M. I. Prayer Intentions for 2011

DAILY CONSECRATION

Immaculate Virgin Mary, my Mother, I consecrate myself to you this day, and forever, so that you may dispose of me as you wish for the salvation of souls. I ask you only, my Queen and Mother of the Church, that I may co-operate faithfully with your mission in the coming of the Kingdom of God on earth. I offer to you, Immaculate Heart of Mary, all my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day:

[here insert monthly intentions]

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you, and for all who do not have recourse to you, especially for the enemies of Holy Church and those recommended to you.


JANUARY:
That we may help our fellow Christians to come into the fullness of Christ’s Church.

FEBRUARY:
That we may help the suffering, and bring them the consolation of Christ.

MARCH:
That we may unite our hearts with our crucified Lord and do penance for those who do not believe in Him.

APRIL:
That the Resurrection of your Son will remind us to trust in His Divine Mercy.

MAY:
That your Motherly presence will guide our youth to answer Christ’s call to the priesthood and religious life

JUNE:
That through our confirmation we may open ourselves to the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

JULY:
That like St. Maximilian Kolbe we may have a deep love for Jesus in the Holy Eucharist and advance the Eucharistic Kingdom of love.

AUGUST:
That we may imitate St. Maximilian Kolbe in giving ourselves for others, especially the vulnerable and forgotten.

SEPTEMBER:
That united with you, Mother of Sorrows, we may defend the unborn, the elderly and the sanctity of marriage.

OCTOBER:
That our Pontiff and bishops be guided by your Immaculate Heart in leading the People of God.

NOVEMBER:
That the faithful departed come to rejoice with St. Maximilian and all the saints in Heaven.

DECEMBER:
That the coming of Christ may open our hearts to His saving truth.

Christmas Message from Br Louis.

Dear MIs,

May the Infant Jesus bless you and your dear ones this Christmas. For many it has been a diffcult year, let Christmas renew our hope!

As we come to adore the Christ Child in the crib, let us ask our Immaculate Mother to prepare our hearts to receive the graces, which our Saviour offers to each of us, especially in the Holy Eucharist.Our Heavenly Father has sent his Son for each of us. For God so loved the world......

Let us remember , the Crib leads us to the Cross, the Cross to the Resurrection. Thus we come to the Altar of God,where the Sacred mysteries of our Salvation are made present. Let us renew our devotion the Holy Mass and not be deceived into treating the Sacred Mysteries with such casual regard as by so many. Let us pray for our priests that they may be worthy stewards of the Sacred Mysteries. Out of love for us , Our Lord offered himself totally for us in all humility and poverty, in the crib, on the Cross and continues this offering upon the Altar. In total humility, He the Divine Mercy comes to us, fully present, as the Holy Eucharist under the appearances of bread and wine. As our Emmanuel, Christ remains in the Blessed Sacrament, to be with us. Oh come let us adore Him! Let us be united with Him, so we can love our neigbour and be ready instruments of the Immaculata, to advance the Kingdom of the Most Sacred Heart.

The greatest gift we can offer to the Divine Infant is the gift of ourselves. This Christmas in union with the Immaculata may we surrender ourselves totally to Jesus. Lord thy will be done!

United with Our Lady may we pray to the Most High, " Be it done unto me according to thy Will!" Before the Crib this Christmas, may we be strengthened to go and share the good tidings of Christ, like the shepherds of Bethlehem. Our Mother of God and St Joseph may we receive the Word made flesh,with your purity and trust, God incarnate, so tender and mild!

May we be united in prayer this Christmas.

Br Louis Mary

St. Maximilian Speaks - On the Immaculate Conception

The Immaculata’s Place in God’s plan of Creation and Salvation

The Immaculata appears in this world, without the least stain of sin, the masterpiece of God’s hand, full of grace. God, the most Holy Trinity, beholds the lowliness (i.e. the humility, the root of all Her other virtues) of His handmaid, and ‘does great things’ for Her (cf. Lk 1:49). God the Father gives Her His own Son to be Her Son; God the Son descends into Her womb; and God the Holy Spirit forms the body of Christ in the womb of this most pure virgin. ‘And the Word was made flesh’ (Jn 1:14). The Immaculata becomes the Mother of God. The fruit of the love of God in His Trinitarian life and of Mary, the Immaculate, is Christ, the God-Man. Henceforth all the sons of God must be modelled after this first Son of God, the God-Man, the infinite One. They must reproduce His traits; by imitating Christ souls reach sanctity.

