England, the Pope, and Marriage - Zenit Interview With Westminster Diocese Pastoral Affairs Director

LONDON, AUG. 23, 2010 (Zenit.org).- England, the destination of Benedict XVI's Sept. 16-19 trip, is the geopolitical epicenter of the culture of death, says Edmund Adamus, but it is also the "Dowry of Mary."

Adamus, director of Pastoral Affairs for the Diocese of Westminster, explained to ZENIT how England's unique Christian heritage and its present vanguard anti-Catholic culture make it a highly significant place for the Pope's upcoming visit. .....

In this interview with ZENIT, Adamus spoke about the state of the Church and marriages in the United Kingdom, the hopes of local Catholics for the Papal visit, and the role of England in evangelizing the greater global culture. ......

ZENIT: Could you say something about what you are hoping for as a result of the Papal visit?

Adamus: I personally hope for a fresh sense of purpose and clarity about what we as Catholics understand in terms of mission, for the authentic dignity of the person.

I hope that this real, very real and personal love of Christ for each member of British society is somehow manifested in a better understanding in the wider public's perception of who the Church is (as the Mystical Body of Christ) rather than what it is politically (as a hierarchical institution).

The late Archbishop Fulton Sheen used to say that there are not more than 200 people in the whole nation who really hate the Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they think the Catholic Church teaches.

I pray that Pope Benedict's visit will do something miraculously significant to address this level of false perception.

ZENIT: What role do you see England playing in the more global scene of evangelizing the culture?

Adamus: The media focus on the Pope, his message and the Catholic Church becomes frenetic for the people of a nation where he visits. Great Britain is no different, but there is a certain frisson about the nature of the attention the visit will generate in the media here and in the public consciousness.

Why? Because whether we like it or not as British citizens and residents of this country -- and whether we are even prepared as Catholics to accept this reality and all it implies -- the fact is that historically, and continuing right now, Britain, and in particular London, has been and is the geopolitical epicenter of the culture of death.

Our laws and lawmakers for over 50 years or more have been the most permissively anti-life and progressively anti-family and marriage, in essence one of the most anti-Catholic landscapes culturally speaking than even those places where Catholics suffer open persecution.

England itself nevertheless has a unique Christian heritage: St. Augustine, the apostle to the English appointed by Pope Gregory, defied the temptation to despair of ever converting the pagan Britons by reminding the degenerate race of the beauty, truth and dignity of marriage.

St. Bede's chronicle of English Christianity recounts this strategy, and, as he put it, "England recovered."
England is also the "Dowry of Mary," an ancient title going back to the 14th century and even further in the spiritual language of the people.

This title signified the fact that from the earliest times English Catholic Christians revered the person of the Mother of Christ with such a singular and wholehearted devotion that the very nation itself was attributed with having a supernatural role (metaphorically-speaking) in the "marriage" between the Holy Spirit and his spouse -- the Virgin of Nazareth.

That is to say, English Christianity, in the plan of God, has a unique role to play in being a secure foundation (like a dowry in a marriage) to the work of redemption and salvation history globally.

England was the first Christian nation to bestow upon the Church the formal solemnizing of marriages, which found expression in the Sarum Rite of Marriage.

Here in this ancient rite the words "and with my body I thee worship" (still used by our Anglican brethren) became, if you like, in medieval times onwards the primordial theology of the body.

For if spouses are called by God to honor one another bodily, then it is certain that our utmost respect for the presence of the divine in the physicality of all of us is beyond question, since all of us by virtue of baptism are as men married to the Church and as women wedded to Christ the Bridegroom.

Above the main door of Westminster Catholic Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood, there is a mosaic dedicated to the triumphant reigning Christ. He is flanked by his mother and foster father, Mary and Joseph, who in turn are next to St. Peter and St. Edward the Confessor.

Peter and Edward kneel before this scene. Both of them in their symbolic roles: one as visible head of the Church, the other as king, who personifies the realm of England. They kneel before the triptych of the Holy Family.

