simple as infants.
6. Charity is the bond of unity.
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7. In His generosity, God very often prefers to step aside and defer to others and to have acts of charity take priority over acts of piety; or rather He deigns to attribute to the former the value and merit of the latter.
8. When it is time to administer a correction, we must first pray to the Holy Spirit and then make the correction in such a tactful manner as to make it clear that we are moved not by self-love but by the desire that God be served faithfully by all.
9. We must not move tongue or heart or take one step without first calling on the Holy Spirit.
10. Let us always invoke the Holy Spirit in every action. Let us invoke Him that He may be our joy, our strength, and our sure guide to Heaven.
11. Sometimes Jesus withdraws from us so that we may not attach ourselves too much to the joys of this earth. When He withdraws, however, He sends the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, who sustains, helps, and consoles us; and even though we do not see Him outwardly, we experience His good and healing effects.
12. Let us not grow tired of invoking the Holy Spirit and of constantly imploring Him to come and live in us and to make us His permanent dwelling.
13. When the Holy Spirit sees us languishing in our weakness, He soon makes His way into our hearts. Then, with heavenly insights and interior promptings, He tries to revive us, to reinvigorate our faith, to open wide giving back peace and joy to the soul.
14. Come, Spirit of Truth, to enlighten our minds. Come, Spirit of Joy, to console our heart. Come, Spirit of Piety, to arouse in our souls feelings of a very tender love for Jesus.
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15. That dazzling array of lights, songs, aromas, and a hundred other beautiful things that surround for one hour the King of Glory is a symbol of the triumphant festivities with which Jesus is permanently glorified by a chosen soul.
16. Solemn Entry of Bishop Marello into the Diocese of Acqui (1889). We feel heart-stricken when we think of the increasing occurrence of sacrilegious thefts and our own helplessness to prevent such impiety. Poor Jesus, persecuted, insulted, despoiled even in the peaceful shelter of the Tabernacle!
17. As once on Calvary so now in our churches Jesus wishes to be defended only by the power of love; and He always puts up with the violence of scoundrels so that He can give way to the charity of devout souls, from whom He awaits comfort and reparation.
18. We must not serve the Lord for the consolations and pleasure we derive but rather to give pleasure to Him, to honor and console Him.
19. Even in spiritual things let us be satisfied with what the Lord is pleased to give us, without unduly attaching ourselves to sensible fervor, or desiring spiritual consolations.
20. No matter what way God leads us along, if we always remain faithful to Him we shall one day be in Heaven, where we have stored up a large amount of merits and of glory, and where we shall taste and enjoy God more than we have enjoyed His consolations here on earth.
21. Saint Aloysius Gonzaga. Let us also strive to imitate Saint Aloysius Gonzaga. More than a creature of this world, this great saint may better be called a heavenly seraph. If we cannot imitate him in the extraordinary virtues that he exercised, let us imitate him at least in the ordinary and common virtues.
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22. We cannot doubt Jesus’ love for us. Therefore, cheer up!
23. We are soldiers of Jesus Christ, and as such, we must in some circumstances show our valor and courage in defending His cause and ours. But we must always do so with prudence and for the one and only purpose of seeking God’s glory.
24. Birth of Saint John the Baptist. Neither height of one’s office, nor greatness and nobility of one’s person, nor even venerable old age must cause us to be silent when it is a question of defending Him who is more to us than father, mother, brother, sister, king or prince — God himself, our first and only love, our Creator, Redeemer and Lord, whom alone we wish to serve.
25. When we have to defend our religion, we have every reason to speak out strongly and passionately, without, however, failing in respect for anyone.
26. Away with compromise! The man who compromises is lost.
27. Let us rise above this low horizon of pigmies. Let us take the place befitting us as ministers of the Lord God.
28. The Church still possesses such mighty resources as to make her enemies tremble.
29. Saints Peter and Paul. Let us renew the good old times when the priesthood appeared venerable to people because of its lively faith and deep charity.
