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On Praying the Mass and The Rosary
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The Holy Mass is the ‘source and summit of the Christian life’
• • • • • • • • 12
Lumen Gentium
‘The Rosary is a key that unlocks the door of faith.’ Fr. Martin Maria Barta, Ecclesiastical Assistant, ACN.
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Celebrate the true meaning of Christmas These beautiful cards are both traditional and contemporary. With new renderings of some famous Nativity scenes.
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helping the Church heal the world. 151 St. Mobhi Road, Dublin 9. TEL 01 837 7516 EMAIL info@acnireland.org
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For more information or to order Call Vincent on 01 837 7516 or Email him on vincent@acnireland.org
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Suggested donation €5/£5 per pack.
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The cards are 210 x 148mm (A5) and come in a pack of 10 containing 2 of each of the designs shown.
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Celebrate the true meaning of Christmas by helping persecuted Catholics around the world.
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www.acnireland.org www.acnuk.org www.wheregodweeps.org www.godspeakstohischildren.org
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Aid to the Church in Need
Contents
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Introduction - Fr. Martin Maria Barta . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................................................ 2 A Letter of Introduction - Johannes Freiherr Heereman ................................... 3 More Than Mere Basic Subsistence - Mass Offerings .................................... 4 ‘Daily Opening Our Hearts to the Lord” - The Year of Faith ........................... 6 The Prayer of Christians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................................................. 7 Working to the point of exhaustion - Priests in the Andes.............................. 8 13 ‘I Am Happy to be a Priest’ - Angola . . . . .-. . .2 . . .0 . . .............................................. 10
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Introduction - On Praying the Mass and The Rosary....................................... 12 Forms of Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .............................................. 14 Blessed Augustin Miguel Pro - Priest Martyr ............................................... 16 12 Reasons to Return to Sunday Mass. . . . . . . . . .............................................. 20 Common Excuses for Not Attending Sunday Mass .................................... 21 Why Pray The Rosary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .............................................. 22 PI A Brief History of the Holy Rosary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ............................................... 23 O MILLI N C O Paul II ................... 25 The Rosary of the Virgin Mary and Blessed Pope John How to Pray the Mass - Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. ............................................ 26 The Book of Prayer Par Excellence - The Psalms .......................................... 31
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Editor: Jürgen Liminski. Publisher: Kirche in Not / Ostpriesterhilfe, Postfach 1209, 61452 Königstein, Germany. De licentia competentis auctoritatis ecclesiasticae. Printed in Ireland - ISSN 0252-2535. www.acn-intl.org
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Dear Friends, got to do with my question?” I showed him The Rosary. “At the beginning of The Rosary there is the crucifix. The crucifix is like a book that we can study and never come to the end of. On this we pray the Creed, the summary of our entire faith. Then there are the first three small beads. Here we pray for the three theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity – our Cardinal Meisner of entire teaching for life. Cologne relates the ‘The Rosary is a key Then on the remaining story of an encounter that unlocks the door beads there follow, as with a group of ethnic of faith.’ it were, the mysteries German Catholics of the life of Jesus, they from Russia whom he met in Erfurt in the former communist are the Gospels, so to speak, in secret East Germany in 1975. They had come language, or Braille – they can only be as tourists and were able to attend a touched with our hands and hearts. I no secret police can Catholic Mass for the first time in 53 That’s something P O Mgroup years. ‘After Mass a man from the I L L I Odecode. N C There’s nothing more we need asked me, “What truths of the faith must to believe or to live in order to come to we pass on to our children for them to the Kingdom of God.” The man grasped gain eternal life?” I wanted to give them The Rosary firmly in his hand and said, each a Bible and a catechism, but he “The entire Catholic Faith in one hand!”.’ said, “Taking religious books back to the Soviet Union is more dangerous than Dear Friends, let us pray The Rosary taking weapons.” So I asked if they were with a new zeal and entrust the allowed to take a Rosary back with them. renewal of our faith to the Mother of He replied, “We could take a Rosary God. She will help us to make our faith back as a souvenir, but what has that into a testimony of living love. For faith
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On October 11 the Year of Faith will formally begin. October is the month of the Holy Rosary, and so we are beginning this time of grace with Our Lady. For undoubtedly The Rosary is a key that unlocks the door of faith to us. In this prayer Mary herself takes us by the hand and introduces us to the Mysteries of our Faith. She teaches us to follow Jesus in every situation in life and to entrust ourselves unconditionally to his Word. Through The Rosary we can become 013of 2Year more than ever conscious, in this Faith, that we belong to Christ. 12
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Orthodox and Muslim patients are being cared for. The rebuilding of churches and religious houses is giving new hope and security to the Catholic faithful. Great heroism is shown by the priests and religious who, in the strength of their faith, have committed their lives to this ministry of reconciliation. They also draw strength from the solidarity you show them by your generosity. Thanks to your faithful Isupport, we are able to assure them O Pthat we will not abandon them.
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The Bishops’ Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina has invited us to Banja Luka. The country does not actually have any ethnic problems, but three religions 13Durand deeply entrenched positi ons. 0 2 ing the war from 1992 to 2 -1995 most of 1 the Catholics were forced to flee or else forcibly expelled. Their churches and monasteries were destroyed, and only a few have since returned. Both within the country and also outside it there are political and religious forces that would rather see the few remaining Catholics forcibly resettled. Again and again, in the heart of Europe, ‘peace plans’ are being dreamt up which are rooted in the crime of ethnic cleansing!
Fr. Martin Maria Barta Ecclesiastical Assistant
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In gratitude,my priestly blessing on you all
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is proved in works of love. And in this same trust we also turn to you for help for those who are being oppressed, persecuted and even killed for the sake of their faith. They are an example for us of faith and loyalty.
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LIO There is only one road to peace:I L that of N reconciliation. This is the road being trod by the Catholic Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina. She is building care homes for the elderly, the dying and the severely Johannes Freiherr Heereman, handicapped in which overwhelmingly Executive President of ACN International
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More Than Mere Basic Subsistence
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priests, all of whom he lovingly lists by name, the chance to finally get together for a few days spiritual recollection in order to ‘recharge their batteries’. And the bishop of Mongo in Chad would like his 15 priests to have a deeper encounter with the Scriptures, in word and witness, by inviting Vietnamese Father Joseph Doan – who, after enduring nine years in the communist jails, wrote an internationally acclaimed translation of the Bible, before taking up a teaching post at the Pontifical Biblical University in Jerusalem – to come and visit them. But he can’t afford his plane fare.
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During 2011, thanks to your generosity, we were able to provide 1,189,916 Mass Offerings to needy priests throughout the world. That is equivalent to 3,260 each day. Every 25 seconds, somewhere in the 3 201Holy world, a priest began to celebrate Mass for you. 32% of the Mass 12 offerings went to Africa, 23% to Asia and Eastern Europe respectively and the remaining 22% to Latin America.
