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Prayers to the Sacred Heart

Litany of the Sacred Heart

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.

Response: have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father,
Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mother,
Heart of Jesus, substantially united to the Word of God,
Heart of Jesus, of Infinite Majesty,
Heart of Jesus, Sacred Temple of God,
Heart of Jesus, Tabernacle of the Most High,
Heart of Jesus, House of God and Gate of Heaven,
Heart of Jesus, burning furnace of charity,
Heart of Jesus, abode of justice and love,
Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love,
Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise,
Heart of Jesus, king and center of all hearts,
Heart of Jesus, in Whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,
Heart of Jesus, in Whom dwells the fullness of divinity,
Heart of Jesus, in Whom the Father was well pleased,
Heart of Jesus, of Whose fullness we have all received,
Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting hills,
Heart of Jesus, patient and most merciful,
Heart of Jesus, enriching all who invoke you,
Heart of Jesus, fountain of life and holiness,
Heart of Jesus, propitiation for our sins,
Heart of Jesus, loaded down with opprobrium,
Heart of Jesus, obedient to death,
Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance,
Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation,
Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection,
Heart of Jesus, our peace and reconciliation,
Heart of Jesus, victim for our sins,
Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who trust in you,
Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in you,
Heart of Jesus, delight of all the Saints,
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
V. Jesus, meek and humble of heart.
R. Make our hearts like to yours.
Let us pray:
Almighty and eternal God, look upon the Heart of Your most beloved Son and upon the praises and satisfaction which He offers You in the name of sinners; and to those who implore Your mercy, in Your great goodness, grant forgiveness in the name of the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You forever and ever. Amen.

Lord, have mercy!

For all priests and religious- that their faith remains strong in the face of a troubled and increasingly brutal world. We need them desperately to guide us.

Lord, have mercy!

That I have an accurate knowledge of Catholic doctrine in order to better testify to its Truth. That I yield more fully to what Christ asks of me without question.

Lord, have mercy!

For those suffering on both sides of the war in Israel, especially the elderly, the ill, women and children and the displaced and homeless.

Lord, have mercy!

For the thousands of unborn babies who were denied the life You gave them today. For the thousands of mothers who will suffer with guilt and the lie that may never be forgiven- that they find healing and the understanding of Your forgiveness and unending love. The we as Your Holy Church minister to them as You would.

Lord, have mercy!

For an end to slavery, terror, torture, and captivity, of body, mind and spirit. That we find our freedom in Your Sacred Heart.

Lord, have mercy!

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

An Answer to Mormonism From St. Paul

Well, the Mormons were back yesterday. This is partly my fault, as I am a Christian and believe that giving up on communication with these folks is not only rude, but anti-christian. Not that I think I can convert anyone, but to be absolutely honest, I have had worse company. These little elders are indeed polite and earnest young men and the church member they bring along is always pleasant. I am sure it has been said many times; The Catholic Church could take a lesson in the proper way to evangelize from the Mormons. And I love to see a teenage boy in a tie and normal haircut, with a smile on his face.

I had agreed to attend their service on Sunday, in an effort to have a more accurate understanding of their beliefs. However, after reading the chapter in the Book of Mormon I was urged to read, I did what they asked me to do- ask God for an answer as to the validity or non-validity of the Joseph Smith story.

The answer I got was pretty clear. "I have established ONE Church on earth." I was reminded of the passage of scripture that states there is one body, one faith, one baptism... Turning directly to the bible, after praying for an answer, I opened it to this passage.