30. Solemn Entombment of the Remains of Saint Joseph Marello in the Shrine of the Mother House in Asti (1923). In our times we have only a pale reflection of apostolic faith and charity. Saint Paul! Oh, the great and typical figure of Christianity!
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JULY
1. You will be in the world, but your eyes will not see it. Reaching beyond the things of this world, you will contemplate Paradise already waiting for you. And even if you see the world, it will be through the Heart of Jesus and only to implore mercy on its behalf.
2. You will be in the world, but your ears will not be open to hear the voices and conversations of the world and the blasphemies and impieties of men. You will already hear, instead, the songs of the angels calling you to be with them. And even if you hear those other voices, it will only be to offer yourselves victims of reparation for the spurned love of Jesus.
3. Saint Thomas the Apostle. Christ is risen, Christ lives, Christ reigns, Christ, the awesome and mighty one, is in the midst of His Church. He has spoken a great word: “Confidite, ego vici mundum (Have confidence, I have overcome the world).” Let us fight on in hope.
4. There are in the world of nature certain substances that due to their natural qualities do not follow the ordinary laws. When immersed in water they do not become wet, and when thrown into the fire they do not burn. So also, although you are in the world, you must not be of the world. You must keep yourselves detached from its concerns, its honors, its maxims, its feasts.
5. You will be in the world, but you will not belong to the world, nor will the world claim any right over you. You will find yourselves surrounded by the wickedness of the earth, but you will keep yourselves always pure and spotless.
6. Working with pure intentions, confident and persevering prayer, complete conformity to God’s will: such is the distinctive garb of the true ministers of the Lord.
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7. This, then, is our mission: to spread the knowledge, the love, and the observance of the teaching of Jesus Christ.
8. Are you asking my advice on books you should read? My modest advice is this: few but good.
9. The effects of reading are not always experienced immediately, and this makes us often doubt the fruitfulness of our reading. Let us be convinced that whatever we read with love and conviction impresses itself indelibly within us and is never erased.
10. Every book we read is an atom assimilated to the mass. Time, or rather God, brings that process to growth.
11. Saint Benedict. Read the lives of the saints. Try it and then you will be able to tell me something about it. We need to rise to the level of great models. We need to raise the pitch of our moral efforts and to free ourselves once and for all from the habit of alternating between making resolutions and having to renew them.
12. Read, read over again, and meditate.
13. We must always meditate. God said to Abraham: “Walk before me and you will be perfect.” At that time there was still no rule on meditating, but by so doing he meditated continuously.
14. After reading the point for meditation, allow the Lord to speak. If we listen, how many things does He tell us that are far better and more timely and effective than what we find in the book.
15. Look for a good spiritual reading book, a good director of conscience (and God can raise up one according to need even in the humblest country chaplain), and move on. Shut your ears to the voices of the devil and listen only to the voice of God who speaks to His faithful ones in a thousand different ways.
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16. How many people, relying on the advice of their spiritual director have boldly and successfully achieved what they would never have dared to achieve by their own different ways.
17. Obey, obey blindly. Never be a counselor in your own case. There you have the secret of Christian life, the touchstone of holiness.
18. Any project, no matter how beautiful and holy in itself, can cause harm to the community if it is not tested by obedience.
19. There are a thousand ways to bring the devil into play, even under the guise of promoting the interests of Jesus. The only infallible control is obedience.
20. Charity is the bond of unity, and obedience is its safeguard.
21. Wherever obedience does not reign, even the most refined rules and safeguards are of no use, as experience goes to show.
22. Obedience can supply for everything and with unfailing success.
23. The only foundation, the fundamental principle of the Congregation of Saint Joseph consists in unlimited submission to the directives of superiors by bringing one’s own initiative from above. Therefore, the members of the Congregation must not take any step that is not inspired by this sprit of subordination to higher authority, which in return is determined by and flows from the one and only Divine Mover to which all wills are subject.