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The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the foundation of Christianity. Hence, helping priests to survive, materially and spiritually, is literally a matter of life and death for Christians. In many countries, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Pope Benedict reminds us again and priests cannot even afford clothing or again thatP Ipriests need a solid cultural O books without your help, to say M nothing formation and that Cacademic I L L I Oand N of the shared retreats and meetings for intensive, ongoing study promotes the priests and the cost of travelling to them. development of a mature personalThe bishop of Miarinarivo in Madagas- ity. This presupposes good teachers. car would like to be able to give his 51 The only problem is that in Uganda, for
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Ethiopia. ‘The Body of Christ.’ Without the priest there would be no Mass.
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Egypt.’Let the little children come to me…’ Religious instruction for the young.
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example, a secular university lecturer can earn around 1,200 euros a month whereas a lecturer at a Catholic seminary only earns about 120 euros. Moreover, the seminary staff are under so much pressure of time that they cannot even devote themselves to parish work or any other kind of job, since the formation of future priests demands great care and a degree of commitment that goes far beyond the mere communication of knowledge. Mass Offerings provide them with just enough breathing space. No one knows this better than Father Paul Oredipe. He is director of the seminary in Ekpoma, Nigeria. He is urgently asking us for Mass Offerings for his 11 priests and lecturers who are helping to assure the future of the Church in this strifetorn land.
Your Mass Offerings are a source of new vitality for the Church – and for the priests themselves, who feel the bond of love that unites us all together and carry that with them into the celebration of Holy Mass. When they pray during the Mass: ‘You never cease to gather a people to yourself, so that from the rising of the sun to its setting a pure sacrifice may be offered to your name’, they are at the same time proclaiming the universal community of the Church. Mass Offerings are more than merely subsistence help. The bishop of Kandi in Benin thanks you on behalf of his priests and writes to say that you, our benefactors, are ‘actively participating in the sanctification of our priests’. •
Tanzania. The bishop of Morogora blesses the vestments of the new priests.
Syria: ‘My Body… which will be given up for you.’ Homs before the suffering began.
Brazil. Diocese of Caraguatatuba – everything begins with Adoration.
Ghana. ‘This is my Body’. Every Holy Mass is a universal event.
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‘Daily Opening Our Hearts to the Lord’
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In Ukraine there is already a novitiate school for the sisters of the Eastern-rite Ukrainian Catholic Church, with training courses to prepare for their permanent vows, ongoing courses in administration, and even a programme for course leaders of both the Latin-rite and I Eastern-rite communities P – a programme we were able to support, O
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This trust is a matter of faith, a matter for those who pray. Christ gave Peter a guarantee when he said, ‘The gates of hell will not prevail against her’ (Mt 16:18). While the Church in the Western World suffers an apparent decline, elsewhere she is oppressed. Here too what matters is trust in the Father. And prayer – learning to pray again, spiritual renewal for priests, religious and laity. To this end, days of
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recollection and week-long retreats are being organised for priests and catechists, for young people and married couples in the dioceses of Imphal and Kerala in India. Similarly, there are training sessions for prayer group leaders in Yendi, Ghana, and in-service training programmes for priests run by the Franciscans in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Faith is always a personal thing, and the study of the faith is often a matter of circumstances.
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Fewer priests, fewer baptisms, fewer marriages, emptier churches, a weakening influence in society, increasingly blatant attacks on the Pope and the faithful in the media – such is the sociological perspective of the Church in the Western World. A theological perspective 1 sees 20 3on things differently, however, focusing trust in God the Father. 12
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thanks to your generosity. Now the head of the Conference of religious sisters of the Ukrainian Catholic Church has asked our help for a three-year ongoing training programme for the religious superiors of their convents. The traditional basic training is no longer adequate, given the growing indifference and even hostility towards the Church. They have to avoid the trap of becoming preoccupied with everyday life and all its restless busyness. Pope Benedict has wise advice here:
‘Often our eyes are caught, our gaze remains trapped by the visible world with all its limitations. God wants us to open our eyes wide to the grandeur, the fullness of life that only He can give. He himself desires to be our happiness and joy. Let us therefore open our hearts to the Lord in our daily prayer, so that His love may grow ever more within us.’ •
The Prayer of Christians Like all his predecessors in the last century, the Holy Father draws lasting strength from the prayer of The Rosary. Speaking of this prayer, he says, ‘The Rosary is a contemplative, Christocentric prayer that should not be separated from the meditation on Sacred Scripture. It is the prayer of Christians on the pilgrim way of faith upon which Mary has preceded them.’ This was Blessed John Paul II’s favourite prayer, just as it is for the Cuban people today. One factor that has undoubtedly contributed to the new enthusiasm for The Rosary on this communist island has been the 400th anniversary celebrations marking the discovery of the image of Our Lady of El Cobre – another is the 250,000 rosaries that we have sent to Cuba at the request of the bishops. It is a major project, and we wish to thank you for your help and all your prayers. •
‘The Rosary is also, and always has been, a prayer of and for the family … a spiritual aid, which should not be underestimated.’
‘I would like to invite you during this month to recite The Rosary, in the family, in the community and in the parishes.’
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Working to the Point of Exhaustion – Priests in the Andes He is tired, unbelievably tired. For days he has been on the road, celebrating Mass, giving catechism classes, leading parish activities. Now he sits, his head droops, he nods off. He is at a meeting of priests in the Archdiocese of Sucre, Bolivia. Dates 3 are discussed; the priests have -been 201able to talk and exchange ideas.12But most of them are simply too weary.
‘Wherever chapels have been built, the families are very committed. Many have waited years for their church’, he tells us. Now he is hoping for help, as a hurricane has torn the roof off one of these chapels.
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He continues, in his quiet voice, with another request. He wants to strengthen the formation of his seminarians – a concern he shares with every other Many of them spend several hours travel- bishop in Bolivia. Father Cristobal, who ling every day. Father Freddy works has organised this meeting of priests in 10,000 feet up in the diocese of Coroico. Sucre, explains: ‘We need to make an A short and stocky man, he has to serve effort to encourage vocations. 10 years four small communities. Two of them he ago there were still 530 seminarians; can only visit once a month. In the rainy today there are just 192.’ Part of the season it is almost impossible to drive a reason for this problem is the political car. In his absence the pastoral work is situation. ‘For seven years now we have taken care of by catechists; sometimes it had a socialist P I government. There is a O Mparish is just a single family that holds the C attack on the Church in the basic I L L I Oviolent N together. Bishop Juán Vargas Aruquipa communities.’ Now, in every diocese, of Coroico has had four chapels built, so there is an annual ‘Week of Vocations’, in that Holy Mass can be celebrated for the which priests, religious and catechists go Catholic faithful in these isolated districts. into the schools and parishes, giving testimony and engaging the young people in conversation. The life stories of some of these young people are quite alarming. Many are growing up in broken homes, living on the streets, not infrequently sliding into drug and alcohol addiction, or into the clutches Bolivia. Corpus Christi procession in Sucre, of one of the sects.
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led by the seminarians and altar servers.
