Prayer Before Studying
Incomprehensible
Creator, the true Fountain of light and only Author of all knowledge:
vouchsafe, we beseech Thee, to enlighten our understandings, and to remove from
us all darkness of sin and ignorance. Thou, who makest
eloquent the tongues of those that want utterance, direct our tongues, and pour
on our lips the grace of Thy blessing. Give us a diligent and obedient spirit,
quickness of apprehension, capacity of retaining, and the powerful assistance
of Thy holy grace; that what we hear or learn we may apply to Thy honor and the
eternal salvation of our own souls.
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Holy
Spirit, giver of all good gifts, enter into my mind and heart. Give me the gift
of knowledge, wisdom, understanding and the grace to use it wisely. Help me in
all my endeavors. Give me perseverance and fortitude. Help my memory, that I
may remember what I learn and recall it when necessary. Guide me in my studies.
You who are the Way, the Truth, and the Life, let me not be deceived by false
teaching. Our Lady of Good Studies, pray for me. Amen.
Prayer to Mama Mary
Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
O most pure heart of Mary, full of goodness, show your love towards us. Let the flame of your heart, O Mary, descend on all people. We love you immensely. Impress on our hearts true love so that we may long for you. O Mary, gentle and humble of heart, remember us when we sin. You know that all people sin. Grant that through your most pure and motherly heart, we may be healed from every spiritual sickness. Grant that we may always experience the goodness of your motherly heart, and that through the flame of your heart we may be converted. Amen.
The Memorare (St. Bernard of Clairvaux)
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that any one who fled to thy protection, implored thy help or sought thy intercession, was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins my Mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful; O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me, Amen.
Prayer to Jesus
An Act of Spiritual Communion
My Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament. I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.
Specific Aims:
- Hierarchy in the Church and positions
- Apostles Creed
- Mary’s Assumption into Heaven
- Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth
- Catholic Issues:
- -- Praying on the Angels and Saints
- -- Venerating Statues and Images
The Catholic Church
16
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah,
the
Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son
of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in
heaven. 18 And
I tell you, you are Peter, and
on this rock I
will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. 19 I
will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth
will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in
heaven.”
(Matthew 16:16-19)
Jesus builds His Church
• What
does “Church” mean? [CCC 748-757]
–The Greek word for à CHURCH is “ekklesia” =
those who are called forth.
All of us who are baptized and believed in God are called forth by the Lord. Together we are the Church.
–Christ
is, as Paul says the Head
of the Church.
–We
are His body.
• Why
does God want there to be a Church?
–God wills the à
CHURCH because he wants to redeem us, not individually, but together. He wants
to make all mankind his people. [CCC 758-781, 802-804]
Composition of Church (Before)
Composition of Church (Now)
Position in the Church
The
Pope (CCC 880-882, 936-937)
•
Successor of St. Peter; Leader /Head of
the Catholic Church; Source and
guarantor of Church Unity
•
Supreme pastoral authority and the final authority in doctrinal and
disciplinary decisions.
Bishops:
•
Successor of Apostles; responsible and leader of a diocese (local churches)
that is entrusted to them
•
Exercise ministry by virtue of his own apostolic authority; he is not an agent
or a sort of assistant to the Pope. Yet he acts with and under the Pope.
Priests:
•
Co-worker with the Bishop in proclaiming the Gospel and administering the
sacraments.
•
Carries out his ministry of communion with the other priests, under the
leadership of the bishop.
Deacon:
•
He is ordained for the ministry of the Word, the LITURGY, and charitable works.
•
Includes the authority to baptize, to preach at Mass, and to preside at the
sacrament of Matrimony.
Religious
Brother/Sister:
•
Members of enclosed religious orders and take solemn religious vows.
•
They teach, work in hospitals, help the poor, and spend the whole day praying
for us.
Laity:
•
Baptized, non-ordained Christians who belong to the People of God.
•
Shares priestly ministry of Christ (the universal priesthood)
•
Supports the life of the Church (Lector, Extraordinary Minister, Service for
Church etc.)
Apostles Creed
I believe in God the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He
was conceived by the power of the Holy
Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.
Under
Pontius Pilate, He was crucified, died, and was buried.
He
descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of
the Father.
