Met Another Angel

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/2013/07/on-meeting-angels.html

I moved to a place because I was offered this house while, and because I met an angel.

Being in the state of New Jersey, I attended Mass and was invited to morning prayer with a group of men, (in this church, there was no morning prayer with women). On this particular day, I was mulling over moving to this empty house offered for seveal months, not wanting to go somewhere temporary yet again, and having to most likely move again in the future.

After Morning Prayer, this one young man came up to me and asked me if I would be at future prayer times, and I said no, I was moving to S..... He looked at me intensely and said "I will be there until the end of the month working in the health industry." He seemed to want to speak with me more, but another person came up and began speaking with him. Then, we all left.

No one has seen that man again in that church. No one knows who he is . He has not come back to Morning Prayer.

When he looked at me, I thought I was looking at purity and innocence, rarely seen in younger people.

He was my encouragement to come here.

My stay here is limited, but God has instructed me to continue working on the chapel and getting chapel things. No matter where I am, this chapel will exist, open to any who want to come.

God is in charge and He has a plan. His angels watch over us.

Of course, remember, the name of this chapel is St. Mary of the Angels and Martyrs, in Ephesus.

On Today's Readings part three

Mary is called "highly favored" in some translations by the Archangel Gabriel, the messenger. In the Judaic tradition, Gabriel is not only the messenger of God, but the destroying angel at the Passover in Egypt.

That Gabriel, who caused, in God's will, the last plague, which led directly to the freeing of the Hebrews from slavery, is the angel who tells Mary she will be the Mother of the Messiah, the Son of God, seems to be a happy non-chance.

I do not see in my imagination a soft, cuddling, feminine image of Gabriel. I see strength, a spirit of power and grace. Gabriel bursts into history again, as he did in the Old Testament.

He who paved the way for Moses to lead the people to freedom comes to announce to Mary that she leads us to freedom through her Son, Jesus Christ.

Mary is highly favored, she is blessed. She, alone of all humans, from conception, is full of grace. Gabriel knows this. He would not only be full of love, but awe at the call of this woman. Mary, as the Theotokos, the God-Bearer, now becomes Queen of all angels.

Her call reminds us of the long salvation history of the Old Testament. Gabriel comes to this lowly Hebrew young woman, explains God's will for her life, and waits for her answer. He who destroyed the first born of the Egyptians, brings news of the First Born of all creation, the Incarnate One, the Son of God, prefigured in Moses. Christ is the Savior, the real freedom fighter of all mankind. Gabriel waits.

Fiat voluntas Dei.

Gabriel returns to God and history is never the same. God enters the world through the womb of a young daughter of the Jewish people. All history points to this moment and all history moves away from this moment. Human life would never be the same again. Praise God!

Tomás Luis de Victoria - Ave Maria for Your Meditation Today

Thoughts on The Immaculate Conception

Today, on this Feast of the Immaculate Conception, this psalm comes to my mind, as one of my favorite psalms relating to each one of us Christians. We are all called to forget our father's house, the old ways of the world, and choose Christ and His Church as our home.

However, in a mysterious way, these words can apply to Mary, Our Mother, who, as a Jewess, became the Mother of the Messiah, the King, the Savior of Israel.

Mary also became, and is the Mother of God, and the Mother of all Christians in a special manner. Many Christians forget that Jesus is a Jew, and that Mary is the bridge between the Old Testament worship and the New Testament. The Old Covenant finds fulfillment in Christ through Mary.

But, Mary had to leave Nazareth, her home, and go to Bethlehem, the place of Joseph's ancestor, David, the King who most likely wrote this psalm. Mary was called out of her own people to begin a new people, the Church, through Her Son Jesus Christ. Mary had to leave the house of Joachim and Anna and move into Bethlehem, the House of Bread, the House of the Bread of Life, Christ, Who we now share in the Eucharist. 

Mary's journey from the house of her earthly father to the House of the Bread of Life, is our journey as well, from earthly attachments to detachment, from human families, to the Family which is the Church. Mary, as Mother of the Church, as given to us by Christ on the Cross, is our Mother and Queen of our hearts.

Thus, she is the most beautiful, the pure one, the woman without any sin, clothed in gold, prepared from the moment of her existence as the Immaculate Conception.

She is the Queen Mother, who stands near Christ, who is the first woman re-born in grace, the new Eve. Her Son is the most beautiful of all men, the truly Begotten One of God the Father, from all ages King and God, sent to earth to bring us all in His train, in His court, to the Father.

