intercession

Novena for the Holy Souls in Purgatory Day 3

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Day-3
composed by by St. Alphonsus of Liguori

Visit the Discerning Hearts “Holy Souls” page for the complete novena and text of the prayers

My God! because Thou art infinite goodness, I love Thee above all things, and repent with my whole heart of my offenses against Thee. Grant me the grace of holy perseverance. Have compassion on me, and, at the same, on the holy souls suffering in Purgatory. And thou, Mary, Mother of God, come to their assistance with thy powerful intercession.

Say the following prayers: 1 Our Father… 1 Hail Mary…

The Prayer to Our Suffering Savior for the Holy Souls in Purgatory

O most sweet Jesus, through the bloody sweat which Thou didst suffer in the Garden of Gethsemane, have mercy on these Blessed Souls. Have mercy on them. R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer during Thy most cruel scourging, have mercy on them. R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer in Thy most painful crowning with thorns, have mercy on them. R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer in carrying Thy cross to Calvary, have mercy on them. R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer during Thy most cruel Crucifixion, have mercy on them. R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer in Thy most bitter agony on the Cross, have mercy on them. R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the immense pain which Thou didst suffer in breathing forth Thy Blessed Soul, have mercy on them. R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

(State your intention(s) here while recommending yourself to the souls in Purgatory.)

Blessed Souls, I have prayed for thee; I entreat thee, who are so dear to God, and who are secure of never losing Him, to pray for me a miserable sinner, who is in danger of being damned, and of losing God forever.  Amen.

Novena for the Holy Souls in Purgatory Day 2

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 4:11 — 9.6MB) | Embed

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composed by St. Alphonsus of LiguoriNovena for the Holy Souls in Purgatory Day 2

Visit the Discerning Hearts “Holy Souls” page for the complete novena and text of the prayers

Woe to me, unhappy being, so many years have I already spent on earth and have earned naught but hell! I give Thee thanks, O Lord, for granting me time even now to atone for my sins. My good God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee. Send me Thy assistance, that I may apply the time yet remaining to me for Thy love and service; have compassion on me, and, at the same time, on the holy souls suffering in Purgatory. O Mary, Mother of God, come to their assistance with thy powerful intercession.

Say the following prayers: 1 Our Father… 1 Hail Mary…

The Prayer to Our Suffering Savior for the Holy Souls in Purgatory

O most sweet Jesus, through the bloody sweat which Thou didst suffer in the Garden of Gethsemane, have mercy on these Blessed Souls. Have mercy on them. R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer during Thy most cruel scourging, have mercy on them. R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer in Thy most painful crowning with thorns, have mercy on them. R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer in carrying Thy cross to Calvary, have mercy on them. R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer during Thy most cruel Crucifixion, have mercy on them. R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer in Thy most bitter agony on the Cross, have mercy on them. R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the immense pain which Thou didst suffer in breathing forth Thy Blessed Soul, have mercy on them. R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

(State your intention(s) here while recommending yourself to the souls in Purgatory.)

Blessed Souls, I have prayed for thee; I entreat thee, who are so dear to God, and who are secure of never losing Him, to pray for me a miserable sinner, who is in danger of being damned, and of losing God forever.  Amen.

St. Bernard of Clairvaux, mystical doctor of the Church…grace is all we need

St. Bernard of Clairvaux, a great mystical doctor of the Church.  What a heart for Jesus and the Blessed Virgin (I’m sure he still has).

“There are those who seek knowledge for the sake of knowledge
That is curiosity.
–
There are those who seek knowledge to be known by others
That is vanity.
–
There are those who seek knowledge in order to serve
That is love.”
–
St. Bernard

St. Bernard of Clairvaux, was a Cisterian monk, who lived in France in the 12th century.  Living at a time when the great gothic cathedrals where born, St. Bernard, advocated for simplicity and austerity in life.  He was concerned about the temptations of worldly things and desires.  He wished to focus solely on the love of Christ and the Blessed Mother; everything else was folly.
To read more about the details of his life you can visit here.

What captures my heart is his legacy of prayer and spiritual writings.  He truly deserves the title Doctor of the Church. What a feast he has left us!  Pope John Paul II has said that if we wish to learn to pray, look to the Mystical Doctors…he truly is one of those special souls.  There is so much, where can one begin?  Begin with Mary. Ask the Blessed Mother, she will lead you through his teachings.

St. Bernard of Clairvaux composed the famous prayer to the Most Blessed Virgin Mary known as The Memorare


REMEMBER, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly to 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.