2 Corinthians 11

1 I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness; but indeed you are bearing with me.
2 For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin.
3 But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.
4 For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully. (The NRSB has it as "you accept it readily enough.")
5 For I consider myself not in the least inferior to the most eminent apostles.
6 But even if I am unskilled in speech, yet I am not so in knowledge; in fact, in every way we have made this evident to you in all things.
7 Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God to you without charge?
8 I robbed other churches by taking wages from them to serve you;
9 and when I was present with you and was in need, I was not a burden to anyone; for when the brethren came from Macedonia they fully supplied my need, and in everything I kept myself from being a burden to you, and will continue to do so.
10 As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be stopped in the regions of Achaia.
11 Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!
12 But what I am doing I will continue to do, so that I may cut off opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting.
13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.
14 No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
15 Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.
16 Again I say, let no one think me foolish; but if you do, receive me even as foolish, so that I also may boast a little.
17 What I am saying, I am not saying as the Lord would, but as in foolishness, in this confidence of boasting.
18 Since many boast according to the flesh, I will boast also.
19 For you, being so wise, tolerate the foolish gladly.
20 For you tolerate it if anyone enslaves you, anyone devours you, anyone takes advantage of you, anyone exalts himself, anyone hits you in the face.
21 To my shame I must say that we have been weak by comparison But in whatever respect anyone else is bold--I speak in foolishness--I am just as bold myself.
22 Are they Hebrews? So am I Are they Israelites? So am I Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.
23 Are they servants of Christ?--I speak as if insane--I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death.
24 Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes.
25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep.
26 I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren;
27 have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.
28 part from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches.
29 Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern?
30 If I have to boast, I will boast of what pertains to my weakness.
31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, He who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying.
32 In Damascus the ethnarch under Aretas the king was guarding the city of the Damascenes in order to seize me,
33 and I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and so escaped his hands.

St. Paul's emotion in this letter is extreme and his love for these people is very palpable.

The Catholic Church is the church Jesus Christ established on the earth. All others have taken from her their bibles and their doctrine which they have changed and maligned throughout the ages. We are taught that the Lord will return and at that time, it will be to judge the living and the dead. There will be ONE return of the Lord.
The Lord conferred upon the apostles He personally called the keys to the Kingdom, the sacraments and most importantly the Eucharist, and the ability to forgive sins. We have 2000 years of evidence to this fact. We also have 2000 years of saints, prophets and holy people whose revelations, miracles, prophecies and writings proclaim the same doctrine in it's entirety that the Catholic Church and Christ Himself taught.
In Mormonism we have one man who was misled by a diabolical revelation that sought to further distance and confuse those in Christ's Universal Church. The devil loves discord and disharmony, and to inflame the pride of man and use it against him toward his own damnation. When examining the beliefs of Mormonism, what Joseph Smith believed was a promise to one day become as God is and in essense a god among many gods as those in Mormonism advance and are given their own kingdom. This in itself alone is a perfect example of how the devil will tempt man using scripture for we also are taught that we shall one day become sharers or paticipators in divine nature.
"3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires." ~2 Peter:3-4
But the motivating factor in becoming a sharer in divine nature is to have friendship and a relationship with God- it is Love, as in Luke:
"He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself."~Luke 10:27~
- and should never be pride or the attainment of a "higher knowledge" for its sake alone.
"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing." ~1 Corinthians 13:1-3
In essense, these higher things are given to us to know as we advance in our love of Christ by the Holy Spirit Himself.
2 that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ Himself,
3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
4 I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument. ~Colossians 2:2-4~

We are not to search after our own kingdom in this world but after God's, relying solely on His grace and obeying the few laws and commands He has given us to help us become Christ-like. "Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you." and "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." ~Matt 6:33~.

The revelations that Joseph Smith received are akin to Eve's first sin. God Himself stood before her, walked with her and gave her an intimate knowledge of Himself, provided all things to her and for her and in showing her the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil warned her not to partake of it for her own sake. The devil tempted her with the idea that there was something she did not know, something "new" that God was witholding from her and without that knowledge she would be missing out. The devil tempted her to leave the grace of God and follow her own directives. So it is with the great apostasy of the Reformation that Martin Luther began, which has since that time created myriads of churchs on earth, all possessing some truth for having broken off from the One True Church, but either having added to or subtracted from the doctrine our Lord Himself gave the 12 apostles over 2000 years ago.

There is nothing new under the sun, and we are to guard against
"being led astray by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;" ~Ephesians 4:14~
We are to be of one-mind-
27 Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;" ~ Phil 1:27~
There is only ONE place to find perfect refuge and an assurance of accuracy in regard to the knowledge and doctrine of Christ Jesus and that is with His Holy Church.