He
will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints,
the
forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and
the life everlasting.
Amen.
• What are Creeds?
–Creeds are brief formula of faith that make it possible for
all believers to make a common profession. [CCC 185-188, 192-197]
• How did the creeds come about?
– The Creeds go back to Jesus, who commanded his disciples to
baptize. In doing so, they were to require of the people seeking Baptism the profession of a definite faith, namely, faith in the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit à Trinity [CCC 188-191]
– Enter into communion with God (Trinity) and also with the
whole Church (catholic) which transmit the faith to us… [CCC 197]
Our Creed pertains to God, Heaven, Church, Purgatory and Hell
Assumption of Mary into heaven
• Its origin is lost in
those days when Jerusalem was restored as a sacred city, at the time of the
Roman Emperor Constantine (c. 285-337).
• After the building of
the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in 336, the sacred sites began to be
restored and memories of the life of Our Lord began to be celebrated by the
people of Jerusalem. One of the memories about his mother centered around the
"Tomb of Mary," close to Mount Zion, where the early Christian
community had lived.
• On the hill itself was
the "Place
of Dormition," the spot of Mary's "falling asleep," where she had died. The "Tomb of Mary" was where she was buried. At this
time, the "Memory
of Mary" was being
celebrated. Later it was to become our feast of the Assumption.
• In the seventh century,
it began to be celebrated in Rome under the title of the "Falling
Asleep" ("Dormitio") of the Mother of God. Soon the name
was changed to the "Assumption of Mary," since there was more to the
feast than her dying.
• At the Council of
Chalcedon in 451, when bishops
from throughout the Mediterranean world gathered in Constantinople, Emperor
Marcian asked the Patriarch of Jerusalem to bring
the relics of Mary to Constantinople to be enshrined in the capitol. The
patriarch explained to the emperor that there were no relics of Mary in
Jerusalem, that "Mary had died in the presence of the apostles; but her
tomb, when opened later . . . was found empty and so the apostles concluded
that the body was taken up into heaven."
• In the eighth century, St. John Damascene was known for giving sermons at the holy places in Jerusalem. At the
Tomb of Mary, he expressed the belief of the Church on the
meaning of the feast: "Although the body was duly buried, it did not
remain in the state of death, neither was it dissolved by decay. . . . You were transferred to your heavenly home,
O Lady, Queen and Mother of God in truth.“
• In 1950, in the Apostolic Constitution <Munificentissimus Deus>, Pope Pius XII proclaimed the
Assumption of Mary a dogma of the Catholic Church in these words: "The
Immaculate Mother of God, the ever-virgin Mary, having completed the course of
her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heaven.“
• With that, an ancient belief became Catholic doctrine and the Assumption
was declared a truth revealed by God.
Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth
Biblical and Theological
Basis:
•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. (1 Kings 2:20 – Solomon tells her mother
Bathsheba that he will refuse her; John 2:3-5 Jesus and Mary at the Wedding at
Cana)
•The biblical precedent in ancient Israel is that the mother of the king
becomes the queen mother. Mary's queenship is a share in Jesus’
kingship
•Mary as the woman clothed with the sun in the Book of
Revelation 12:1–3: "1 A great and wondrous sign appeared in
heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown
of twelve stars on her head…
•She was the Daughter of God the Father, the Mother of God the Son and as
the Church has been saying since the Annunciation: the Spouse of the Holy
Spirit
Historical Practice:
•In the 4th century St. Ephrem called Mary “Lady” and “Queen.” Later Church fathers and doctors
continued to use the title.
•A text probably coming
from Origen (died c. 254) gives her the title domina, the feminine form of Latin dominus, Lord. That same title
also appears in many other early writers, e.g., Jerome, and Peter Chrysologus.
•The first Mariological definition and basis for the title of Mary
Queen of Heaven developed at the Council of Ephesus, where Mary was defined to
be the Mother of God. The Council fathers specifically approved this version
against the opinion, that Mary is "only" the mother of Jesus. Nobody
had participated in the life of her son more, than Mary, who gave birth to the
Son of God.
•It was Pope Pius XII who
established this feast in 1954. But Mary’s queenship has roots in Scripture.
