Good Bye August, Hello September!!!

Stay Tuned for more in September!;)

-<3 Heart

HAIL HOLY QUEEN!!!!!

                     QUEENSHIP OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
                                                                       

Hail, holy Queen!

An altar painting in the Marienkirche in the German village of Niederweidbach, depicting Mary’s coronation in Heaven.

Today is the Catholic feast of Mary’s Queenship. The feast was added to the calendar of saints in 1954, placed one week after the feast of the Assumption.

   August 22 is the Feast of The Immaculate Heart of Mary, Traditional Calendar and the Queenship of Mary, the New Calendar. October 11 is the Feast of the Divine Maternity, both Calendars and the Queenship of Mary, Traditional Calendar.

On the 11th OF October 1954, Pope Pius XII established the Feast of the Queenship of Mary to be celebrated throughout the world, and commanded that on that day each year, the world should renew its consecration to her. In the future the Feast came to be celebrated on 22nd of August. 

"The purpose of the Feast is that all may recognize more clearly and venerate more devoutly the merciful and motherly sovereignty of her who bore God in her womb" (Ven. Pius XII, Ad. Coeli Reginam). 

On the day of her Assumption, Mary our Mother was solemnly crowned by Christ and received by the whole court of Heaven as Queen. 

A 19th century German engraving of Christ welcoming Mary in Heaven after her Assumption.

What Christ has done in Heaven and the Church has done on our behalf we should now do individually, that is, we should recognize Mary's Queenship, enthrone her in our homes, consecrate ourselves to her and, by this means, establish in our lives the reign of Mary Immaculate Queen of the Universe.

 More on Mary's Queenship 

                                                            by Fr. William G. Most
The beginning of the concept that Mary is a Queen is found in the annunciation narrative. For the angel tells her that her Son will be King over the house of Jacob forever. So she, His Mother, would be a Queen.
The Fathers of the Church soon picked up these implications. A text probably coming from Origen (died c. 254: cf. Marian Studies 4, 1953, 87) gives her the title domina, the feminine form of Latin dominus, Lord. That same title also appears in many other early writers, e.g. , St. Ephrem, St. Jerome, St. Peter Chrysologus (cf. Marian Studies 4. 87-91). The word "Queen" appears abut the sixth century, and is common thereafter (Marian Studies, 4, 91-94).
The titles "king" and "queen" are often used loosely, for those beings that excel in some way. Thus we call the lion the king of beasts, the rose the queen of flowers. Surely Our Lady deserves the title richly for such reasons. But there is much more.
Some inadequate reasons have been suggested: She is the daughter of David. But not every child of a king becomes a king or queen. Others have pointed out that she was free from original sin. Then, since Adam and Eve had a dominion over all things (Genesis 1. 26) she should have similar dominion. But the problem is that the royalty of Adam and Eve was largely metaphorical.
The solidly theological reasons for her title of Queen are expressed splendidly by Pius XII, in his Radiomessage to Fatima, Bendito seja (AAS 38. 266): "He, the Son of God, reflects on His heavenly Mother the glory, the majesty and the dominion of His kingship, for, having been associated to the King of Martyrs in the unspeakable work of human Redemption as Mother and cooperator, she remains forever associated to Him, with a practically unlimited power, in the distribution of the graces which flow from the Redemption. Jesus is King throughout all eternity by nature and by right of conquest: through Him, with Him, and subordinate to Him, Mary is Queen by grace, by divine relationship, by right of conquest, and by singular choice [of the Father]. And her kingdom is as vast as that of her Son and God, since nothing is excluded from her dominion."

A crown in the cathedral of Perpignan, France. It was commissioned in 1904 by the then bishop to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.

We notice that there are two titles for the kingship of Christ: divine nature, and "right of conquest", i.e., the Redemption. She is Queen "through Him, with Him, and subordinate to Him." The qualifications are obvious, and need no explanation. Her Queenship is basically a sharing in the royalty of her Son. We do not think of two powers, one infinite, the other finite. No, she and her Son are inseparable, and operate as a unit.
Of the four titles Pius XII gave for her Queenship, we notice that two are closely parallel to those of Jesus:
(1) He is king by nature, as God; she is Queen by "divine relationship" that is, by being the Mother of God. In fact her relation to her Son is greater than that of ordinary Mothers of Kings. For she is the Mother of Him who is King by very nature, from all eternity, and the relationship is exclusive, for He had no human father. Still further, the ordinary queen-mother gives birth to a child who later will become king. The son of Mary is, as we said, eternally king, by His very nature. (2) He is king by right of conquest. She too is Queen by right of conquest. We already saw that this title for Him means that He redeemed us from the captivity of satan. She shared in the struggle and victory. Since the Pope expressed her dependence on Him in a threefold way--something we would have known anyway--then it is clear that he did not have in mind any other restriction which he did not express. So, maintaining this subordination, "by right of conquest" means the same for her as it does for Him.

