"By means of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass the fruits of the Sacrifice of the Cross are applied to us in most abundant measure; more particularly we obtain thereby forgiveness of sin, certitude that our prayers are heard, temporal blessings and eternal rewards.
Every Mass is productive of the same fruits, the same profit to the souls as that which resulted from the death of Our Lord on Good Friday. And since the Sacrifice of the Mass is identical with the Sacrifice of the Cross, it follows as a necessary consequence that its effects are the same (Cochem). The death and Passion of Christ are the treasury, the Mass is the key that unlocks it. The Cross is the tree of life laden with celestial fruits, and by the Mass those fruits are given to us. In the Sacrifice of the Mass we are made partakers of the merits of Christ; they are, it is true, applied to us by the other means of grace, but far less freely and abundantly. At the time of Mass, God gives lavishly; from no other source do the streams of grace flow so copiously as from the Altar. In the Mass, the Son of the Most High God comes down from the gardens of paradise bringing to us from thence celestial riches and treasures of infinite value. In the Mass the heavenly Father gives us His Son; "and hath He not with Him, also given us all things?" (Romans 8:32). If you O Christian, knew how to profit by the Mass, by it you might become richer than all the creatures of God can make you! One must be in a state of grace in order to receive most of the Sacraments, otherwise one cannot share in Christ's merits, and one incurs the guilt of mortal sin; but it is not necessary to be in a state of grace to hear Mass (no Holy Communion); the sinner does not commit a fresh sin by doing so; on the contrary he gains the grace of conversion."
"The principal prayers to the Mother of God which are in common use are (1), The Ave Maria, or the Angelical Salutation; (2), The Angelus; (3), The Rosary; (4), The Litany of Loretto and the Salve Regina.
Catholics almost invariably add the Ave Maria to the Pater Noster.
The Ave Maria is also called the Angelical Salutation, because it commences with the words of the Archangel.
1. The Ave Maria consists of three parts: The salutation of the Archangel Gabriel, the greeting of Elizabeth, and the words of the Church.
The salutation of the Archangel runs thus: "Hail, full of grace the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women" (Luke 1:28). The greeting of Elizabeth is this: 'Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb" (Luke 1:42). The remaining words were added by the Church. The first and second parts are an ascription of praise, the third part is a supplication. The first and second parts were recited by the faithful in the earliest ages of Christianity in their present form, while the concluding words were varied. St. Athanasius used to add: "Pray for us, Patron and Lady, Queen and Mother of God." From the time of Luther, it was customary to end with the words: "Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us." The final clause now in use dated from the reign of Pope Saint Pius V., who directed it to be printed in all the authorized prayer books. After the heretic Nestorius denied the right of the Blessed Virgin to the title of Mother of God, the Ave Maria was more frequently on the lips of Christians than it was in earlier times. And when, in the thirteenth century, other sects arose who refused to give the saints the veneration due to them, the devotion to Our Lady assumed a more and more prominent place, and from that time forth the Ave Maria became an invariable adjunct to the Pater Noster in all the public services of the Church.
2. The Ave Maria is a most potent prayer, and one which is full of meaning.
The Ave Maria is especially efficacious in time of temptation; many saints recommend the faithful to recite it, when evil thoughts assail them."
TO BE CONTINUED...
Soul Assurance Prayer Plan, page 18 (excerpt)
"To Jesus Abandoned:
With Mary Immaculate, let us adore, thank, implore and console, the Most Beloved and Sacred Heart of Jesus, in the Blessed Sacrament.
O Divine Jesus lonely tonight in so many Tabernacles, without visitor or worshipper. I offer Thee my poor heart. May its every throb be an act of love for Thee. Thou art always watching beneath the Sacramental Veils; in Thy Love Thou dost never sleep and Thou art never weary of Thy vigil for sinners. O lonely Jesus, may the flame of my heart burn and beam always in company with Thee.
O Sacrament most holy, O Sacrament divine!
All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine!"
The Gift Of Grace And Healing
To Our Divine Savior:
Our Divine Saviour loves us so much, that He remains in the Tabernacles that blanket the earth, in every Catholic church and Diocese.
What a precious gift, the REAL PRESENCE, Our Divine Savior, Jesus Christ, truly present in the Tabernacle, awaits our visit, our adoration, our love. With love, let us make time to visit Jesus in the Tabernacle, and make reparation for the sacrilege, heresy, and sin, that occurs daily, hourly, by the nanosecond, in the world. Healing graces will pour forth from the Tabernacle more abundantly than the volumes of water at Niagara Falls. Embrace the grace of the Holy Tabernacle.
O Sacrament most holy, O Sacrament divine!
All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine!
"From a letter to the Corinthians by Saint Clement, Pope
We must not turn our backs and flee from God's will
We must remember how near He is and that no thought of ours, no conversation we hold is hidden from Him. It is right, therefore, that we should not turn our backs and flee from God's will. We should rather give offense to stupid and foolish men, puffed up and taking pride in their boastful speech, than give offense to God."
