Dignare Me Laudare Te, Virgo Sacrata

Sunday, October 30, 2005

Jesu, rex et centrum omnium cordium, per adventum regni tui, dona nobis pacem.

(Jesus, King and center of all hearts, by the coming of Thy kingdom, grant us peace.)



Prayer in Honor of Christ the King


O Christ Jesus, I acknowledge Thee to be the King of the universe; all that hath been made is created for Thee. Exercise over me all Thy sovereign rights. I hereby renew the promise of my Baptism, renouncing Satan and all his works and pomps, and I engage myself to lead henceforth a truly Christian life. And in an especial manner do I undertake to bring about the triumph of the rights of God and Thy Church, so far as in me lies. Divine Heart of Jesus, I offer Thee my poor actions to obtain the acknowledgement by every heart of Thy sacred kingly power. In such wise may the kingdom of Thy peace be firmly established throughout all the earth. Amen.

(Taken from the Raccolta, number 272, 1957 edition, reprinted by Loreto Publications, Fitzwilliam, NH)

Thy Kingdom come!

Friday, October 28, 2005

Catholic Masterpieces VIII: Icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help


O Mother of Perpetual Help, grant that I may ever invoke thy most powerful name, which is the safeguard of the living and the salvation of the dying.


Special thanks to Iosephus at The Cornell Society for a Good Time for prompting me to post this installment of "Catholic Masterpieces," which I haven't done in almost a year.

The Icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help is my personal favorite image of Our Lady. Our consecrated myself to Our Lord, through the Immaculate Heart of His Mother Mary, according to the formula of St. Maximilian Kolbe, on the Feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, 27 June 2003. It was my mother who introduced me to this icon. I got my copy of the icon at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Byzantine Catholic Church in Albuquerque, NM in December 2002, and I had it blessed by the pastor there. It now hangs in my "icon corner" in my bedroom.

The Redemptorists, founded by the great Doctor of the Church, St. Alphonsus Liguori, have spread the devotion to Our Lady of Perpetual Help across the world. According to tradition, when the Icon was rediscovered, after being misplaced for several decades, in the wake of Napoleon's conquest of Rome, Blessed Pius IX told the Redemptorist Superior General: "Make Her known throughout the world!" They indeed make her known, and their are churches on every inhabited continent in the world that have a copy of the icon. One such copy, blessed by Blessed Pius IX himself, sits in the Church of the Guardian Angels in Chaska, MN. It miraculously survived a fire in the church in 1902. Before they wreckovated the sanctuary, a copy of the icon sat prominently above the high altar of my home parish of St. Ann's in Wilmington, DE.




I recommend that all faithful Catholics follow the example of Blessed Pius IX and the generations of Redemptorists who have "made her known throughout the world."

Thursday, October 27, 2005

Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Here's an excellent prayer that I found in a reprint done recently of a book by Fr. F.X. Lasance, titled "Let Us Go To Jesus: Devotions in Honor of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King." The prayer was issued on October 17, 1925 by "His Holiness Pope Pius XI, for the annual consecration of the human race to the Sacred Heart on the feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King, the last Sunday of October."



Most sweet Jesus, Redeemer of the human race, look down upon us, humbly prostrate before Thy altar. We are Thine, and Thine we wish to be; but to be more surely united with Thee, behold each one of us freely consecrates himself today to Thy most Sacred Heart. Many, indeed, have never known Thee; many, too, despising Thy precepts, have rejected Thee. Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus, and draw them to Thy Sacred Heart. Be Thou King, O Lord, not only of the faithful who have never forsaken thee, but also of the prodigal children who have abandoned Thee; grant that they may quickly return to their Father's house, lest they die of wretchedness and hunger. Be Thou King of all those who are still involved in the darkness of idolatry or of Islamism, and refuse not to draw them all into the light and kingdom of God. Turn Thine eyes of mercy toward the children of that race, once thy chosen people. Of old they called down upon themselves the blood of the Saviour; may it now descend upon them a laver of redemption and of life. Grant, O Lord, to Thy Church assurance of freedom and immunity from harm; give peace and order to all nations, and make the earth resound from pole to pole with one cry: Praise to the divine Heart that wrought our salvation; to it be glory and honor forever. Amen

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Blessed Pius IX, Pray For Us!



It's been far too long since I posted to my blog. So I thought I would start up again with a brief post on someone who I've been thinking about for the past few days. Blessed Pius IX was the second-longest reigning pope in Church history. I recently read a biography of his papacy, and after finishing most of the book, I have grown to really admire this great and holy leader of the Church. I've been trying to find a holy card with his image on it, and so far, the search hasn't turned up any place on the Internet that has one. Yesterday, I also bought another recent biography of Pius IX. I look forward to reading it.

Blessed Pius IX withstood the many assaults on the Catholic faith during his reign. Catholics who wish that the Church resist the current attacks it is facing, mainly from the secular heirs of Pius IX's enemies, should seek his intercession.
Blessed Pius IX, pray for us!