The other two titles: (3) She is Queen by grace. She is full of grace, the highest in the category of grace besides her Son. (4) She is Queen by singular choice of the Father. A mere human can become King or Queen by choice of the people. How much greater a title is the choice of the Father Himself!
Pius XII added that "nothing is excluded from her dominion." As Mediatrix of all graces, who shared in earning all graces, she is, as Benedict XV said, "Suppliant omnipotence": she, united with her Son, can obtain by her intercession anything that the all-powerful God can do by His own inherent power.
In the Old Testament, under some Davidic kings, the gebirah, the "Great Lady", usually the Mother of the King, held great power as advocate with the king. Cf. 1 Kings 2:20, where Solomon said to his Mother Bathsheba, seated on a throne at his right: "Make your request, Mother, for I will not refuse you." Here is a sort of type of Our Lady.

Remember

O Virgin and Mother, grant that I may always remember thee.

- St Philip Neri

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary,
that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection,
implored your help or sought your intercession,
was left unaided.
Inspired with this confidence,
I fly to you, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother;
to you do I come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful.
O Mother of the Word Incarnate,
despise not my petitions,
but in your mercy hear and answer me.
Amen.
Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy, hail, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve: to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus, O merciful, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Amen.
-<3 Heart

Heading Back to school......

If your like me then school is just around the corner and about to get started (for me it's this afternoon) So for all you students out there here you go

Prayer for Students

Under thy patronage, dear Mother, and calling on the mystery of thine Immaculate Conception, I desire to pursue my studies and my literary labors: I hereby solemnly declare that I am giving myself to these studies chiefly to the following end: that I may the better contribute to the glory of God and to the promotion of thy veneration among men. I pray thee, therefore, most loving Mother, who art the Seat of Wisdom, to bless my labors in thy loving-kindness. Moreover I promise with true affection and a willing spirit, as it is right that I should do, to ascribe all the good that shall come to me therefrom, wholly to thine intercession for me in God's holy presence. Amen.

Good Luck and may God Bless all your studies, heard work and endeavors.
You pray for me and I'll pray for you <3-Heart

Mary's Assumption and Crowning

Greetings and Salutations to Everyone!!!

Today we get to celebrate the feast of the Assumption of Mary into Heaven, and I would like to remind everyone that this is a Holy Day of Obligation, So don't forget to go to mass!  And next week we celebrate her crowning as queen of Heaven

and earth.The Assumption of the Blessed Mother reminds us that we are not meant for this world, that God’s Plan is for us to remain only for a time on this planet. Our final and eternal destination is Heaven. and so Now  let us take a look at what exactly is the assumption.

Mary’s Assumption and Crowning

In the month of August, we celebrate not only the Assumption of the Blessed Mother’s body into heaven on the 15th, but also the crowning of Our Lady as Queen of Heaven on the 22nd of August.
Tradition in the Eastern Catholic Church is that the apostles were with the Blessed Mother at her death—or “dormition” as it is called, the “falling asleep.” However, St. Thomas was the only apostle not present at the time, and when he arrived three days later and asked to see her body in the tomb, they opened it for him. To their amazement, her body was gone. The traditional belief is that Mary herself appeared to the apostles and told them that her Son Jesus took her body to heaven. Another legend of  St. Thomas recieving Mary's girdle probably originated in the East, and was well known in Italy by the 14th century.^[3] Thomas is most famous, apart from his mission to India, for the Doubting Thomas episode (John 20:24-29) where he missed thepost-Resurrection appearance of Jesus to the ten other apostles, and said he would not believe Jesus had returned until he had felt his wounds. In the story of the girdle, at the Assumption of Mary, where the other apostles were present, Thomas once again missed the occasion (being on his way back from India), so the Virgin Mary, aware of Thomas' sceptical nature, appeared to him individually and dropped the girdle she was wearing down onto him, to give him a physical proof of what he had seen. In other versions he was miraculously transported from India to the Mount of Olives, to be present at the actual Assumption, and the Virgin dropped her girdle down to him as she was taken up to heaven.^[3] Alternatively, only Thomas actually witnessed the Assumption, and the Virgin left the belt as a proof for his story to the other apostles (a neat inversion of the Doubting Thomas episode).^[4]

