On 2nd February we celebrate the Offering of Jesus to God and also the Purification of Mary, 40 days after the birth of Our Lord Saviour.
This Feast is thus linked to Christmas. It is the Feast of Light.
The symbolism of the lighted candles – the Candlemas Procession – evokes the manifestation of Christ, Light of the World, when Simeon, enlightened by he Holy Spirit, proclaimed the infant Jesus to be sent b God as “a light which shall shine upon all nations and he glory of the people of Israel”.
The image of the Holy Virgin is present everywhere on this Feast, perhaps the earliest and most ancient of all Marian feasts.
“O Lord, Jesus Christ who has appeared among mankind, wearing human flesh and was presented at the Temple by Your parents where the righteous man Simeon, inspired by the Holy Spirit, recognised You and was able to hold You in his arms and bless You. Allow that, enlightened by the grace of the Holy Spirit, we too are able to recognise You without mistake and love You without fail.” Prayer of the blessing of candles at Candlemas.
In order to be continuously in the presence of Our Lady, Bartolo Longo ” Apostle of the Rosary ”, beatified by Pope John-Paul II in 1980, felt the urge to write a novena to the Virgin of Pompei.
Following is his story account: “In the month of August 1879, as I was seriously ill, I wrote a prayer in honour of Our Lady of Pompei in view of obtaining her graces; it is the Novena to Our Lady of Pompei seeking her graces in desperate situations.”
On 3rd March 1884, a young girl named Fortuna Agrelli received a revelation on this special devotion from the Blessed Virgin Mary. At the time, suffering from three distinct incurable illnesses, her case had been abandoned by the medical doctors. In the last resort, the young girl and her family had started to pray a rosary novena.
Our Lady appeared before Fortuna in the same way as she had appeared before Saint Bartolo Longo a few years before, seated on a high throne, a rosary in her hand, and holding the Infant-Jesus on her knees, with Saint Dominic and Saint Catherine of Sienna surrounding her.
The young invalid greeted the Holy Virgin with those words: “Queen of the Holy Rosary, have mercy on me, and make me well again! I have already offered you a novena of prayers, O Holy Mary, but have not yet received your assistance. I want so much to recover soon”.
“My child, answered the Holy Virgin, you have invoked me under different titles and I have granted you some favours. Now, since you have addressed me as “Queen of the Rosary” which sounds so pleasant to me, I cannot refuse the favour you seek; this is my most precious and dear title. Thus, if you pray three novenas, you will be granted everything.”
On another occasion, the Queen of the Holy Rosary appeared to the young girl and told her “Whoever wishes to obtain some favours from me should say three rosary novenas for the request, followed by three rosary novenas for thanksgiving.
Having followed Our Lady’s instructions, the young girl was cured and recovered full health.
2. How to pray the Rosary Novena during 54 days?
A novena takes nine days. Our Lady said to the young Fortuna « make three novenas asking for a grace and then three novenas in thanksgiving ». So we suggest you to make 6 novenas, spread over 54 days.
To make this novena, you must pray a rosary (5 decades) every day during 27 days. You should medidate on the mysteries asking the grace you want to obtain. Immediately after that first part, you should pray a rosary in thanksgiving during 27 days, even if you have not obtained the grace you asked for.
This is how the six rosary novena has started. It is called the « 54 days rosary novena »
To pray this novena correctly, you must pray the rosary every day during 54 days without missing one day and you must meditate on the relevant mysteries.
This means that you always start the novena with the joyful mysteries (whatever day of the week you start the novena). The second day you pray the sorrowful mysteries and, on the third day, you pray the glorious mysteries.
On the fourth day, you pray the joyful mysteries again and so on during 54 days.
One can wonder why the luminous mysteries are not mentioned. This is because Our Lady gave us this novena in 1884, when the luminous mysteries did not exist yet. So this novena only comprises joyful, sorrowful and glorious mysteries.
We are told that Pope Leon XIII was very impressed by the miracle of Fortuna’s cure, which was obtained by the « 54 days rosary novena ».
This late Pope wrote 17 encyclicals about the rosary and asked all faithful catholics to pray the rosary devotely. The following popes did the same.
3. Intentions
In Belgium and throughout the world, troubled times are right upon us. It is difficult to obtain individual or social peace. The laws which do not correspond to God’s laws and commandments tend to destroy Faith, Life and Peace. These laws are leading the world to a major crisis.
Therefore, let us implore God’s graces as He is our Father. May He be touched by the requests that His creatures address to their Holy Mother. If possible, from the bottom of our hearts, let us unite our prayers to those of our friends and relatives and spread the treasures of the rosary, holy viaticum and defence which will lead us to the happiness that never ends.