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Father Andres is familiar with all these problems. Originally from Belgium, he has been ministering since 1984 to one of the most isolated parishes in the Potosi region. Life here is extremely hard, the landscape harsh and austere. The wind whistles across endless dry plains, while fine dust assails the nostrils. Potosi is known for its mining. Miners die here almost every day, and every man knows that he himself may be the next one. Even boys as young as 15 risk their lives below ground. Many
learn to read through them. Now Father Andres would like to republish them.
In the diocese of Coroico – Bishop Juán and Father Freddy, with catechists and children.
Vocations Week. Follow Me – a poster in Sucre Cathedral.
of the young people have drug addictions and steal things from the churches. Father Andres himself has often received threats. He too is near the end of his strength, yet he is not giving up. ‘When I first came here, no one knew Jesus’, he tells us. So the first thing he did was to translate the Bible into the local Quechua language. Then, since ‘scarcely anyone could read or write’, he devised a series of pamphlets with lots of pictures. These contain stories based on the lives of the local people, which at the same time attractively explain the teachings of the Church. To this day they are a success, and the Catholic faithful can also
shared lunch, after Holy Mass. He too is constantly on the road. ACN is helping the Archdiocese of Sucre for the training of its catechists, so that they can take some of the weight off the shoulders of priests like Father Joselino. Father Andres has in fact trained a number of students to become catechists, and already some of them have discovered a vocation. For them, priests like him, Father Joselino and Father Freddy are an inspiration and example. There is no shortage of God’s grace here but rather, more often than not, there is a shortage of material resources. • Teresa Engländer
Father Joselino is asking us for catechisms and Bibles. His parish covers 42 small rural communities, inhabited by peasant livestock farmers. ‘We even get shepherds, complete with poncho and staff, in the church’, he tells us. To strengthen the community’s sense of togetherness he has introduced a
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‘I Am Happy to be a Priest’ For the great Saint and Doctor of the Church Francis de Sales (1567-1622) humility holds the first place alongside charity among the Christian virtues. Many Salesians live this humility without even thinking about it, including Father Deivid Martins Rodrigues in Angola.
– a last piece AITHGuidance of advice before he sets off. F F
into big theological questions, I am simply happy to be a priest! I am happy to be in Angola! I lack the resources, but it makes me happy to be a small light of Christ, to be Church.’
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All the other virtues, St Francis teaches in his ‘Introduction to the Devout Life’, are bound 3 up with love and humility. Anyone who 201does not possess these two virtues, 12 he writes, ‘has absolutely no genuine and solid virtue’. When the soul does possess them both, however, ‘then the other virtues will follow almost automatically’, he continues.
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This 26-year-old priest still finds it hard to In the war-torn diocese of Lwena, Angola, get up at 5 a.m. Celebrating Holy Mass at Father Deivid has no lack of opportunities 6 in the morning is for him ‘a daily sacrito practise humility, following the long fice, albeit one filled with love. I still cannot civil war here. Landmines continue to be manage to get to bed early enough’, he a constant danger. And the vast distances adds. Once his old car got two flat tyres I giving a lift to a religious sister, are a major challenge too, which he often when he was P Ojust had an operation and could has to face alone. Hence it is an occasion had M I L L I who ON C for celebration when another priest comes to visit – but it is painful to say goodbye. But despite this, his work in this vineyard makes him happy. He writes to his friend, a former bishop in Brazil, Happy in the midst of his parishioners: ‘My greatest joy? Father Deivid and some of the people Without plunging
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not walk. Fortunately some young people were also in the car, and they went to fetch help. But, instead of taking seven hours, the journey took 20. ‘We got home at 3:30 a.m. The next day was Sunday Mass. But the only thing I was sad about was the fact that I had been unable to celebrate Holy Mass the day before – for the first time since my ordination.’ Now he is waiting for new tyres – and has been for months. But the car itself can no longer cope with long journeys. It is
Proclamation – for God’s Word has to be explained and understood.
Far out in the Pacific Ocean lies the island nation of Kiribati. It is spread out over more than 600 miles (1,000 km) of widely scattered islands. ‘The biggest problem in our diocese is communication’, reports Bishop Paul Mea, unsurprisingly. Each priest is alone on his island and thrown on his own resources; only twice a year can they come together for retreat days and fellowship. And climate change is making life harder for the islanders. Gone are the stable seasons of six months rain and six months sunshine. ‘Everything has been turned upside down. Even the coconut harvests. We have to import more
only Father Deivid’s modesty that stops him asking for a new one. His bishop, Jesus Tirso Blanco, has done so for him. For Father Deivid has to be kept mobile; he has so much to do. For example his ‘roadway apostolate’. The idea is to give catechetical training to taxi drivers and lorry drivers, so that they can converse ‘evangelically’ with their passengers. There is no chance of escaping during the journey, so people are going to listen... ‘We also have a water taxi to Zambia – three days downriver and five days upriver. An ideal opportunity to meet for prayer.’ Then there are the children. ‘At the moment I am teaching five mums every week’, he tells us. And then the Month of the Bible. ‘The people in the parishes are thirsting for knowledge; all we lack are the means’, he says. By which he means a car. One is still needed, and we have promised to help. • and more foodstuffs, yet at the same time transport is becoming ever more expensive’, the bishop writes. In this situation your Mass offerings are a saving grace and a source of hope. ‘They enable our priests to survive, and their pastoral work with them.’ Bishop Paul thanks you all and gives you his heartfelt blessing. •
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A LOOK IN THE
power of the Eucharist.’3 Precisely because of this extraordinary, transforming power, Pope Benedict XVI extends to all Catholics ‘a pressing invitation to be faithful to Sunday Mass on the Lord’s Day, Sunday, the true centre of the week!4
A chairde,
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This ‘LOOK IN THE MIRROR’ begins with an excerpt from ACN’s little Catholic Catechism on the different forms of prayer and reminds us that the greatest prayer of all is the Eucharistic Liturgy, the ‘source and summit of the Christian life’2. M
The three articles which follow relate to The Rosary beginning with a short piece on why one should pray The Rosary. There follows a very brief history of The Rosary. And the third article draws our attention to Blessed Pope John Paul II’s great devotion to The Rosary.
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There then follows two short pieces on the Sunday Mass. The first provides 12 reasons, one for each month of the year, as to why non-practising Catholics should return to Sunday Mass and the second provides a short list of the more common excuses offered by baptised Catholics for not attending Sunday Mass as well as the reasons why such excuses hold little validity.
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n his introductory letter on page 2, Fr. Martin Bartha draws our attention to the Year of Faith which runs from the 11th October 2012 to the 24th November 2013 and notes that the Year of Faith commences in the month of the Holy Rosary. In doing so Fr. Martin is not only0aware 13 2 that ‘the Law of Prayer is the law of Faith’1 2 1 Rosary is a but he is keenly aware that The powerful ‘key that unlocks the door of faith’. Prayer in general and The Rosary and Holy Mass in particular form the core of this edition’s ‘LOOK IN THE MIRROR’.