The Divine Office

I've been trying to pray the Divine Office every day, with a major focus on the Office of the Day, Morning and Evening prayer. It is a marvelous way to pray, and the Psalms are such a great comfort to all of us fighting spiritual battles. I wonder sometimes who isn't fighting some sort of darkness in their life, whether it is an effort to fill the emptiness and the breach the distance that we feel lies between ourselves and God, or fighting an interior battle with some particular sin, or even trying to better embrace the virtues. Many of us don't have time to pray the entire 7 hours a day, but even in just praying Morning prayer, I feel more empowered to face the day because I am reminded that Christ is with me through every moment of it.

Information on praying the Divine Office, including the day's prayers, can be found at www.universalis.com.

For those whose schedules are very busy, there is a book called Shorter Christian Prayer which has Morning and Evening prayer. There is also the wonderful monthly magazine called The Magnificat which gives you morning and evening prayer and daily Mass, along with meditations for the day and other goodies.

Check out www.catholicmusicnetwork.com for a great selection of Catholic Music.

The Assumption of Mary

Hearken, O daughter, and see, and incline thy ear: ... And the king shall greatly desire thy beauty; for he is the Lord thy God, and him they shall adore.
-- Ps. xliv. 11, 12
***********

It is a mystery to me how to explain the Church's reverence of the Virgin Mary. Most non-Catholic christians think we give her too much credit, and in more extreme views think we worship and adore her in equality with her Son. Both opinions are invalid and stem from an ignorance of Catholicism in general. With regard to the doctrine of Mary, she has no power of her own other than to intercede for us through petioning of her Son the graces we so desperately need in this day and age.

Her role is universal mother- it is Mary who provides the example of motherhood for all Catholic women and Mary who provides the example of fidelity to Christ that I look to when I am in danger of losing faith. I ask for her intercession when dealing with my own children. It is no surprise that in a world that disregards motherhood, the single, closest and most important human relationship we know, that Mary's role in the life of Christ is considered unworthy of praise and contemplation. Mary magnifies the Lord and through her we are better enabled to see Christ and come nearer to Him.

She was a human woman, not a diety. But a human woman singled out from the dawn of the world to concieve the Son of God and raise Him in perfection to complete His Purpose. She is seprated from the throng of us by this very fact. Given graces beyond our scope of understanding, she was different from us in her immaculate conception: born without the stain of original sin every other human being has been, is and will be born with, for it would be unfitting for the Holy Spirit to enspouse a soul stained with such sin. Created without sin and kept sinless her entire life, she is an exception and a masterpiece of God's Wisdom.

If one seeks to understand the mystery of the Trinity, look to Mary, for no other human being has known so intimately and tangibly the Father, Whom she was chosen by and Whom she obeyed completely, the Holy Spirit, Who overshadowed and espoused her as His own and the Son, Who she birthed, raised, taught, supported and went to the cross with in obedience and in purest love.

St. Max

No one in the world can change Truth. What we can do and should do is to seek truth and to serve it when we have found it. The real conflict is the inner conflict. Beyond armies of occupation and the hecatombs of extermination camps, there are two irreconcilable enemies in the depth of every soul: good and evil, sin and love. And what use are the victories on the battlefield if we ourselves are defeated in our innermost personal selves?
~St. Maximillian Kolbe~

Read about St. Max at http://www.catholic-pages.com/saints/st_maximilian.asp

Lunch With Mormons

There is no more evident sign that anyone is a saint and of the number of the elect, than to see him leading a good life and at the same time a prey to desolation, suffering, and trials.
-- St Aloysius Gonzaga

Gleanings From Today's Mass Readings:
1 Kings 19: 4 - 8
7
And the angel of the LORD came again a second time, and touched him, and said, "Arise and eat, else the journey will be too great for you."
Psalms 34: 2 - 9
2
My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and be glad.
3
O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!
4
I sought the LORD, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.
5
Look to him, and be radiant; so your faces shall never be ashamed.
6
This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
7
The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.
8
O taste and see that the LORD is good! Happy is the man who takes refuge in him!
9
O fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him have no want!
Ephesians 4: 30 - 32
31
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, with all malice,
32
and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Ephesians 5: 1 - 2
2
And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
John 6: 41 - 51
41
The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, "I am the bread which came down from heaven."
48
I am the bread of life.
49
Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.
50
This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die.
51
I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh."