24. Let us regret that not a few Brothers let the seeds of his virtue die out, a virtue Saint Joseph wished to cast roots deeply in their hearts. Let us deplore their lot and make it the subject of our meditation.
25. Ah, obedience! (Not the kind that sometimes opens its eyes to search for its own interests, but the sort of obedience that is called
Table of Contents Thoughts of the Founder - August blind). How many graces does it draw down from Heaven to keep us from erring and to guide us straight to our goal?
26. The more the wicked feel moved toward independence leading them to shake off the yoke, all the more do the good feel inspired to submit their wills to the principle of authority.
27. On our part let us always tip the scales in favor of authority. We can hope that God, the Supreme Authority, will in a thousand ways and in matters of a higher order cause the scales to tip in our favor, without people noticing it and sometimes even against their will.
28. Be obedient always, even when obedience calls for great sacrifices.
29. We must obey always, at all costs, even at the cost of sacrificing the dearest affections of our hearts, like the love Jesus had for Mary and Joseph, whose hearts He beheld torn with grief over His loss.
30. To whom is it said: Ego ero merces tua magna nimis (I will be your exceedingly great reward)? To the obedient and faithful Abraham.
31. Saint Ignatius of Loyola. I recommend obedience! Have a high regard for this virtue. It will make you rich in merits for Heaven.
AUGUST
1. Saint Alphonsus Liguori. Let us perform our service patiently as we look forward to that heavenly “discharge paper” that will give us the right to return to our native town, to our family’s embrace, to the house of the Father who is in Heaven.
2. Be satisfied with the task the Lord assigns to you here below, and trust that with God’s help you will be able to discharge it in such a way as to merit a great reward in Heaven.
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3. Complete conformity with God’s will is the great means to advance on the way to perfection. But this means becomes in turn the goal with respect to the means we must employ to obtain it.
4. Let us always give in to the Lord, even when it goes against our self-love. And if we cannot always find in this the sweetness and the peace that come with sacrifice, let faith suffice and let us look up to Heaven and exclaim: “Paradise, paradise.”
5. Above every other consideration keep in mind that you are doing God’s will, and steer your ship wherever the captain directs you.
6. Transfiguration of Jesus. Let us embrace one another in Christ, and when we are about to unite ourselves to Him in the mystical union of the Eucharist, let us transfigure ourselves.
7. Let us always exclaim with one accord: Fiat voluntas Dei in omnibus (May God’s will be done in everything). Meanwhile let us ponder the events that are taking place with divine permission.
8. Live day by day, striving to recognize in every event God’s will.
9. It is not always the fire that makes the grill red hot!
10. Saint Lawrence the Martyr. When anyone of us is tempted to come down from the grill or to change it, let him look around at the other grills where others are roasting. At the most, let him turn over on the other side.
11. When we are in trouble let us do what we would advise others to do.
12. Let us think of the beautiful prize with which God will reward our small sacrifices, and we shall feel stronger to face the struggle.
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13. Let us take heart, for someday all our troubles and sufferings will turn into consolation; in the meantime they help us to have our purgatory here on earth so that as soon as we die we can fly to Heaven.
14. Whenever it costs us to practice mortification, let us say to ourselves: Heaven is beautiful!
15. Assumption of Mary — Anniversary of Joseph Marello’s Confirmation (1855). Sufferings are the beginning of our union with the Eternal Love, but it is only death that can make that union perfect and indissoluble.
16. Once your goal is set, keep looking at it always, even if the world should fall apart.
17. We must coordinate all our thoughts, all our affections, all our energies around one fixed idea. We must live by the idea, be inspired by it, sublimate ourselves by it.
18. Youthful enthusiasm is like ether in an open bottle; it volatilizes and vanishes. We must not mistake the transient and therefore insufficient will with the will that is stable and therefore effective.
19. The man who wavers in his convictions is always weak and inept, and vice versa. One must believe always, consistently, logically, and tenaciously.