I pray that the Papal visit will inspire all here, both Church and state, to interiorly kneel before that inestimable icon of the Trinity: marriage and the family...

The full version of this article, by Genevieve Pollock, may be found at:
http://www.zenit.org/article-30134?l=english

Handbook for Papal Visit: Liturgies and Events of the Papal Visit to be distributed to Parishes

A million copies of the ‘Magnificat – Liturgies and Events of the Papal Visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the United Kingdom’ are being distributed to parishes. They will contain the texts for the times the Holy Father will participate in public prayer, and a series of brief articles about the Visit.

This will be very useful for those people who are going either to Bellahouston, to Hyde Park, or to Cofton Park, as well as those who will be following the Pope from home, or at gatherings in their own parish.

The publication has been produced by the Bishops’ Conferences of England and Wales and Scotland in co-operation with Gabriel Communications, the Catholic Truth Society and Magnificat. It also includes texts for the Liturgy of the Church (Morning and Evening Prayer, and the Mass) for some days before and after the Papal Visit.

For further information go to:
http://www.thepapalvisit.org.uk/News-and-Media/Latest-News/One-Million-Pocket-Papal-Liturgies-for-Parishes

Pontifical High Mass at Downside - Part 2

St Oliver Plunkett

Those attending the Pontifical High Mass also had the privilege of visiting the Shrine to Saint Oliver Plunkett within the Abbey.

Saint Oliver Plunkett (1 November 1625 - 1 July 1681) was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland. He maintained his duties in Ireland in the face of English persecution and was eventually arrested and tried for treason in London. He was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn on 1 July 1681, and became the last Roman Catholic martyr to die in England. Oliver Plunkett was beatified in 1920 and canonised in 1975, the first new Irish saint for almost seven hundred years.

There is an interesting connection between this Irish Bishop Martyr and Downside Abbey:

"St. Oliver and the Benedictine Order

The Benedictine order holds a special place of honour in the story of St. Oliver Plunkett. While in Newgate prison in London, St. Oliver befriended an English Benedictine monk, Fr. Maurus Corker, who proved very helpful to him, becoming in effect his 'anam chara' or faith friend. Fr. Corker provided St. Oliver with Mass requisites and he also heard St. Oliver's confession before his death. Undoubtedly, the martyr's most revealing letters about himself were the ones he penned at this time from his prison cell. Amongst these were letters and notes to Fr. Corker, each of which display a deep spirituality. These are all well preserved and among the cherished possessions of the Benedictine Community at Downside Abbey. It is often said that Fr. Corker possibly enrolled St. Oliver as a Confrater of the Benedictine order. Indeed another Benedictine priest imprisoned with St. Oliver at this time, Fr. Cuthbert Wall, alias Mr Marshall, lent St. Oliver a 'shift' to wear on his way to Tyburn. This garb may well have been a form of habit or scapular to represent the Benedictine order. In any event, St. Oliver saw himself as coming under the obedience of Fr. Corker, who was President of the English Benedictines at the time. St. Oliver left all decisions in his hands, i.e. how the barber would attend to him, whether or not to have a fortifying drink on the day of execution, the drafting of his final speech and finally he left his clothes, possessions and his body to be at Fr. Corker's 'will and pleasure'.... "

Excerpt from Downside Abbey's website. Read more at: http://www.saintoliverplunkett.com/downsideabbey.html

Pontifical High Mass at Downside - Part 1

On Thursday 12 August Bishop Athanasius Schneider ORC Auxiliary Bishop of Karaganga, Kazakhstan, celebrated a Pontifical High Mass at Downside Abbey, one of England’s most prestigious monasteries.

The Mass took place during a residential training week, organised by the Latin Mass Society, for priests wishing to learn the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. There were Traditional liturgies in Downside’s beautiful chapel together with a Gregorian Chant schola and polyphonic choir.

