Hello all, Happy feast day to all born, baptized and married today Happy feast day to all, Seminarians, Deacons, Priests, Bishops, Cardinals, Monks, Nuns, Reverend Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus. Happy feast day to all Catholic Faithful of the Society of the “Sacred Heart of Jesus” and the “Immaculate Heart of Mary” Happy feast day to all devoted to the Immaculate Heart of Mary Happy feast day to all children of the Blessed Virgin Mary, especially all who recite the Holy Rosary in Her honour with true devotion Happy feast day to all Catholic Missionaries Today June 28th marks the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary The feast was formerly known as “The Sacred Heart of Mary” “Immaculate Heart of Mary” is a devotional name used to refer to the interior life of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The interior life of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a reflection of: • her joys • her sorrows, • her virtues • her hidden perfections, • her virginal love for God, • her maternal love for her Son, Jesus, and • her compassionate love for all people. The consideration of Marys interior life and the beauties of her soul, without any thought of her physical heart, do not constitute the traditional devotion; still less does it consist in the consideration of the Heart of Mary merely as a part of her virginal body. In 1855 the Holy Mass of the Most Pure Heart formally became a part of Catholic practice. The two elements are essential to our devotion the Immaculate Heart of Mary , just as, according to Roman Catholic theology, soul and body are necessary to the constitution of man. The Roman Catholic view is based on the Roman Catholic focus on Mariology, as exemplified by Pope Saint John Paul IIs Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae which builds on the total Marian devotion pioneered by Saint Louis Maria de Montfort. Catholic Tradition teaches us that the heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary is pierced with seven wounds or swords, in homage to the seven dolors of Mary. Consequently, seven Hail Mary (s) are said daily by Catholics in honor of the devotion. Also, roses or another type of flower may be wrapped around the heart. The Veneration of the “Heart of Mary” is analogous to worship of the “Sacred Heart of Jesus”. It is, however, necessary to indicate a few differences in this analogy, the better to explain the character of Roman Catholic devotion to the “Heart of Mary”. The Devotion to the “Heart of Jesus” is especially directed to the Divine Heart as overflowing with love for humanity, presented as despised and outraged. In the devotion to the “Immaculate Heart of Mary”, on the other hand, the attraction is the love of this “Immaculate Heart” for Jesus and for God. The love of the “Immaculate Heart of Mary” for humans is not overlooked, but it is not so much in evidence nor so dominant. A second difference is the nature of the devotion itself. In devotion to the “Sacred Heart of Jesus”, the Roman Catholic Church venerates in a sense of love responding to love. In devotion to the “Immaculate Heart of Mary”, study and imitation hold as important a place as love. Love is more the result than the object of the devotion, the object being rather to love God and Jesus better by uniting ones self to the Blessed Virgin Mary for this purpose and by imitating her virtues. It would also seem that, although in the devotion to the “Heart of Mary” the heart has an essential part as symbol and sensible object, it does not stand out as prominently as in the devotion to the “Heart of Jesus”; the devotion to the “Heart of Mary” focuses rather on the thing symbolized, the love, virtues, and sentiments of Marys interior life. Catholic History confirms to us that in the apparition of Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady asked that, in reparation for sins committed against her Immaculate Heart, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months all Catholics and devotees should: 1. Go to Confession (within 8 days before or after the first Saturday) 2. Receive Holy Communion 3. Recite five decades of the Rosary 4. Keep me company for fifteen minutes while meditating on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary Mary promised that, whoever would ever do this, would be given at the hour of his death, the graces necessary for salvation. The history of the devotion to the “Immaculate Heart of Mary” is connected on many points with that to the Heart of Jesus. The attention of Christians was early attracted by the love and virtues of the “Heart of Mary”. Our Gospel of today recounts the prophecy delivered to her at Jesus presentation at the temple: that her heart would be pierced with a sword. This image (the pierced heart of Mary) is the most popular representation of the Immaculate Heart. The Gospel according to Saint John further invited attention to Marys heart with its depiction of Mary at the foot of the cross at Jesus crucifixion. Saint Augustine said of this that Mary was not merely passive at the foot of the cross; she cooperated through charity in the work of our redemption Another Scriptural passage to help in bringing out the devotion was the twice-repeated saying of Saint Luke, that Mary kept all the sayings and doings of Jesus in her heart, that there she might ponder over them and live by them. A few of Marys sayings, also recorded in the Gospel, particularly the Magnificat (the words Mary is reported to have said to describe the experience of being pregnant with Jesus) when she visited her cousin Elizabeth, these experiences discloses new features in Marian psychology. Some of the Church Fathers also throw light upon the psychology of Mary, for instance, Saint Ambrose, when in his commentary on The Gospel of Luke he holds Mary up as the ideal of virginity, and Saint Ephrem, when he poetically sings of the coming of the Messiah and the welcome accorded them by the humble mother. Some passages from other books in the Bible are interpreted as referring to Mary, in whom they personify wisdom and her gentle charms. Such are the texts in which wisdom is presented as