20. Saint Bernard, Doctor of the Church. Men of genius are worth nothing; it is men of great character that shake the world.
21. The moral decadence of nations results in great part from the decadent position of woman in society. Once the sense of her ancient dignity is reborn, we shall have modest girls, faithful spouses, mothers who are educators. And from these we can
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22. Man can rise to higher levels like the fluids, because he can do as much as he wills, and he can will as much as he knows.
23. First of all, if we want to have the power and strength needed to achieve our goal, we must draw our strength from above.
24. Without faith there can be no charity; without charity there can be nothing, absolutely nothing. Therefore, let us renew ourselves each day, each hour.
25. It is a question of fighting to the finish against that spirit of compromise which tries to infiltrate everywhere and is the fatal solvent of the best projects and the greatest resolutions. We must will always and at all costs.
26. The struggle is between the good self and the bad self; the self that in one sublime moment rises against the self of all times, the self of the past, of the old regime. It is the struggle of the self which resolves once for all, but which repeats that resolve at every moment in that strong and effective act of willing.
27. To will: this is our motto. But it must be a wholehearted efficacious, unswerving will; a will that, to quote Dante, “kept Lawrence on the grill and made Mutius cruel to his hand.”
28. With hard work and good will the past can serve as an instrument for the future.
29. Man’s potential is without limit. It all depends on the value of the coefficient — two factors that are multiplied, are joined together, and are transformed into one great product.
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30. Christ in our hearts is an infinite coefficient. And we, poor zeros that we are, can gradually multiply ourselves to the level of infinity.
31. If Gregory VII, son of a poor cooper, succeeded in shaking up the world and founding a new civilization on the ruins of barbarism, it was all because he felt the power of his daily union with God, which gave him, human though he was, a divine strength.
SEPTEMBER
1. Meanness does not enter Heaven!
2. Sadness is the enemy of the good.
3. We must be patient even with ourselves.
4. Get rid of scruples. They are the plague; I say the plague, of the spiritual life. Nip in the bud every day-dream. Do not go back to retrace your steps. Do not run too far ahead, nor stop too long to check whether you took the right step. Trust in God, who is beside us to correct our mistakes, which are unavoidable in spite of the best intentions in the world.
5. Let us live joyfully in accordance with the rule: Servite Domino in laetitia (Serve the Lord with joy).
6. We must show even outwardly that holy joy which God pours into our hearts. We must always preserve a cheerful, gentle, and peaceful outlook. In this way we shall achieve our own happiness and that of others, and at the same time we shall be able to make great strides in perfection.
7. Whenever in the midst sorrow we are able to show forth even a ray of joy that comes from Heaven, our hearts are more deeply satisfied, and our happiness is more complete.
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8. I am glad that spiritual joy is flourishing among the sons of Saint Joseph.
9. We must remain in a spirit of holy joy and be content with everything, even with our failures, because they humble us.
10. Let us be content even with not being content. All that matters is that God is content.
11. Let us be firmly convinced that gloom always comes from the devil.
12. The thought that others do not love us is a temptation and an affliction of spirit. God loves us, and this should be enough.
13. Saint John Chrysostom. A priestly soul is something great in the eyes of the world, of the angels, and of God Himself.
14. Triumph of the Cross. Let us love the cross, for it is the cross that must lead us into Heaven.
15. Our Lady of Sorrows. Sic Maria dilexit mundum ut Filium suum unigenitum daret (Mary loved the world so much that she sacrificed for it what she held most dear).
16. Jesus is pleased with all we offer Him: prayers, alms, good works. But He is pleased most of all with the immolation of our self-love.
17. Love! This word is inexhaustible. It sums up all other words. Without it all other words would be as cold as a tomb. It brightens up, ennobles, and directs toward a heavenly goal life’s pilgrimage. But this admirable word is neither pronounced with the lips nor written with the pen; the articulation of the tongue and the movement of the hand are of no avail without the heart; the heart which alone makes that word vibrate; the heart which received its first vibration from the Eternal Love.
