ANNUNCIATION

Feast of the Annunciation, this year, March 26th, 2012

Dear Friends,

Ordinarily today (March 25th)  is the Solemnity of the Annunciation. It is celebrated this year on March 26th having been superseded by the Sunday liturgy. Because we are now in the season of Lent, Sunday, March 25th, previously called "Passion Sunday",  marks the beginning of Passiontide, a deeper time of Lent. This is the third Sunday of the scrutinies for the preparation of adult converts, and the final Sunday of Lent before the beginning of Holy Week.

Now, getting back to the Solemnity of the Annunciation of Our Lord, I have found a most beautiful homily. Before we go on, it is worthy of note that the old church calendar called this feast day; the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The homily comes from a Benedictine Monastary of Our Lady of the Cenacle. Their Life and Charism comes from ‘Men Who Hold Their Gaze Directly Towards God’.  Their spiritual father is St Benedict, one whose gaze was always on the Face of God.
       
                                             "On April 1, 2005, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger gave a conference at Subiaco, the cradle of Benedictine life. Nineteen days later, as bishop of Rome, he assumed the name of Saint Benedict. Pope Benedict’s message at Subiaco identifies what the world needs above all else. “We need,” he said, “men who hold their gaze directly towards God.”

Thank you Dear Lord, for coming to us, for keeping us company, for speaking to us, for living with us, and for giving us Your Heart.

HOMILY FOR THE ANNUNCAITON OF THE BLESSED LADY  (<--click here)

An Icon Inspired by Pope John Paul II: The Virgin Mother, Adorer of the Eucharistic Face of Christ

St Bridget of Swedan 12 Years Prayer

Prayers Honoring the 7 Times Jesus Spilled His Precious Blood for Us, as Revealed by Our Lady
to St. Bridget, and Approved by Pope Clement XII

Our Lord made these promises to anyone who recited/prayed these
Prayers for 12 entire years**:

1. The soul who prays them will suffer no Purgatory. 2. The soul who prays them will be accepted among the Martyrs as though he had spilled his blood for his faith. 3. The soul who prays them can choose three others whom Jesus will then keep in a state of grace sufficient to become holy. 4. No one in the four successive generations of the soul who prays them will be lost. 5. The soul who prays them will be made conscious of his death one month in advance. ** If the soul praying these prayers dies before the entire 12 years of prayers have been completed, the Lord will accept them as having been prayed in their entirety, because the intention of the soul was to complete them as directed. If a day or a few days are missed due to a valid reason, they can be made up for later, at the soul's earliest opportunity.

Click Here to Pray Along with Video, only 10 minutes.
Click Here to Learn How To Pray the 12 Years Prayer

The 12 Year Prayers:

O Jesus, now I wish to pray the Lord's Prayer seven times in unity with the love with which You sanctified this prayer in Your Heart. Take it from my lips into Your Divine Heart. Improve and complete it so much that it brings as much honor and joy to the Trinity as You granted it on earth with this prayer. May these pour upon Your Holy Humanity in Glorification to Your Painful Wounds and the Precious Blood that You spilled from them.

First Prayer: The Circumcision

Pray 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, then:

Eternal Father, through Mary's unblemished hands and the Divine Heart of Jesus, I offer You the first wounds, the first pains, and the first Bloodshed as atonement for my and all of humanity's sins of youth, as protection against the first mortal sin, especially among my relatives.

Second Prayer: The Suffering on the Mount of Olives

Pray 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, then:

Eternal Father, through Mary's unblemished hands and the Divine Heart of Jesus, I offer You the terrifying suffering of Jesus' Heart on the Mount of Olives and every drop of His Bloody Sweat as atonement for my and all of humanity's sins of the heart, as protection against such sins and for the spreading of Divine and brotherly Love.

Third Prayer: The Flogging

Pray 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, then:

Eternal Father, through Mary's unblemished hands and the Divine Heart of Jesus, I offer You the many thousands of Wounds, the gruesome Pains, and the Precious Blood of the Flogging as atonement for my and all of humanity's sins of the Flesh, as protection against such sins and the preservation of innocence, especially among my relatives.