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I essay is by the late Fr. John The penultiPmate OSJ (1914-2000) and addresses the I L L I OHardon N Cas to how each of us can pray the Mass issue Immediately following this is a short profile more effectively. Fr. Hardon concludes his of the life of Blessed Miguel Pro SJ who in powerful and practical guidance by encour1927 was martyred in Mexico by a viciously aging us to have Holy Masses offered for our anti-Catholic Government for being a priest own and for other people’s intentions. and for celebrating Holy Mass. Then as now and as has been the case throughout histo- Reflecting upon what Fr. Hardon has writry, heroic priests, powered by prayer, their ten and upon the life of fellow Jesuit, the love of the Lord and love of their neighbour, martyred Blessed Miguel Pro, I would have have sacrificed their lives for the Faith. no doubt Blessed Pro would fully endorse Moreover they have done so with great joy the attitudes and the practices which Fr. because of ‘the extraordinary transforming Hardon has proposed.
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Pope Benedict when he visited Blessed Miguel Pro’s native Mexico in the Spring of 2012, reflected upon the dramatic situation Mexico has been facing in recent years and the people’s deep need for encouragement, hope and renewed strength to combat the prevailing ‘awful sensation of fear, powerlessness and grief.’5 In the light of such realities the Holy Father emphasized the power of God to overcome ‘an impossible, dark situation with no future’ by transforming man ‘from within, from the heart,’6 and pointed out that it is impossible to overcome present challenges by relying on merely political and economic measures. While referring specifically to Mexico the Holy Father could have been talking about Ireland or Iraq or indeed of anywhere in the Middle East, places where people are being tested and society is being threatened. ‘When it is a matter of personal and community life in its deepest dimension, human strategies are not enough to save us. We must also turn to the only One who can give life in its fullness, for he himself is the essence and author of life.’7 Prayer is not optional but essential, indeed during the Year of Faith and beyond it is salutary to recall that ‘Prayer is the lifeblood of Faith.’8 With these words in mind this ‘LOOK IN THE MIRROR’ concludes with some of
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Pope Benedict’s reflections on the Psalms, which he calls the Book of Prayer par excellence. Finally on the 25th October 2012, in the Church of the Nativity in Magadan, in the land of more than one million Christian Martyrs Fr. Michael Shields will commence a Novena of Holy Masses for the deceased relatives and friends of current and past benefactors of Aid to the Church in Need that they may rest in eternal peace. The Novena will conclude on 2nd November 2012, All Souls Day. Later during the Year of Faith (2012 - 2013), Fr. Michael will travel from Magadan to Knock to offer a Novena of Holy Masses for all ACN’s living benefactors and beneficiaries, that all of us may all have ‘a pure heart where Christ can live as Prince of Peace.’ 9 Beannachtai daoibh do leir
J F Declan Quinn 1 Para. 1124 Catechism of the Catholic Church. 2 Lumen Gentium, 11. 3 Benedict XVI, General Audience 12/09/2012. 4 Ibid. 5 Benedict XVI, Homily Leon, Mexico 25/03/2012. 6 Ibid. 7 Ibid. 8 Benedict XVI, General Audience 05/03/2012. 9 Benedict XVI, Leon, Op. Cit.
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Saint Thérése of Lisieux said of prayer:
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“For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy”
Christian prayer has several different forms of expression. • In Adoration we present ourselves with humility before the thrice-holy God and we acknowledge him as the King of Glory and our Creator.
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• In the Prayer of Praise we praise him for his own sake and beyond everything he does for us, simply because HE IS.2013
21 Prayer of Petition prepares us to receive
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the gifts that God wishes to give us in his mercy, namely forgiveness, grace and everything else we need.
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• By Intercession we present the needs of others, including even our enemies, to the Lord. This prayer unites us to Jesus who is ‘living for ever to intercede for all who come to God through him’ (Heb 7:25).
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This ‘surge of the heart’ can be expressed in various different fashions: Vocal prayer is a prayer of the heart or rituals. The Rosary is one such vocal prayer, loved by so many Christians around the world. Because it is external and so thoroughly human, vocal prayer is the form of prayer most readily accessible to groups. Even interior prayer, however, cannot neglect vocal Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Mary: Help of Christians, Consoler of the afflicted, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary…
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Forms of Prayer
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• Thanksgiving fills our entire lives, forL I O it acknowledges everything that we have received from God – the particular gifts he gives us each day, but above all our very existence, our health, and the fatherly love with which he surrounds us.
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“Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ.” - Ephesians 1:3
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Contemplative prayer is “the simple expression of the mystery of prayer. It is a gaze faith fixed on Jesus, an attentiveness to the Word of God, a silent love”.
prayer. Prayer is internalized to the extent that we become aware of him ‘to whom we speak’. Thus vocal prayer becomes an initial form of contemplative prayer. Meditation involves quiet reflection – frequently starting from the Word of God on a truth of the Faith in order to adhere to it with a more fervent love – and with the ultimate aim of conforming our lives and actions to it in practice. Saint Teresa of Avila gives us a definition of Contemplative prayer, describing it as: “nothing else than a close sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us”.
The greatest prayer of all is the Eucharistic Liturgy, the “source and summit of the Christian life” (Lumen Gentium, 11). In it the Catholic faithful listen to the Word of God and, through their priest, unite themselves to the Perfect Sacrifice of Christ, in thanksgiving to the Father and for the salvation of the world. • 1
Source : ‘I Believe - a Little Catholic Catechism’ Aid to the Church in Need, Germany 2008 pp. 177-178
“Say The Rosary every day to obtain peace for the world” Our Lady of Fatima
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lessed iguel ugustin ro (1891-1927) Priest Martyr
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n July 31, 1926, the President of Mexico, Plutarco Elias Calles promulgated, rabidly anti-Catholic, anti-clerical laws of persecution, hoping, in vain, to erase all traces of the Church and her priests/religious from the country. The Mexican Constitution of 1917 had already essentially legalised persecution of the Catholic Church. By late October of the same year, Calles strengthened the venom in these so-called laws by taking away the right 3 of the institutional Church to hold 2any 01sort of worship services and denying 2 the right of the individual to free exercise1of faith. Thus continued one of the most bloody and heinous persecutions of the Catholic Church in modern time. Many hundreds of priests and religious were murdered, along with thousands of lay faithful, for the crime loving Jesus Christ and His Church more than their own lives. One priest, in particular, stands out among the many courageous Mexican martyrs… Jesuit Father Miguel Agustin Pro.
hardness of life first hand, but learned that a ing souls and glimpsing the face of Jesus in the least of his brothers were invaluable revelations of his youth.