the mother of lofty love, of fear, of knowledge, and of holy hope. In the New Testament Elizabeth proclaims Mary blessed because she has believed the words of the angel who announced that she would become pregnant with Jesus, although she was still a virgin; the Magnificat (Mary’s Hymn of praise to God) is an expression of her humility. In answering the woman of the people, who in order to exalt the son proclaimed the mother blessed, Jesus himself said: Blessed rather are they that hear the word of God and keep it. The Church Fathers understood this as an invitation to seek in Mary that which had so endeared her to God and caused her to be selected as the mother of Jesus, and found in these words a new reason for praising Mary. Saint Leo said that through faith and love Mary conceived her son spiritually, even before receiving him into her womb Saint Augustine tells us that Mary was more blessed in having borne Christ in her heart than in having conceived him in the flesh. It is only in the twelfth, or towards the end of the eleventh century, that slight indications of a regular devotion are perceived in a sermon by Saint Bernard (De duodecim stellis), from which an extract has been taken by the Church and used in the Offices of the Compassion and of the Seven Dolors or Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Stronger evidences are discernible in the pious meditations on the “Ave Maria” and the “Salve Regina”, usually attributed either to Saint Anselm of Lucca or Saint Bernard In Saint Mechtilde and Saint Gertrude, devotion to the “Immaculate Heart of Mary” had two earnest adherents. A little earlier it had been included by Saint Thomas Becket in the devotion to the joys and sorrows of Mary, by Blessed Hermann who was one of the first spiritual children of Saint Dominic, in his other devotions to Mary, and later it appeared in Saint Bridgets Book of Revelations. The Blessed Virgin Mary is the model of a mystical soul, just as Saint Ambrose perceived in her as the model of a virginal soul. Saint Bernardine of Siena was more absorbed in the contemplation of the virginal heart, and it is from him that the Church has borrowed the lessons of the second nocturn for the feast of the Heart of Mary. Saint Francis de Sales speaks of the perfections of the ‘Immaculate Heart of Mary’, as the model of love for God During this same period one finds occasional mention of devotional practices to the Heart of Mary, In the second half of the sixteenth century and the first half of the seventeenth, ascetic authors dwelt upon this devotion at greater length. It was, however, reserved to Saint Jean Eudes to propagate the devotion, to make it public, and to have a feast celebrated in honor of the Heart of Mary, first at Autun in 1648 and afterwards in a number of French dioceses. Saint Jean Eudes established several religious societies interested in upholding and promoting the devotion, of which his large book on the Coeur Admirable (Admirable Heart), published in 1681, and resembles a summary. His efforts to secure the approval of an office and feast failed at Rome, but, notwithstanding this disappointment, the devotion to the Heart of Mary progressed. The Alliance of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary is based on the historical, theological and spiritual links in Catholic devotions to the ‘Sacred Heart of Jesus’ and the ‘Immaculate Heart of Mary’. The joint devotion to the hearts was first formalized in the 17th century by Saint Jean Eudes who organized the scriptural, theological and liturgical sources relating to the devotions and obtained the approbation of the Church, prior to the visions of Saint Marguerite Marie Alacoque In the 18th and 19th centuries the devotions grew, both jointly and individually through the efforts of figures such as Saint Louis de Montfort who promoted Catholic Mariology and Saint Catherine Labourés Miraculous Medal depicting the Heart of Jesus thorn-crowned and the Heart of Mary pierced with a sword The devotions, and the associated prayers, continued into the 20th century, • In the Immaculata prayer of Saint Maximillian Kolbe and • In the reported messages of Our Lady of Fatima which stated that the Heart of Jesus wishes to be honored together with the Heart of Mary Popes supported the individual and joint devotions to the hearts through the centuries. In the 1956 encyclical Haurietis Aquas, Venerable Pope Pius XII(who was the 260th Bishop of Rome and Head of the Catholic Church since the pontificate of Saint Peter the Apostle) encouraged the joint devotion to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. In the 1979 encyclical Redemptor Hominis Pope Blessed John Paul II explained the theme of unity of Marys Immaculate Heart with the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In his Angelus address on September 15, 1985 Pope Blessed John Paul II coined the term The Alliance of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, and in 1986 addressed the international conference on that topic held at Fátima, Portugal In 1799, Pope Pius VI (who was the 250th Vicar of Christ since the pontificate of Saint Peter the Apostle), then in captivity at Florence, granted the Bishop of Palermo the feast of the Most Pure Heart of Mary for some of the churches in his diocese. In 1805 Pope Pius VII (who was the 251st Servant of God since the pontificate of Saint Peter the Apostle), made a new concession, thanks to which the feast was soon widely observed. Such was the existing condition when a twofold movement, started in Paris, gave fresh impetus to the devotion. The two factors of this movement were, • first of all, the revelation of the miraculous medal in 1830 and all the prodigies that followed, • then the establishment at Notre-Dame-des-Victoires of the Arch confraternity of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Refuge of Sinners, which spread rapidly throughout the world and was the source of numberless alleged graces. On 21 July 1855, the Congregation of Rites finally approved the Office and Mass of the Most Pure Heart of Mary without, however, imposing them upon the Universal Church. During the third apparition at Fátima, Portugal