This is the union brought about by the spousal love of the soul for Christ, through its resemblance to Him, and by God’s action. But if anyone does not wish to have Mary Immaculate for his mother, he will not have Christ for his Brother.

Since the first born Son, the God-Man, was conceived only with specific consent of the most Blessed Virgin, the same must hold true for all men, who must be conformed to their first model in all things.

(From Sketches for a Book, 1940)

Novena to the Immaculate Conception

The Conventual Franciscan Friars and the Crusade of Mary Immaculate (M.I.) invite you to join us in praying this Solemn Novena in honour of the Immaculate Conception from November 29 to December 7. Entrust your petitions and special intentions to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Immaculate Mother of God.

Opening prayer to the Immaculata

V. How fair You are, O Mary!
R. How fair You are, O Mary!

V. The original stain is not in You.
R. The original stain is not in You.

V. You are the boast of Jerusalem.
R. You are the joy of Israel.

V. You are the pride of our people.
R. You are the advocate of sinners.

V. O Mary!
R. O Mary!

V. You are the wisest of virgins.
R. You are the kindest of mothers.

V. Pray for us.
R. Intercede for us with our Lord Jesus Christ.

V. Holy Virgin, You were spotless from the very moment of Your conception.
R. Because You bore His Son, pray to the Father for us.

Let us pray:

Through the spotless conception of the Virgin, O God, You made ready a dwelling place worthy of Your Son. In anticipation of Your Son’s death You preserved Her from every stain. Please purify us by Her intercession, so that we might find our way to You. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.


Novena Prayer to the Immaculata

I greet You, ever-blessed Virgin, Mother of God, throne of grace, miracle of almighty power! I greet You, sanctuary of the most Holy Trinity and Queen of the universe, Mother of mercy and refuge of sinners! Most loving Mother, attracted by Your beauty and sweetness, and by Your tender compassion, I confidently turn to You, and beg of You to obtain for me of Your dear Son the favour I request of this novena:

[Here to mention your request]

Obtain for me also, Queen of Heaven, the most lively contrition for my many sins and the grace to imitate closely those virtues which You practiced so faithfully, especially humility, purity, and obedience. Above all, I beg You to be my mother and protectress, to receive me into the number of Your devoted children, and to guide me from Your high throne of glory. Do not reject my petitions, Mother of mercy! Have pity on me, and do not abandon me during life or at the moment of my death.

Daughter of the Eternal Father, Mother of the Eternal Son, Spouse of the Holy Spirit, temple of the adorable Trinity, pray for me. Immaculate and tender heart of Mary, refuge of sinners, filled with the most lively respect, love, and gratitude, I devote myself forever to Your service, and I offer You my heart with all that I am and all that belongs to me. Accept this offering, sweet Queen of heaven and earth, and obtain for me of Your dear Son, Jesus Christ, the favours I ask through Your intercession in this novena. Obtain for me also a tender, generous, constant love of God, perfect submission to His adorable will, the true spirit of a Christian, and the grace of final perseverance.

Amen.

St. Francis Anthony Fasani OFM Conv.

Feast Day - November 27

St. Francis Anthony Fasani was born in Lucera (south-east Italy) in 1681. He entered the Order of Friars Minor Conventual in 1695, taking the names of Saints Francis and Anthony, thus expressing his fervent desire to follow their example by consecrating himself to an evangelical and apostolic life. After his ordination, he taught philosophy to younger friars, served as guardian of his friary and later became provincial, exercising his office with charity and wisdom. He received a graduate degree in theology and from that time on Fr. Fasani was known to all as ‘Padre Maestro’ (‘Father Master’), a title which is still attributed to him today in Lucera.

The spiritual life of Fr. Fasani was characterized by those virtues that made him like his Seraphic Father St. Francis. In fact, it was said in Lucera: “Whoever wants to see how St. Francis looked while he was alive should come to see Padre Maestro.” In imitation of St. Francis, his whole religious life was a participation in the mysteries of Christ through the faithful practice of the evangelical counsels, which he considered to be a radical expression of perfect charity. In his constant prayers, inflamed with seraphic love, he called out to God, saying to Him: “O Highest Love, Immense Love, Eternal Love, Infinite Love.”

