Please pray for Mary, Rita's Sister
 

Pray the Rosary for the World

Please Pray for Fr. Joe & Bob, Rita's Intentions
     

Prayer for Grace for our Country

Dear Father united to Jesus in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Sacrifice of Calvary sacramentally made present, celebrated around the world, in the Holy Spirit. We offer up all we do united to the Mass. We unite in one mind and one heart as members of the mystical body of Christ, with Christ our head in the pure and holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary, through the powerful intercession of Mary with all the angels and saints and souls in purgatory, and we beg for the saving grace, for our country, the United States. Please help us. We further pray for unity to always do the will of God in love. We spread the Blood of Jesus on the leaders and people of the United States and cast the devil into hell. We consecrate our country to the Sacred Heart and Immaculate Heart and all our dioceses, and beg for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. God help us. We pray for our families, the priests, the Church and the world. In the Name of Jesus please hear us, we pray. We pray for our president and leaders. We pray that we are united as one nation under God to work together in love as God wants.  

November 21, 2021
 

Glorious Mysteries

The Resurrection

1. Mother at Our Side by Fr. Edward J. Carter, S.J. - The Cross Leads to Life - Chapter 9

   Christ perfectly fulfilled the Old Testament theme of death-resurrection. In doing so, He was experiencing a religious transition. He was passing over—gradually, at first, and then definitively in His death—to a new kind of existence, to the life of resurrection. He achieved this life not only for Himself, but for us also. To achieve this new life of resurrection, Jesus was willing to pay the price. He was willing to suffer, even unto death.

2. The Cross Leads to Life continues

That it had to be this way—that the only way Jesus could have achieved resurrection was through suffering and death—was pointed out by Jesus Himself to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus: And he said to them, "Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" (Lk. 24:25-26).

3. Sing: Glory, Glory, Glory Lord

4. The Cross Leads to Life continues

Christ has structured the Christian life by the way He lived, died, and rose from the dead. It is obvious, then, that the pattern of death-resurrection must be at the heart of the Church's life. Mary, as Mother of the Church and our mother, is in a most advantageous position to show us our own individual roads to Calvary and support us as we carry the cross, each of us on our own as well as the Church as a whole.

5. The Cross Leads to Life continues

She already traveled that road in perfect acceptance of the death-resurrection struggle as she was always most closely united with the work of her Son. Individually and collectively, we are meant to continually die in Christ so that we may continually rise in Christ.

6. The Cross Leads to Life continues

We thus pass over in a process of continued religious transition to a greater participation in Jesus' resurrection. It is true that our participation in Christ's resurrection will reach its culmination only in eternity. Nevertheless, we begin the life of resurrection here upon this earth, in the here-and-now of human life, in the midst of joy and pain, in the experience of success and failure, in the sweat of our brow, in the enjoyment of God's gifts.

7. The Cross Leads to Life continues

We cannot maintain the life of resurrection or grow in it without a willingness to suffer. This does not mean that we need to feel overwhelmed and heavily burdened by the suffering in our lives. The greater portion of suffering for most of us seems to be an accumulation of ordinary hardships and pains. At times, more penetrating suffering—even suffering of agonizing proportions—can enter our life. Whether the sufferings are either of the more ordinary variety or the rare and extreme type, Christians must convince themselves that to properly relate to the cross is to grow in resurrection.

8. The Cross Leads to Life continues

The great tragedy regarding human suffering is not that there is so much of it, but that apparently so much of it is wasted. Apparently many do not relate to suffering properly—according to God's will. Consequently, they fail to use suffering as a means to growth. Again, our mother's fiat can be a vivid reminder to persevere through even our most difficult trials.

9. Luke 2: 35

and a sword will pierce your soul too -- so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid bare.'

10. The Cross Leads to Life continues

As the opening Scripture passage tells us, Our Lady was no stranger to suffering. As we well know, her life of suffering culminated in her extreme agony beneath the cross. Who can fathom the depth of her grief as she watched her innocent Son suffer the excruciating pain and death of crucifixion? In the church of San Domingo in Puebla, Mexico, there is one of the most striking representations of Mary that I have ever seen. Near the front of the church, and to the right as one faces the altar, there is a figure of our Blessed Mother seated in a chair. She is dressed in a black robe with gold trim. Atop her white veil is a black lace veil of mourning. On her lap is Christ's crown of thorns. Mary gazes down at this crown which had been so cruelly and derisively placed upon Jesus. The expression on Mary's face is one of the most moving I have seen. It is a combination of grief, dignity, and beauty. It is indeed easy to shed tears as one beholds this figure of Mary. It tells us so much about Mary. It tells us that she not only is the Mother of Joy, but also the Mother of Sorrows.