Expert tuition in the celebration of Mass in the Usus Antiquior was provided, along with tuition in Low Mass, Missa Cantata and Missa Solemnis. There were opening and closing High Masses, daily Mass, Offices and Rosary. The public were able to attend Mass in the Abbey Church each day.

Above photos taken from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/josephshaw/4888975022/in/set-72157624592919611

Let us constantly make acts of Reparation for outrages and offenses against the Most Holy Eucharist

O sweet Jesus, whose overflowing charity for men is requited by so much forgetfulness, negligence and contempt, behold us prostrate before Thy altar eager to repair by a special act of homage the cruel indifference and injuries, to which Thy loving Heart is everywhere subject.

Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, I adore Thee profoundly! I offer Thee the most Precious Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the Tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges, and indifference by which He is offended. And through the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of Thee the conversion of poor sinners.

My God, I believe, I adore, I hope, and I love Thee! I ask pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope, and do not love Thee. (3 times)

Sacred Host, offered for the salvation of sinners, have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, annihilated on the altar for us, have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, despised by lukewarm Christians, have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, mark of contradiction, have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, insulted by blasphemers, have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, forgotten and abandoned in Thy churches, have mercy on us.

For the outrageous contempt of this most wonderful Sacrament, we offer Thee our reparation.
For Thine extreme humiliation in Thine admirable Sacrament, we offer Thee our reparation.
For all unworthy Communions, we offer Thee our reparation.
For the irreverences of Christians, we offer Thee our reparation.
For the profanation of Thy sanctuaries, we offer Thee our reparation.
For the holy ciboriums dishonored and carried away by force, we offer Thee our reparation.
For the continual blasphemies of impious men, we offer Thee our reparation.
For the unworthy conversations carried on in Thy holy temples, we offer Thee our reparation.

That it may please Thee to increase in all Christians the reverence due to this adorable Mystery, we beseech Thee, hear us.
That it may please Thee that the insults of those who outrage Thee may rather be directed against ourselves, we beseech Thee, hear us.
That it may please Thee to grant us the grace to atone for their hatred by our burning love for Thee, we beseech Thee, hear us.
That it may please Thee graciously to receive this our humble reparation, we beseech Thee, hear us.
That it may please Thee to make our adoration acceptable to Thee, we beseech Thee, hear us.

Pure Host, hear our prayer.
Holy Host, hear our prayer.
Immaculate Host, hear our prayer.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.

The Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary

Tomorrow we celebrate the glorious Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary,one of the most joyful of our liturgical Solemnities. On that day, the Church on earth and in Heaven join in the great celebration when the Trinity welcomes and crowns the Mother of God. This is the day of Mary's birth in Heaven, a day on which the Holy Church celebrates the triumph of Our Blessed Mother's soul and her body.

The Christian belief in Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary began in the early years of Christianity, particularly in the fifth and sixth centuries, but was formally defined only on November 1, 1950, by Pope Pius XII through the Apostolic Constitution “Munificentissimus Deus.” In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the feast was known as the Feast of the Dormition, a word which means “the falling asleep.” The Apostolic Constitution asserts that “the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.”

This Sunday’s celebration gives us a preview of our share in the glory of Christ. We believe that Mary was assumed into heaven body and soul as God’s reward for her steadfastness and faithfulness to His will. Through her close association with the mysteries of Christ’s earthly life, Mary was able to carry out her share in God’s work. We, too, Christians of today, are called to do likewise. Like Mary, we are being invited by God to fulfill our share in His loving plan of salvation through our small acts of goodness and love.

The Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary gives us hope that one day, we shall be reunited with God in glory with the company of Mary and the saints in heaven. Vatican II speaks of this in the following words: “In the bodily and spiritual glory which she possesses in heaven, the Mother of Jesus continues in this present world as the image and first flowering of the Church as she is to be perfected in the world to come. Likewise, Mary shines forth on earth, until the day of the Lord shall come (cf. 2 Peter 3:10), as a sign of certain hope and comfort for the pilgrim People of God” (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, 68).