St. Bernard on the Blessed Mother

St. Bernard on Holy Repentance

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Highly recommended reading introduction to St. Bernard would be – “The Fulfillment of All Desire” by Ralph Martin

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Our Holy Father has a “spiritual weapon” and he’s not afraid to use it (and he wants all of us to use it too…The Holy Rosary!) – Discerning Hearts

Vatican City, Oct 6, 2010 / 03:54 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Anticipating Thursday’s celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, the Holy Father called on the faithful to make an effort to rediscover the prayer. He urged Christians to seek intercession, protection and personal encounter with Christ through the “simple but efficient prayer,” especially during the Marian month of October.

Greeting the faithful in 10 different languages during Wednesday’s general audience, the Holy Father spoke of the Rosary as “a particular prayer of the Church and a spiritual weapon for each of us.”

He prayed that the meditation of Jesus and Mary’s life through the Rosary might be, “for all of us, light on the evangelical path of spiritual renewal and conversion of heart.”

Speaking in Portuguese, but referring to all people, he invited families to join together with the Virgin Mary so as to cooperate fully with the salvific designs of God. In Croatian, he said to ask for her intercession and protection for each person and family, exhorting prayers also for vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

In still other languages, he asked that the faithful “rediscover the value” of the “simple but efficient prayer” of the Rosary “as a way for a personal encounter with Christ.”

“October,” he said in the Italian greeting that concluded his public words on Wednesday, “is the month of the Holy Rosary, which invites us to value this prayer so dear to the tradition of the Christian people.”

Addressing some of the special guests at the audience, he said, “I invite you, dear young people, to make of the Rosary your daily prayer. I encourage you, dear sick, to grow, thanks to the recitation of the Rosary, in the trusting abandonment to the hands of God. I exhort you, dear newlyweds, to make of the Rosary a constant contemplation of the mysteries of Christ.” – CNA

Pope Benedict on Prayer 6: through prayer God reveals His saving power

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THE POWER OF INTERCESSION: THE PROPHET ELIJAH’S PRAYER
VATICAN CITY, 15 JUN 2011 (VIS) – In his general audience, held this morning in St. Peter’s Square, the Pope resumed his series of catecheses dedicated to the subject of prayer, focusing today on the Prophet Elijah “whom God sent to bring the people to conversion”.

The Holy Father explained how “upon Mount Carmel Elijah revealed himself in all his power as intercessor when, before the whole of Israel, he prayed to the Lord to show Himself and convert people’s hearts. The episode is recounted in chapter 18 of the First Book of Kings”.

“The contest between Elijah and the followers of Baal (which was, in fact, a contest between the Lord of Israel, God of salvation and life, and a mute and ineffective idol which can do nothing for either good or evil) also marked the beginning of a confrontation between two completely different ways to address God and to pray”. The oblations of the prophets of Baal “revealed only the illusory reality of the idol … which closed people in the confines of a desperate search for self”.

On the other hand, Elijah “called on the people to come closer, involving them in his actions and his prayer. … The prophet built an alter using ‘twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob’, … to represent all Israel. … Elijah then addressed the Lord calling Him Lord of the fathers, thus implicitly recalling the divine promises and the history of choice and alliance which had indissolubly united the Lord to His people”.

The prophet’s request “was that the people might finally and fully come to know and understand Who their God is, and make the decisive decision to follow only Him. Only in this way could God be recognised as Absolute and Transcendent”. Only in this way would it be clear that “no other gods could be placed at His side, as this would deny His absoluteness and relativize Him”.

Benedict XVI highlighted how

“believers must respond to the absoluteness of God with absolute and total love, a love involving all their lives, their energies, their hearts. … In his intercession, Elijah asked of God what God Himself wished to do: to show Himself in all His mercy, faithful to His nature as Lord of life Who forgives, converts and transforms”.

“The Lord responded unequivocally, not only burning the offering but even consuming all the water that had been poured around the altar. Israel could no longer doubt: divine mercy had responded to its weakness, to its doubts, to its lack of faith. Now Baal, the vain idol, was beaten and the people, who seemed lost, had rediscovered the way of truth, they had rediscovered themselves“.

The Holy Father concluded by asking himself what this story has to tell us today.

“Firstly”, he said, “is the priority of the first commandment of God’s Law: having no god but God. When God disappears man falls into slavery, into idolatry, as has happened in our time under totalitarian regimes and with the various forms of nihilism which make man dependent on idols and idolatry, which enslave”. Secondly, he continued, “the main objective of prayer is conversion: the fire of God which transforms our hearts and makes us capable of seeing God and living for Him and for others”. Thirdly, “the Church Fathers tell us that this story is … a foretaste of the future, which is Christ. It is a step on the journey towards Christ”.

AG/ VIS 20110615 (590)
Published by VIS – Holy See Press Office – Wednesday, June 15, 2011