You Are The Christ, The Son Of The Living God

The beautiful Gospel reading from today's Holy Mass (Latin), August 26, 2022 is from Matthew 16: 13-19 where Jesus asks His disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" Simon the fisherman is awarded the gift of a new last name for having responded correctly with great humility. A name change always signifies an important change in a person's life. Simon Peter became an authoritative figure in God's Church, the first Pope, of which Christ is the true cornerstone. It is an incredibly touching moment. This reading is packed with so much significance about the authoritative mission of the Church and how our Lord loves the humility of Simon, a virtue which gives Simon Peter clarity coming from the Heavenly Father. So, grateful for the gifts of faith in Jesus Christ and His Church, providing us with a pathway to God.

On the Feast Day of Our Lady of Częstochowa, pray for us O Holy Mother of God.

Jesus Calms the Storm

Memorare Prayer by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux on the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Aug 22

Remember, O most gracious virgin Mary, that never was it known that any one who fled to your protection, implored your help, and sought your intercession, was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly to you, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to you I come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful! O mother of the word incarnate, despise not my petitions; but in your clemency hear and answer me. Amen.

Pray What Jesus Prayed

When I was teaching my children to pray, the first prayers were the basic ones. Table Grace was the first prayer they learned, followed by the "Our Father", the "Hail Mary" and the "Guardian Angel" prayers. Then the rosary became our traditional family prayer that bound us tightly together outside of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the highest form of prayer they grew familiar with from their infancy. A decade into having a three children family, I discovered the Divine Office which was first introduced to me as the Liturgy of the Hours (LOH) while visiting a small Pentecostal Catholic Church in a neighboring diocese. A gold nugget, not just for holy orders but for the laity too. So, I bought each of my family members a LOH missal and we began to pray with some decent regularity as commanded by our Lord through Saint Paul in 1Thessalonians 5:16-18 to "pray without ceasing". But when I became increasingly disillusioned with the modern Mass, also known as the Novus Ordo, as God would have it I was rescued by a wonderful human being who was and still is extremely active in teaching priests how to celebrate the Latin Mass. Finally, I found my truest peace of mind by gaining access to the Traditional Latin Mass, the Mass of my mother and father. This led gradually to busting open the double doors to learning about the massive amounts of Traditions great and small, known as the unwritten Word of God, heretofore hidden from my hearing and view. Finally bringing me to set aside the modern Liturgy of the Hours missal and welcoming with tremendous excitement the ancient Divine Office I now pray that basks me in the wellspring of Psalms that our dear Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ had prayed with His Holy Family, Saint Joseph and His/our Blessed Mother while walking upon this earth. There are 150 songs in Psalms of the Holy Bible, the written Word of God. The Divine Office is for laity and Holy Orders. The true gold nugget! The hours of prayer of the Divine Office are broken down into prayer times called Matins, Laudes, Prima, Tertia, Sexta, Nona, Vesperae, and Completorium. Now, I try to maintain a practice of Matins followed directly by Laudes in the morning, then Vespers and Compline in the evening followed immediately by reciting the Rosary. Laudes and Vespers contain 5 Psalms each. It is said that if you pray at all of the designated times each day for a month, then you will have recited the entire 150 Psalms. A bathing in God's merciful love that the Jewish people were so familiar with for more than a thousand years before Christ was born, then not surprising it was a principal way in which our Lord prayed in His own home. Wonderful to know. The app I use a lot but not exclusively is called Breviarium Meum on my iPhone. So easy to use and a wonderful way to get introduced to this ancient prayer form. God bless you all.