God bless you this St. Joseph's Day!

St. Joseph, Guardian of the Redeemer, pray for us.

Ite ad Joseph

Oh St. Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God, I place in thee all my interest and desires. Oh St. Joseph, do asssist me by thy powerful intercession, and obtain for me from thy divine Son all spiritual blessings, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. So that, having engaged here below thy heavenly power, I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most loving of Fathers. Oh St. Joseph, I never weary contemplating thee, and Jesus asleep in thine arms; I dare not approach while He reposeth near thy heart. Press Him in my name and kiss His fine head for me, and ask him to return the Kiss when I draw my dying breath. St. Joseph, Patron of departing souls, pray for me. Amen.

An Intercession for the Church

From Wednesday at the Sixth Hour

I believe in one holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church ;
And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Let us pray :

For the Church Catholic.

For the holy Catholic Church from one end of the world to the other, let us beseech the Lord ;

Lord, have mercy.

That she may be established in peace, immovable and unshakable upon the rock of her faith ;

Lord, have mercy.

For particular churches that are persecuted and suffereing ;

Lord, have mercy.

For them that are rich or poor or weak or tempted ;

Lord, have mercy.

For our own church ;

Lord, have mercy.

That she may offer herself a pure sacrifice of prayer and lowly service ;

Lord, have mercy.

That she may be truly catholic in faith and love ;

Lord, have mercy.

That she may use her freedom for the ministry of Truth ;

Lord, have mercy.

That she may be at peace within her borders ;

Lord, have mercy.

For all who love Christ and pray with us, yet are in separation ;

Lord, have mercy.

The Lord be with you ;
And with thy spirit.

Let us pray.

GRACIOUS Father, we humbly beseech thee for thy holy Catholic Church. Fill it with all truth ; in all truth with all peace. Where it is corrupt, purge it ; and where it is in error, direct it ; where it is superstitious, rectify it ; where anything is amiss, reform it ; where it is right, strengthen and confirm it ; where it is in want, furnish it ; where it is divided and rent asunder, make up the breaches of it ; O thou Holy One of Israel. Amen.


Let us pray :

For the Church Apostolic.

That we may continue steadfast in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in the prayers, we humbly pray :

Lord, hear us.

For our fathers the bishops and rulers of the Christian Church ;

Lord, hear us.

That they may be blameless, vigilant, and holy ;

Lord, hear us.

For the priests and shepherds of Christ's flock ;

Lord, hear us.

That they may burn with the love of souls, and be mighty to convert;

Lord, hear us.

For the deacons and ministers of the household of God ;

Lord, hear us.

For those who have heard and answered the call to Holy Orders ;

Lord, hear us.

That their hearts may be kindled, and their minds enlightened in the days of making ready ;

Lord, hear us.

The Lord be with you ;
And with thy spirit.

Let us pray.

O GOD, who dost ever hallow and protect thy Church : Raise up therein, through thy Spirit, good and faithful stewards of the mysteries of Christ ; that, by their ministry and example, the Christian people may abide under thy protection, and be guided in the way of truth ; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, ever, world without end. Amen.

Let us pray :

For the Holiness of the Church.

That everywhere and at all times, in the power of faith and the ministry of love, she may show forth Christ, by inward spirit and outward deed;

We beseech thee, O Lord.

For the faithful in every land;

We beseech thee, O Lord.

That they may be strengthened and confirmed in sacrament and prayer, and in every good work ;

We beseech thee, O Lord.

For those pledge to the perfection of Jesus, under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience;

We beseech thee, O Lord.

For all guilds and confraternities devoted to the building up of Christian life;

We beseech thee, O Lord.

The Lord be with you;
And with thy spirit.

Let us pray.

VOUCHSAFE, we beseech thee, O Lord, to strengthen and confirm all thy faithful, and to lift them up more and more continually to heavenly desires ; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.


Let us pray :

For the Unity of the Church.

That the bitter grief of a sundered Church may pass away ;

Lord, hear us.

That the Holy Spirit may bind us in new fellowship to seek peace and ensue it ;

Lord, hear us.

For a new and living faith in the communion of saints ;

Lord, hear us.

That the unity and clear vision of those at rest may help our blindness ;

Lord, hear us.

That our broken fellowship on earth may not mar our share in the perfect fellowship above;

Lord, hear us.

The Lord be with you ;
And with thy spirit.

Let us pray.

O LORD Jesu Christ, who didst say to thine Apostles, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: Regard not our sins, but the faith of thy Church, and grant her that peace and unity which is agreeable to thy will ; who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Our Father . . .

O GOD of unchangeable power and eternal light, look favourably on thy whole Church, that wonderful and sacred mystery ; and by the tranquil operation of thy perpetual providence carry out the work of man's salvation ; and let the whole world feel and see that things which were cast down are being raised up ; that those which had grown old are being made new ; and that all things are returning to perfection, through him from whom they took their origin, even our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

E. Milner-White & B.T.D. Smith
Cambridge Offices and Orisons
1921

Wednesday at the Sixth Hour

The Office of Galillee: The Kingdom of God and its Citizens

O God, make speed to save us;
O Lord, make haste to help us.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost ;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

In Pre-Lent and Lent
Praise ye the Lord.
The Lord's Name be praised.