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18. The distractions of the world tend to neutralize in us the heavenly feeling of love. They place in its stead the personal spirit based on the selfish instincts we inherit from nature. Our ministry, on the contrary, keeps constantly before our eyes the most splendid examples of self-denial and of love, beginning with the God-Man who sacrificed Himself as a victim of love, down to the unknown little woman who offers to God her humble prayer of intercession for her sinful brethren.
19. Anniversary of Joseph Marello’s Ordination to the Priesthood (1868). Oh, if only we could send up a petition to our Father in Heaven that He might drive away from the earth that ugly beast which is self-love, then life would really be beautiful here below. But do not worry. If God does not allow us to kill this monster outright, He does not deny us the strength to free ourselves, whenever he assails us, from his poisonous bite.
20. Whenever anyone feels irritable and in a bad mood, let him go out of himself, enter a church, turn to the Lord, and let him not show his feelings outwardly.
21. Whenever passion rumbles inside of us, we must keep silent.
22. Even our passions help us to do well. They help us without overpowering us and by allowing themselves to be guided by reason, to whose service we subject them by the grace of God.
23. Let us indeed cultivate a certain kind of egoism, but of an entirely spiritual nature that will spur us on to a holy emulation in pursuit of virtue.
24. In spiritual matters a holy sort of egoism not only is permissible, but it is even obligatory; the kind of egoism whereby each one strives to enrich himself as much as possible with spiritual
Table of Contents Appendices treasures. The more you draw from them, the more they multiply. They are an immense source which is never exhausted, no matter how much you draw from it.
25. Strive for perfection in all things, even in the smallest.
26. Great virtues are precisely the reward of our fidelity in little things.
27. Let us strive to sanctify little things. A little act of patience or charity accompanied by the right intention is of immense value in the eyes of God.
28. Be extraordinary in ordinary things.
29. The more we perform our actions without a natural inclination and in the simple light of faith, the better we succeed in fooling the devil.
30. Everything and always for the glory of our blessed God.
OCTOBER
1. Saint Therese of the Child Jesus. Pray a lot. These are days of recollection. Let us prepare ourselves in silence as we await God’s signal.
2. Guardian Angels. Every hour that strikes is one step less we have to take. Courage! Our good angel will be our guide.
3. In silence the soul prepares itself for that mighty cry that shall echo throughout the Catholic horizon.
4. Saint Francis of Assisi. The hero is formed in secret just as a seed sprouts in the world of nature.
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5. In silence men of great character take shape, just as in the lowly seashell the dewdrop hardens which, transformed into a precious stone, will adorn the forehead of the king’s daughters.
6. Saint Bruno, Founder of the Carthusians. Be Carthusians indoors and apostles outdoors.
7. Simplicity is a virtue that, more than any other, draws us close to the perfection of our heavenly Father.
8. The work of the Holy Spirit in our souls is essentially a work of simplification.
9. The majority of our actions lose their fruit because of the complication of elements that are involved in performing them.
10. The works of the saints, which centuries have respected, were always distinguished by the trait of simplicity, and this is nothing more than an unshakeable faith in Providence; a faith that stands alone and shorn of all human preoccupations.
11. The problem of money has already kept us down too close to earth, and it is time to say “sursum corda (lift up your hearts).”
12. Let us go forward one day at a time as God wills it, and thanks be to God for all that He disposes.
13. What’s going to happen next? Well, leave that to Providence. With all our worrying about what’s going to happen next, we do violence to the laws of Providence that govern events; and besides, that’s not even a good pastime.
14. We know by faith that everything is providential here below, and this faith is the victory that overcomes the world.
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15. Saint Teresa of Jesus. To suffer or to die! After having found out how beautiful it was to suffer with Jesus, Saint Teresa discovered that dying was infinitely more beautiful because it is the seal of eternal union with the Heavenly Spouse.