   Yes, our dearest Mother Mary knows what it is like to suffer. She knows so well the purpose of suffering in God's plan. By asking her to obtain for us the grace to grow in wisdom, we can increasingly understand the role of suffering in our own lives. Asking her for the grace not to waste suffering, we can learn to use it as a means of growth for ourselves and others.

 

The Ascension

1. Acts 1: 6-11

Now having met together, they asked him, 'Lord, has the time come for you to restore the kingdom to Israel?' He replied, 'It is not for you to know times or dates that the Father has decided by his own authority, but you will receive the power of the Holy Spirit which will come on you, and then you will be my witnesses not only in Jerusalem but throughout Judaea and Samaria, and indeed to earth's remotest end.'

As he said this he was lifted up while they looked on, and a cloud took him from their sight. They were still staring into the sky as he went, when suddenly two men in white were standing beside them, and they said, ‘Why are you Galileans standing here looking into the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will come back in the same way as you have seen him go to heaven.’

2. We are called to live Jesus' life,
    death and resurrection in our lives.

3. We are called to go out and spread
    the Good News.

4. We are commissioned in baptism
    to do this.

5. The Cross Leads to Life continues

The Christian life, too, has its own form of discipline, and it is necessary for the greater assimilation of our total being to Christ. Christian self-discipline, or asceticism, helps us grow in the Christ-life. It extends to all aspects of the person—intellect, will, imagination, memory, sight, hearing, taste, touch, and so forth.

6. The Cross Leads to Life continues

In conclusion, let us again remind ourselves that the cross is meant to lead us to greater life—here and in eternity. Let us always strive to live by the words Jesus has left as: Then he said to all, "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. (Lk. 9:23-24).

7. Jesus raised His arms and
    ascended into heaven
    and a cloud took Him
    out of sight.

8. We are to begin the life of resurrection -- in
    the here and now -- here below.

9. We are to focus on the light --

10. Dear God help us to lift others up and
    grow in the life of resurrection.

 

The Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles

1. Acts 2: 1-4

When Pentecost day came round, they had all met together, when suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of a violent wind which filled the entire house in which they were sitting; and there appeared to them tongues as of fire; these separated and came to rest on the head of each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak different languages as the Spirit gave them power to express themselves. 

2. Sing: Come Holy Ghost

3. Sing: Come Holy Spirit

4. From the Lectionary

                        Pentecost Sequence

Come, Holy Spirit, come!
And from your celestial home
    Shed a ray of light divine!

Come, Father of the poor!
Come, source of all our store!
    Come, within our bosoms shine!

You, of comforters the best;
You, the soul's most welcome guest;
    Sweet refreshment here below;

In our Labor, rest most sweet;
Grateful coolness in the heat;
    Solace in the midst of woe.

O most blessed Light divine,
Shine within these hearts of yours,
    And our inmost being fill!

Where you are not, man has naught,
Nothing good in deed or thought,
    Nothing free from taint of ill!

Heal our wounds, our strength renew;
On our dryness pour your dew;
    Wash the stains of guilt away;

Bend the stubborn heart and will;
Melt the frozen, warm the chill;
    Guide the steps that go astray.

On the faithful, who adore
And confess you, evermore
    In your sev'nfold gift descend;

Give them virtue's sure reward;
Give them your salvation, Lord;
    Give them joys that never end. Amen.
Alleluia.

5. Sing: Veni Sancte Spiritus

6. We pray for the Holy Spirit to help us follow Jesus
    and do the Father's will --

7. The Spirit is present, we receive
    the Father, Son and Holy Spirit dwelling in our
    soul in baptism --

8. Confirmation makes us soldiers of God.

9. Do we remain closed to the Spirit out of fear?

10. Be not afraid! To refuse the Spirit
    is to refuse true happiness.

 

The Assumption

1. Mother at Our Side by Fr. Edward J. Carter, S.J. - Mary and Our Personal Uniqueness - Chapter 3

"Of the essence of motherhood is the fact that it concerns the person. Motherhood always establishes a unique and unrepeatable relationship between two people: between mother and child and between child and mother. Even when the same woman is the mother of many children, her personal relationship with each one of them is of the very essence of motherhood...