Mary's Magnificat shows us that she does not forget her father's house, nor her Father's house. But, she moves beyond the Old Covenant by being the Mother of the New Covenant.

All of us who listen to the Word of God, follow Mary, who listened, and was holy from the beginning of her being. We must become as perfect as God has called us to be uniquely. 

Today, we "entreat" her, we pray to her as our intercessor, our Mediatrix, to ask Christ to have pity on us and lead us to perfection. She alone is the most perfect of all creatures. leading all to Christ through her purity and goodness.

We, too, are called to forget the houses of our fathers in the world and follow Mary to Christ, and, therefore, to God the Father.

Today, as we celebrate the Immaculate Conception, let us, like those in this psalm, rejoice that we have been called. This psalm is echoed in the Magnificat, as all generations call her blessed.

Praise God in all things.

Psalm 44 Douay-Rheims 

44 Unto the end, for them that shall be changed, for the sons of Core, for understanding. A canticle for the Beloved.

2 My heart hath uttered a good word I speak my works to the king; My tongue is the pen of a scrivener that writeth swiftly.

3 Thou art beautiful above the sons of men: grace is poured abroad in thy lips; therefore hath God blessed thee for ever.

4 Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O thou most mighty.

5 With thy comeliness and thy beauty set out, proceed prosperously, and reign. Because of truth and meekness and justice: and thy right hand shall conduct thee wonderfully.

6 Thy arrows are sharp: under thee shall people fall, into the hearts of the king's enemies.

7 Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a sceptre of uprightness.

8 Thou hast loved justice, and hated iniquity: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

9 Myrrh and stacte and cassia perfume thy garments, from the ivory houses: out of which

10 The daughters of kings have delighted thee in thy glory. The queen stood on thy right hand, in gilded clothing; surrounded with variety.

11 Hearken, O daughter, and see, and incline thy ear: and forget thy people and thy father's house.

12 And the king shall greatly desire thy beauty; for he is the Lord thy God, and him they shall adore.

13 And the daughters of Tyre with gifts, yea, all the rich among the people, shall entreat thy countenance.

14 All the glory of the king's daughter is within in golden borders,

15 Clothed round about with varieties. After her shall virgins be brought to the king: her neighbours shall be brought to thee.

16 They shall be brought with gladness and rejoicing: they shall be brought into the temple of the king.

17 Instead of thy fathers, sons are born to thee: thou shalt make them princes over all the earth.

18 They shall remember thy name throughout all generations. Therefore shall people praise thee for ever; yea, for ever and ever.

Feast of The Immaculata

Tomorrow, I am going to two special things in order to celebrate the National Holiday here, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

This feast is also the Patronal Feast of the United States. Too bad it is not a National Holiday in America.

I shall post later in the day on those two celebrations. Here are some brief words of mine from last year. Notice the call to perfection and purity of heart in this collect.

From the EF Collect of The Immaculate Conception

O God, who, by the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin, didst make her a worthy habitation for Thy Son, and didst, by His foreseen death, preserve her from all stain of sin; grant, we beseech Thee, that through her intercession we may be cleansed from sin and come with pure hearts to Thee; Through the same our Lord. 

The priest at Mass said that Mary's entire existence, from conception on, was one long YES to God.

Beautiful.

Happy Feast Day to Malta and to America.

From the Catholic Encyclopedia: and I leave the links in place...

The doctrine

In the Constitution Ineffabilis Deus of 8 December, 1854, Pius IX pronounced and defined that the Blessed Virgin Mary "in the first instance of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race, was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin."

"The Blessed Virgin Mary..."

The subject of this immunity from original sin is the person of Mary at the moment of the creation of her soul and its infusion into her body.

"...in the first instance of her conception..."

The term conception does not mean the active or generative conception by her parents. Her body was formed in the womb of the mother, and the father had the usual share in its formation. The question does not concern the immaculateness of the generative activity of her parents. Neither does it concern the passive conception absolutely and simply (conceptio seminis carnis, inchoata), which, according to the order of nature, precedes the infusion of the rational soul. The person is truly conceived when the soul is created and infused into the body. Mary was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin at the first moment of her animation, and sanctifying grace was given to her before sin could have taken effect in her soul.

"...was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin..."

The formal active essence of original sin was not removed from her soul, as it is removed from others bybaptism; it was excluded, it never was in her soul. Simultaneously with the exclusion of sin. The state of original sanctity, innocence, and justice, as opposed to original sin, was conferred upon her, by which gift every stain and fault, all depraved emotions, passions, and debilities, essentially pertaining to original sin, were excluded. But she was not made exempt from the temporal penalties of Adam — from sorrow, bodily infirmities, and death.

