Saint Agnes: the Patron of Challenge
132-year-old tradition—the Blessing of the Lambs and Saint Agnes
Every year on her feast day (January 21), lambs–a sign of Saint Agnes’s purity–are blessed at the basilica, and their wool is then used to create palliums, the distinctive garments given by the Pope to archbishops to show their unity with the Holy Father.
One source of Chaminade’s inspiration came from prayerful reflection on the Church community presented in the Acts of the Apostles.
How did the fearful little community of the Upper Room, through the Holy Spirit, become the vibrant missionary Church of the later chapters of Acts?
Blessed Chaminade noted three key elements in the Church of Acts: the centrality of Mary, the need for inclusiveness, and the urgency to foster faith and a deep sense of missionary activity.
Perhaps because of her famous (or infamous) flouting of ecclesiastical authority, Hildegard of Bingen was not canonized by the Roman Catholic Church as a saint, though she was honored locally as a saint. The Church of England considered her a saint. On May 10, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI officially declared her a saint of the Roman Catholic Church, and has announced that in October 2012, he will name her as a Doctor of the Church (meaning her teachings are recommended doctrine). She will be the fourth woman to be so honored, after Teresa of Avila, Catherine of Siena and Térèse of Lisieux.
Like many Marian feasts, the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary celebrates the protection of Christians through the intercession of the Mother of God.
Salve Regina by Choeur des moines de saint benoit-du-lac
Salve Regina
Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy,
our life, our sweetness and our hope.
To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve;
to thee do we send up our sighs,
mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.
Turn then, most gracious advocate,
thine eyes of mercy toward us;
and after this our exile,
show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
Pray for us O holy Mother of God,
that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray: Almighty, everlasting God, who by the co-operation of the Holy Spirit didst prepare the body and soul of the glorious Virgin-Mother Mary to become a dwelling-place meet for thy Son: grant that as we rejoice in her commemoration; so by her fervent intercession we may be delivered from present evils and from everlasting death. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
Today we celebrate the Feast Day of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska of the Most Blessed Sacrament.
A Passage from St. Faustina’s Diary:
Suffering is Redemptive when you unite it to Jesus Christ.
Saint M. Faustina Kowalska’s Diary # 303
Faustina Kowalska, simply known as Saint Faustina, born Helena Kowalska (August 25, 1905) in Poland then in the Russian Empire — Died October 5, 1938, Kraków, Poland) was a Polish nun, visionary, and mystic, now venerated in the Roman Catholic Church as a saint.
Celebrating the Divine Mercy of Jesus Christ, as revealed by Christ Himself to Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, this feast was extended to the entire Catholic Church by Pope John Paul II on April 30, 2000, the day that he canonized Saint Faustina.
Christ asked Saint Faustina to pray the following prayer for the sake of all little children and the meek and humble. She recorded the following words of Our Lord in her diary:
6th Day:
“Today bring to Me the Meek and Humble Souls and the Souls of Little Children, and immerse them in My mercy. These souls most closely resemble My Heart. They strengthened Me during My bitter agony. I saw them as earthly Angels, who will keep vigil at My altars. I pour out upon them whole torrents of grace. I favor humble souls with My confidence.”
Prayer for the Sixth Day of the Divine Mercy Novena
Most Merciful Jesus, You yourself have said, “Learn from Me for I am meek and humble of heart.” Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart all meek and humble souls and the souls of little children. These souls send all heaven into ecstasy and they are the heavenly Father’s favorites. They are a sweet-smelling bouquet before the throne of God; God Himself takes delight in their fragrance. These souls have a permanent abode in Your Most Compassionate Heart, O Jesus, and they unceasingly sing out a hymn of love and mercy.
Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon meek souls, upon humble souls, and upon little children who are enfolded in the abode which is the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. These souls bear the closest resemblance to Your Son. Their fragrance rises from the earth and reaches Your very throne. Father of mercy and of all goodness, I beg You by the love You bear these souls and by the delight You take in them: Bless the whole world, that all souls together may sing out the praises of Your mercy for endless ages. Amen.