We all want to be loved, approved of and respected, an aspiration deeply set within man who was created by God through love and for love.
Fundamentally, the creation is an act of divine wisdom, mercy and love in which man is asked to participate willingly and lovingly in keeping God’s law and His commands :”Though shalt love the Lord your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands, always. Teach them to your children, talking about them.” (Dt. XI, 1-2; 19). These are the recommendations given by God himself to help us respond to this gift of Love of God recounted in the Book of Creation.
Since the unfortunate refusal to obey by Adam, father of mankind, men tend to turn their hearts away from God. In drifting always further away from God, his Maker, man redirects the object of creation to his own transitory benefit. In doing so, man corrupts the purpose of life and creation which is to serve God. From this diverted aim, a new world emerges, free from the law of nature, stamped by a lack of respect for God and His gifts, rejecting the word of God in every aspect, be it that of the natural law, the Holy Scriptures, the Tradition, the Revelation, the Magisterial acts of the Church as well as the example of Jesus’s life and that of the saints. In this way, man hopes to find lasting happiness in life on earth. However, this is a hopeless quest inevitably bound to failure because everlasting happiness can only be reached on the condition that the human being follows God’s “Code of Conduct”.
But God, always lending a loving and compassionate eye onto his fallen creatures, does not forsake them. Indeed, all along history, God has constantly bestowed his immense mercy on to us, culminating by the Incarnation of the Word of God, Jesus-Christ through whom mankind is redeemed and the dignity of the children of God, restored.
How can we respond to the infinite love of God ?- Haven’t we gone too far? What does Our Lady tell us, particularly at Fatima when she spoke on behalf of the Holy Spirit?
Vision of the Most Holy Trinity by Sr Lucie, Thuy June 13, 1929 (Memories of Sr Lucy)
In her memoirs, Sr. Lucy, describes to her confessor, Fr. Jose Bernardo Gonçalves, the vision she had of the Holy Trinity and the Holy Virgin in the chapel of her convent in Thuy, on 13th June 1929 :
“The only light was that of the sanctuary lamp. Suddenly the whole chapel was illuminated by supernatural light and above the altar appeared a cross of light, reaching to the ceiling. In a brighter light at the upper part of the cross, could be seen the face of a Man and his body as far as the waist; upon his breast was a dove of light; nailed to the cross was the body of another man. A little below the waist, I could see a chalice and a large host suspended in the air, onto which drops of blood were falling from the face of Jesus crucified and from the wound in His side. These drops ran down on to the host and fell into the chalice. Beneath the right arm of the cross was Our Lady and in her hand was her Immaculate Heart (it was Our Lady of Fatima, with her Immaculate Heart in her left hand, without sword or roses, but with a crown of thorns and flames). Under the left arm of the cross, large letters, as if of crystal clear water which ran down upon the altar, formed the Words: ’Grace and Mercy’. I understood that it was the Mystery of the Most Holy Trinity which was shown to me and I received lights about this Mystery which I am not permitted to reveal. Then Our Lady said: ‘The moment has come when God asks the Holy Father to make, in union with all the bishops of the world, the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart, promising to save it by this means. So numerous are the souls which the justice of God condemns for sins committed against me, that I come to ask for reparation. Sacrifice yourself for this intention and pray.’ Later, by means of an intimate communication, Our Lady said to me complaining:’They did not want to heed My request! Like the King of France they will repent and do it, but it will be late. Russia will have already spread its errors throughout the world, provoking wars and persecutions of the Church: the Holy Father will have much to suffer.’
The remedy to all the evils we see around us is the consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, as Our Lady has always asked. We can prepare this consecration by a personal consecration. We offer to God our bodies and our souls. « We accept all the sufferings He may send us in reparation for all the sins that offend Him and for the conversion of poor sinners ». Our Lady, Fatima, 13th May 1917.
By participating in the Passion of Jesus Christ in a spirit of reparation, Our Lady can obtain the Divine Mercy for our conversion and for the conversion of poor sinners. We completely give ourselves up to Our Lady because Our Lord, while dying on the cross, said to St John : « Look ! there is your mother ». Our Lady, who was chosen by God to be His mother, becomes our mother.
During the celebration of the mass and especially at the Offertory, we offer to God our lives, symbolized by the offering of the bread, and we offer our works and sufferings, represented by the drop of water added to the chalice. Therefore, we take an active part in the mystery of redemption. And, as Jesus offered Himself to His Father for us and for a multitude of men and women, we also offer ourselves for the salvation of souls.