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Young Miguel was a typical boy in most ways; a mischievous streak was almost his undoing after one particularly ill-conceived stunt rendered him unconscious. But it was his budding spiritual intensity and awareness of God’s presence in his life that gradually began to dominate Miguel’s spirit. The day his oldest sister entered cloistered religious life was all the catalystP Inecessary to propel “Cocol” (his Miguel was born January 13, 1891 inM Guada- nickname I L L I O N C O and favourite sweet treat) toward lupe, Zacatecas, Mexico; the third of eleven the priesthood. children in a devout Catholic home. His father worked as a mining engineer and Miguel The doors of the Jesuit novitiate opened to spent considerable time as a youth with the a wide-eyed and joy-filled Miguel Pro on 15 miners. The lessons learned in the mines were August, 1911. But his joy would be tempered to serve the future Fr. Miguel well. He saw the by the evil winds of revolution swirling in the
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secular world. The ouster of President Porfirio Diaz in 1911 and the rapid rise to power of evil and God-less men unleashed waves of government sponsored, anti-Catholic terrorism. By 1914, it was no longer safe to be a seminarian in Mexico. Miguel and his fellow novices were sent initially to California in the United States for protection. Subsequently, he studied in Granada, Spain from 1915-1919; taught school in Nicaragua from 1919-1922; finally reaching Belgium to study with equally persecuted French Jesuits until the happy day of his ordination on 31 August, 1925. But the day was bitter-sweet. Miguel later wrote, ‘How can I explain to you the sweet grace of the Holy Spirit that invades my poor miner’s soul with such heavenly joys. I could not keep back tears on the day of my ordination…but when the others were giving their first blessings to parents and family, I returned to my room, laid out pictures of my family on the bed and blessed them from the bottom of my heart.’
Mexico, his superiors initially refused. But as his physical condition deteriorated further, the decision was finally made to send Fr. Pro back to his home under heavy disguise. A trip to Lourdes in the summer of 1926 preceded the journey back to Mexico. After celebrating Holy Mass in the grotto, Fr. Miguel felt his strength and vitality returning; a welcome consolation from Our Lady. Once back in Mexico, he slipped into Mexico City under cover of darkness and proceeded to Veracruz, arriving on July 8, 1926. The unjust ‘Calles Laws’ were in full effect throughout the country. Entire Mexican states were ‘purged’ of all priests and religious. Churches were either closed or used for secular purposes. Death squads roamed freely in search of priests serving the ‘underground’ church.
Now, as Father Miguel, he received as his first assignment a familiar flock. He was sent to work with miners in Charleroi, Belgium. Fr. Pro’s reception from the mostly socialist or communist miners was less than enthusiastic, but his passionate and compassionate spirit eventually won many conversions to the Faith. Poor health was actually Fr. Miguel’s greatest challenge during these early days. European food disagreed with him. Stomach ulcers, causing chronic pain and bleeding, were unrelieved by multiple operations. Fearing he would die in Belgium, Fr. Pro begged his superiors for permission to return to Mexico. Equally fearing the death of Fr. Miguel in A LOOK IN THE +e712ei_print.indd 21
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Undaunted by the persecution around him, Fr. Pro immediately began celebrating Holy Mass and offering the Sacraments clandestinely to small groups of Catholic faithful. His ministry nearly came to an abrupt close after being arrested in October, 1926 for launching 600 balloons containing biblical messages. He was eventually released from custody, but constant surveillance followed. Writing to family, the true disposition of Fr. Miguel’s heart was clear: ‘The revolution is worsening, reprisals will be terrible…The first to be arrested will be those who have had a hand in religious matters; and I…I have had mine up to the elbow! Ah, to be among the first or the last; in any case, to be among their number. If this happens, send your petitions to Heaven. There, I will be your best provider!’ 0 13
A bomb blast assassination attempt against former Mexican President Alvaro Obregon was the pretence for the arrest of Fr. Miguel and his brothers, Humberto and Roberto. The Pro brothers had nothing to do with the bombing. One of the real conspirators testified to their innocence, but to no avail. The government had the man it really wanted.
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President Calles was outraged by the inability of his agents to control the ‘folk hero’ priest, Miguel Pro. The government spared nothing in the effort to silence him. An informant pretending to be a faithful Catholic eventually betrayed Fr. Pro to the authorities. On the day prior to his arrest, witnesses assisting at Holy Mass reported seeing a bright light surrounding Fr. Miguel during the Consecration; a light so bright that one could not look directly at the holy priest.
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superiors for fear of possible capture by the Fr. Pro and his brothers were imprisoned government thugs. He obeyed, but begged in a basement cell of the Detective Inspecdaily to return to his hurting flock. Upon tor’s office in Mexico City. They were never being released from hiding, Fr. Miguel poured actually tried for any crime. President Calles himself out tirelessly into the work of ‘under- directly ordered the execution of Fr. Miguel cover priesthood’. A master of disguise, he and Humberto. Roberto Pro was eventually would ingeniously celebrate the Sacraments freed. President Calles sought to quell the in unpredictable and ever-changing locations, entire Cristero Movement (Catholic rebels often in direct view of the authorities. A beg- fighting against the evil Calles regime) by of Fr. Pro. His execution gar or street sweeper one day, a chauffeur or making an ‘example’ I P be meticulously photographed and businessman the next; no one was ever sure was to O M L L I every how Fr. Pro would turn up to celebrateIHoly O N Cdetail recorded, including any ‘cowardly Mass. His boldness knew no limit; once even words’ uttered as death approached. Top gendressing as a policeman and walking straight erals from the regime visited Fr. Miguel and into the local jail to minister to the prison- Humberto late in the evening on November ers. He created a clever coded language to 22, 1927. Photographs of the prisoners were communicate with his flock that was never taken, but curiously, not a word was spoken by the authorities. deciphered by the government.
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The next morning, Fr. Miguel was taken from his cell and paraded down a street lined with military and government onlookers to the place of execution. He walked silently and confidently down the street, directly up to the killing spot and turned to face his executioners. As the Captain of the Guard approached him with a blindfold and ropes to bind him to the backstop, Fr. Pro motioned him away. He then turned toward the wall behind him, took a rosary in one hand, a crucifix in the other and knelt in prayer for several moments. Standing once more, he directed his gaze directly at his killers, saying in a calm sure voice, ‘May God have mercy on you… You know that I am innocent, Lord…With all my heart, I forgive my enemies.’
next moment. Just as rifle triggers were being pressed, Fr. Miguel stood tall, stretched out his arms in the shape of a cross and boldly, clearly proclaimed, ‘VIVA CRISTO REY!’ (Long live Christ the King!). A hail of poorly aimed bullets from a cadre of nervous, distracted assassins wounded the saintly priest, but he gave up his spirit only after a final, pointblank shot to the head. Every moment of the martyrdom of Fr. Miguel Pro was photographed; exposing the criminal acts of the Calles regime and forever documenting the final moments of a future saint whose Christ-like sacrifice helped to rescue an entire nation from the wickedness and snares of the devil.
The members of the firing squad were visibly moved and somewhat unnerved by the courageous and calm manner of this priest whom President Calles predicted would cry and beg for mercy. But they were totally unprepared for the
Fifty two years later, September 25, 1988, Blessed Pope John Paul II celebrated an open air Mass in Mexico City, technically still an illegal act at the time that included the Beatification of Father Miguel Agustin Pro. •
“Among all the devotions approved by the Church none has been so favoured by so many miracles as the devotion of the Most Holy Rosary” Pope Pius IX
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12 Reasons to Return to Sunday Mass If you want to spend eternity with 1 Christ, you need to get to know him now.
your way to go most direct2 lyIt’sthrough Jesus Christ to God the Father by the power of the Holy Spirit in prayer.