All other times.
Alleluia.

HYMN
The Church of God a kingdom is,
Where Christ in power doth reign,
Where spirits yearn till seen in bliss
Their Lord shall come again.

Glad companies of saints possess
This Church below, above ;
And God's perpetual calm doth bless
Their paradise of love.

An altar stands within the shrine
Whereon, once sacrificed,
Is set, immaculate, divine,
The Lamb of God, the Christ.

There rich and poor, from countless lands,
Praise Christ on mystic Rood ;
There nations reach forth holy hands
To take God's holy Food.

O King, O Christ, this endless grace
To us and all men bring,
To see the vision of thy face
In joy, O Christ, our King.

(The English Hymnal, 488)

______________________

Antiphon. Ye are the light of the world : a city set on a hill.

PSALM XLVIII
Magnus Dominus.

GREAT is the Lord, and highly to be praised : in the city of our God, even upon his holy hill.
2 The hill of Sion is a fair place, and the hoy of the whole earth : upon the north-side lieth the city of the great King ; God is well known in her palaces as a sure refuge.
3 For lo, the kings of the earth : are gathered, and gone by together.
4 They marvelled to see such things : they were astonished, and suddenly cast down.
5 Fear came there upon them, and sorrow : as upon a woman in her travail.
6 Thou shalt break the ships of the sea : through the east-wind.
7 Like as we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God : God upholdeth the same for ever.
8 We wait for thy loving-kindness, O God : in the midst of thy temple.
9 O God, according to thy Name, so is thy praise unto the world's end ; thy right hand is full of righteousness.
10 Let the mount Sion rejoice, and the daughter of Judah be glad : because of thy judgements.
11 Walk about Sion, and go round about her : and tell the towers thereof.
12 Mark well her bulwarks, set up her houses : that ye may tell them that come after.
13 For this God is our God for ever and ever : he shall be our guide unto death.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost :
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen.

Antiphon. Ye are the light of the world : a city set on a hill.

______________________

CHAPTER. (ST. MATT. XXI.42)

JESUS said:
The stone which the builders rejected,
the same is become the head of the corner.

Thanks be to God.

______________________

RESPONSORY
Ye are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets : Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone :
Ye are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets : Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.

Ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house ;
Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
Ye are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets : Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.

The city lieth four square ;
And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

The Lord be with you ;
And with thy spirit.

Let us pray.

O ALMIGHTY God, who hast built thy Church upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the head corner stone ; Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their doctrine, that we may be made an holy temple acceptable unto thee ; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.

The Lord be with you
And with thy spirit.
Let us bless the Lord ;
Thanks be to God.

(Here shall follow the Intercessions.)

E. Milner-White & B.T.D. Smith
Cambridge Offices and Orisons
1921

Holy Family, pray for us.

Infant Jesus, have mercy upon us.
O Joseph and Mary, pray for us.

The Liturgy forms man in wakefulness

Dietrich von Hildebrand:

The man formed by the Liturgy is the man who is awake in the highest sense of the word. He is not only inwardly open to hearing the voice of God; he is not only aware of the ultimate Truth, but he also looks on all earthly goods in their true light. Far removed from all bluntness, indifference, stoic insensibility, and passiveness, his awakened ear is open to every created thing in its mysterious message from above and in its God-given meaning. His heart is open to the precious and noble character of created things such as water, for instance, as disclosed in the blessing of the baptismal water.

What a contrast to the blunt, obvious conceptions of earthly goods received from God's paternal hand is found int he liturgical "Benedicite!" What constantly awakened gratitude! "The eyes of all wait upon Thee, O Lord, and Thou givest them their meat in due season (Oculi omnium in te sperant, Domine, et tu das escam illorum in tempore opportuno )." "Bless us, O Lord, and these Thy gifts which we are about to receive from Thy bounty (Benedic, Domine, nos et haec tua dona, quae de tua largitate sumus sumpturi )." "We give Thee thanks, O almighty God, for all Thy mercies (Agimus tibi gratias omnipotens Deus, pro universis beneficiis tuis )." At the same time, everything is organically placed into relation with the supernatural so that our spirit can rejoin again and again the unique and eternal, the goal of our hope: "May the King of eternal glory make us participate in the divine banquet (Mensae caelestis participes faciat nos Rex aeternae gloriae )."

The man formed by the Liturgy watches, so to speak, with a "burning lamp in his hand," and "with girt loins," for the advent of the Lord. His life is a life of longing, hope, gratitude, solemn emotion, and openness to the mysteries of being. We see how deeply wakefulness is linked with reverence, with the consciousness that an adequate response is due to value, and with the sense of the right gradation of values. The awakened man is also conscious of the ultimate tie which binds him to all men before God; he sees Christ in his neighbor; he lives in the truth of the Mystical Body of Christ. To the extent that a man is awakened in this sense, he exists fully as a person; he genuinely lives; his life is true; he is a personality in the original sense of the word.