At the Annunciation, Gabriel announced that Mary’s Son would receive the throne
of David and rule forever. At the Visitation, Elizabeth calls Mary “mother of
my Lord.” As in all the mysteries of Mary’s life, Mary is closely associated
with Jesus: Her queenship is a share in Jesus’ kingship. We can also
recall that in the Old Testament the mother of the king has great influence in
court.
Proofs of Immaculate Virgin Mary’s Greatness
Apparitions and Prophecies
of our Lady:
•To venerable Mary of Agreda, Spain (17th Century)
•To Melanie Calvat in La Salette, France (Sept. 19 1846)
•Bernadette Soubirous, her sister and friend Pancho at Lourdes, France (Feb. 11, 1858)
•To the 3 children of Fatima, Portugal (May 13, 1917)
•To the 4 girls of Garabandal, Spain (June 1961)
•To Padre Pio of Pietrelcina (1887-1968)
•To Sister Agnes Sasagawa in Akita, Japan (1969-1973)
•To Maria Esperanza Bianchini (1928-2004) of Venezuela
•To 6 Herzegovinian children in Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina
(now Yugoslavia) (June 24, 1981)
•To Sister Teresita Castillo at Lipa, Batangas, Philippines (August 18, 1948) - Mediatrix of all Graces (Approve locally but pending Holy See 2nd investigation decision)
Something to Ponder
• Is Jesus
Christ is the One Mediator of
our Salvation, the only Way to the Father, by whose death we may approach God and gain salvation?
• ==> TRUE: "There is one mediator between
God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all" (I
Timothy 2:5-6).
• Can the Virgin
Mary ask favor to Jesus who is her Son?
• ==> TRUE: At the Wedding at Cana, Mary asked
Jesus help that host was out of wine anymore. (John 2:1-11)
• Is it unlawful to pray for intercession on the Angels
and Saints?
• What is it stopping/blocking you to directly pray to
God?
• What is it
stopping/blocking God to hear your prayers
What makes an Effective Prayer?
• Sin in our lives can
hinder our prayers
–Psalm 66:18 "If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.“
–James 4:3 "You ask and do not receive, because you ask
wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures.“
–Isaiah 59:2 "Rather, your iniquities have been barriers
between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that
he does not hear."
–John 9:31 "We know that God does not listen to sinners,
but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will."
• Prayers of the
righteous are very effectual
–James 5:16 "Therefore confess your sins to one another,
and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the
righteous is powerful and effective.“ à Mary, Angels and Saints in heaven!!!
• Prayers is effectual if
we have Faith:
–James 1:6-8 "But ask in faith, never doubting, for the
one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind; for
the doubter, being
double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive
anything from the Lord."
Prayer to Saints is Lawful and recognized by God and the Catholic Church
• Psalm
103:20-21 "Bless the Lord, O you
his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, obedient to his spoken word. Bless the Lord, all his
hosts, his ministers that do his will.“
• Psalm
148:1-2 “Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the
heavens; praise him in the
heights! Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his host!“
• Enoch
15:1-3 "And He answered
and said to me, and I heard His voice: 'Fear not, Enoch, thou righteous man and
scribe of righteousness: approach hither and hear my voice. And go, say to the Watchers of
heaven, who have sent thee to intercede for them: "You should
intercede" for men, and not men for you...“
• Revelation
5:8 "When he had taken the
scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb, each
holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the
saints.“
• Saint
Paul the Apostle asked many of his fellow believers (brethren)
to pray for him (Ephesians 6:19; 2
Corinthians 1:11; Ephesians 1:16; Philippians 1:19; 2 Timothy 1:3)
• St.
John Chrysostom "When you perceive that
God is chastening you, fly not to his enemies . . . but to his friends, the
martyrs, the saints, and those who were
pleasing to him,
and who have great power [in God]" (Orations 8:6 [A.D. 396]).
• Clement
of Alexandria "In this way is he
[the true Christian] always pure for prayer. He also prays in the society of
angels, as being already of angelic rank, and he is never out of their holy
keeping; and though he pray alone, he has the choir of the saints standing with
him [in prayer]“
• Origen "But not the high priest [Christ] alone
prays for those who pray sincerely, but also the angels. . . as also the souls
of the saints who have already fallen asleep" (Prayer 11 [A.D. 233]).