The legend is described briefly in the Golden Legend, with Thomas missing the Assumption and receiving the girdle later

The Church has declared the Blessed Mother as the Queen of Heaven, and celebrates the Feast of the Queenship of Mary a week after the feast of the Assumption.
Some of the prayers of the feast-day make us reflect on just how much God depended on Mary for the salvation of mankind. Our salvation, based on the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, was made possible by the humble assent of Mary.
“Our Lady, you have become the throne of the Most High, and today you go up from earth to heaven. Your glory, shining forth with the radiance of divine grace, surpasses every other splendor. …Hail, O Woman full of grace, the Lord is with you, the Lord who, because of you, bestows great mercy upon the world.”
“Behold, all the heavenly hierarchies – the Dominations, Thrones, Principalities, Virtues, Powers, Cherubim, and Seraphim – sing a hymn of glory to your Dormition. All human races rejoice at your glory, and kings, together with the angels and archangels, sing out to you: ‘Hail, O Woman full of grace!’ The Lord is with you, the Lord who, because of you, bestows great mercy upon the world.”
“As for the most sublime Powers of heaven, they came… to escort and to pay their last respect to the most honorable body that had contained Life Itself. Filled with awe, …they professed … in a hushed voice: ‘Behold the Queen of All, the divine maiden is coming!’ …Lift up your gates and receive with becoming majesty the Mother of the Light that never fades. Because through her, salvation was made possible for our human race. …For the special honor that made her sublime is beyond our understanding…
“Wherefore, O most pure Mother of God, forever alive with your Son, the Source of Life, do not cease to intercede with Him that He may guard and save your people from every trouble, for you are our intercessor.” [Byzantine Daily Worship, pp. 755 to 757]
“Hail, Holy Queen, enthroned above, Hail Mother of mercy and of love! Our life, our sweetness here below, Our hope in sorrow and in woe. Turn then most gracious Advocate, Towards us thine eyes compassionate. When this our exile is complete, Show us your Son, our Jesus sweet. O clement, gracious Mother sweet, O Virgin Mary, we entreat, O Maria.” (words from Hail, Holy Queen Enthroned Above)
St. Alphonsus Liguori, a Doctor of the Church, wrote the book The Glories of Mary, considered a classic among Catholic writings and which many consider to have been inspired. Writing about the Assumption of Mary, he says that Jesus Himself “went forth from Heaven to accompany His Mother” up to Heaven. St. Alphonsus records the words of Jesus to Mary upon her death:

Come in, soul and body, to enjoy the recompense of thy holy life. If thy sufferings have been great on earth, far greater is the glory which I have prepared for thee in Heaven.

On her entrance, [into Heaven]…. The angels proclaim “She is the Mother of our King; she is our Queen, and the blessed one among women; full of grace, the saint of saints, the beloved of God, the immaculate one, the dove, the fairest of all creatures.” Then all the blessed spirits began to bless her and praise her…
All the saints who were in Paradise then came to welcome her and salute her as their Queen. …St. James, the only apostle who was yet in Heaven, also came to thank her in the name of all the other apostles for all the comfort and help she had afforded them while she was on earth. The prophets came to salute her… The holy patriarchs came…Adam and Eve came to thank her…St. Simeon came to kiss her feet. … St. Zachary and St. Elizabeth came and thanked her for that loving visit… by which they had received such treasures of grace. St. John the Baptist came…to thank her for having sanctified him by her voice. … St. Joachim and St. Anne …blessed her, saying, “O beloved daughter, what a favor it was for us to have such a child!”
…her dear spouse, St. Joseph, came to salute her… With what tenderness must he have addressed her: “O my Lady and spouse, how can I ever thank our God as I ought for having made me thy spouse, thou who art His true Mother! Through thee, I merited to assist on earth the Childhood of the Eternal Word, to carry Him so often in my arms, and to receive so many graces. Ever blessed be those moments which I spent in life serving Jesus and thee, my spouse. Behold our Jesus! Let us rejoice that he now no longer lies on straw in a manger… He no longer lives despised in a shop, as He once lived with us in Nazareth; He is now no longer nailed to an infamous gibbet, as when He died in Jerusalem for the salvation of the world; but He is seated at the right hand of His Father as King and Lord of Heaven and earth.”
Then…the great Queen thanked all the angels for their assistance they had given her on earth, and more especially, she thanked the Archangel Gabriel… The humble and holy Virgin, then kneeling, adored the Divine Majesty and …thanked Him for all the graces bestowed upon her by His pure goodness, and especially for having made her the Mother of the Eternal Word.”