Today it is particularly important to stress this point. In a legitimate reaction against an analytical, self-reflective consciousness, many have fallen into the cult of a naive unconsciousness, a childish unwakefulness. This is a falling into Charybdis in order to avoid Scylla. A wrong self-consciousness is, of course, disastrous, whether it takes the form of a squinting at the accomplishment of our life (in a curious looking backward at our actions and attitudes just in the living moment instead of focusing on the object) or whether it takes the form of an intellectual analysis and dissection of the world and ourselves in which we no longer see the woods for the trees. In either case, it is a hypertrophy of the analytical attitude which leaves no room for a contemplative possession of an obejct. But the unconscious man also is incomplete; he is an inauthentic half-man.

True consciousness, an indispensable element of personality and an essential part of transformation in Christ, is nothing but wakefulness. It means emerging from all the mists of the vital and the unconscious into the brightness of the logos; it means being irradiated by the lumen Christi. It also means the ripening toward that full wakefulness which we shall actually possess only in eternity when we shall be flooded by the lumen gloriae, when we no longer see through a glass in an obscure manner but face to face, and when we no longer know in part but know as we have been known.

The great motto of this earthly life must be, "Watch ye therefore, because you know not the day nor the hour!"

Dietrich von Hildebrand
1943
Liturgy and Personality:
The Healing Power of Formal Prayer
Sophia Institute Press, 1993
pp. 101-103

Msgr. Knox on "Miracles"

"And a miracle-a miracle is a very simple thing by comparison. It happens when, once and again in these long aeons of the world's existence, God expresses His will more directly, by suspending for a moment, at one tiny pin-point of space, the operation of those laws which could have no force and no validity but from Him. Just in the millionth instance God does, without the aid of secondary causes, what He is continually doing by means of secondary causes. Just in the millionth instance He multiplies bread instead of multiplying the wheat. Just in the millionth instance He will have the dew form not everywhere but just here. Is that so much of a privilege to claim for the Omnipotent? Is that impossible with God, with such a God?"

Miracles
Msgr. Ronald Knox

For Eastertide

For Steve Collins

Great angels all adore Him
and hearts both brave and true.
Behold the Living Saviour
Who makes creation new!
Though slain from the foundation
of all the world we know,
He triumphs over evil,
and in His steps we go.

Remember how in Egypt
God's people decked the door
with blood from lambs to mark them
their sons Death would passo'er.
The Lamb of God, of Mary
has shed His Blood to sign
the Cross, the Christian's doorway
into the Life divine.

Death's stronghold could not hold Him.
The gates of hell He smashed.
Christ frees from Satan's clutching
all souls His Blood has washed.
From death, alive and risen
in victory to reign,
He soon returns. Behold Him!
Hallelujah! Amen!

Words: Copyright © 1998 Vincent Uher. All rights reserved.
Text revision for "Aurelia": Copyright © 2007 Vincent Uher. All rights reserved.
Tune: Aurelia

Save the Liturgy! Save the World!

With thanks to Father Z. for sharing this!

As for me and my house,
We pray for a Motu Proprio for the Sarum Use!

So Vincent, do you pray the Rosary?

Absolutely! It is one of the greatest gifts to us and a most powerful weapon in overcoming evil motions within one's heart as well as in the world. But chiefly it draws us to behold the Lord Jesus Christ through His Mother's eyes. There has never been a more perfect human vision of Jesus than through Mary's sinless eyes and with Mary's immaculate heart.
.
My method in praying the Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary is to pray the traditional fifteen mysteries. If I cannot do this at one time without interruption, I apportion them out through the course of the day. I often use the Rosary Meditations in the Anglo-Catholic St. Augustine's Prayer Book, a true treasure.

I pray the Luminous Mysteries of Pope John Paul II (followed by the Walsingham Litany of Our Lady) at various times and especially when travelling.

On days that are exceedingly busy, it is important to pray more not less.

I always use the Fatima Prayer and the traditional English versions of the prayers I learnt as an Anglo-Catholic child. Sometimes I pray the Rosary in Latin - especially when I feel distracted by my own stray thoughts. I continue to pray for the conversion of Russia through the Immaculate Heart of Mary when offering the Holy Rosary.

In seeking the Face of Christ whilst praying, I say the Jesus Prayer before each Hail Mary in this fashion: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour, have mercy upon me, a sinner.

I hope that answers my kind anonymous Reader's question. God bless.

Mater Dolorosa

Ecce Homo - Murillo

A Prayer of the Suffering

This is another day, O Lord.
I know not what it will bring forth,
but make me ready, Lord, for whatever it may be.
If I am to stand up, help me to stand bravely.
If I am to sit still, help me to sit quietly.
If I am to lie low, help me to do it patiently.
And if I am to do nothing, let me do it gallantly.
Make these words more than words,
and give me the Spirit of Jesus.
Amen.

The Book of Common Prayer 1979
USA