"...by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race."

The immunity from original sin was given to Mary by a singular exemption from a universal law through the same merits of Christ, by which other men are cleansed from sin by baptism. Mary needed the redeeming Saviour to obtain this exemption, and to be delivered from the universal necessity and debt (debitum) of being subject to original sin. The person of Mary, in consequence of her origin from Adam, should have been subject to sin, but, being the new Eve who was to be the mother of the new Adam, she was, by the eternal counsel of God and by the merits of Christ, withdrawn from the general law of original sin. Her redemption was the very masterpiece of Christ's redeeming wisdom. He is a greater redeemer who pays the debt that it may not be incurred than he who pays after it has fallen on the debtor.
Such is the meaning of the term "Immaculate Conception."

St. Mary of The Angels, Bayswater

One of my favorite churches in London, and one of my favorite pastors in England....

Once home of the Oblates of St. Charles, connected to Henry Cardinal Manning. More about this later.

Sadly, I am having severe Internet problems at this time.

St. Mary of The Angels, Pray for Us

Honoring Our Lady of The Angels Today

St. Pio X Giuseppe Sarto (1903 – 1914) with an apostolic letter dated 9 November 1906 “Susceptum Deo inspirante” awarded to Santa Maria Degli Angeli parish status as well as the income from S Giovanni dei Fiorentini. And that is how Santa Maria became a parish Church and this is commemorated by a marble stone which can be found in the present chapel of S. Teresa together with a bronze bust by Michelangelo and another by the Sicilian Don Antonio Lo Duca, proponent of the angels. There is a marble decoration of Lo Duca above which there is the following inscription: “In the year of 1971, marking the 75th anniversary of Santa Maria as a parish Church by will of S Pio X in 1906, the faithful of Santa Maria Degli Angeli, the Sicilians resident in Rome and the citizens of Cefalù, wanted to dedicate this marble stone to the Sicilian Antonio Lo Duca here buried, who with the help of S Filippo Neri and S Carlo Borromeo, persuaded Pio IV in 1561 to commission Michelangelo to transform the Diocletian baths built with the sweat and blood of slaves and Christian martyrs into the Church dedicated to S Maria Regina of the Angels and of the Martyrs.”

http://www.santamariadegliangeliroma.it/paginamastersing.html?codice_url=parrocchia&ramo_home=Parrocchia&lingua=INGLESE

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Roma-santa_maria_degli_angeli.jpg

On The Way to St. James Compostela-Our Lady of The Angels in Lurs

Notre Dame de Anges from The Catholic Encyclopedia Online.

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01490a.htm

(OUR LADY OF THE ANGELS)
A miraculous shrine near Lur, France, containing a crypt (SainteChapelle) which tradition dates back to an early period. Archeological finds, inscriptions, and the records left by antiquaries give evidence that this was once the site of a Roman colony and a station termed in ancient itineraries, Alaunium (founded 150 B.C.). Situated as it was on a Roman road connecting cities which are believed to have been evangelized at an early period, Alaunium probably received the Faith at the same time. There is an ancient tradition to the effect that one of the immediate disciples of Christ erected an oratory here in honour of the Mother of God, and that it took the name Alaunium, later contracted into Aulun. Though several chapels were built on this site and destroyed, an ancient tablet survived all calamities. On the occasion of a cure wrought before this tablet (2 August, 1665) a choir of angels, it is said, was heard singing; on the repetition of the marvel the following year the name of the shrine was changed to Our Lady of Angels, and it was placed in charge of the Recollect Fathers of St Francis. In 1752 Bishop Lafiteau of Sisteron instituted the feast of the Relatives of Mary, making this sanctuary a centre of the devotion. In 1791 the religious were expelled, and the church despoiled. On the reopening of the churches the pilgrimages recommenced, and still continue. The most important of them takes place on 2 August.

Sources

LEROY, Histoire des pelerinages de la Sainte Vierge en France (Paris, 1873), III, 423 sqq.; Acta SS., 2 August.