• The
Liturgy of St. Basil "By the command of
your only-begotten Son we communicate with the memory of your saints . . . by
whose prayers and supplications have mercy upon us all, and deliver us for the
sake of your holy name" (Liturgy of St. Basil [A.D. 373]).
• St.
Augustine "At the Lord's
table we do not commemorate martyrs in the same way that we do others who rest in peace so as to pray for
them, but rather that they may pray for us that we may follow in their
footsteps" (Homilies on John
84 [A.D. 416]).
• St.
Augustine "Neither are the souls of
the pious dead separated from the Church which even now is the kingdom of
Christ. Otherwise there would
be no remembrance
of them at the altar of God in the communication of the Body of Christ"
(The City of God 20:9:2 [A.D. 419]).
• Jesus Christ message to
Padre Pio "My son, My son, I have been longing for
this hour in which I again shall reveal to you the great love of My heart... Pray and make reparation
to Me...Pray the Rosary. Read spiritual books. Make acts of Spiritual Communion, also acts
of love, which are so pleasing to Us. Pray with outstretched arms, or prostrate on the ground, in order that
many souls may be saved...
What is the Difference?
Statues and Images of God, Angels and Saints
THE FIRST COMMANDMENT :
"I am the lord thy god, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of
the house of bondage.
Thou shalt not have strange
gods before me.
Thou shalt not make to thyself
a graven thing, nor the likeness of
any
thing that is in heaven above, or in
the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters under the earth.
Thou shalt not adore them, nor
serve them. I am the lord
thy god, mighty, jealous, visiting the
iniquity of the fathers upon the children, to the third and fourth generation
of them that hate me, and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me,
and keep my commandments.“ "I am the Lord thy God“
What does it mean of the First Commandment? (Council of Trent; Dec 1543)
• Thou shalt worship Him, the only
God, for if He is God, He is the only God; but on account of the blindness of many who of old professed
to worship the true God and yet adored a multitude of gods. Of these there were many even among the
Hebrews, whom Elias reproached with having halted between two sides, and also
among the Samaritans, who worshipped the God of Israel and the gods of the
nations.
• If Kings, by whose agency God governs the
world, are so highly honoured, shall it be deemed unlawful to honour those angelic spirits
whom God has been pleased to constitute His ministers, whose services He makes use of not only in
the government of His Church, but also of the universe, by whose aid, although
we see them not, we are every day delivered from the greatest dangers of soul
and body ? Are they not worthy of far greater honour,
since their dignity so far surpasses that of kings?
• Invocation of Saints is approved by Miracles -- But who would not be convinced of the honour
due the Saints and of the help they give us by the wonders wrought at their
tombs? Diseased eyes, hands, and other members are restored to health; the dead
are raised to life, and demons are expelled from the bodies of men! These are
facts which St. Ambrose and St. Augustine, most unexceptionable witnesses,
declare in their writings
• The
Scriptures
inform us that God Himself commanded to be made images of Cherubim, and also the brazen serpent. The
interpretation, therefore, at which we must arrive, is that images are
prohibited only inasmuch as they are used as deities to receive adoration, and
so to injure the true worship of God.
• God
Forbid Idols And Representations Of The Deity
–by worshipping idols and images as God, or believing that
they possess any divinity or virtue entitling them to our worship, by praying
to, or reposing confidence in them, as the Gentiles did, who placed their hopes
in idols, and whose idolatry the Scriptures frequently condemn.
–by attempting to form a representation of the Deity, as if He
were visible to mortal eyes, or could be reproduced by colours or figures. Who, says
Damascene, can represent God, invisible, as He is, incorporeal, uncircumscribed by limits, and incapable of
being reproduced under any shape
• God was forbidding was
idolatry: making a stone or "block of wood" God. The Jews were
forbidden to have idols (like all their neighbors had), and God told them not to
make an image of Him because He revealed Himself as a spirit. The incarnation
(God taking on flesh) was yet to come, and not yet fully revealed. One has to learn that God is Spirit (John
4:24) in order to grasp some of the profundity of God becoming man.
• Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is described four times in the Bible, by the
Apostle Paul, as the image (Greek eikon) of God. This changes everything. The Incarnation made
images permissible, as long as they were representing Jesus, the "image of
the invisible God" (Col 1:15).