Fourth Prayer: The Crowning of Thorns

Pray 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, then:

Eternal Father, through Mary's unblemished hands and the Divine Heart of Jesus, I offer You the Wounds, the Pains, and the Precious Blood of Jesus' Holy Head from the Crowning with Thorns as atonement for my and all of humanity's sins of the Spirit, as protection against such sins and the spreading of Christ's kingdom here on earth.

Fifth Prayer: The Carrying of the Cross

Pray 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, then:

Eternal Father, through Mary's unblemished hands and the Divine Heart of Jesus, I offer You the Sufferings on the way of the Cross, especially His Holy Wound on His Shoulder and its Precious Blood as atonement for my and all of humanity's rebellion against the Cross, every grumbling against Your Holy Arrangements and all other sins of the tongue, as protection against such sins and for true love of the Cross.

Sixth Prayer: The Crucifixion

Pray 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, then:

Eternal Father, through Mary's unblemished hands and the Divine Heart of Jesus, I offer You Your Son on the Cross, His Nailing and Raising, His Wounds on the Hands and Feet and the three streams of His Precious Blood that poured forth from these for us, His extreme tortures of the Body and Soul, His precious Death and its non-bleeding Renewal in all Holy Masses on earth as atonement for all wounds against vows and regulations within the Orders, as reparation for my and all of the world's sins, for the sick and the dying, for all holy priests and laymen, for the Holy Father's intentions toward the restoration of Christian families, for the strengthening of Faith, for our country and unity among all nations in Christ and His Church, as well as for the Diaspora.

Seventh Prayer: The Piercing of Jesus' Side

Pray 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, then:

Eternal Father, accept as worthy, for the needs of the Holy Church and as atonement for the sins of all Mankind, the Precious Blood and Water which poured forth from the Wound of Jesus' Divine Heart. Be gracious and merciful toward us. Blood of Christ, the last precious content of His Holy Heart, wash me of all my and others' guilt of sin! Water from the Side of Christ, wash me clean of all punishments for sin and extinguish the flames of Purgatory for me and for all the Poor Souls. Amen.

feast day: July 23

The Icon of Kazan

 The Soviet regime was ostensibly committed to the complete annihilation of religious institutions and ideas. Militant atheism was central to the ideology of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and a high priority of all Soviet leaders. Communism required the abolition of religion. Convinced atheists were considered to be more virtuous individuals than those of religious belief.
The state established atheism as the only scientific truth. Criticism of atheism or the state's anti-religious policies was forbidden and could lead to forced retirement, arrest and/or imprisonment.
The history of Christianity in theSociet Union was not limited to repression and secularization. Soviet policy toward religion was based on the ideology of Marxism-Leninism, which made atheism the official doctrine of the Soviet Union. Marxism-Leninism has consistently advocated the control, suppression, and, ultimately, the elimination of religious beliefs.
The state was committed to the destruction of religion, and to this effect it destroyed churches , mosques and temples, ridiculed, harassed and executed religious leaders, flooded the schools and media with atheistic propaganda, and generally promoted 'scientific atheism' as the truth that society should accept.

The Icon of Kazan, the most treasured Icon in Russia vanished during the Russian Revolution.

After the Russian Revolution of 1917, there was speculation that the original icon was in fact preserved in St. Petersburg. Reportedly, an icon of Our Lady of Kazan was used in processions around Leningrad fortifications during the Siege of Leningrad. There was a conflicting theory that the image had been sold by the Bolsheviks abroad. Although such theories were not accepted by the Russian Orthodox Church, a reputed original (one of several in existence) was acquired by the Blue Army of Our Lady of Fatima and enshrined in Fatima , Portugal in the 1970s.