16. Everything unfolds through the chain of time, and time is in the hands of God.
17. Let us thank the good God that in His mercy He always sends us new means of salvation.
18. God watches over us with the most tender care.
19. Let us bear evil with resignation and let us be satisfied with the scanty measure of good that God allows in us in these wretched times.
20. Blessed be even the darkness if the hand of God sends it. We will walk confidently in the dark with the thought that the angels are guarding us to keep us from stumbling.
21. We will move on by inches if we cannot run nor even pace forward, but we will keep standing up. But when will the light appear? That is God’s secret.
22. We can long for the light as we long for the dawn, yet, like the dawn, we cannot hasten its arrival by one instant. We must, however, keep a watchful eye toward the east, precisely toward the point where the morning light has to appear. May we never confuse it with the aurora borealis, which deceives the pilgrims.
23. We are unable to know the hidden depths of the plan of Divine Providence. We do know, however, from experience that faith works the greatest miracles in souls everyday .
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24. We cannot perform one single act of virtue that is not the work of the Holy Spirit.
25. Who is it that places in our hearts the test we experience for prayer, the prompting we feel toward acquiring virtue, the desire to please God by mortifying our senses? It is simply what we call the good Spirit who continually works and acts in our souls.
26. It is frightening to think of that circular chain of graces of which each link is a force on which depends our eternal salvation!
27. Now then, every passing moment is a new opportunity we must exploit and for which we shall have to answer one day before God. Every minute that the clock measures can mark in time the fateful point on which hangs our eternal destiny.
28. The Lord always gives us the grace to overcome, but He can do nothing if we do not help Him with our good will.
29. When you least feel like saying a word, that is the time to talk.
30. Strive to be what you are not, and not to be what you are.
31. Let us ask the Lord to make us holy, to make us holy soon, with the holiness that He wills.
NOVEMBER
1. All Saints’ Day. Let us pray that on us too may rise in beauty and brightness the long-awaited day of our resurrection.
2. All Souls’ Day. On our beloved dead, who have ended their earthly days in the peace of the Lord, Luceat perpetua lux in regno coelorum (May eternal light shine in the kingdom of Heaven).
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3. Even if during the struggle we find ourselves without any good feeling but are rather in the throes of a great reluctance to fight on, we must not for that matter be discouraged. It is precisely then that the Lord wants to test us by having us act only on faith. It is that thread of faith that must save us and that will be amply rewarded in Heaven.
4. Let us learn to remain in that perfect peace of mind which is such a great help in doing good; and let us always maintain such a frame of spirit as to be ready for anything, without ever becoming upset.
5. We must see all things in the light of faith. We must at all times have reason to control our feelings and the will of God to control our reason. We must accept everything from the hands of God, the things that we enjoy as well as the things that we don’t like and always with the response: Deo gratias.
6. Strive for balance in your spirit: be neither too happy nor too sad. Strive for balance on your countenance: never wear a frown. Balance in your words: be neither too severe nor too playful. Balance in your prayers : neither to fast nor too slow.
7. The fruit of spiritual balance is a pure and holy joy of heart; a joy that can be experienced only by those souls who have become indifferent to all things of the earth and to all self-concern. As a result, they busy themselves only with the glory of God, and they already possess God on earth in the unruffled peace of their hearts.
8. We must not be anxious about tomorrow; instead, we must rest peacefully in the hands of the Lord, who will not permit us to lack anything. Today has troubles enough of its own.
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9. Even if God leaves us without any consolations, we must not be too sad but we must keep on praying and hoping, humbly and gladly yielding our mind and heart to the divine will.