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass shows us the infinite Love of God. It is the source of the divine life that we can find while living on earth. Each Mass contributes to the redemption of Humanity.
“ God’s thoughts about his people cannot change. He has blessed them with gifts and He has chosen them to belong to Him. In past times, you Gentiles did not obey God. But now God has been very kind to you, because Israel’s people refused to obey Him.They do not obey God now. As a result God has been very kind to you. That has happened so that God may now be very kind to them too. God says that everyone is guilty because they do not obey Him. He says that so that He can be kind and He can forgive everyone. Yes, God is very great ! He has everything ! He knows and He understands all things ! Nobody can completely understand the things that He decides. Nobody can explain the ways in which He works. The Bible says this : Nobody knows the thoughts of the Lord God. Nobody is able to tell him what He should do. Nobody has ever given anything to God, so that God had a debt to pay back to them. It is God who made all things. He also causes all things to continue. And all things are there to show how great He is. We praise him ! He is great for ever ! Amen.” (Romans, XI, 29-36)
Saint Paul continues and says :” My Christian friends, God has been very kind to us. Because of that, I really want you to serve God with your whole life. Offer your bodies to him like a sacrifice that continues to live. Serve him with everything that you have and that will please Him. That is the true way to worship God. Do not become like the people who belong to this world. But let God completely change the way that you think, so that you live differently. Then you will understand what God wants you to do. You will know what is good. You will know what pleases God. You will know what is completely right. ” (Romans, XII, 1-2).
« The consecration of oneself to the Eternal Wisdom, through Our Lady’s hands » composed by St Louis Grignion de Montfort, expresses the mystery of the offering of oneself to God through Mary. Through this consecration, Our Lady will ask Her Son to have mercy on us and on our families. She will ask Him to help us, so that we may sanctify ourselves and obtain eternal salvation.
This consecration leads us to love God’s Mercy even more, mercy that God grants us through the intercession of Our Lady. This magnificence of the Mercy of God was taught to us through the texts written by Sister Faustina.
May this Holy Week help us understand the immense love of God for us : « Then you will understand, with God’s people, how much Christ loves us. That love is very wide and long and high and deep. » (Ephesians, III, 18).
Let us all rejoice in the Lord, celebrating a festival-day in honour of the blessed Virgin Mary, for whose solemn festival the angels rejoice and give praise to the Son of God. My heart hath uttered a good word: I speak my works to the King. Glory be to the Father.
O God, whose only-begotten Son, by His life, His death and His resurrection hath purchased for us the reward of eternal salvation; grant, we beseech Thee, that meditating on these mysteries in the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may both imitate what they promise. Through the same our Lord. ( Text of the Mass in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary)
He is the Angel of the Apocalypse, as well as the Angel of Martyr. He consoled Jesus during his agony and collected his blood while he was crucified, before bringing it to God as an absolution for mankind’s sins.
In Belgium and more particularly in Brussels, Saint Michael is often portrayed as slaying the dragon that represents Satan and not just any demon.
At the very top of City Hall on Grand Place, the copper statue of Saint Michael has at his feet a shapeless and anthropomorphic creature with a diabolical expression and scales, which represents the Devil himself.
Around the year 1000, many monuments and chapels were built on high grounds across Europe to remind us that Saint Michael was the first defendor of the Light against Evil. (by Frédéric Solvel)
Prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel:
Holy Michael Archangel, defend us in the day of battle; be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God thrust down to hell Satan and all wicked spirits, who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen.
The Feast of Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows arose out of Christian piety, and in particular the association of the Virgin Mary with the passion of her Son. From the XIth century onwards, the suffering of the Blessed Virgin has been the object of private devotion. It was celebrated with great solemnity from the XVIIth century, and it was established as a feast in the Church calendar, for September 15, by Saint Pius X in 1912.
In the suffering of Mary, the Church highlights the courageous love which enabled her to take on such an intimate role in the work of our redemption. She is truly the one who, like Judith in the face of the distress of her people, spared nothing in order to save us from ruin. In offering her Son for us, she became our mother and we became her children.
On September 19, 1846, at La Salette in France, Mélanie (14 years old) and Maximin (10 years old) were guarding the flocks of their masters in the mountains. A dazzling light appeared to them and before their eyes they saw a beautiful lady sitting with her head in her hands. This beautiful lady stood up, and with tears running down her face she looked at them, and gave them a message in three parts:
1) The first part is a warning to all Christian people against their blasphemies and their neglect of the commandments of God and the Church. Here is the text of Mary’s Message at La Salette:
“Come my children, do not be afraid, I am here to tell you important news.