Jesus declared, ” ‘ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘ Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
- Matthew 22:37-39
“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone! Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today. Drill them into your children. Speak of them at home and abroad, whether you are busy or at rest.”
- Deuteronomy 6:4-7
When the wine ran out, Jesus' mother said to Him, “They have no more wine.” “Woman, why does this concern us?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.”
- John 2:3-5
The Lord's revelation to my Master:
“Sit on my right:
your foes I will put beneath your feet.”
The Lord will wield from Zion
your scepter of power:
rule in the midst of all your foes.
A prince from the day of your birth -
on the holy mountains;
from the womb before the dawn I begot you.
The Lord has sworn an oath he will not change.
“You are a priest for ever,
a priest like Melchizedek of old!”
The Master standing at your right hand -
will shatter kings in the day of his great wrath.
He shall drink from the stream by the wayside
and therefore he shall lift up his head.
- Psalm 110: 1-5, 7
“Stay sober and alert. Your opponent the devil is prowling like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, solid in your faith and in the knowledge that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering.”
- 1 Peter 5:8-9
You have heard that it was said to the men of old, "You shall not kill: and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment." But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment.
2258 "Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves the creative action of God and it remains for ever in a special relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end. God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning until its end: no one can under any circumstance claim for himself the right directly to destroy an innocent human being."
I. Respect for Human Life
The witness of sacred history
2259 In the account of Abel's murder by his brother Cain, Scripture reveals the presence of anger and envy in man, consequences of original sin, from the beginning of human history. Man has become the enemy of his fellow man. God declares the wickedness of this fratricide: "What have you done? the voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground. and now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand."
2260 The covenant between God and mankind is interwoven with reminders of God's gift of human life and man's murderous violence:
For your lifeblood I will surely require a reckoning.... Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for God made man in his own image.
The Old Testament always considered blood a sacred sign of life. This teaching remains necessary for all time.
2261 Scripture specifies the prohibition contained in the fifth commandment: "Do not slay the innocent and the righteous." The deliberate murder of an innocent person is gravely contrary to the dignity of the human being, to the golden rule, and to the holiness of the Creator. the law forbidding it is universally valid: it obliges each and everyone, always and everywhere.
2262 In the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord recalls the commandment, " You shall not kill, " and adds to it the proscription of anger, hatred, and vengeance. Going further, Christ asks his disciples to turn the other cheek, to love their enemies. He did not defend himself and told Peter to leave his sword in its sheath.
ABORTION
2270 Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception.
From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person - among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.
My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth.
2271 Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion.
This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable.
Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law:
You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish.
God, the Lord of life, has entrusted to men the noble mission of safeguarding life, and men must carry it out in a manner worthy of themselves.
Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes.
2272 Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense.
The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life.
"A person who procures a completed abortion incurs excommunication latae sententiae," "by the very commission of the offense," and subject to the conditions provided by Canon Law.
The Church does not thereby intend to restrict the scope of mercy.
Rather, she makes clear the gravity of the crime committed, the irreparable harm done to the innocent who is put to death, as well as to the parents and the whole of society.
2273 The inalienable right to life of every innocent human individual is a constitutive element of a civil society and its legislation:
"The inalienable rights of the person must be recognized and respected by civil society and the political authority.
These human rights depend neither on single individuals nor on parents; nor do they represent a concession made by society and the state; they belong to human nature and are inherent in the person by virtue of the creative act from which the person took his origin.
Among such fundamental rights one should mention in this regard every human being's right to life and physical integrity from the moment of conception until death."
"The moment a positive law deprives a category of human beings of the protection which civil legislation ought to accord them, the state is denying the equality of all before the law.
When the state does not place its power at the service of the rights of each citizen, and in particular of the more vulnerable, the very foundations of a state based on law are undermined....
As a consequence of the respect and protection which must be ensured for the unborn child from the moment of conception, the law must provide appropriate penal sanctions for every deliberate violation of the child's rights."
2274 Since it must be treated from conception as a person, the embryo must be defended in its integrity, cared for, and healed, as far as possible, like any other human being.
Prenatal diagnosis is morally licit, "if it respects the life and integrity of the embryo and the human fetus and is directed toward its safe guarding or healing as an individual....
It is gravely opposed to the moral law when this is done with the thought of possibly inducing an abortion, depending upon the results: a diagnosis must not be the equivalent of a death sentence."
2275 "One must hold as licit procedures carried out on the human embryo which respect the life and integrity of the embryo and do not involve disproportionate risks for it, but are directed toward its healing the improvement of its condition of health, or its individual survival."
"It is immoral to produce human embryos intended for exploitation as disposable biological material."
"Certain attempts to influence chromosomic or genetic inheritance are not therapeutic but are aimed at producing human beings selected according to sex or other predetermined qualities.
Such manipulations are contrary to the personal dignity of the human being and his integrity and identity" which are unique and unrepeatable.
Isaiah 41:10
"Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."
James 2:17
"Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead."
Saint Faustina Kowalska: Divine Mercy Diary, 121
"...A soul that is united to God must be prepared for great and hard-fought battles."