Companions of of the Heralds of the Gospel: dedicated to - the Eucharist, the Blessed Virgin and the Roman Pontiff.

On August 14 2009, the eve of the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady, new Companions (also called Cooperators) of the Heralds of the Gospel, received their tunics in a a very beautiful ceremony of consecration to Jesus through Mary's hands. The language of the video is Spanish, but the ceremony is the same in every country.

There are a number of Companions (Cooperators) in the UK. If you are interested in knowing more, or would like to become a Companion of the Heralds of the Gospel, please contact in the first instance:

The Heralds of the Gospel
29 Lower Teddington Road
Hampton Wick
KT1 4EU
Tel: (44) 20 8943 4159
E-mail: LumenMaria@aol.com

"Come, we are going for our people." - St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, virgin and martyr

"We bow down before the testimony of the life and death of Edith Stein, an outstanding daughter of Israel and at the same time a daughter of the Carmelite Order, Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, a personality who united within her rich life a dramatic synthesis of our century. It was the synthesis of a history full of deep wounds that are still hurting ... and also the synthesis of the full truth about man. All this came together in a single heart that remained restless and unfulfilled until it finally found rest in God." Pope John Paul II when he beatified Edith Stein in Cologne on 1 May 1987.

Who was this woman?

Edith Stein was born in Breslau on 12 October 1891, the youngest of 11, as her family were celebrating Yom Kippur, … the Feast of Atonement. " Being born on this day was a foreshadowing of Edith‘s future vocation as a Carmelite nun.

Edith's father, died when was two. Her mother, a very devout, hard-working woman, now had to fend for herself and to look after the family and their large business. However, at age fourteen, Edith lost her faith in God. "I consciously decided, of my own volition, to give up praying," she said.

During the First World War she became a nurse, and saw young people die. When the war was over she continued her studies at the University of Freiburg, where she passed her doctorate summa cum laude (with the utmost distinction) in 1917.

During this period she went to Frankfurt Cathedral and saw a woman with a shopping basket going in to kneel for a brief prayer. "This was something totally new to me. In the synagogues and Protestant churches I had visited people simply went to the services. Here, however, I saw someone coming straight from the busy marketplace into this empty church, as if she was going to have an intimate conversation. It was something I never forgot. "

In the summer of 1921. she spent several weeks with some friends of hers. One evening Edith picked up an autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila and read this book all night. "When I had finished the book, I said to myself: This is the truth." Later, looking back on her life, she wrote: "My longing for truth was a single prayer."

On 1 January 1922 Edith Stein was baptized. Immediately after her conversion she wanted to join a Carmelite convent. However, her spiritual mentors, Vicar-General Schwind of Speyer, and Erich Przywara SJ, stopped her from doing so. Until Easter 1931 she held a position teaching German and history at the Dominican Sisters' school and teacher training college of St. Magdalen's Convent in Speyer. Often she tried to share her faith with her non-Catholics friends, but was often frustrated by the difficulty in trying to persuade them of its truth and beauty. She wrote down the amazing words: "Every time I feel my powerlessness and inability to influence people directly, I become more keenly aware of the necessity of my own holocaust."

In 1933 darkness broke out over Germany. The Arch-Abbot of Beuron, Walzer, now no longer stopped her and Edith joined the Carmelite Convent of Cologne on 14 October. Edith Stein was now known as Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. In 1938 she wrote: "I understood the cross as the destiny of God's people, which was beginning to be apparent at the time (1933). I felt that those who understood the Cross of Christ should take it upon themselves on everybody's behalf. Of course, I know better now what it means to be wedded to the Lord in the sign of the cross. However, one can never comprehend it, because it is a mystery."