In 1993, the icon from Fátima was given to Pope John Paul II, who took it to the Vatican and had it installed in his study, where he venerated it for eleven years. In his own words, "it has found a home with me and has accompanied my daily service to the Church with its motherly gaze." John Paul II wished to visit Moscow or Kazan to personally return the icon to the Russian Orthodox Church. The icon was presented to the Russian Church unconditionally in August 2004. On August 26, 2004 it was exhibited for veneration on the altar of St Peter's Basilica and then delivered to Moscow. On the next feast day of the holy icon, July 21, 2005, the icon of Kazan was placed in the Annunciation Cathedral of the Kazan Kremlin.

The Devotion set up to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

What is the request of Our Lady of Fatima to defeat Communism in the world?

Our Lady came to Fatima in 1917 to warn us that the world and the nations were sinking into serious sin, and this would result in tremendous suffering during the 20^th century. She specified that there would be a Second World War, that Russia would be taken over by Communism and spread atheism all over the world, and that the Pope would be shot.

Our Lady told us how to stop the spread of Communism and restore the Christian faith to Russia. Today the Russian government requires prayer and religious education in all the public schools throughout their country. Russian leaders have publicly acknowledged the Queenship of Mary over their country.

Our Lady told us how to restore the Christian culture of the United States after the fall of the Soviet Union. She told us to pray for the conversion of sinners and She gave us a prayer to say every day: “O my God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love Thee; I beg pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love Thee.” She told us to make reparation to God for the sins of our country by offering up all of our daily suffering for the love of Jesus, for the conversion of sinners and as reparation for the sins committed against Her Immaculate Heart.

She requested the we pray the Rosary everyday. She requested the Devotion of the First Five Saturdays to be practiced.

Devotion of the First Five Saturdays. 

"On December 10, 1925, Our Lady appreared with the Child Jesus to Lucia at the Dorothean Convent in Ponte Verde, Spain.

Our Lord asked Lucia to "Have pity" on the Heart of her "Most Holy Mother" and to offer acts of reparation.

Then Our Lady said:  "Look, my daughter, at my heart encircled with thorns, with which ungrateful men peirce it at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. You at least try to console me, and say that I promise to assist at the hour of death with all the graces necessary for salvation all those who, in the First Saturday of five consecutive months, confess, receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the Rosary, and keep me company for fifteen minutes meditating on the mysteries of the Rossary, with the intention of making reparation to me."

Each of the Five Saturdays is offered in reparation for the five ways Our Mother's Heart is Blasphemed. In a letter given by Sister Lucia to Fr. Jose Bernardine Gonzalves on June 12, 1930, she said that while in the convent chapel on the night of May 29-30, Our Lord revelaaed the reason for the five Saturdays.
"My daughter, the motive is simple: there are five ways in which people offend, and blaspheme against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
1) The Blasphemes agaiinst the Immaculate Conception.
2) Against her virginity.
3) Against the divine maternity, refusing at the sam time to accept her as the Mother of all mankind.
4) Those who try publicly to implant in the children's hearts indifference, contempt and even hate agaiinst this Immaculate Mother.
5) Those who insult her directly in her sacred images."

                              The Three Little Children of Fatima

                                    Jacinta        Lucia           Francisco

Our Lady of Fatima called Communism an Error to Three Little Children and Supplied the Reparation

What I am about to say may sound naïve, but Our Lady of Fatima pointed out, and named distinctly and directly, Russia. It was in Fatima where She showed how to remove the error of Communism in the world. The solution to erasing Communism from our society is Reparation to Her Immaculate Heart.  Our Lady of Fatima said during the coinciding 6 months of Communist takeover, "If my words are not heeded, Russia will spread her errors throughout the world." "If my requests are fulfilled, Russia will be converted and there will be peace....," Our Lady's requests were made the time of the Communist takeover in Russia, May 1917 to October 1917.

Windows of a church destroyed during the communist reign in Odessa, Ukraine.