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Wise people invest money for the future. How much more should 201we3 invest in eternal life? 2
1
It’s the central, necessary activity of Christian worship (Luke 22:14-23; John 6:53; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).
Life is complicated. Get directions 8 5 that work — from the One who cre-
Some of the greatest people in history were Mass-goers (St. Francis, Blessed Mother Teresa, Pope John Paul II).
God’s life, the better you’ll be.
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the best way to pray for your fam6 ilyIt’s and friends — and to cope with
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You’ll become a better person at 7 4 Mass. The more you are a part of
If you knew Jesus would be someI where,Pwouldn’t you go see him?
MILLI N C O IS O It’s your best way to identify yourself
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Statistics say that people who go to 11 church are less stressed. was the last time you prayed 12 When too much? • Source: Adapted from http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/prayers/rosary/
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Common Excuses for Not 1 Attending Sunday Mass I had a bad experience with the Church. This is always sad. But many of us also had bad teachers — and we know the whole education system isn’t bad. Jesus wants to bring you healing at Mass. I don’t need to go to Mass to get close to God. At Mass, you receive God himself - Jesus Christ truly present in the sacrament. Even a beautiful mountain vista can’t compare to that.
Aid to the Church in Need’s
‘Faith Card’ and ‘Learn to Pray
The Rosary Card’
I don’t get anything out of Mass. Don’t expect it to be entertainment. Learn about what it does: joins us to Christ, separates us from sin, wipes away venial sins, commits us to the poor and prepares us for heaven. I’m a sinner. I don’t deserve to be at Mass. Welcome to the club! We are a Church of saved sinners. None of us deserves to be here. See you at the confessional… I don’t have the time. There are 24 hours a day, 168 hours a week. Mass takes one hour. That’s less than 1% of your week. You have the time; find it. What’s in it for me? Everything! God desires only and always your good. He became a man in large part to give us himself in the Mass. •
Available free of charge in quantities of 100 for distribution within parishes, Catholic community groups and schools. For more Information contact Vincent by calling 01 837 7516 or email vincent@acnireland.org
Aid to the Church in Need helping the Church heal the world.
1 Source: Adapted from http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/prayers/rosary/
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Why Pray The Rosary
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he Rosary has been called the preparation for contemplation and the prayer of saints. While the hands and lips are occupied with the prayers (it can and should be prayed silently when necessary so as not to disturb others), the mind meditates on the mysteries of the Incarnation and Redemption represented by the decades.
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0 13 2 Meditation is the form of prayer by 12 the mind which the one who prays uses 20
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In God’s own time, when this purification of the heart, mind, and soul has advanced sufficiently the Lord may give the grace of contemplative prayer, that special divine insight into the truth which human effort cannot achieve on its own.
and imagination to consider a truth and uses the Will to love it and form resolutions to live it. In this way the
Why Pray The Rosary... to grow in Holiness.
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1 http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/prayers/rosary/
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heart, mind, and soul of the Christian is formed according to the Gospel examples of the Saviour and His First Disciple, His Mother.
‘The Holy Rosary is not a pious practice banished to the past, like prayers of other times thought of with nostalgia. Instead, The Rosary is experiencing a new Springtime. Without a doubt, this is one of the most eloquent signs of love that the young generation nourish for Jesus and his Mother, Mary.’ Benedict XVI. (Santa Maria Maggiore, 3 May 2008).
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A Brief History of The Holy Rosary
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The Rosary probably began as a practice by the laity to imitate the monastic Divine Office (Breviary or Liturgy of the Hours), during the course of which the monks daily prayed the 150 Psalms. The laity, many of whom could not read, substituted 50, or even 150, Ave Marias (Hail Marys) for the Psalms. Sometimes a cord with knots on it was used to keep an accurate count of the ‘Hail Marys’. The first clear historical reference to The Rosary, however, is from the life of St. Dominic (1170 - 1221), the founder of the Order of Preachers or Dominicans. He preached a form of The Rosary in France at the time when the Albigensian heresy was devastating the Faith there. Tradition has it that the Blessed Mother herself asked for the practice as an antidote.
er. It is sometimes called the Dominican Rosary, to distinguish it from other Rosary-like prayers (e.g. the Franciscan Rosary of the Seven Joys or Franciscan Crown, the Servite Rosary of the Seven Sorrows). It is also, in a general sense, a form of chaplet or corona (crown), of which there are many varieties in the Church. Finally, in English it has been called ‘Our Lady’s Psalter’ or ‘the beads.’ This last derives from an Old English word for prayers (bede) and to request (bidden or bid). • 1 Adapted from http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/prayers/rosary/
One of Dominic’s future disciples, Alain de Roche, began to establish Rosary Confraternities to promote the praying of The Rosary. The form of The Rosary we have today is believed to date from his time. Over the centuries the saints and popes have highly recommended The Rosary, the greatest prayer in the Church after the Mass and Liturgy of the Hours. Not surprisingly, it’s most active promoters have been Dominicans. Rosary means a crown of roses, a spiritual bouquet given to the Blessed MothA LOOK IN THE +e712ei_print.indd 27
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ortuum M M
The Dead Theologians Society ( ) is a Catholic apostolate for high school-age teens and college- age young adults. A special charism of the Dead Theologians Society is to pray for the release of the Souls in Purgatory. The DTS motto is, “Dead to the World – Alive in Christ!” This is inspired by Romans 6:11 where St. Paul tells us to be dead to sin but alive in Christ Jesus.
undo Vivu In Chris
www.deadtheologianssociety.com
ociety
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aint osephine akhita (1869-1947) Religious Sister
Bakhita’s legacy is the transformation that is possible through suffering. Her story of deliverance from physical slavery also symbolizes all those who find meaning and inspiration in her life for their own deliverance from spiritual slavery. In May 1992 news of her beatification was banned in Khartoum which Pope John Paul II then personally visited only nine months later. “Rejoice, all of Africa! Bakhita has come back to you.”
Saint Josephine Bakhita
‘Through the Saints of Yesterday, the ead heologians ocietyf inspires the Youth of Today to become the Saints of Tomorrow.’ Eddie Cotter Jnr. founder of the Dead Theologians Society visits Ireland frequently. For more information contact:Aid to the Church in Need (Ireland) 151 St. Mobhi Road, Dublin 9. Telephone 01 837 7516.
Eddie Cotter Jnr, DTS.
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The Rosary of the Virgin Mary and Blessed Pope John Paul II
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n October 2002, Blessed Pope John Paul II issued an Apostolic Letter entitled ‘The Rosary of the Virgin Mary’. In it five new mysteries (the mysteries of Light) were added to the recitation of The Rosary and he wrote that:
Blessed Pope John Paul II referred to The Rosary as the ‘School of Mary,’ in which she teaches ‘by obtaining for us in abundance the gifts of the Holy Spirit,’ in order to form us into the likeness of her divine Son.