**********

I had 3 very nice Mormon men over for lunch yesterday. A few weeks ago, 2 very clean cut, friendly, intelligent young men came to the door in white shirts and ties. I know the urge to turn all the lights off and close the blinds and pretend like we aren't home is kind of overwhelming when that happens. I always talk to them, whether they be Jehovah's Witnesses or Mormons or some other denomination. Maybe its because I'm a single mom of 10 month old twins and I'm desperate for grown up conversation, no matter what the topic. At any rate, when they came by I had just moved into this apartment and literally had no furniture for them to sit on. They very graciously gave me their phone number and offered to help me move the furniture once I did buy some. Sure enough, a weeks later when I called for help, they were there within the hour with a pickup truck, and loaded and unloaded and entire room of stuff with smiles, bless their hearts. So as a way of saying thank you, I had them come back yesterday for lunch, also knowing they would bring the Book of Mormon and evangelize to me. This doesn't bother me in the least, as I am confident in my Catholic faith and figure the Holy Spirit may want to plant a seed in them, as they try to plant one in me. I'm not into arguing the faith; in my opinion, there is no argument and I do know that the Lord allows us to walk down all kinds of wrong paths in this life, so that the right Way becomes ever more obvious and shines ever more brightly.

The two young men, elders (how hard it is to call them "elder" when they still have acne and braces and can't be more than 18 years old!) and a fellow Mormon man in his mid-40's showed up promptly at 9 and we sat and ate while my son tried to chew on their shiny black shoes. We read from the book of Mormon, which sounded a bit like Holy Scripture rephrased. The older man teared up every time he read from the book and I felt bad for him. He is a convert from Catholicism, come to find out. Of course, I agreed to attend their service this morning.

I looked up the official Mormon website- www.Mormon.com- and wasn't terribly surprised to find that a lot of their belief is actually Masonic and Kabbalistic in nature. I read an interesting article about a couple who advanced in mormonism far enough to enter the Temple, which apparently is a goal in the religion. You go through elaborate rituals and adhere to certain life principles and then make the grade. They were disappointed because it felt so stringent and devoid of love as compared to Catholicism. The man that came to my house explained that Catholicism is valid but only the "milk" or the beginning of what is possible with regard to a relationship with God. I suppose he was referring to the outward rituals, signs, tokens, and secrets that mormonism and freemasonry incorporate. I have to agree, I think there is a lot of validity to these things- from a magical standpoint, these secret things were given to man in ancient times, when he had purified himself and sought God purely out of love. I think the problem today is we go searching for higher wisdom and knowledge before we get the basics straight. Take me for instance; I can't walk and chew gum at the same time yet and fall, miserably, many more times than 7 a day. Left to my own and without God, I'm a wretch in all aspects. Once I can say that I have mastered humility and the other 6 virtues, can absolutely adhere to all 10 commandments consistently and faithfully, and make sure not to leave my keys in the door when I come home from Mass, then I suppose I can ask God to go up in His Chariot and have lunch. Until then, I like being a baby and feeding on milk. It does my body and soul good.

I also don't agree with their views on abortion. I am very much of the opinion that abortion across the board is absolute murder and even in cases where the mother's life may be in jeopardy I still adhere to it. (What mother wouldn't put her life on the line for her child?)

I understand that in the case of ectopic pregnancy and other very rare cases Catholicism defines as "indirect abortion", it is an option. But justifying it in the case of rape or incest, as Mormons do, is still an abortion out of convenience. Ask any person who is the product of rape or incest if his or her life is any less worthy of being lived than children produced through mutual consent of the sex act and I think they would probably say no. In the case of rape or incest you have one person terribly violated and nothing can erase that fact. We can instead recognize that out of this heinous event God, as is His Way, Has moved and created something beautiful out of someone's cruelty and selfishness. I believe if the child could not be cared for or loved to the utmost degree, then adoption is the answer. Let that child be the blessing to parents prepared to raise him or her. In the case of a child being aborted solely on these grounds, then you have one terribly violated person and one dead baby. The child is not the rape.

So I called the elder and begged off service. I did invite them to come around and visit anytime. Maybe I can get them to come to Mass :)