Thoughts on The Shrine of Our Lady of The Angels in Engelberg

By William Wordsworth

MEMORIALS OF A TOUR ON THE CONTINENT, 1820

Switzerland: Engelberg

Engelberg, the Hill of Angels

William Wordsworth (1770–1850)

FOR gentlest uses, ofttimes Nature takes The work of Fancy from her willing hands; And such a beautiful creation makes As renders needless spells and magic wands, And for the boldest tale belief commands.         5 When first mine eyes beheld that famous hill The sacred Engelberg, celestial bands, With intermingling motions soft and still, Hung round its top, on wings that changed their hues at will.   Clouds do not name those visitants; they were         10 The very angels whose authentic lays, Sung from that heavenly ground in middle air, Made known the spot where piety should raise A holy structure to the Almighty’s praise. Resplendent apparition! if in vain         15 My ears did listen, ’t was enough to gaze, And watch the slow departure of the train, Whose skirts the glowing mountain thirsted to detain!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engelberg_Abbey

From here came the monks to Conception, MO, btw.

Please join me in prayer today to Our Lady of the Angels

Wilton Diptych 1395

Prayer to Our Lady of the Angels

You are fair, O Mary,
And the stain of original sin is not in you.
You are the glory of Jerusalem;
You are the joy of Israel;
You are the honor of our people;
You are the advocate of sinners, O Mary

Our Lady of the Angels,
Virgin most prudent,
Mother Most loving,
Pray for us,
Intercede for us with Jesus Christ our Lord.
(mention your request)

AMEN.

Special Day to Our Lady of The Angels

Please join me in prayer today for all our intentions.

Prayer for Faith, Grace and the Intercession
of Our Lady of the Angels

Heavenly Father, you filled the heart
of St. Francis with a special love
for the Mother of Your Son, Jesus,
and for the Portiuncula.

In this hallowed place you nourished
his spiritual life and inspired him
to found the Franciscan Order.

Through the intercession of Our Lady
of the Angels may we be steadfast
in our faith and remain true to You.

Grant us the faith and grace always to do Your will.
Grant this through Your Son, Jesus Christ.

St. Mary, Queen of The Angels, Pray for Us

I had this picture on a card and left it two years ago at St. Mary of the Angels in Westbourne Grove. I want to share this from St  Bonaventure. From http://www.franciscanfriarstor.com/archive/stfrancis/stf_portuncula_lady_of_the_angels.htm

(The following is an excerpt from:
the Major Life of St. Francis by St. Bonaventure.)

" The Portiuncula was an old church dedicated to the Virgin Mother of God which was abandoned . Francis had great devotion to the Queen of the world and when he saw that the church was deserted, he began to live there constantly in order to repair it. He heard that the Angels often visited it, so that it was called Saint Mary of the Angels, and he decided to stay there permanently out of reverence for the angels and love for the Mother of Christ.

He loved this spot more than any other in the world. It was here he began his religious life in a very small way; it is here he came to a happy end. When he was dying, he commended this spot above all others to the friars, because it was most dear to the Blessed Virgin.

This was the place where Saint Francis founded his Order by divine inspiration and it was divine providence which led him to repair three churches before he founded the Order and began to preach the Gospel.

This meant that he progressed from material things to more spiritual achievements, from lesser to greater, in due order, and it gave a prophetic indication of what he would accomplish later.

As he was living there by the church of Our Lady, Francis prayed to her who had conceived the Word, full of grace and truth, begging her insistently and with tears to become his advocate. Then he was granted the true spirit of the Gospel by the intercession of the Mother of mercy and he brought it to fruition.

He embraced the Mother of Our Lord Jesus with indescribable love because, as he said, it was she who made the Lord of majesty our brother, and through her we found mercy. After Christ, he put all his trust in her and took her as his patroness for himself and his friars."

Prayer for Protection

Our Lady, Queen of Angels

August Queen of Heaven! 
Sovereign Mistress of the angels! 
Thou who from the beginning 
hast received from God 
the power and mission to crush the head of Satan, 
we humbly beseech thee 
to send thy holy Legions, 
that, under thy command 
and by thy power, 
they may pursue the evil spirits, 
encounter them on every side, 
resist their bold attacks 
and drive them hence into the abyss of eternal woe.

Amen


Another version...

August Queen of Heaven, 
sovereign Queen of Angels, 
you who at the beginning 
received from God 
the power and the mission to crush the head of Satan, 
we beseech you humbly, 
send your holy legions so that, 
on your orders and by your power, 
they will track down demons, 
fight them everywhere, 
curb their audacity and plunge them into the abyss.

Who can be compared to God? 
Oh good and tender Mother, 
you will always be our love and our hope.

Oh divine Mother, 
send the Holy Angels and Archangels to defend me
and to keep the cruel enemy far from me.

Holy Angels and Archangels defend us, 
protect us. 

Amen