The take over in Russia only took 6 months, is it not interesting that in the same six months all of the events of Fatima occured? The urgency of Our Lady's message and warning ended with the  punctuation mark of the great Miracle of the Sun. How could the simple children of Portugal understand the evils of communism in a far way place like Russia at the same time it was going on? This in itself should draw attention to the goings on of Fatima. Jacinta while on her death bed, strongly urged Lucia to make sure the world was told that the only way to Peace was through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. It seems to me that the American people do not know or have forgotten what Communism has done to people in other Nations. It also seems that Americans (Catholics) are not aware of the solution, but the communists know both. JPII having defeated the Communist regime in Poland with the arms of Truth, realized after being shot on May 13^th, was the Pope referred to in the Third Secret. It is interesting how the KGB was found to be linked to his assassination attempt. It was at this time that JPII took a calculated step in fulfilling the request made by Our Lady of Fatima: "Consecrate Russia to my Immaculate Heart". JPII not only conquered the communist regime in Poland with the arms of Truth, but he also threw the mortal weapon at the heart of the blasphemous heart of Communism, by Consecrating Russia on March 25th, 1984, Feast of the Annunciation. Today, Russia teaches God in the public schools. But it doesn't end with the Consecration, it is only part of the solution. It may sound simplistic, but the solution is devotion to our Lady’s Immaculate Heart in the way that She asked. It is the Only way; Our Lady said it and Jacinta’s last words said it. JPII has stated as have Pope Benedict, that the messages of Fatima are more important now than ever. In response to their convictions, the Vatican has placed a permanent decree on the World Apostolate of Fatima, in October 7, 2010 to teach the world as part of the New Evangelization. It is interesting to note, that the lifestyle which leads to the act of abortion is mirrored in complete opposition by a lifestyle which leads to the Act of Reparation to our Lady’s Immaculate Conception. How many Catholics practice the First Five Saturdays? As naïve or simplistic as it may sound, we have been told what to do to fight Communism: Our Lady pointed to it, Jacinta pointed to it, Jesus pointed to it in February 1929, JPII pointed to it and BXVI is pointing to it now with the Permanent Decree to teach it. Learn the devotion to Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart and start practicing it. Remember, the Miracle of the Sun, the greatest miracle ever in the history of the world (after Jesus) was the exclamation point to the urgency of the Message. World Apostolate of Fatima, is an International Association of Pontifical Right, headquartered in Fatima Portugal with a U.S. National Headquarter in NJ. It is the only Church approved Fatima devotional. It is the devotional that Our Lady requested to be set up to Her Immaculate Heart, for which purpose Sr Lucia lived "a while longer". Learn it and practice it now! It is what Our Mother wants. It is for World Peace.

The World Apotolate of Fatima

Socialism and Communism in America

Barack Hussein Obama has received praised by the Communist Party USA for getting the ball rolling, found in an article dated January 29th, 2010. In the 2008 presidentail election, Barack Hussein Obama was in the Socialist Party voting lever.

"A better and peaceful world is possible — a world where people and nature come before profits. That’s socialism. That’s our vision. We are the Communist Party USA." http://www.cpusa.org/

January 29th, 2010 Communist Party USA say Obama's State of the Union was a "virtuoso performance" and he got the ball rolling.    http://cpusa.org/obama-state-of-the-union-he-got-the-ball-rolling

CPUSA Plan of attack: In their own words.     http://www.cpusa.org/search/SphinxSearchForm?Search=obama+&action_results=Search

"The core forces for social change on a mass level have to see themselves as an organized and disciplined force that is not only blocking the extreme right-wing by voting for Obama, but is positioning itself to fight for the progressive programs the country needs.
As Mary Kay Henry, president of SEIU, said upon endorsing Obama for re-election, "We will fight shoulder to shoulder alongside working families across this nation. We will show the one percent that they aren't the only ones willing to fight for America's future."
socialism.http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:7hiuXfqnLrsJ:isreview.org/issues/32/crisis_theory.shtml+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

Sound familiar? Does it not seem like this is what Americans are seeing happening to our own country through the actions of Obama under the guise of "Change"?  American core ethics of Freedom of Religion being destroyed by the latest HHS Mandate. Years of erosion to God in public schools.  Other ways are the attack on God by removing Him from the public square through the aetheists America.  The American families are constantly under attack through pornographic images found everywhere through magazines, television, public schools teaching same sex marriage as normal. The Morals are being attacked by Planned Parenthood though their educational tools. It seems as though Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness is slowing disappearing, and the defining line between right and wrong is being erased by the same forces.