10. We must banish from our minds everything that can disturb our peace.
11. Let us appear peaceful and serene even when our hearts are in a tempest.
12. We sometimes feel such a profound peace, such an indescribable joy that we already seem to be enjoying a foretaste of heaven. Then suddenly our mind is in darkness, our heart grows lukewarm and languishes, our countenance is no longer serene, our eyes no longer light up with joy, our actions are no longer constant. We are in the grip of desolation and immense pain. Jesus seeing the soul attaching itself to pleasure reminds us that it is not in this land of exile that we are to find enjoyment, but in our heavenly home. Here below we live to suffer, to struggle, to overcome.
13. It is very unlikely in our day that we shall be asked to sacrifice our life for the sake of our faith; still, we too have a beautiful and glorious crown awaiting us.
14. Ours will not be a bloody martyrdom, but a martyrdom of patience; a long and hidden martyrdom which causes suffering without inflicting death and which, though consisting in little things, is nonetheless great in the eyes of God and equal in merit to the martyrdom of blood.
15. Being constant in one’s principles. Putting them into practice with firmness and zeal does not mean that one is overly emotional and stubborn.
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16. Strike hard and the shell gives way and the nut is cracked without harm to your hand. Strike only half as hard and the shell holds firm, your hand is sore and you have accomplished nothing. You must use energy if you want to do good.
17. Lack of resolve is the principal reason why the best projects end in failure.
18. Dedication of the Basilicas of Saints Peter and Paul. It is in Rome, in that great landmark of history, that the soul of a believer renews its youth and prepares itself for the fierce battles of the world and hell against the Church and her ministers.
19. How many forces are unknown to us, how many secrets hidden from our scanty experience, how many areas of action as yet unexplored!
20. Being careful about the words you say may seem to be a small matter, but instead it is a great virtue.
21. When we are engaged in conversation, we must be careful to reply in tune, but our heart should always be united to God.
22. Humility is absolutely necessary for one to remain pure. Give me a soul that is pure as an angel and tell me that it is proud, and I will say that it will not keep its candor for long and will fall.
23. Not only is humility the guardian of purity, it is also the safeguard of the precious gift of faith.
24. One who is unable to submit his own judgment and let himself be guided will very often err and fail miserably. And because he refuses to acknowledge his guilt, the devil will not permit him to mend his ways, but will lead him to ruin from one pitfall to another.
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25. Be humble of heart. Always submit your judgment to that of others. Seek advice in everything. Never trust yourselves, but in all your doubts go to your superiors, who are enlightened by God to counsel and direct you.
26. A great remedy against temptations is to humble yourself.
27. Be humble in every way, even in the way you turn your eyes and move your hands.
28. Whenever we hear people praising us, let us laugh and consider that God sees the inside.
29. Let us humble ourselves even in our good works, because sometimes we begin a work with the right intention, but then there enters by degrees a little self-love, a little vainglory, and the right intention fades away.
30. Saint Andrew the Apostle. Saint Andrew, grant that I too may love the cross!
DECEMBER
1. Let us console ourselves in not being able to pay the many debts contracted with Jesus, because this thought will help to keep us humble and make us feel ever more grateful to our heavenly Creditor.
2. God always works for our greater good.
3. The Lord always does what is best for us.
4. The adversities and sufferings that afflict us are like so many crosses on which is written the name of Jesus.
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5. Experience daily shows us that in our actions we always fall short of what we promise with our words.
6. The more we see the more we learn, and life is an album filled with life-size photographs.
7. Things seen at random and in the light of our own preconceived ideas are judged in one way; when seen and examined more closely they must be judged quite differently.
8. Immaculate Concepcion. Let us ask Mary conceived without sin that she will make us immaculate.
9. How much great good has been accomplished in religious congregations precisely because their founders were able, both by the rule and with the wisdom of superiors filled with their spirit, to moderate authoritatively the outbursts of zeal of each religious.
10. Do on your part all you can to remain always firmly determined to serve God alone, and He will give you victory over all your enemies.