Catholic Church stand on Images and Statues
• The
Synod of Constantinople (Hiera, 753 AD)
–… As the human flesh is at the same time flesh of God the
Word, so is the human soul also soul of God the Word, and both at the same
time, the soul being deified as well as the body, and the Godhead remained
undivided even in the separation of the soul from the body in his voluntary
passion. For where the soul of Christ is, there is also his Godhead; and where
the body of Christ is, there too is his Godhead. If then in his passion the divinity remained
inseparable from these, how do the fools venture to separate the flesh from the
Godhead, and represent it by itself as the image of a mere man? …. The only
admissible figure of the humanity of Christ, however, is bread and wine in the
holy Supper. This and no other form,
this and no other type, has he chosen to represent his incarnation...
•Council
of Nicaea (7th Ecumenical,787 AD)
–We, therefore, following the royal pathway and the divinely
inspired authority of our Holy Fathers and the traditions of the Catholic
Church (for, as we all know, eth Holy Spirit indwells her), define with all
certitude and accuracy that just as the figure of the precious and life-giving
Cross, so also the venerable and holy images, as well in painting and mosaic as
of other fit materials, should be set forth in the holy churches of God, and on
the sacred vessels and on the vestments and on hangings and in pictures both in
houses and by the wayside, to wit, the figure of our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ, of our spotless
Lady, the Mother of God, of the honourable Angels, of all Saints and of all pious
people. For by so much more frequently
as they are seen in artistic representation, by so much more readily are men
lifted up to the memory of their prototypes, and to a longing after them; and
to these should be given due salutation and honorable reverence not indeed that
true worship of faith which pertains alone to the divine nature; but to these,
as to the figure of the precious and life-giving Cross and to the Book of the
Gospels and to the other holy objects, incense and lights may be offered
according to ancient pious custom. For
the honor which is paid to the image passes on to that which the image
represents, and he who reveres the image reveres in it the subject represented
. . .
•St.
Thomas declares what idolatry
is in the "Summa Theologica", II-II:94, and explains the use of
images in the Catholic Church (II-II:94:2, ad 1Um). He distinguishes between
latria and dulia (II-II:103). The twenty-fifth session of the Council of
Trent (Dec., 1543) repeats
faithfully the principles of Nicaea II:
–[The holy Synod commands] that images of
Christ, the Virgin Mother of God, and other saints are to be held and kept
especially in churches, that due honour
and reverence (debitum
honorem et venerationem)
are to be paid to them, not
that any divinity or power is thought to be in them for the sake of which they
may be worshipped, or that anything can be asked of them, or that any trust may
be put in images, as was done by the heathen who put their trust in their idols
[Psalm 134:15 sqq.], but because
the honour shown to them is
referred to the prototypes which they represent, so that by kissing, uncovering
to, kneeling before images we adore Christ and honour
the saints whose likeness they bear (Denzinger, no. 986).
Cambridge Dictionary defines:
• worship verb (Religion)
–to
have or show a strong feeling of respect and admiration
for God or
a god:
On the island the people worshipped different gods.
–to go to a religious
ceremony: They socialize together and worship in
the same churches. The churches were built to worship God.
• worship verb (Admire)
–to
love, respect, and admire someone or something very much,
often without noticing the bad qualities of that person or thing: Her parents
worship her. As a child, I worshipped my older brother.
• Adoration
–very
strong love or worship for someone: her complete adoration of her
brother. The painting depicts the Three Wise Men kneeling in adoration of the
baby Jesus.
What does it mean of the First Commandment? (Summa Theologica)
•In Catholic theology there are three types of worship – one of which is condemned in the
Bible if offered to anyone but God:
–1) Latria – this is adoration which
is given to God alone – giving this type of worship to anyone else is considered to
be a mortal sin and it is the idolatry condemned in the Bible; is sacrificial
in character.
