PathToHoliness

I must apologize. I was having server problems yesterday, so I was not able to post the final novena prayer. I tried to keep it going all nine days, but I ran into circumstances beyond my control yesterday. My humble apologies to all.

Ninth Day

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

I just got back from my two hour adoration time and realized that I forgot to post the novena prayer for Saturday. I apologize for that. So here are the prayers for Sat. and Sun.

Seventh Day

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Sixth Day

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Fifth Day

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

I know Chelsea is posting each day about the Novena to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.

This is the statue of her in the Carmelite chapel where the novena is held each evening during Mass.

I’ve only been able to attend one evening so far due to travel.

As Chelsea said in an earlier post, the nuns like to decorate with flowers and you can see some of them below the statue here.

As you have probably noticed, much of the Mt. Carmel novena has focussed on the scapular – shown on the right. But what about the scapular? The sisters at our Carmelite monastery use a booklet for their novena that offers some information on this popular devotion that is often associated with the novena:

Ask someone about the “Scapular” and you will likely be told it is a religious object associated with the Blessed Virgin.
The Brown Scapular consists of two small panels of cloth joined by strings and worn over the shoulders. Generally, one panel bears a woven or printed image showing the vision of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel to St. Simon Stock, while the other bears the image of Our Lady with the Child Jesus.
For centuries, the Scapular has been one of the most popular Marian devotions, second only to Our Lady’s Rosary. As a sacramental, it has been enriched by the Church with many spiritual blessings.
On July 16, 1261, at Aylesford in Kent England, according to tradition, Our Lady appeared to St. Simon Stock, a Carmelite, and made the Scapular a sign of her protection. With it came the promise that whoever wore her “habit” devoutly would be assured of eternal salvation. This is the Scapular promise of eternal perseverance.
Carmelites have always regarded themselves as “Brothers of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel,” and place their lives of Christ-centered prayer under her patronage.
~ Rev. Eamon R. Carroll, O. Carm.

Signs in Ordinary Human Life
The world in which we live is full of material things which have symbolic meaning to us, such as, light, fire and water.
There are also, in every day life, experiences of relationships between human beings. These experiences express and symbolize deeper meanings in our lives. Sharing a meal is a sign of friendship; joining together in a national celebration is a sign of our identity.
We need signs and symbols to help us understand what is happening at present, or what happened before, and to give us an awareness of who we are, as individuals and as groups.

Signs in Christian Life
Jesus is the great sign and the embodiment of the Father’s love. he founded the Church as a sign and instrument of His love.
Christian life also has its signs. Jesus used bread, wine and water to help us understand higher things…things which we can neither see nor touch.
All our Christian celebrations, particularly the sacraments, are signs with special meaning. At the Eucharist the sign is bread and wine; during baptism it is water; as hands are laid on the sick it is the anointing with oil; and in the marriage ceremony it is the giving and receiving of rings. Each of these signs brings us into communion with God, Who, in different ways, is present in each of them.

The Scapular is a Sign of Mary
It is a sign approved by the Church and endorsed by the Crmelite Order as an external sign of Mary’s love for us. It confirms our love and trust in her, and our commitment to live like her.
With the passage of time,l people began to give symbolic meaning to the Scapular as a sign of commitment to follow Jesus Christ, our Savior, in the spirit of Mary.

The Scapular is not:

A magical charm to protect you
An automatic guarantee of salvation
An excuse for not living up to the demands of the Christian life

However the Scapular:

points to a renewed hope of encountering God in eternal life with the help of Mary’s protection and intercession
stands for thee decision to follow Jesus and imitate Mary, calling us to be…
– open to God and to His Will
– guided by faith, hope and love
– close to the needs of people
– prayerful, penitent and chaste
– conscious of God present in all that happens around us

I have been wearing the brown Scapular for a number of years and it has become like a kind of uniform for me. Actually, in the art of spiritual warfare, I have often heard it referred as just that – the Rosary is our weapon and the Scapular our uniform or shield. I think of it as an extra little sign, a personal reminder of devotion and commitment to the Blessed Virgin, through whom we strive to know and love Jesus and work for the salvation of souls.

Fourth Day

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Third Day

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Second Day

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Today is the start of the Novena to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. Every year we try to pray this novena with the Carmelites who live in the cloistered monastery next door to our Cathedral parish. It is always a very popular event among devoted Catholics in our town. I look forward to it every year. I especially love to see the beautiful floral arrangements that the nuns put together around their chapel. It’s like they bring their entire garden inside for these nine days of prayer.

