AirMaria.com

Ave Maria Meditations

Prayer to the Most Holy Trinity:

I adore You, O our heavenly Father, because You placed in the most pure womb of Mary Your only-begotten Son. I adore You, O Son of God, because You condescended to enter the womb of Mary and became truly Her actual Son.  I adore You, O Holy Spirit,  because You deigned to form in Her immaculate womb the Body of the Son of God.

I adore You, O most Holy Trinity,  O One God in the Holy Trinity,  for having enobled the Immaculate in such a divine way. And I will never cease daily from the first moment I awake to adore You most humbly, O Divine Trinity, with my face to the ground, repeating three times: Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit as it was in the beginning, is now,  and will be for ever. Amen.

On Unlimited Happiness: 

So we do wish to live after all, but without having to suffer. We want to live happily, but not any sort of happy life. We would like our happiness to grow con­tinually rather than diminish; in fact, the knowledge itself that we might find an insurmountable obstacle in our path would diminish our happiness. We long for happiness, but it should have no limits. Quite so. And not only should it have no limits, but it should last for a very long time, as long as possible; endless­ly, if possible.

Indeed. Evidently, there is no such thing as unlimited hap­piness in this limited world; such happiness can only be found in the infinite, eternal God himself, in heaven. Besides, all of us who are here, long for this, and every person, regardless of nationality, lives on such longing. The longing comes from human nature itself, which is common to us all.

Could God himself, who has bestowed on us abili­ties and natural tendencies to reach our goal (eyes to see the objects that really exist, ears to hear the sounds that really exist), give his creatures a higher, intellectual longing, without offering them the chance to fulfill it? If this were the case, then that longing would be pointless.

A God who has created in nature this somehow unquenchable longing for happiness, explicitly intending it to be unlimited, but without offering the way to satisfy this burning thirst, would not be acting sensibly nor lovingly. In short, he would not be God. Therefore, there must be such happiness.

St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe

These prayers are based on the words of the Archangels that appeared to the Franciscan sister, Mother Mariana on January 20, 1610.  On this night, Mother Mariana was praying to Our Lord, Jesus Christ to be able to offer some proof of her strong love for Him. Her love for Christ rivaled that of the angelic spirits. As a result of this prayer, the three archangels appeared to Mother Mariana to strengthen and prepare her for the appearance of Our Lady with all of the prophetic messages she was to give her and for the encouragement to obey the request for a statue to be made for this devotion.  She would also have the aid of St. Francis of Assisi.

Prayers to the Archangels:  (more…)

In my last post I promised more on the Holy Sepulcher and the Holy Grail and their relation to an Easter catechesis and the tradition of chivalry. There is much there to reflect on, much to be researched and assimilated, so it will take at bit more time.

Meanwhile, however, I thought I would point out that in the Office of Readings this week we have been reading from the the Jerusalem Catechesis, or otherwise known as the Catechetical Lectures of St. Cyril of Jerusalem (+386).  The Catechesis consists in twenty-three lectures, the first eighteen of which were delivered to the candidates for baptism during Lent and the last five to the newly baptized during Easter, and is an excellent example of the mystogogia. In fact, at the end of the prologue for Lectures St. Cyril makes sure his readers understand that his instructions are only for those whose Baptism is imminent, and is to be seen neither by the other catechumens nor heathens. (more…)

Ave Maria Meditations

November 16th: St. Gertrude  (1256-1302)

Prayer to Saint Gertrude:

Model of total fidelity to the Heavenly Bridegroom and to your Cistercian Rule, the Lord was pleased to make available wonderful private revelations through you. Help religious to realize that where there is total generosity, trials are usually not lacking, but there is also God’s infinite love. Make all religious generous like you. Amen.

Prayer of Saint Gertrude to the Sacred Heart of Jesus:

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, fountain of eternal life, Your Heart is a glowing furnace of Love. You are my refuge and my sanctuary. O my adorable and loving Savior, consume my heart with the burning fire with which Yours is aflamed. Pour down on my soul those graces which flow from Your love. Let my heart be united with Yours. Let my will be conformed to Yours in all things. May Your Will be the rule of all my desires and actions. Amen.

Prayer of Saint Gertrude the Great to the Blessed Virgin Mary:

HAIL, MARY, queen of mercy, olive-branch of forgiveness, through whom we receive the medicine that heals our mortal sickness, the balsam of pardon; Virgin Mother of the divine offspring, through whom the grace of heavenly light has been shed upon us, the sweet-scented scion of Israel! Through thy Son, thy only Child who stooped to become the Brother of mankind, thou art become the true Mother of us all. For the sake of his love take me, all unworthy as I am, into thy motherly care.  Sustain, preserve, and enlighten my conversion; be thou for all eternity my incomparable cherished mother, tenderly caring for me throughout my earthly life, and enfolding me in thy arms at the hour of my death. Amen.

Prayer of Saint Gertrude the Great for the Souls in Purgatory:

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the Universal Church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen

Ave Maria Meditation

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.

Psalm 116:15

A happy death is one of the greatest and the last blessings of God in this life. The Church encourages us to prepare ourselves for the hour of our death. In the litany of the saints, for instance, she has us pray: “From a sudden death and unforeseen death, deliver us, O Lord,” to ask the Mother of God to intercede for us “at the hour of our death” in the Hail Mary; and to entrust ourselves to St. Joseph, the patron of a Happy Death. (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1014.)

(more…)

One Minute Meditation

St Ignatius of Loyola, Founder of the Jesuits

(1491-1556) Feast Day is July 31st

Some Prayers Attributed to Him:

A favorite prayer for after Holy Communion, the Anima Christi:

(“The Soul of Christ” composed by St. Ignatius of Loyola)

Soul of Christ, sanctify me.

Body of Christ, save me.

Blood of Christ, inebriate me.

Water from the side of Christ, wash me.

Passion of Christ, strengthen me.

O good Jesus, hear me.

Within Thy wounds hide me.

Suffer me not to be separated from Thee.

From the malignant enemy, defend me.

In the hour of my death, call me.

And bid me come to Thee.

That with Thy saints I may praise Thee.

For all eternity. Amen.

(more…)

St. Monica (August 27^th) and St. Augustine (August 28^th)

?

The great bishop of Milan, St. Ambrose, knowing of her prayers and tears for her son, told St.Monica that “it is impossible that the son of so many tears should perish.”

Bishop Ambrose of Milan, was right. At the age of 35, Monica’s son, Augustine, became a Christian and was baptized, along with his son, Adeodatus, by Ambrose. A few months later, on the way home to Hippo with Augustine and Adeodatus, Monica fell ill and died.

Monica could not have known that her prayers and devotion would affect not only the life of her son but also the course of history. Her concern was that her son believe “the truth which is in Jesus.”

This devotion to the spiritual welfare of her son is why Monica is regarded as the model for all Christian mothers.

When death was approaching and seeing her son?s grief, St. Monica told him, ?Bury my body wherever you will; let not care of it cause you any concern. ONE THING ONLY I ASK OF YOU: THAT YOU REMEMBER ME AT THE ALTAR OF THE LORD WHEREVER YOU MAY BE.?

(more…)

Homily #080817 ( 18min) Play – On this 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time Fr. Ignatius Manfredonia preaches on the need to join the one true religion in order to worship the one true God. He also covers the importance of perseverance in prayer when God seems to remain silent.
Ave Maria! Mass readings
+++