In particular, she interceded to God for her people: "I keep thinking of Queen Esther who was taken away from her people precisely because God wanted her to plead with the king on behalf of her nation. I am a very poor and powerless little Esther, but the King who has chosen me is infinitely great and merciful. This is great comfort." (31 October 1938)

On 9 November 1938 the anti-Semitism of the Nazis became apparent to the whole world. The prioress of the Carmelite Convent in Cologne did her utmost to take Sister Teresa Benedicta abroad. On New Year's Eve 1938 she was smuggled across the border into the Netherlands, to the Carmelite Convent in Echt in the Province of Limburg. This is where she wrote her will on 9 June 1939: "Even now I accept the death that God has prepared for me in complete submission and with joy as being his most holy will for me. I ask the Lord to accept my life and my death ... so that the Lord will be accepted by His people and that His Kingdom may come in glory, for the salvation of Germany and the peace of the world."

Edith was arrested by the Gestapo on 2 August 1942, while she was in the chapel with the other sisters. She was to report within five minutes, together with her sister Rosa, who had also converted and was serving at the Echt Convent. Her last words to be heard in Echt were addressed to Rosa: "Come, we are going for our people."

Together with many other Jewish Christians, the two women were deported to Auschwitz. It was probably on 9 August that Sister Teresa Benedicta, her sister and many other of her people were gassed.

When Edith Stein was beatified in Cologne on 1 May 1987, the Church honoured "a daughter of Israel", as Pope John Paul II put it, who, as a Catholic during Nazi persecution, remained faithful to the crucified Lord Jesus Christ and, as a Jew, to her people in loving faithfulness."

The glory of the Transfiguration of Our Lord.

This week we celebrate the glorious Feast of the Transfiguration which commemorates the moment in Jesus' earthly life, when he revealed his divinity to three of his closest disciples by means of a miraculous and supernatural light.

In his address before the Angelus on August 6, 2006, Pope Benedict XVI described how the events of the transfiguration display Christ as the “full manifestation of God's light.” This light, which shines forth from Christ both at the transfiguration and after his resurrection, is ultimately triumphant over “the power of the darkness of evil.”

The Pope stressed that the feast of the Transfiguration is an important opportunity for believers to look to Christ as “the light of the world,” and to experience the kind of conversion which the Bible frequently describes as an emergence from darkness to light. “In our time too,” Pope Benedict said, “we urgently need to emerge from the darkness of evil, to experience the joy of the children of light!"

Excerpt from Butler's Lives of the Saints, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]

Our divine Redeemer, being in Galilee about a year before His sacred Passion, took with him St. Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, Sts. James and John, and led them to a retired mountain. Tradition assures us that this was Mount Thabor, which is exceedingly high and beautiful, and was anciently covered with green trees and shrubs, and was very fruitful. It rises something like a sugar-loaf, in a vast plain in the middle of Galilee. This was the place in which the Man-God appeared in His glory.

Whilst Jesus prayed, he suffered that glory which was always due to his sacred humility, and of which, for our sake, He deprived it, to diffuse a ray over His whole body. His face was altered and shone as the sun, and his garments became white as snow. Moses and Elias were seen by the three apostles in his company on this occasion, and were heard discoursing with him of the death which he was to suffer in Jerusalem.

The three apostles were wonderfully delighted with this glorious vision, and St. Peter cried out to Christ, "Lord, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three tents: one for thee, one for Moses, and one for Elias" Whilst St. Peter was speaking, there came, on a sudden, a bright shining cloud from heaven, an emblem of the presence of God's majesty, and from out of this cloud was heard a voice which said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him" The apostles that were present, upon hearing this voice, were seized with a sudden fear, and fell upon the ground; but Jesus, going to them, touched them, and bade them to rise. They immediately did so, and saw no one but Jesus standing in his ordinary state.

This vision happened in the night. As they went down the mountain early the next morning, Jesus bade them not to tell any one what they had seen till he should be risen from the dead.

The gospel reveals Christ's unity with God as he shined in splendor with Moses and Elijah. The Lord is the bridge who draws all to himself so that all creation, both the Old and the New Testament members, can be transformed into his resplendency and radiance which is God's grace and love for us made possible through himself, the Son of God, born of the Virgin Mary, 2000 years ago in the stable of Bethlehem as our Savior and Redeemer.

