Catechism L5-20 God's Family - The Church and Mary our Mother

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]

 Duty of the Church

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

•New Advent (www.newadvent.org)

•www.vatican.va

•http://www.awakentoprayer.org/Catholic_Tradition_art.html

•http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/history/creeds.later.txt

•http://www.cin.org/users/james/ebooks/master/trent/tcomm01.htm

•http://listverse.com/2009/07/13/top-10-misconceptions-about-the-catholic-church/

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07664a.htm