–2) Hyperdulia – this is a special type of worship given to Mary the Mother of Jesus – it is only given to her and
it is not considered to be idolatory as it is not adoration, merely reverence. non-sacrificial types of
reverence;
–3) Dulia – this is the special type of
worship given only to the saints and angels – it is also not idolatrous as
it, too, is a form of reverence. non-sacrificial types of reverence;
•The Summa Theologica sums up:
–"It is forbidden to give divine honour or worship to the angels and
saints for this belongs to God alone.“
–"We should pay to the angels and saints an inferior honour or worship, for this is due to
them as the servants and special friends of God.“
–"We should give to relics, crucifixes and holy pictures
a relative honour, as they relate to Christ and his saints and are memorials of
them.“
–"We do not pray to relics or images, for they can
neither see nor hear nor help us."
From the 1983 Code of Canon
Law, promulgated by Pope John Paul II:
•TITLE IV : THE CULT OF THE SAINTS, OF SACRED IMAGES AND
OF RELICS
–Canon 1186 To foster the sanctification of
the people of God, the Church commends to the
special and filial veneration of Christ's faithful the Blessed Mary
ever-Virgin, the Mother of God, whom Christ constituted the Mother of all.
The Church also promotes the true and authentic cult of the other Saints, by
whose example the faithful are edified and by whose intercession they are
supported.
–Canon 1187 Only those
servants of God may be venerated by public cult who have been numbered by
ecclesiastical authority among the Saints or the Blessed.
–Canon 1188 The practice of
exposing sacred images in churches for the veneration of the faithful is to be
retained. However, these images are to be
displayed in moderate numbers and in suitable fashion, so that the christian people are not disturbed, nor
is occasion given for less than appropriate devotion.
–Canon 1189 The written permission of the
Ordinary is required to restore precious
images needing repair: that is, those distinguished by reason of age, art or cult, which are exposed in churches and oratories to the veneration
of the faithful. Before giving such permission, the Ordinary is to seek the
advice of experts.
–Canon 1190 §1 It is absolutely wrong to sell
sacred relics. " Code
of Canon Law §§ 1186-90.
Benefits of Praying the
Rosary:
1.Whosoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary shall receive signal
graces.
2.I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary.
3.The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy
vice, decrease sin and defeat heresies.
4.It will cause good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant
mercy of God; it will withdraw the
hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them
to the desire for Eternal Things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by
this means.
5.The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of
the Rosary shall not perish.
6.Whosoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying himself to the
consideration of its Sacred Mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice,
he shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just he
shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of Eternal Life.
7.Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without
the Sacraments of the Church.
8.Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have during their life
and at their death the Light of God and the plenitude of His Graces; at the moment of death they shall participate
in the Merits of the Saints in Paradise.
9.I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary.
10.The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of Glory in
Heaven.
11.You shall obtain all you ask of me by recitation of the Rosary.
12.All those who propagate the Holy Rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.
13.I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for
intercessors the entire Celestial Court during their life and at the hour of death.
14.All who recite the Rosary are my Sons, and brothers of my Only Son Jesus
Christ.
15.Devotion to my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.
The Promises of the Divine
Mercy Chaplet
• To invoke God’s help for any intention.
• God’s anger is placated, unfathomable mercy envelopes the soul -- Jesus
will defend us at the hour of our death; If it is prayed beside dying person,
the pardon is the same. Jesus will stand
between the Father Almighty and the dying person, not as a just Judge but as a
faithful Savoir.
• It will grant souls the very depth of God’s mercy. Profit from the Blood
and Water which gushed forth from Jesus' body.
• It pleases God and grants everything we ask through Jesus. When hardened
souls say it, Jesus will fill their souls with peace and the hour of their
death will be a happy one.
• For the benefit of distressed souls -- no soul that has called upon
God’s mercy has been disappointed or brought to shame
Life Application: To inherit the Kingdom of God; Crown of Life
• We should be loyal and obedient to our Catholic Church
• Take advantage of our Sacraments in our necessities.
• Our life if full of challenges and sins, therefore take advantage of our
brothers and sisters in Heaven: Angels and Saints and most specially our
Immaculate Virgin Mary.
• We should also forget our brothers and sisters who are still in
Purgatory. Pray for them that they may forgiven by the Father.
• Pray the Rosary, Divine Mercy Chaplet and Precious Blood Chaplet
References:
•Holy
Bible (New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition)
•Catechism
of the Catholic Church
•Wikipedia
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07664a.htm