"The 2012 election is shaping up to be an epic battle in a debate about what kind of country do we want to be. As shown by the campaign in Ohio, the labor movement is gearing up for its biggest mobilization ever." http://www.cpusa.org/the-power-of-the-99-in-201/

The following statements are taken from Internationalist Socialist Review. 
http://isreview.org/issues/32/crisis_theory.shtml

"Economic Crisis" CAPITALISM IS an economic system that is inherently crisis-prone."..."For Marx and Engels the only solution was democratic economic planning–socialism"... "Marx and Engels did not believe that capitalism would produce socialism of its own accord."If the working class accepts the consequences of every crisis, then the capitalist system will persist until it produces the "common ruin" of all. And so a revolution is not a given, or simply up to the course of history. As Marx and Engels once argued, "history does nothing...it ‘wages no battles.’ It is man, real, living man who does all that, who possesses and fights; ‘history’ is not...a person apart, using man as a means to achieve its own aims; history is nothing but the activity of man pursuing his aims."⁸¹ Our aim must be the overthrow of the crisis-ridden system of capitalism and its replacement with socialism."

Congressman Danny K. Davis D-Illinois
Receives Award from Communist Party-Chicago, Illinois

Every Catholic Pope from 1846 to our present age, 2012 have denounced Socialism and Communism.

The following list are the Encyclicals written by the corresponding Popes about the errors and evils of Communism and Socialsm.

Pius IX :"“You are aware indeed, that the goal of this most iniquitous plot is to drive people to overthrow the entire order of human affairs and to draw them over to the wicked theories of this Socialism and Communism, by confusing them with perverted teachings.”
(Encyclical Nostis et Nobiscum, December 8, 1849)"

Leo XIII : “They [socialists, communists, or nihilists] debase the natural union of man and woman, which is held sacred even among barbarous peoples; and its bond, by which the family is chiefly held together, they weaken, or even deliver up to lust.
(Encyclical Quod Apostolici Muneris, December 28, 1878, n. 1)

Pius X : "“But stranger still, alarming and saddening at the same time, are the audacity and frivolity of men who call themselves Catholics and dream of re-shaping society under such conditions, and of establishing on earth, over and beyond the pale of the Catholic Church, ‘the reign of love and justice’ ... " A mere verbal and chimerical construction in which we shall see, glowing in a jumble, and in seductive confusion, the words Liberty, Justice, Fraternity, Love, Equality, and human exultation, all resting upon an ill-understood human dignity. It will be a tumultuous agitation, sterile for the end proposed, but which will benefit the less Utopian exploiters of the people. Yes we can truly say that the Sillon, its eyes fixed on a chimera, brings Socialism in its train.”
(Apostolic Letter Notre Charge Apostolique ["Our Apostolic Mandate"] to the French Bishops, August 15, 1910, condemning the movement Le Sillon)

Benedict XV : Encyclical Ad Beatissimi Apostolorum, November 1, 1914, n. 13PIUS XI : Encyclical Quadragesimo Anno, May 15, 1931, n. 117Pius XII : “Radio message to the Katholikentag of Vienna,” September 14, 1952 in Discorsi e Radiomessaggi, vol. XIV, p. 314

John XIII : Encyclical Mater et Magistra, May 15, 1961, n. 34

Paul VI : Apostolic Letter Octogesima Adveniens, May 14, 1971, n. 31

John Paul II : Encyclical Centesimus Annus - On the 100th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum, May 1, 1991, n. 12

Benedict XVI : Encyclical Deus Caritas Est, December 25, 2005, n. 28