The Month of Mary

Hail Blessed Mother of the Saviour

"...And thou, Bethlehem, Ephrata,
art a little one among the thousands of Judah:
out of thee shall be come forth unto me that is to be the ruler in Israel,
and his going forth is from the beginning, from the days of eternity.
Therefore will he give them up till the time wherein she that travaileth shall bring forth,
and the remnant of his brethren shall be converted to the children of Israel."

___Micheas V: 2-3

480th. Anniversary of the Sack of Rome

Swiss Guard

May 6th

In the year 1527 an Imperial army numbering 35,000 troops of largely mercenary Lutheran soldiers, was sent to the north of Italy, at the time the southern most point of the Holy Roman Empire to defeat the attempts of Francis I of France to gain a foothold in Italy. Though successful in their mission, the Imperial army mutinied after the Emperor failed to raise sufficient funds to pay its troops. The soldiers noting that Rome was not far off, set out for the Holy City in hopes of finding loot. Arriving at the gates of Rome on the 5^th of May the Imperial army quickly entered the city. The next day the Lutherans were at the walls of the Vatican. The Swiss Guard, the personal guards of the Pope were able to safely lead Pope Clement VII out of the Vatican and into the safety of Castelo Sant'Angelo. Of the 189 guards only 42 survived, and to this date the anniversary of the sack of Rome, on which the memory of the valiant defense of the person of the Vicar of Christ is recalled by all Romans, the Guards make their oath of fidelity to the Sovereign Pontiff.

Saint Joseph the Worker.

Saint Joseph
Guardian of the Lord;
Spouse of the Mother of God
Patron of the Universal Church of God
Pray for us.

Though the principal feast (solemnity) of Saint Joseph is celebrated on March 19, a second feast of a lower rank is celebrated today May 1. Until 1956 the first day in May was kept by the Roman Rite as the feast of the Apostles Saints Philip and James. This is now celebrated in the calendar observed by Traditionalist Latin Rite Catholics on the 11^th of May, and by Councilists on the 3^rd of May.

The feast of St. Joseph the Worker was instituted by Pope Pius XII to over shadow the communistic May 1^st celebrations and public demonstrations of Europe’s Socialists and Communists. Through the celebration of this feast it was hoped that the social teaching of the Church would come to the fore of the cultural and social-political discussions current in many parts of the world at the time, and thus make a salutary impact on the lives of men and women throughout the world.

Despite the fact that the Soviet Union is now a thing of the past, and the Marxist governments of Eastern Europe have fallen, Communism today still enslaves over one billion persons in China, and millions of others in South-Eastern Asia, as well as Latin America. Socialism with its distinctive totalitarian methodology is on the rise in many places in the West, most notably among the nations of the European Union; but also here in the United States were a noticeable push for power by far leftist organization and highly influential persons imbued with the spirit of Marxism (Socialism) endanger the civil liberties of all citizens, and nullify the rights of God in our society, and in our republic. The one constant antidote to this social, cultural, and political poison remains the social doctrine of the Church, and the grace of God working in the hearts of men. Through the constant intercession of Saint Joseph may the Church of God be safe from every danger, and may the scourge of Communism and Socialism remain far form our land.

The N.O. Feast of St. Pius V

Father,
You chose Saint Pius V as pope of Your Church
to protect the faith and give You more fitting worship.By his prayers,
help us to celebrate Your holy mysteries
with a living faith and an effective love.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Your Son,who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

“My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

Novus Ordo Good Shepherd Sunday

April 29

"The essential constitution of the Church comes from the Lord and was given to us so that we might attain eternal life and, starting from this perspective, be able to illuminate life in time and time itself."

___H.H. Benedict XVI: 2005 Christmas Address to the Roman Curia

The Veneration of Saints and Relics

The Martyrs of England and Wales

In every saint there is an excellence of grace, which indicates the presence of Christ, and for that reason we honor them. In the relics of any saint, we can expect to see at the end of time the light of a glorified body. The reason for a special debt of honor we owe the martyrs is clear. They made Christ manifest in the world by imitating Him in His highest action, His Passion and Death, to the extent of bearing witness to the truth by shedding their blood. Certainly, if we are confessing the same faith as the Apostles, we owe it in part to the martyrs.

However, by the words, gestures and signs, many of which have been absorbed into the Church’s official worship, the faithful not only honor the martyr and ask for his intercession, but they also reaffirm that they share in the same reality with the martyr, that they are members of the same communion of Saints. This can be said of any saint, but the martyrs are the first born sons of our Holy Mother Church, elder brothers therefore, who deserve a special degree of reverence.