‘To recite The Rosary is nothing other than to contemplate with Mary the face of Christ... The Rosary goes to the very heart of the Christian life; it offers a familiar yet fruitful spiritual and educational opportunity for personal contemplation, the formation of the People of God, and the new evangelization... It represents a most effective means of fostering among the faithful that commitment to the contemplation of the Christian mystery... as a genuine training in holiness.’
He also urged the recitation of The Rosary as a prayer for peace in the world, peace in families, and in individual souls and noted that:
1 http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/prayers/rosary/
‘The revival of The Rosary in Christian families, within the context of a broader pastoral ministry to the family, will be an effective aid to countering the devastating effects of the crisis typical of our age.’ Finally Blessed Pope John Paul II called The Rosary his ‘favourite prayer,’ after the Mass and ‘the Liturgy of the Hours’. •
“How beautiful is the family that recites The Rosary every evening” Pope John Paul II
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How to Pray the Mass by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. How we can pray the Mass more effectively? Let me make these recommendations:
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The Mass is, indeed, a mystery. But mysteries are not only to be believed, they are with God’s grace to be ever more clearly understood. We must come to better understand the Mass. A single
econd, Plan your Mass. It is common knowledge and experience that we plan for things according to the importance we attach to them. Unimportant things we hardly plan for at all. Important things we plan for at length. Planning can mean different things.
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expression like that of St. Leonard of Port Maurice can affect our whole life: ‘Except for the Mass being daily offered on thousand of altars, the world would long ago have been destroyed because of its sins.’ I would summarize this first recommendation by using the imperative verb ‘meditate.’ Meditate on the Mass.
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irst, Understand the Mass. Whatever else the Mass is, it is a vocal prayer in which every word is vocalized and most of them aloud. Even the most reverently offered Mass takes only a short time. There is no time to be giving immediate thought 201to3 every syllable as it comes along. 2 Hence the wisdom of learning to 1understand the Mass, know it better, its mysterious meaning and profound significance through periodic reading, meditation and study beforehand.
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“There is no surer means of calling down God’s blessings upon the family... than the daily recitation of The Rosary” Pope Pius XII
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• It can mean that I read the Scripture lessons beforehand, the orations, know what or whose feast is to be commemorated in the Mass. • It can mean that I have given some thought before Mass to what will be said during Mass, and, I would emphasize, to what I will be thinking about during Mass. • It should always mean that I have a definite intention or intentions for which I will offer my Mass. Since the Mass is of infinite value, do not hesitate to multiply the intentions. I would summarize the second recommendation by saying: Anticipate the Mass. hird, Be attentive during Mass. The degree of participation in the new liturgy is such that most people are almost necessarily kept alert during the offering of Mass. In fact that is one of the reasons for the vernacular and the antiphonal responses between the priest or the ministers at the altar and the congregation, and the out loud saying of what used to be silent or very subdued parts of the Eucharistic rite. But the attention about which I am speaking here is something more. It is attention not only to the verbal forms being heard or said or the actions of the priest being performed, it is what I call internal attention to the mystery of faith that is being enacted before my eyes.
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I would compare attendance at Mass to recitation of The Rosary. In both cases there are vocal prayers and silent reflection and the two should not conflict but harmonize. What I mean is that it would be well for us to mentally place ourselves - and we have many options- at the Last Supper, or the Garden of Gethsemane, or with Christ before Herod, or before Pilate or the Sanhedrin, or on His way to Golgatha, or being nailed, or dying on the cross. Each one of us, according to our own devotion, should united ourselves in spirit with Christ now as He was then in body. Let us remind ourselves that at the time when He offered His Mass, His first Mass, He had us in mind. Should we not repay Him in kind and now have Him in our mind in return? I would summarize this third recommendation as Concentrate. St. Peter Julian Eymard, founder of the Blessed Sacrament Fathers had a vivid sense of real presence when he offered Mass and he urged others to assist at Mass in the same spirit. I would like to share with you something of the easy childlike faith of this great lover of the Eucharist, in one of his many very practical suggestions for spiritual concentration during Mass. He liked to visualize the Mass as Christ on Calvary saying his seven last words. Listen to what St. Peter Julian passed on: ‘Jesus prays for His executioners: “Father; forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Ask Jesus to 27 01/10/2012 17:19
forgive all your sins for you are more guilty than His executioners for having crucified Him. You sinned even though you knew better.
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The good thief says to Jesus: “Lord remember me when you come into your kingdom” and Jesus answers him: “Amen, I say to you, this day you shall be with me in Paradise.” In his gratitude, the good thief united his suffering with the sufferings of Jesus. Repeat his prayer in your own favor 0 13 2the for the present moment and for hour of your death. 12
AITH F F for reparation to the deeply offended majesty of God by suffering yourself and making reparation with Him.
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Jesus gives St. John to Mary for her son: “Woman, behold your son.” John “My God, my God, why have you is thus to take the place of Jesus as her forsaken me?” Adore the holy and son and with him all mankind receives unspeakable desolation of the Savior Mary for a mother. Thank our Lord suffered by Him to expiate your own for giving her to you. Ask this good criminal abandonment of God and His mother to give you her tender love, to holy law. Promise Him that you will guide you in all things to the service never againI forsake Him. of Jesus. “Behold your mother.” With these words, Jesus give His mother OP M C “It is consummated. Father, into your I to be our mother. Thank your lovingL L I O N hands I commend my spirit.” With Savior for the glorious title of child these words, Jesus dies. Adore Him as of Mary with gives you a claim to her in this Holy Communion He delivers mother’s love and to all her goods and Himself into the hands of men, body possessions. and blood, soul and divinity - all that He is. Unite yourself with the priest “I thirst.” Adore Jesus crucified anew and adore Jesus taken down from the on the altar. He prays to His heavenly cross and given into the arms of His Father, willing to suffer still more for the holy mother. As you receive Him in love of mankind and cries out to Him, “I Communion, press Him to your heart thirst.” I thirst for hearts, thirst for Your and never let Him leave you.’ glory. Slake this burning thirst of Jesus for suffering, for the world’s salvation,
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y last recommendation on how to pray the Mass better is to Share it. What do I mean? I mean we should always remember the needs not only of ourselves but of other people while we are at Mass. There is no more effective way of drawing down God’s blessing on a sinful, hungry, needy, wandering and confused world than by praying for others in the Mass and through the Mass. When St. Ignatius founded the Society of Jesus he put at the masthead of his constitutions this statement, ‘The most important single means by which the Society of Jesus will obtain grace from God is through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.’ When I say, ‘sharing the Mass,’ I mean that we should share in spirit - we should join in the Masses that are being offered on so many thousands of altars throughout the Catholic Church. The Mass that we are praying is not only the Mass we are
attending; it is all the Masses that Christ - the physical and mystical Christ is offering. What do I mean by sharing the Mass? I mean we should tell people about the Mass. To teach the Mass is to teach Christ and to teach the real Christ - the Christ who is God, who became man out of love for us and who died to prove His love. We shall be, I do not say inspired, but even reminded to tell others about the Mass and explain its meaning to them only if we ourselves have become imbued with the spirit of the Mass that we have ourselves meditated upon and thoroughly understood. By sharing the Mass, I mean we should encourage people to have Masses offered for their own and other people’s intentions. This is our faith. And not just for the deceased but for the living - the
“No one can live continually in sin and continue to say The Rosary: either they will give up sin or they will give up The Rosary” Bishop Hugh Doyle
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living who are suffering, the living who are in need, the living who are estranged from God. There is an extraordinary special grace for those for whom Masses are offered.