Blessed Mother Mary, on the Feast of your Assumption, pray for us. Most holy Virgin Mother, Queen of Heaven, pray for us.

Today is the feast day of my absolute favorite saint!!!! St. Philomena. The first moment I saw her picture(the one I posted above;)] in the adoration chapel, I just simply fell in love with her. Of course all I knew about her for years was just her name and how her body was discovered in the catacombs, but she always had a special place in my heart. I was fortunate again when in another Eucharist adoration chapel years later to discover a book all this little saint and the more I learned about her the more I loved her. I guess you could say Jesus wanted us to be friends<3, which is incidentally what her name means, lol:)

Anyways here is her story below, I hope you come to love he as much as I do, maybe even more:)

Mother Luisa went to the Saint, and begged her not to take any notice of her unworthiness, but to consider that it was a matter of holy obedience, and to reveal more about her life. After that time, there came a day when Maria was alone in her cell and felt her eyes being closed. She heard the gracious voice of St. Philomena. The following account of the life of Saint Philomena is taken from the official account of Fr. Di Lucia’s Relazione Istorici di Santa Filomena and subsequent annals from locutions received by Sr. Luisa di Gesu in August of 1833. These revelations received approval by the Holy Office, (presently the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) on December 21, 1833.

"My dear Sister, I am the daughter of a Prince who governed a small state in Greece. My mother is also of royal blood. My parents were without children. They were idolaters. They continually offered sacrifices and prayers to their false gods.

A doctor from Rome named Publius lived in the palace in the service of my father. This doctor professed Christianity. Seeing the affliction of my parents, by the impulse of the Holy Ghost, he spoke to them of Christianity, and promised to pray for them if they consented to receive Baptism. The grace which accompanied his words enlightened their understanding and triumphed over their will. They became Christians and obtained the long desired happiness that Publius had assured them as the reward of their conversion. At the moment of my birth, they gave me the name of "Lumena," an allusion to the light of Faith of which I had been, as it were, the fruit. The day of my Baptism they called me "Filumena," or "Daughter of Light," because on that day I was born to the Faith. The affection which my parents bore me was so great that they had me always with them.

It was on this account that they took me to Rome on a journey that my father was obliged to make on the occasion of an unjust war with which he was threatened by the haughty Diocletian. I was then thirteen years old. On our arrival in the capital of the world, we proceeded to the palace of the Emperor and were admitted for an audience. As soon as Diocletian saw me, his eyes were fixed upon me. He appeared to be pre-possessed in this manner during the entire time that my father was stating with animated feelings everything that could serve for his defense.

As soon as Father had ceased to speak, the Emperor desired him to be disturbed no longer, to banish all fear, to think only of living in happiness. These are the Emperor’s words, ‘I shall place at your disposal all the force of the Empire. I ask only one thing, that is the hand of your daughter.’ My father, dazzled with an honor he was far from expecting, willingly acceded on the spot to the proposal of the Emperor.

When we returned to our own dwelling, Father and Mother did all they could to induce me to yield to Diocletian’s wishes and theirs. I cried, ‘Do you wish, that for the love of a man, I should break the promise I have made to Jesus Christ? My virginity belongs to him. I can no longer dispose of it.’

‘But you were young then, too young,’ answered my father, ‘to have formed such an engagement.’ He joined the most terrible threats to the command that he gave me to accept the hand of Diocletian. The grace of my God rendered me invincible, and my father, not being able to make the Emperor relent, in order to disengage himself from the promise he had given, was obliged by Diocletian to bring me to the Imperial Chamber.