Let us remember and pray for the souls in Purgatory especially for those souls who have no one to pray for them.

Q: I hardly hear purgatory mentioned anymore. I have even heard some Catholics say we do not believe in it since Vatican II. What is the right teaching? Is the teaching on Purgatory biblical?

Yes. Despite the fact that the Bible does not explicitly use the word Purgatory, the Bible clearly refers to it.

Old Testament:

In the Second Book of Maccabees, Judas Maccabeus offered sacrifices and prayers for soldiers who had died wearing amulets, which were forbidden by the Law; Scripture reads, "Turning to supplication, they prayed that the sinful deed might be fully blotted out" (12:42) and "Thus, [Judas Maccabeus] made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from the sin" (12:46).

Rabbinic interpretations of Scripture also confirms the belief. In the Book of the Prophet Zechariah, the Lord spoke, "I will bring the one third through fire, and I will refine them as silver is refined, and I will test them as gold is tested" (13:9); the School of Rabbi Shammai interpreted this passage as a purification of the soul through God's mercy and goodness, preparing it for eternal life. In Sirach 7:33, "Withhold not your kindness from the dead" was interpreted as imploring God to cleanse the soul.

So clearly, the Old Testament clearly attests to some kind of purification process of the soul of the faithful after death.

New Testament:

"Amen I say to thee, thou shalt not go out from thence till thou repay the last farthing" (Matthew 5:26). Tertullian understands the "last farthing" to be those petty transgressions which must be expiated in the prison of the underworld in the next (Tertullian, De Anima 58; Saint Cyprian, Epistle 55, 20).

"And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but he that shall speak against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in the world to come" (Matthew 12:32). This leaves open the possibility that sins are forgiven not only in this world, but also in the world to come. "In this sentence it is given to understand that many sins can be remitted in this world, but also many in the world to come" (St. Gregory the Great, Dialogue IV, 39; also, Saint Augustine, City of God, XXI, 24, 2).

" If any man's work burn, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire" (I Corinthians 3:15). The Latin Fathers of the Church understand this passage to mean a transient purification punishment in the next world (Cf. Saint Augustine, Enarr. in Psalm 37:3 and Caesarius of Arles, Sermon 179).

The Catechism of the Catholic Church
clearly affirms the Church's belief in purgatory and the purification of the soul after death: "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. The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned" (cf. No. 1030-32).

Vatican II:
In the "Dogmatic Constitution on the Church" the Council Fathers confirmed, "This sacred council accepts loyally the venerable faith of our ancestors in the living communion which exists between us and our brothers who are in the glory of Heaven or who are yet being purified after their death; and it proposes again the decrees of the Second Council of Nicea, of the Council of Florence, and of the Council of Trent" (No. 51).

Why does Purgatory exist?

We can more easily understand this doctrine and practice of the Church, when we remember that sin has two consequences. First: we incur guilt before God for the self-will that caused us to sin. We become more or less separated or estranged from God, depending on the gravity of our sin. Second: We deserve punishment for the disorder we cause by our sinful conduct. This is called ‘temporal punishment’. We become liable to suffering pain, again more or less pain, depending on how seriously we have done wrong.

When we sincerely confess our sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and have a firm resolve, with God’s Grace, to avoid future sins we are always forgiven. But we must still do penance and make reparation. In other words we must still do our part to show that we recognize that our actions damaged our relationship with God. When we try to make amends in some way, we do our bit to show that we are serious in our desire to repair that relationship which we ourselves have broken.

This satisfaction of the temporal debt for sin must either be completed in this life, or before entering heaven by a proportionate stay in the purifying fires of purgatory. In Purgatory, souls cannot merit or help themselves in any way anymore, they can only suffer. But the prayers and penances of those on earth can relieve them, and somehow, they are enabled to know when we do that, and in return they pray for us.

What can we do to help the Souls in
Purgatory?

