Works of Mercy

We will be asked for a particular account of the works of mercy we have performed on the Day of Judgment. A work of mercy is a work by which we help our neighbour in his spiritual or corporal needs. Traditional lists of them are:

A. Corporal works of mercy:

1. To give food to the hungry
2. To give drink to the thirsty
3. To give clothing to the naked
4. To give lodging to pilgrims
5. To visit the sick
6. To visit those in prison
7. To bury the dead.

B. Spiritual works of mercy:

1. To give counsel to those in doubt
2. To teach the ignorant
3. To admonish sinners
4. To console the afflicted
5. To forgive offenses
6. To bear patiently with persons who are difficult
7. To pray to God for the living and the dead.

[copied from: The Catechism of St. Pius X - http://www.ewtn.com/library/CATECHSM/PIUSXCAT.htm#Mercy]

Daily Prayer to a Saint

+ Eternal Father, I wish to honor St. ____ and I give You thanks for all the graces You have bestowed upon her/him. I ask You to please increase grace in my soul through the merits of this saint, and I commit the end of my life to her/him by this special prayer, so that by virtue of Your goodness and promise, St. _____ might be my advocate and provide whatever is needed at that hour. Amen. +

Proclamation of the Birth of Christ
(chanted at all Christmas Eve Masses and the Midnight Mass)

Today, the twenty-fifth day of December, unknown ages from the time
when God created the heavens and the earth and then formed man and woman in his own image.
Several thousand years after the flood, when God made the rainbow shine forth as a sign of the covenant.
Twenty-one centuries from the time of Abraham and Sarah;
thirteen centuries after Moses led the people of Israel out of Egypt.
Eleven hundred years from the time of Ruth and the Judges;
one thousand years from the anointing of David as king;
in the sixty-fifth week according the prophecy of Daniel.
In the one hundred and ninety-fourth Olympiad;
the seven hundred and fifty-second year from the foundation of the city of Rome,
the forty-second year of the reign of Octavian Augustus;
the whole world being at peace, Jesus Christ, eternal God and Son of the eternal Father,
desiring to sanctify the world by his most merciful coming, being conceived by the Holy Spirit,
and nine months having passed since his conception, was born in Bethlehem of Judea of the Virgin Mary.
Today is the nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ according to the flesh.

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Entrance Hymn - Adeste Fideles

Adeste fideles, laeti triumphantes venite, venite in Bethlehem.
Natum videte, Regem angelorum.
Venite adoremus, venite adoremus, venite adoremus Dominum!

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant, O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem.
Come and behold him, born the King of angels.
O come let us adore him, O come let us adore him, O come let us adore him, Christ the Lord!

Yea, Lord, we greet thee, born this happy morning. Jesus to thee be all glory given.
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing.
O come let us adore him, O come let us adore him, O come let us adore him, Christ the Lord!

St. Benedict Medal / Crucifix

Special blessing and exorcism given by Fr. Robert Elias Barcelos, O.C.D - July 11, 2011 - Feast of St. Benedict

[below is copied from: http://www.ewtn.com/library/mary/cspbmedl.htm]

On the front of the medal we find St. Benedict holding a Cross in one hand, and the Rule of St. Benedict in the other. At his sides are the words "Crux S. Patris Benedicti" ("The Cross of the Holy Father Benedict"), and below his feet: "Ex S M Casino MDCCCLXXX" ("From the holy mount of Casino, 1880"). On that date, Monte Cassino was given the exclusive right to produce this medal, and special Jubilee indulgences were added. Still on this front side of the medal we find inscribed in a circle the words:

"Ejus in obitu nostro presentia muniamur" ("May his presence protect us in our hour of death").

The reverse side of the medal is where the real exorcistic force reveals itself. In the center is a Cross. The Cross, which St. Benedict so loved and often used as a powerful exorcism, is the sign before which even Dracula shrinked. The vertical beam of the Cross bears the letters C.S.S.M.L., and the horizontal beam, the letters N.D.S.M.D. These are the first letters of the words:

CRUX SACRA SIT MIHI LUX, May the Holy Cross be a light unto me,
NON DRACO SIT MIHI DUX. And may the Dragon never be my guide.

The four large letters at the corners of the Cross, C S P B, stand for CRUX SANCTI PATRIS BENEDICTI: The Cross of the Holy Father Benedict.

We are not through yet. In addition to the "Pax" ("peace") motto at the top, we find the following letters in a circle around the margin of this side: V.R.S.N.S.M.V.: S.M.Q.L.I.V.B. It almost looks masonic; except, of course, the Benedictines are quite willing to tell you what the letters stand for, and they are enough to make any secret society get the shakes:

VADE RETRO SATANA; NUNQUAM SUADE MIHI VANA.
Get behind me, Satan; Never suggest vain thoughts to me.

SUNT MALA QUAE LIBAS;
The cup you offer is evil;

IPSE VENENA BIBAS!
Drink the poison yourself!

Novena to St. Raphael & Our Lady of Fatima

May 13, 2011 - May 21, 2011

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Vouchsafe, Lord God, to send unto our assistance St. Raphael the Archangel. And may he, whom we believe, evermore standeth before the throne of Thy Majesty, offer unto Thee our humble petitions to be blessed by Thee through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

(intentions)

Oh Most Holy Trinity,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
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
indifferences by which He is offended.
By the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
and the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
I beg the conversion of poor sinners.
Amen.

Hail Mary ... (3x)

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us.
St. Raphael Archangel, pray for us.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
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