From an article by Fr.Hufford

The Greater Litanies; April 25

The Greater Litanies, which traditionally are celebrated on the feast of St. Mark commemorate the first entrance of St. Peter into Rome (St. Mark accompanied the great Apostle to Rome, and with St. Peter worked for the conversion of the heathen Romans to the true Faith). The celebration of these litanies is also kept with the hope that through the imploring of God’s mercy upon His people they may be protected from every calamity both spiritual and temporal, and to beg for the Divine blessing on the fruits of the earth. At the same time the Church beseeches the Lord, in His mercy, to remove from her children the chastisement which they may have justly incurred through their sins, and to grant them the grace to avoid committing fresh offences, as well as the grace of persevering in their spiritual resurrection.

The Greater Litanies:

Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ have mercy on us.

Christ, hear us.

Christ, graciously hear us.

God, the Father of Heaven,

have mercy on us.

God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.

God, the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, Pray for us.

Holy Mother of God, Pray for us.

Holy Virgin of virgins, Pray for us.

St. Michæl, Pray for us.

St. Gabriel, Pray for us.

St. Raphæl, Pray for us.

All ye holy angels and archangels, Pray for us.

All ye holy orders of blessed spirits, Pray for us.

St. John Baptist, Pray for us.

St. Joseph, Pray for us.

All ye holy patriarchs and prophets, Pray for us.

St. Peter, Pray for us.

St. Paul, Pray for us.

St. Andrew, Pray for us.

St. John, Pray for us.

All ye holy apostles and evangelists, Pray for us.

All ye holy disciples of our Lord, Pray for us.

St. Stephen, Pray for us.

St. Lawrence, Pray for us.

St. Vincent, Pray for us.

All ye holy martyrs,Pray for us.

St. Sylvester,Pray for us.

St. Gregory, Pray for us.

St. Augustine,Pray for us.

All ye holy bishops and confessors, Pray for us.

All ye holy doctors, Pray for us.

St. Anthony, Pray for us.

St. Benedict, Pray for us.

St. Dominic, Pray for us.

St. Francis, Pray for us.

All ye holy priests and levites, Pray for us.

All ye holy monks and hermits, Pray for us.

St. Mary Magdalen, Pray for us.

St. Agnes, Pray for us.

St. Cecilia, Pray for us.

St. Agatha, Pray for us.

St. Anastasia, Pray for us.

All ye holy virgins and widows, Pray for us.

All ye holy men and women, saints of God, Intercede for us. Be merciful to us, Pray for us.

Spare us, O Lord.

Be merciful to us,

Hear us, O Lord.

From all evil, O Lord, deliver us.

From all sin, O Lord, deliver us.

From everlasting death, O Lord, deliver us.

Through the mystery of Thy holy incarnation, O Lord, deliver us.

Through Thy coming, O Lord, deliver us.

Through Thy nativity, O Lord, deliver us.

Through Thy baptism and holy fasting, O Lord, deliver us.

Through Thy cross and passion, O Lord, deliver us.

Through Thy death and burial, O Lord, deliver us.

Through Thy holy resurrection, O Lord, deliver us.

Through Thine admirable ascension, O Lord, deliver us.

Through the coming of the Holy Ghost the Comforter, O Lord, deliver us.

In the day of judgment, O Lord, deliver us.

We sinners, We beseech Thee, hear us.

That Thou spare us, We beseech Thee, hear us.

That Thou vouchsafe to rule and preserve Thy holy Church, We beseech Thee, hear us.

That Thou vouchsafe to preserve our apostolic prelate and all ecclesiastical orders in holy religion. We beseech Thee, hear us.

That Thou vouchsafe to humble the enemies of Thy holy Church, That Thou vouchsafe to grant peace and true concord to Christian kings and princes, We beseech Thee, hear us.

That Thou vouchsafe to confirm and preserve us in Thy holy service. We beseech Thee, hear us.

That Thou render eternal good things to all our benefactors, We beseech Thee, hear us.

That Thou vouchsafe to give and preserve the fruits of the earth, That Thou vouchsafe to give eternal rest to all the faithful departed. We beseech Thee, hear us.

That Thou vouchsafe graciously to hear us. We beseech Thee, hear us.

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.

Christ, hear us.

Christ, graciously hear us.

Let us pray:

Graciously hear, O Lord, the prayers of Thy Church that, having overcome all adversity and every error, she may serve Thee in security and freedom. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, Forever and ever.

Amen.