If my people will not submit, I will be forced to let go of the arm of my Son. It is so strong and so heavy that I cannot maintain it anymore. All this the time I suffer for you! If I want my Son not to abandon you, I am charged to pray to him incessantly. But you, you do not care! No matter how much you pray, how much you do, you will never be able to reward the trouble I have taken for you.
I gave you six days to work, I reserved the seventh and you do not want to give it to me. This is what presses on the arm of my Son.
And also, those who lead the carts cannot swear without using the name of my Son. These are the two things that weigh heavily on the arm of my Son.
If the harvest is spoiled, it is only because of you. I tried to make you see last year with the potatoes, but you have not taken any notice. On the contrary, when you found the spoiled potatoes, you swore, you blasphemed against the name of my Son. The spoiled harvest will continue, and this year, for Christmas, there will be more. […]
If the people convert, the stones and rocks will become heaps of wheat and the potatoes will be seeded by the land.
Do you pray well, my children?
Not much, ma’am.
Ah! My children, it must be done. Every evening and morning, would you say a “Our Father” and a “Hail Mary…”. And when you can pray better, say more.
In the summer, only a few elderly women go to Mass. The others work on Sundays all through the summer, and in winter, when they do not know what to do, they go to Mass only to make fun of religion.
During Lent, they go to the butchers, like dogs. [….]
Well, my children, you will pass on this message to all my people!
Come, my children, pass it on well to all my people!”
2) The second part includes the “secrets” addressed separately to Melanie then to Maximin that they would only be able to divulge later.
3) The third part consists of a Rule of Religious Life, which Melanie agreed to dictate.
Pius IX having the information in hand, officially proclaimed the facts. Leo XIII in his turn confirmed them.
The Church solemnly celebrates the birth of the Virgin Mary on September 8, heralding the dawn of our Redemption, the appearance in the world of the woman who was to be the mother of our Saviour. In memory of all that this birth represents, the Church exults and asks God for an increase of the peace that is given to man by the mystery of the Incarnation.
In accordance with the Jewish practice, eight days after the birth of the Virgin, her parents gave her her name. The liturgy, which instituted a feast of the Holy Name of Jesus a few days after Christmas, also wanted to introduce a feast of the Holy Name of Mary (September 12) shortly after Our Lady’s Nativity. The Hebrew name Mary means ‘Lady’ or ‘Sovereign’; and this is indeed what she is, by the very authority of her Son, Christ the King. Let us all rejoice to call Mary ‘Our Lady’, as we call Jesus ‘Our Lord’; to pronounce her name is to affirm her power, to implore her succour, and to put us under her beneficent protection.
11.00 am : Solemn Mass in the Basilica “Notre Dame au Coeur d’Or” celebrated by Cardinal De Kesel. At the same time, in a location nearby, there will be children’s liturgy.
2.00 pm : Recitation of the rosary with meditations and a special intention for the “Rosary on the Borders” which will take place in Belgium on 13th October 2018 at 3 pm, for the renewal of the Catholic faith, the protection of life, and for the peace of Christ in Belgium and throughout the whole world.
3.00 pm : eucharistic procession starting from Castel Sainte Marie, followed by the blessing of the sick in the garden and the renewal of the promises by “Les amis de Notre Dame de Beauraing”.
7.00 pm : Mass
Beauraing sanctuary : Basilique Notre Dame au Coeur d’Or, rue de l’Aubépine, 6 à 5570 Beauraing, Belgique
Belief in the Assumption of our Lady goes back to early Christian tradition.It found expression gradually in the writings of the Fathers and in various liturgies ( at Jerusalem from the 6th century, at Rome from the 7th). Finally, on November 1, 1950, Pius XII proclaimed solemnly, as part of divine revelation that ” the blessed Virgin Mary, the Immaculate Mother of God, at the close of her earthly career was taken into heaven,body and soul.”
The Prayers of this day ask that, after Mary’s example, we may long for heaven, obtain the glorious resurrection and enjoy everlasting bliss.
“All generations shall call me blessed, because He that is mighty hath done great things to me.” Out of the Magnificat . Luke 1, 46-55
May the venerable intercession of Your glorious Mother Mary, ever Virgin, help us, O Lord, that those whom she has ladened with lasting benefits may be delivered from all dangers and be made of one mind by her godliness. Amen
This consecration leads us to love God’s Mercy even more, mercy that God grants us through the intercession of Our Lady. This magnificence of the Mercy of God was taught to us through the texts written by Sister Faustina.