Offer up our Holy Masses for souls

Offer up our Daily Rosaries

Pray The Way of the Cross ~ It was revealed to a chosen soul that when one offers up the stations of the cross for the holy souls in Purgatory he obtains the release of 10,000 souls!

Praying many short indulgenced prayers:
'Jesus, Mary, I love You, save souls.'
"Eternal Rest, grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them, may they rest in peace. Amen."
"May the Divine assistance remain always with us, and may the souls of the faithful departed through the Mercy of God; rest in peace. Amen."

Offer up our daily actions, sacrifices and fasts united to Jesus'life and suffering here on earth.

Offer up our daily sufferings and pains to relieve theirs.

Spread devotion to the Holy Souls

Give Alms on behalf of the Holy Souls

Join the Association of the Holy Souls:
The Assoc. of the Holy Souls
Dominican Nuns of the
Perpetual Rosary,
Monastery Pius XII
Rua do Rosa'rio, 1
Fatima, Portugal

(Please Print when you write them)

The Liturgy of the Radical "Yes"

On this earth, true joy is only attained by those who dedicate themselves entirely to fulfilling their mission.

The Secret of True Happiness
Msgr. Joao Scognamiglio Cla Dias EP

... The same principles of radical surrender and complete dedication to the duties inherent to ones own state of life, apply to all the baptised, whether they be chosen for the priesthood or religious life, or called to raise a family and practice a profession.

In any of these instances, we all hear at a certain moment, a gentle yet commanding inner voice telling us: "Follow me." If we accept the divine invitation, we will be from that instant, lovingly 'confiscated' by Jesus. Because our life belongs to Him and our surrender to Him should be absolute.

The devil - abject creature and envious of the reward promised to us - is often thwarted from diverting chosen souls from the path of sanctity. When this happens, he tempts them to practice virtue half-heartedly and to frequently look back, seeking to sow in these souls the illusion that by acting in this way, their burden will become easier and their sufferings lessened.

However, Our Lord does not tolerate tepidity in His followers. Those whose lives are ruled by their own interests, or who poorly perform the works in the vinyard of the Lord, will never be happy. On this earth, true joy is only attained by those who dedicate themselves entirely to fulfilling their mission.

Throughout the journey traced by Providence for each one of us, we all encounter joys and consolations, but also, inevitably, moments of sadness and desolation. Let us not be surprised when they come and, in these moments of suffering, let us make a special effort not to look back, because along the path of the disciple of Jesus, the burden of those who have surrendered everything is light; it is heavy for those who have opted to make concessions and who have sought the middle ground.

If in a specific situation the weight of our obligations make us totter, let us confidently turn our gaze to Our Lady, certain that she will protect and console us. And finally, when the day arrives for our entry into the eternal delights of Heaven, we will fully comprehend how she and her Divine Son are always near to those who wholeheartedly dedicate their lives to following them.

Excerpt from a Gospel commentary for the thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary time, and printed in the magazine (Vol 4, No 32) of the Heralds of the Gospel in June 2010.

If you are interested in receiving a copy of the monthly magazine of the Heralds of the Gospel, please contact:

Heralds of the Gospel

29 Lower Teddington Road

Hampton Wick

KT1 4EU

Tel: (44) 20 8943 4159

E-mail: LumenMaria@aol.com

The joy of being a Catholic.

If those who were under the Old Law could sing this song of their earthly city: "If I forget thee, O jerusalem, let my right hand be forgotten ...": how much more ought we to glory, how much more exuberantly rejoice, in being citizens of a City built upon the holy mount with living and chosen stones, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone.

For no greater glory, no higher dignity,
no honour more sublime can be conceived
than that of belonging to the Holy, Catholic, Apostolic and Roman Church,

wherein we become members of this one venerable Body,
are governed by one august Head,
filled with the one divine Spirit,
nourished during this earthly exile
with one doctrine and one Bread of angels,
until at last we come to enjoy in heaven one everlasting happiness"

Pope Pius XII (Mystici Corporis Christi - The
Mystical Body of Christ)