I had to withstand for some time beforehand a new attack from my father’s anger. My mother, uniting her efforts to his, endeavored to conquer my resolution. Caresses, threats, everything was employed touce me to compliance. At last, I saw both of my parents fall at my knees and say to me with tears in their eyes, ‘My child have pity on your father, your mother, your country, our country, our subjects.’

‘No! No,’ I answered them. ‘My virginity, which I have vowed to God, comes before everything, before you, before my country. My kingdom is heaven.’

My words plunged them into despair and they brought me before the Emperor, who on his part did all in his power to win me. But his promises, his allurements, his threats, were equally useless. He then flew into a violent fit of anger and, influenced by the Devil, had me cast into one of the prisons of the palace, where he had me loaded with chains. Thinking that pain and shame would weaken the courage with which my Divine Spouse inspired me, he came to see me every day. After several days, the Emperor issued an order for my chains to be loosed, that I might take a small portion of bread and water. He renewed his attacks, some of which would have been fatal to purity had it not been for the grace of God.

The defeats which he always experienced were for me the preludes to new tortures. Prayer supported me. I did not cease to recommend myself to Jesus and his most pure Mother. My captivity had lasted thirty-seven days, when, in the midst of a heavenly light, I saw Mary holding the Divine Son in her arms.

‘My daughter,’ she said to me, ‘three days more of prison and after forty days you shall leave this state of pain.’

Such happy news made my heart beat with joy, but as the Queen of Angels had added that I should quit my prison, to sustain, in frightful torments a combat far more terrible than those preceding, I fell instantly from joy to the most cruel anguish; I thought it would kill me.

‘Have courage, my child,’ Mary then said to me; ‘are you unaware of the love of predilection that I bear for you? The name, which you received in baptism, is the pledge of it for the resemblance which it has to that of my Son and to mine. You are called Lumena, as your Spouse is called Light, Star, Sun, as I myself am called Aurora, Star, the Moon in the fullness of its brightness, and Sun. Fear not, I will aid you. Now nature, whose weakness humbles you, asserts its law. In the moment of combat, grace will come to lend you its force, and your Angel, who was also mine, Gabriel, whose name expresses strength, will come to your aid. I will recommend you especially to his care, as the well beloved among my children.’

Honoring Saint Philomena we proclaim the power of God in the strength of His Martyrs, and His Infinite Goodness in the favors He concedes to the prayers of His Saints. This was the theology of the Holy CurÉ of Ars, and this will be ours also.
Father Luis Petit, founder of the UniversalArchconfraternity of Saint Philomena, Paris, France, 1859

These words of the Queen of virgins gave me courage again, and the vision disappeared, leaving my prison filled with a celestial perfume. I experienced a joy out of this world. Something indefinable.

What the Queen of Angels had prepared me for was soon experienced. Diocletian, despairing of bending me, decided on public chastisement to offend my virtue. He condemned me to be stripped and scourged like the Spouse I preferred to him. These are his horrifying words.

‘Since she is not ashamed to prefer to an Emperor like me, a malefactor condemned to an infamous death by his own people, she deserves that my justice shall treat her as he was treated.’

The prison guards hesitated to unclothe me entirely but they did tie me to a column in the presence of the great men of the court. They lashed me with violence until I was bathed in blood. My whole body felt like one open wound, but I did not faint.

The tyrant had me dragged back to the dungeon, expecting me to die. I hoped to join my heavenly Spouse. Two angels, shining with light, appeared to me in the darkness. They poured a soothing balm on my wounds, bestowing on me a vigor I did not have before the torture.

When the Emperor was informed by the change that had come over me, he had me brought before him. He viewed me with a greedy desire and tried to persuade me that I owed my healing and regained vigor to Jupiter, another god that he, the Emperor, had sent to me. He attempted to impress me with his belief that Jupiter desired me to be Empress of Rome. Joining to these seductive words promises of great honor, including the most flattering words, Diocletian tried to caress me. Fiendishly, he attempted to complete the work of Hell which he had begun. The Divine Spirit to whom I am indebted for constancy in preserving my purity seemed to fill me with light and knowledge and to all the proofs which I gave of the solidity of our Faith, neither Diocletian nor his courtiers could find an answer.

Then, the frenzied Emperor dashed at me, commanding a guard to chain an anchor around my neck and bury me deep in the waters of the Tiber. The order was executed. I was cast into the water, but God sent me two angels who unfastened the anchor. It fell into the river mud, where it remains no doubt to the present time. The angels transported me gently in full view of the multitude upon the riverbank. I came back unharmed, not even wet, after being plunged with the heavy anchor.