First Day

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Also, get readyf

Today is the feast of the first martyrs in Rome. These are the martyrs who suffered death under the emperor Nero after the burning of Rome. Their blood helped build the early Church. On this feast day let us pray for those who are still being martyred in all parts of the world. Here is a video about Christians in Palestine who are heavily persecuted for their faith:

But even we, here in America, face a different kind of persecution. We are very often ridiculed for our deeply held convictions which causes many of the faithful to reject those beliefs altogether. It is not popular to be Catholic in the western world today. We are a target for criticism, hatred and any sort of mockery under the sun. So let us pray to those first martyrs in Rome to obtain for us the strength to face this current persecution with the same grace, faith and hope in the love and mercy of our Lord Jesus. Whether we are being tortured and killed in Palestine or ridiculed and marginalized in America, may our faithfulness and humility win for our Lord the heart and soul of even the most ruthless sinners.

Very late blessings to all you Fathers out there! Fathers are often the forgotten heroes of the American family, yet none would be complete without them. Thank you for all of the hard work you do to support, protect and be an example to your children and grandchildren. A special thank you to God our Almighty Father and all of our priests and spiritual fathers everywhere!

A Father’s Day Prayer
by Gaynell Bordes Cronin

Thank you, friend Jesus,
for my father who loves me,
for my grandfather who cares for me,
and for God, your father and mine,
who made me and is always with me.

How lucky I am!

The end of this week we celebrate the feasts of the two holy hearts, the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (yesterday) and today’s feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, to Thee I consecrate and offer up my person and my life, my actions, trials, and sufferings, that my entire being may henceforth only be employed in loving, honoring and glorifying Thee. This is my irrevocable will, to belong entirely to Thee, and to do all for Thy love, renouncing with my whole heart all that can displease Thee.

I take Thee, O Sacred Heart, for the sole object of my love, the protection of my life, the pledge of my salvation, the remedy of my frailty and inconstancy, the reparation for all the defects of my life, and my secure refuge at the hour of my death. Be Thou, O Most Merciful Heart, my justification before God Thy Father, and screen me from His anger which I have so justly merited. I fear all from my own weakness and malice, but placing my entire confidence in Thee, O Heart of Love, I hope all from Thine infinite Goodness. Annihilate in me all that can displease or resist Thee. Imprint Thy pure love so deeply in my heart that I may never forget Thee or be separated from Thee.
I beseech Thee, through Thine infinite Goodness, grant that my name be engraved upon Thy Heart, for in this I place all my happiness and all my glory, to live and to die as one of Thy devoted servants.

Amen.

. — St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

Solemn Act of Consecration to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary

Most Holy Virgin Mary, tender Mother of men, to fulfill the desires of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the request of the Vicar of Your Son on earth, we consecrate ourselves and our families to your Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart, O Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, and we recommend to You, all the people of our country and all the world.

Please accept our consecration, dearest Mother, and use us as You wish to accomplish Your designs in the world.

O Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, and Queen of the World, rule over us, together with the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, Our King. Save us from the spreading flood of modern paganism; kindle in our hearts and homes the love of purity, the practice of a virtuous life, an ardent zeal for souls, and a desire to pray the Rosary more faithfully.

We come with confidence to You, O Throne of Grace and Mother of Fair Love. Inflame us with the same Divine Fire which has inflamed Your own Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart. Make our hearts and homes Your shrine, and through us, make the Heart of Jesus, together with your rule, triumph in every heart and home.

Amen.

–Venerable Pope Pius XII

“In the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph.”
~promise of the Blessed Virgin at Fatima

I’ve been a little out of the pro-life loop lately it seems because I’ve been car shopping for probably the last month and a half. I finally narrowed all my options down and really picked a car a few weeks ago, but didn’t really suck it up and seriously go after the car I wanted until last week. My mother and I drove to St. Louis last Thursday to finally buy my car (I finally got my hand controls in it yesterday)! I have wanted a Solara since a good friend of mine, who is also in a wheelchair, got one a few years ago and I was able to find one, a 2006, within my budget! Here it is:

My spiritual director suggested that I pray to St. Raphael for guidance and intercession while I was looking for a car because he is the patron of travelers. This is due to his travels with Tobit in the Old Testament. So I did. I prayed very much because I did not want to make a bad decision. Buying a car is such a big deal! It’s a lot of money! I also wanted to make sure I wasn’t being too vain in my decision, especially since I was looking for what many consider a very nice car. So I prayed and prayed and was able to get the car I wanted at the price I wanted with relatively little hassle, well except for having to drive to St. Louis, for which I also owe my mother a very big thank you! God takes care of us when we do all things with prayer!

Happy Solemnity of Corpus Christi

I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, from now on I shall not drink this fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it with you new in the kingdom of my Father.” (Matt. 22:26-29)