His fervent devotion to the Immaculate Mother of the Lord was nourished by his intense dedication to knowing ever better “who Mary is” and making her known to others, while at the same time knowing and making known the maternal role entrusted to her in the history of salvation with faith and love.

In his various ministries, he was loving, devout and penitential. He was a sought-after confessor and preacher. One witness at the canonical hearings regarding his holiness testified: “In his preaching he spoke in a familiar way, filled as he was with the love of God and neighbour; fired by the Spirit, he made use of the words and deeds of Holy Scripture, stirring his listeners and moving them to do penance.” Francis Anthony showed himself a loyal friend of the poor, never hesitating to seek from benefactors what was needed.

At his death in Lucera in 1742, children ran through the streets and cried out, “The saint is dead! The saint is dead!” But it was not until 1986 that he was canonized by Pope John Paul II. During his homily at the Mass of Canonization, John Paul observed that in the final analysis human holiness is decided by love. “He [Francis Anthony] made the love taught us by Christ the fundamental characteristic of his existence, the basic criterion of his thought and activity, the supreme summit of his aspirations.”

St. Francis Anthony Fasani, pray for us!

Let us remember to pray for the Christians of Iraq.

Let us not forget our Christian brothers and sisters in Iraq, who are experiencing persecution for the name of Christ. Let us entrust them to Our Lady of Sorrows. May the Immaculata triumph over all the enemies of Christ. May they come into the saving Light of Christ!

A Moment With Brother - On Purgatory

From time to time, readers of our humble publication, The Little Troubadour, write in for advice of the friars. Their questions or troubles often concern things that affect us all. Over the past year I have dedicated some space in our magazine to answer these questions. I thought it might be helpful to share them here as well.

Alex from Queensland wrote asking: “Brother, where do we find Purgatory in the Bible?”

Dear Alex,

Your question is a common question, an interesting question, but a question which nonetheless betrays a Protestant approach to Scripture. We need to remember that the Sacred Scriptures come to us through, with and in the Church. The Bible is the treasure of the Church, and separated from the Church’s understanding of Word of God (which is protected by the Holy Spirit), one can easily be led into error. The countless number of Protestant denominations which differ in scriptural interpretation attests to that reality. That’s not to say they are not sincere, good-living, Christian people; but when it comes to their beliefs, they unfortunately have lost the fullness of the Faith that has been passed on to us by the Apostles through the Church.

The word Purgatory is not found in the Bible, but the ancient belief in Purgatory is deeply grounded in what Scripture explicitly teaches about divine judgement, on the need for holiness to enter into the presence of God, and on the reality of the temporal punishment for sins which have been forgiven through Christ’s redemption. What we believe has been revealed to us by God through the Bible and in the Sacred Tradition. Sacred Tradition is not what the Church invents, but what has been passed on from the Apostles by the authority of Christ, through the Church, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit.

The Jews before Christ had already a limited understanding of the need for purification after death. This is revealed in the Old Testament in the Book of Maccabees – a book absent from the Protestant canon of Scripture. In 2 Macc 2:41-45 we read how prayers were offered in atonement for the dead. To this day Orthodox Jews pray the ‘Mourner’s Kaddish’ for their dead.

The Separated Orthodox and Coptic Churches also offer prayers for the dead and believe in the purification of the soul after death, even though they reject the Catholic name of Purgatory. The reality of purification from the consequences of sin after death is alluded to in the New Testament in passages such 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 and Matthew 5:25-26, 12:31-32. St. Paul in his letter to the Corinthians teaches that imperfections and the consequences of misdeeds will be purged through fire which is a symbol of purification. The verses from Matthew’s gospel concern Our Lord speaking of how certain sins must be atoned for in the afterlife.

Finally, the Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of Heaven” (n. 1030). As I teach the children during Catechism lessons, if you were invited to dinner with someone famous, you would certainly want to be your best for the occasion. So you shower and make yourself presentable. Purgatory is our bath before we enter the eternal banquet of our Lord and God. Yes, Jesus saved us on the Cross, but the application of His mercy is also the experience of purification, of Purgatory, after death.

Alex pray, especially at Holy Mass, for your beloved dead and those who have no one to pray for them. It is a work of mercy and an act of love we can offer for our departed brothers and sisters.

God love you,

Br. Louis Mary