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1 Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty firmament! 2 Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his exceeding greatness!
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We should urge people to assist as Mass in order to grow in the faith. There is no more effective way of living the Catholic Faith than by attending the Holy Sacrifice. At Mass I am not only reflecting on a revealed mystery, but I am participating in what I believe. I become part of the 13 20 most important action that has ever been performed on earth - the action 12 of God dying for man.
Psalm 150
praise him with lute and harp!
4 Praise him with timbrel and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!
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We should, finally help people to profit all that they can from the Masses they 5 Praise him with sounding assist at and from all the thousands of Masses being offered daily throughout cymbals; praise him with loud the world. We will profit from the Mass clashing cymbals! in the exact degree that we practice the virtue that Christ lived and (I don’t know 6 Let everything that breathes how this is going to sound) died. Christ I LORD! Praise the praise Pthe ‘died’ a virtue when He offered Himself Mlive, CO on Calvary in order that we might I L L I O NLORD! and perpetuate this cosmic event in our midst until the end of time. The Mass in which we believe is the Mass we are called upon to live. Living that Mass will mean dying the Mass. It means dying a thousand deaths to self until happily one day we shall die, like Christ, commending our spirit into the hands of the God from whom we came. •
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1 http://www.therealpresence.org/archives/Mass/Mass_007.htm
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The Book of Prayer Par Excellence – The Psalms n a June 2011 Catechesis Pope Benedict XVI described as ‘the book of prayer par excellence, the Book of Psalms’.
accept the criteria of His actions, to approach the mystery of His thoughts and His ways, so as to grow and develop in faith and love’.
‘All human experience’, said the Pope and ‘all the truth of the believer comes together in these (150) prayers, which first the People of Israel and later the Church adopted as a special way to mediate their relationship with the one God, and as an adequate response to His having revealed Himself in history’.
‘In His earthly life the Lord Jesus prayed with the Psalms, and in Him they reach definitive fulfilment and reveal their fullest and deepest meaning. The prayers of the Book of Psalms, with which we speak to God, speak to us of Him, they speak of the Son, image of the invisible God Who fully reveals the Father’s face to us. Thus Christians, by praying the Psalms, pray to the Father in Christ and with Christ, seeing those songs in a new perspective which has its ultimate interpretation in the Paschal Mystery’.
‘The Psalms teach us to pray’, the Holy Father continued. ‘In them, the Word of God becomes the word of prayer... People who pray the Psalms speak to God with the words of God, addressing Him with the words He Himself taught us... Through these words it is also possible to know and
‘By teaching us to pray’, the Pope went on, ‘the Psalms also teach us that at times of desolation, even in moments of suffering, the presence of God is a source of wonder and consolation. We may weep, plead and seek intercession in the awareness that we are advancing towards the light, where praise will be unending’. To access the psalms online go to http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/ biblesearch.asp
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WHERE GOD WEEPS
The Suffering Church in Focus
Mark von Riedemann, Communications Director, ACN International invites you to watch his new series of ‘Where God Weeps’ which is being broadcast on EWTN (Sky 589).
www.wheregodweeps.org www.ewtn.com
Aid to the Church in Need
Need, Love and Thanks – Your Letters Congratulations! Thank you for sending me the ACN 2011 annual report with details of your help for persecuted and threatened Christians. I never cease to be amazed at just how many people can be helped through your campaigns and at how impressive the donations of 82 million Euros are. I congratulate you for helping such a wide range of projects. Your annual report is a powerful testimony to the way you support the poor and are such a symbol of encouragement for them in their lives. A bishop in Austria Thank You! I just wanted to thank you for the book ‘Youcat’ that I received. It is a jewel that I have had an immense joy to read. Our Holy Father has been evidently heavenly inspired to have such pearls put together for young people and for people of all ages (I am 43)! Thank you again for the Mirror which shakes us out of our complacency and selfishness. So much persecution but so many seeds watered by the tears of these martyrs. A benefactress in Australia The Rosary for Persecuted Christians When we sold our house five years ago, we were able to remember ACN as well. We will continue to support you whenever possible. We always remember the persecuted Christians in our daily Rosary. Thank you for your commitment. It must be an honour to be able to continue the work of Father Werenfried van Straaten. A married couple in the Netherlands
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Thank you from Aid to the Church in Need Each year thanks to the • Donations • Legacies and • Mass offerings
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• Provide 12 sustenance and the means of survival for approx. 20,000 priests • Support approx. 18,000 seminarians and religious and • Distribute approx. 1.5 million catechetical books for children in over 170 languages.
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Heartfelt thanks for all your prayers and support provided to Christ’s Suffering and Persecuted Church.
Worldwide over 50 million Children’s Bibles have been distributed in more than 170 languages.
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May the Good Lord continue to bless I you P and your family, past and present, now and MILLI N C O always. O
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The Four Gospels
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J F Declan Quinn Director Aid to the Church in Need (Ireland) Where to send your contribution for the Church in Need: Please use the Freepost envelope. Aid to the Church in Need, 151 St. Mobhi Road, Glasnevin, Dublin 9. Tel. (01) 837 7516. Email: info@acnireland.org Web: www.acnireland.org
(Registered Charity Numbers: (RoI) 9492 (NI) XR96620).
If you give by standing order, or have sent a donation recently, please accept our sincere thanks. This Mirror is for your interest and information.
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Vincent O’Neill ACN & Fr. Jimmy Kelly OSM.
500 copies of
‘The Four Gospels’
have been delivered to Mountjoy Prison.
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for ACN’s deceased friends and benefactors.
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May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen.
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On the 25th October 2012, in the Church of the Nativity in Magadan, in a land of more than one million 20th Century Christian Martyrs, Fr. Michael Shields will commence a Novena of Holy Masses for deceased benefactors and the deceased relatives and friends of current and past benefactors of Aid to the Church in Need. The Novena will conclude on 2nd November 2012 ‘All Souls Day’.
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helping the Church heal the world. 151 St. Mobhi Road, Dublin 9. TEL 01 837 7516 EMAIL info@acnireland.org
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www.acnireland.org www.acnuk.org www.wheregodweeps.org www.godspeakstohischildren.org
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Aid to the Church in Need
FAITH OF- 2013
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Every year through their Mass stipends Aid to the Church in Need benefactors directly support approx 20,000 priests who labour in territories where the Church is being actively persecuted and is impoverished.
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Fr. Michael Shields.
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