11. One good resolution nourished, pondered, strengthened, and always kept in mind is worth the good of a lifetime.
12. Our reluctance to do well is the effect of our nature pulling us toward evil. We have three enemies perpetually at war with us: the devil, the world, and the flesh. No one can escape their harassment, but no one who keeps close to the Lord can be overcome by them.
13. Do all your actions with the heartfelt desire to put into them all the fervor you are capable of. Yet, do not be surprised by the reluctance (not to be confused with lukewarmness) you may feel even in the holiest actions; but rather, after completing them give thanks to the Lord for having been able, weak as you are, to have done so much with His help.
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14. Renew your faith in Him, who, while exhorting us to do good, is satisfied even with the mere desire to do it.
15. Say to the Lord: I am all yours and all I desire is that your will may be done in me, even at the cost of sacrifices, even if I were deprived of consolations, even if I were filled with afflictions. I am ready for everything, Lord. Do with me as you will.
16. Let us mark our spiritual progress one step at a time without ever being discouraged over our failings. Let us always get up courageously, recovering new strength to resume our journey to Heaven.
17. The fact of having to admit that we are always falling into the same defects and that we are not capable of conquering ourselves in identical circumstances causes us great humiliation. This humiliation already serves as a punishment.
18. Let our repentance be calm and peaceful, so that, while making us see the wrong we have done, it will give us courage to get back on the right path.
19. Whenever we fall into some defect, let us rise again immediately. But let us not rely on our own strength – unable to hold us up – but rather on the compassionate God who so lovingly holds out to us.
20. We naturally feel ashamed of our failings and, after a fall, we almost no longer dare turn to God. But let us take courage. The Lord is so good! The same Jesus who overlooked the offenses of the Apostles and brought them peace after His resurrection will also bring His peace to our humbled and afflicted hearts.
21. Let not a thought of our littleness dismay us. It must give us reason for greater confidence in Him who is the supplement for everything and everyone.
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22. What a great and wonderful thing is the mail! It unites us in spirit with person dearest to us. It makes us spend many happy hours. It gives us the possibility of offering leisurely expression to the pleasant thoughts of friendship. It supplies us with the means to transmit all our feelings, all the sentiments of our hearts.
23. Let us avail ourselves of this divine messenger, which is the mail, to communicate to one another our joys and sorrows, to laugh and cry together, to share our hopes and our fears, to strengthen one another by mutual encouragement on the arduous road of virtue.
24. Let us exchange best wishes for the Christmas and New Year holy days, but let us leave it up to the good Jesus to fulfill them in the manner and degree He deems best for His glory and for our spiritual benefit.
25. Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ. We want to see fulfilled the wish that comprises all others: “Salvator noster, salva nos (Our Savior, save us).
26. Saint Stephen – Anniversary of the Birth and Baptism of Joseph Marello (1844). I wish you a crown of glory in Heaven, on a throne close to our Mother Mary and our dear Patron Saint Joseph.
27. Saint John the Apostle. Let us love one another. Saint John the Evangelist, an old man and unable to exercise his ministry, would have his disciples carry him around and he never stopped repeating these words: “Diligite vos alterutrum ut salvemini (Love one another that you may be saved).”
28. The Holy Innocents. Let us ask the Holy Innocents to obtain the grace to suffer that slow, daily martyrdom caused by our wounded self-love.
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29. The Infant Jesus holds in His tiny hands many little crosses; but placed near His, they are no longer crosses because Jesus makes them sweet by His ineffable love.
30. Let us join to the abundant, precious, and real shedding of the blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ the humble, mystical shedding of our blood flowing from our hearts in time of suffering. And this blood of ours, poor, insignificant and wretched as it is, will become rich, abundant, and precious in the eyes of God.
31. I wish all of you a crown studded with precious pearls, crafted here on earth in the crucible of sorrows and trials; and I hope that no one will be absent from that gathering, where we shall all meet at the feet of the Most High to sing the hymn of eternal praise and of eternal gratitude.
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The venerable image of Mary at the Shrine of Our Lady of Mercy in Savona