When a cry of joy rose from the debauchers on the shore, and so many embraced Christianity by proclaiming their belief in my God, Diocletian attributed my preservation to secret magic. Then the Emperor had me dragged through the streets of Rome and shot with a shower of arrows. My blood flowed, but I did not faint. Diocletian thought that I was dying and commanded the guards to carry me back to the dungeon. Heaven honored me with a new favor there. I fell into a sweet sleep, and I found myself, on awaking, perfectly cured.

Diocletian learned about it. ‘Well, then,’ he cried in a fit of rage, ‘let her be pierced with sharp darts a second time, and let her die in that torture.’ They hastened to obey him. Again, the archers bent their bows. They gathered all their strength, but the arrows refused to second their intentions. The Emperor was present. In a rage, he called me a magician, and thinking that the action of fire could destroy the enchantment, ordered the darts to be made in a furnace and directed against my heart. He was obeyed, but these darts, after having passed through a part of the space which they were to cross to come to me, took a quite contrary direction and returned to strike those by whom they had been hurled. Six of the archers were killed by them. Several among them renounced paganism, and the people began to render public testimony to the power of God that protected me.

These murmurs and acclamations infuriated the tyrant. He determined to hasten my death by ordering my head to be cut off. My soul took flight towards my heavenly Spouse, who placed me, with the crown of virginity and the palm of martyrdom, in a distinguished place among the elect. The day that was so happy for me and saw me enter into glory was Friday, the third hour after mid-day, the same hour that saw my Divine Master expire."

What is noteworthy from a historical perspective is not only that this revelation was confirmed by two other individuals unknown to each other (one a priest, the other a historian), but these other historical facts: 1) The Third Century Roman Emperor was known for executing Christians by the use of arrows, exemplified by St. Sebastian; 2) The Third Century Roman Emperor was also known for killing Christians by tying anchors around their necks and throwing them into the water; 3) The reference to "Lumena" -- the name given to her at birth, "Light" -- and then at Baptism, "Fi Lumena," "Daughter of Light," may explain the arrangement of the tiles found at the grave as "Lumena," her first given name, was on the first tile.

Happy Feast Day of St. Philomena
St. Philomena, Martyr, maiden fair
we love thee with the rose wreath in your hair
thou clasping close the green imortal palm
plead strong and sweet for us in heavens calm
with Him who bids thee succor every need
he says not nay when thou dost interced
then mighty martyr help us through lifes race and show us at the gates of gold thy lovely face
<3 

Feast Day of St. Lawerence

Today the church celebrates a martyr, St. Lawrence. I've always loved the stories of this saint, as he seemed to me that is that he must of had a witty and good sense of humor, which he used in his ministries. St. Lawrence was a deacon, during the early church and he served under Pope Sixtus the second during one of the persecutions of the early church. He was one of seven deacons who was responsible for the material goods of the church  and the distribution of alms  to the needy and poor of the city.When the Pope, during the persecution was condemned to death, St. Lawrence followed after him weeping saying to the Pope "Father where are you going without your deacon?" The Pope in turn answered "I am not leaving you my son, in three days you will follow after me."When Lawrence knew he would be arrested like the pope, he sought out the poor, widows and orphans of Rome and gave them all the money he had on hand, selling even the sacred vessels to increase the sum.

.When the prefect of Rome heard of this, he imagined that the Christians must have considerable treasure. He sent for Lawrence and said, “You Christians say we are cruel to you, but that is not what I have in mind. I am told that your priests offer in gold, that the sacred blood is received in silver cups, that you have golden candlesticks at your evening services. Now, your doctrine says you must render to Caesar what is his. Bring these treasures—the emperor needs them to maintain his forces. God does not cause money to be counted: He brought none of it into the world with him—only words. Give me the money, therefore, and be rich in words.”

Lawrence replied that the Church was indeed rich. “I will show you a valuable part. But give me time to set everything in order and make an inventory.” After three days he gathered a great number of blind, lame, maimed, leprous, orphaned and widowed persons and put them in rows. When the prefect arrived, Lawrence simply said, “These are the treasure of the Church.”