2. Mary and Our Personal Uniqueness continues

    "It can be said that motherhood 'in the order of grace' preserves the analogy with what 'in the order of nature' characterizes the union between mother and child." (Pope John Paul II).⁶ 

6. Pope John Paul II, The Mother of the Redeemer (Redemptoris Mater) (Washington: United States Catholic Conference, 1987), No. 45.

3. Mary and Our Personal Uniqueness continues

    We have already used these words in the previous chapter. We repeat them here for the purpose of discussing the concept of personal uniqueness. Each of us is unique—a unique reflection of God. Out of each one's uniqueness flows a special God-given mission. Cardinal Newman observes: "Everyone who breathes, high and low, educated and ignorant, young and old, man and woman, has a mission, has a work. We are not sent into this world for nothing; we are not born at random. . . God sees every one of us; He creates every soul, He lodges it in a body, one by one, for a purpose."⁷

7. John Cardinal Newman, Discourses Addressed to Mixed Congregations (London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1906), pp. 111-12.

4. Mary and Our Personal Uniqueness continues

    And as Pope John Paul tells us, we each have a unique relationship with Mary. She loves each one of us very dearly, each in his or her own uniqueness. She knows each of us has the awesome privilege and responsibility of allowing Christ to live in and through this personal uniqueness. As Mary cooperates with the Holy Spirit in forming Christ in us, she works with the Spirit in assisting us to accomplish our personal mission in life.

5. Mary and Our Personal Uniqueness continues

    Each day we can strive to accomplish our mission under Mary's maternal mantle. Let us each day entrust ourselves to Mary's Immaculate Heart and dwell within this most pure haven. Here we feel loved, safe, confident, courageous in our efforts to act that day as the Father wills. Dwelling within Mary's Heart, we face our daily challenge of working with Christ to lessen the world's evil and to promote its goodness. Aware of Mary's special and unique love for each of us, we are strengthened in our attempt to accomplish our God-given mission in all the various circumstances of life within the human condition. Amidst joy and sorrow, success and failure, acceptance and rejection, laughter and tears—amidst whatever comprises each day's existence—we should rest secure knowing Mary is Mother at our side.

6. Mary and Our Personal Uniqueness continues

    We should not waste time bemoaning the fact that we do not possess this or that gift which another has in abundance. We have the gifts God intends for us. We have the gifts we need to accomplish our mission in life. Concentrate to develop these gifts for love of God and neighbor because how we use these gifts is what we will be judged on—not on the fact that we lacked this or that talent.

7. Mary and Our Personal Uniqueness continues

    I cannot accomplish your mission in life. You cannot accomplish mine. Each of us has something to give to Christ, His Church, and His world which no other can contribute. Again, this is an awesome privilege and responsibility.

8. Mary and Our Personal Uniqueness continues

    God has given us Mary so that she may assist us in living out this privilege and responsibility and we should daily ask her for wisdom to grow in the understanding of all that our mission involves. We should also petition her for the courage not to shirk the responsibility, but joyously to embrace it for the greater glory of God. With her mother's sense of pride, she wants us to succeed in fulfilling God's plan for us. The more we entrust ourselves to her, the more she places us with Christ so that He may live in and through us to further Christianize the world.

9. Mary and Our Personal Uniqueness continues

    Yes, the more we entrust ourselves to Mary our Mother, the more we will be able to live out the truth Cardinal Newman puts before us: "We are not sent into this world for nothing; we are not born at random. . . God sees every one of us; He creates every soul, He lodges it in a body, one by one, for a purpose."

10. Sing: Immaculate Mary

 

The Queenship of Mary

1. Sing: Hail Holy Queen

2. Say Memorare

3. From the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Cause of our Joy

4. From the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Queen of angels,
Queen of patriarchs,

5. From the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Queen of prophets,
Queen of apostles,

6. From the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Queen of martyrs,
Queen of confessors,

7. From the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Queen of virgins,
Queen of all saints,

8. From the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Queen conceived without original sin,
Queen assumed into heaven,

9. From the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Queen of the most holy rosary,
Queen of families,
Queen of peace,

10. Sing: See the Eyes That Look at Mary