on 13 July 1917, the Blessed Virgin Mary allegedly said that God wishes to establish in the world devotion to her Immaculate Heart in order to save souls from going into the fires of hell and to bring about world peace, and also asked for the consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart. Venerable Pope Pius XII (who was the 260th Bishop of Rome), in his Apostolic Letter of 7 July 1952, Sacro Vergente consecrated Russia to the Most Blessed Virgin Mary. On 25 March 1984, Pope Saint John Paul II (who was the 264th Vicar of Christ since Saint Peter the Apostle), fulfilled this request again, when he made the solemn act of consecration of the world, and implicitly Russia, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary before the miraculous statue of the Virgin Mary of Fatima brought to Saint Peters Square in the Vatican for the momentous occasion. Sister Lucia of Our Lady of Fatima, who was then the only surviving visionary of Fatima, confirmed that the request of Mary for the consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary was accepted by Heaven and therefore, was fulfilled. Again on the 8th of October 2000, Pope Saint John Paul II made an act of entrustment of the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the new millennium Venerable Pope Pius XII instituted the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1944 to be celebrated on 22 August, coinciding with the traditional octave day of the Assumption. In 1969, Venerable Pope Paul VI (who was the 262nd Servant of God) moved the celebration of the Immaculate Heart of Mary to the day, Saturday, immediately after the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. This means in practice that it is now held on the day before the third Sunday after Pentecost. At the same time as he closely associated the celebrations of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Pope Paul VI moved the celebration of the “Queen ship of Mary” from 31 May to 22 August, bringing it into association with the Feast of her Assumption. Those who use the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal or an earlier one (but not more than 17 years before 1962) observe the day established by Venerable Pope Pius XII. The opening prayer for the liturgical celebration helps us focus on the important message of this feast day: ----------------------------------------------------------- Let us pray (oremus) God prepared the heart of Mary as a fitting home to the Holy Spirit. May we, His chosen people, become temples of His glory. We ask Mary to help us- her spiritual children, so dear to her heart, to stay ever united in friendship with her Son and never separate ourselves by sin.Amen ----------------------------------------------------------- Let us Pray (Oremus) O Most Blessed Mother, heart of love, heart of mercy, ever listening, caring, consoling, hear our prayer. As your children, we implore your intercession with Jesus your Son. Receive with understanding and compassion the petitions we place before you today, especially ...(special intention). We are comforted in knowing your heart is ever open to those who ask for your prayer. We trust to your gentle care and intercession, those whom we love and who are sick or lonely or hurting. Help all of us, Holy Mother, to bear our burdens in this life until we may share eternal life and peace with God forever. Amen. Immaculate Heart of Mary, we place all our trust in you! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Let us pray: Act of Consecration of the CHURCH to the Immaculate HEART of MARY O VIRGIN MARY, Mother of the Church, We entrust to You the entire Church. Remember all your sons and daughters; Make their prayer effective before GOD; Preserve them in solid faith; Strengthen their hope and increase their charity. We entrust to Your Immaculate Heart, The whole human race; Lead us all to know the ONE TRUE SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST. Free them from the punishment of sin. Grant the whole world true and lasting peace, In justice, in freedom and in love. Make the whole Church rise to the GOD of Mer ies, a hymn of joy, thanksgiving and rejoicing, For the wonders the LORD has worked through You, O CLEMENT, O LOVING, O SWEET VIRGIN MARY. AMEN. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- LET US PRAY (OREMUS): Grant, Lord God, that we, your servants, may rejoice in unfailing health of mind and body, and, through the glorious intercession of Blessed Mary ever-Virgin, may we be set free from present sorrow and come to enjoy eternal happiness. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen. ------------------------------------------------------------ Let us pray that through our devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, we may in this group find the spiritual motivation to win our souls for God. Amen May we all in this group and beyond this group Christian and non Christians alike, Catholics and non Catholics alike be saved after our stay here on this exile. Amen May our Lord Jesus Christ, through the Immaculate Heart of His Blessed Virgin Mother Mary and through Gods Divine Mercy strengthen our souls, open out the way for us all, and above all, intoxicate us with HIS love. Amen May Christ make us into blazing fires to enkindle the earth with the heavenly fire HE brought us. Amen History the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary can be viewed by clicking the photo of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in our groups photo section. Feast of the day, would be communicated to you as promptly and consistently as humanly possible, by Gods grace. Jesus we love you, all we have is yours, yours we are and yours we want to be, please do with us whatever you will. Amen The Holy Family of (Jesus, Mary and Joseph), we give you our lives and our salvation. Amen Jesus, Mary we love you, please save our souls. Amen God bless you and grant your heart’s desire. Amen Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us. Amen Please click the link below: youtube/watch?v=OMWi0jSRI1U
Posted on: Sat, 28 Jun 2014 15:43:53 +0000
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