The prefect was so angry he told Lawrence that he would indeed have his wish to die—but it would be by inches. He had a great gridiron prepared, with coals beneath it, and had Lawrence’s body placed on it.The Saint was tied on top of an iron grill over a slow fire that roasted his flesh little by little, but Lawrence was burning with so much love of God that he almost did not feel the flames. In fact,God gave him so much strength  and joy that he even joked. "Turn me over," he said to the judge. "I'm done on this side!" And just before he died, he said, "It's cooked enough now." Then he prayed that the city of Rome might be converted to Jesus and that the Catholic faith might spread all over the world. After that, he went to receive the martyr's reward.

St. Lawrence is the Patron Saint of Rome, Rotterdam, Birgu. Malta, Spain, San Lorenzo, The Philippians, Canada, Sri Lanka, comedians ;3,  librarians, students, miners, tanners, chefs/cooks, and roasters.:D

St. Lawrence Pray for Us!

God Love You <3-Heart

Victory for Mary!!!!

Early today it had come to my attention that there was a page going around on facebook which basically promoted  hate speech about Christian, Muslim and all religions, as well as drugs and the website also stated "T God raped the Virgin Mary and speculates on the sex life of the famous girl, whom the Muslims hail in the Koran and Christians call Jesus' Blessed Mother. "( taken from there web post) As well as  posting obscene pictures of Mary. Well more than 21,000 signitures were collected and after numerous people petition facebook, the page has finally come down, whoohoo!!!! So to celebrate the Victory for Mary heres a small picture of Our Immaculate Mother,Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. I do love Our Dearest Mother<3
Bless us Mary, Maiden Mild. Bless  us to her Tender Child- Amen- <3 Heart

"My Lord and My God!!!" ..........Did you know that the faithful, who attending Mass at the elevation of the Sacred Host during Mass or when solemnly exposed recites this ejaculation with faith, piety, and love are granted :An indulgence of seven years; a plenanary indulgence once a week, if this pious practice is followed daily, on conditions of confession, communion and prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father, the Pope.
               Why not Visit Jesus in Holy Communion today, go to mass, receive Him in Holy Communion, make a Spiritual Communion, visit Him in the tabernacle, or do all three!<3-Heart

Its Sunday!!!!!

Go to Mass!:D

<3

-Heart

First Saturday and August

The month of August is dedicated to The Immaculate Heart of Mary. The entire month falls within the liturgical season of Ordinary Time, which is represented by the liturgical color green. This symbol of hope is the color of the sprouting seed and arouses in the faithful the hope of reaping the eternal harvest of heaven, especially the hope of a glorious resurrection. It is used in the offices and Masses of Ordinary Time.
                

 Today also happens to be the First Saturday.The First Saturday Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary was first mentioned by Our Lady of Fatima on July 13, 1917. After showing the three children a vision of hell she said, "You have seen hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace... I shall come to ask for... the Communion of reparation on the first Saturdays..."
So How do you put this devotion into practice, well heres how, The Blessed Mother, appearing to Sister Lucia, the sole surviving visionary from Fatima, spoke to her one day saying: "Look, my daughter, at my heart, surrounded with thorns with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. You at least try to console me and say that I promise to assist at the hour of death, with the graces necessary for salvation, all those who, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, shall confess, receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the Rosary, and keep me company for fifteen minutes while meditating on fifteen mysteries of the Rosary, with the intention of making reparation to me."

So lets recap

1) It has to be on the First Saturday of the month for 5 consecutive months

2)You have to go to confession (within eight days of that first Saturday)

3) You must receive Holy Communion(In  the state of Grace I would like to add)

4)Recite 5 decades of the Rosary and keep Mary comapny for 15 minutes while meditating on the 15 mysteries of the rosary (There actually 20 now with the luminous mystery)

and all these must be done with the intention of making reparation to Mary and her Immaculate Heart <3

Five first Saturdays of reparation were requested to atone for the five ways in which people offend the Immaculate Heart of Mary:

1. attacks upon Mary's Immaculate Conception
2. attacks against her Perpetual Virginity
3. attacks upon her Divine Maternity and the refusal to accept her as the Mother of all mankind
4. for those who try to publicly implant in children's hearts indifference, comtempt and even hatred of this Immaculate Mother
5. for those who insult her directly in her sacred images.

 “This is to help inspire people to observe the five first Saturdays.” tell your friends about it!