The Church has established four specific and objective intentions when we pray for the intentions of the Holy Father

The Baltimore Catechism says:

237 Q. What must we do to gain an indulgence? A. To gain an indulgence we must be in a state of grace and perform the works enjoined.

Obtaining Plenary Indulgences

To obtain a plenary indulgence for yourself or for a soul in purgatory, the Church teaches that these five conditions must be fulfilled:

Make a sacramental Confession within 20 days before or after the day the indulgence is sought. (Source: Norms of Confession for Obtaining a Plenary Indulgence)

Receive Holy Communion on that day (or within 20 days before or after).

Have complete detachment from all sin, even venial sin. In other words, have a complete rejection of the desire to commit any sin.

Perform the indulgenced work (See the Manual of Indulgences – Norms and Grant, Fourth Edition 1999 and Enchiridion of Indulgences of the Sacred Apostolic Penitentiary of the Church)

Pray for the Holy Father’s intentions (i.e. one Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be). [Right before reciting the prayers, you can say “For the Holy Father’s intentions, with the intention of obtaining a plenary indulgence for a holy soul in purgatory [or for myself]…”

From the Raccolta, a collection of indulgences that used to be published by the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences:

“23. The Pope’s intention always includes the following objects:

i. The progress of the Faith and triumph of the Church.

ii. Peace and union among Christian Princes and Rulers.

iii. The conversion of sinners.

iv. The uprooting of heresy.”

What are the 6 intentions of the Pope? The 6 objective intentions of the Holy Father are as follows:

1. The Exaltation of the Church
2. The Propagation of the Faith
3. The Extirpation of Heresy
4. The Conversion of Sinners
5. The Concord between Christian Princes
6. The Further Welfare of the Christian People

This clearly means that no faithful Catholic can pray for the evil and perverse anti-Catholic personal intentions of Jorge Bergoglio who, with his intentional heresies and his open rebellion against Divine Natural Law, seeks to destroy and replace the Church and seeks the eternal damnation of the souls.

Short Stations of the Cross

 

+ Imprimatur, Eduardus Card. MacCabe, 1883


STATION I.
JESUS IS CONDEMNED TO DEATH



V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

My Jesus, often have I signed thy death-warrant by my sins; save me by Thy death from that death eternal which I deserve.

V. Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc.
R. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
V. Have mercy on us.



STATION II.
JESUS CARRIES HIS CROSS



V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

My Jesus, who by Thy own will didst take on Thee the heavy cross which I made for Thee by my sins; O make me know the weight of them, and sorrow for them ever while I live.

V. Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc.
R. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
V. Have mercy on us.



STATION III.
JESUS FALLS THE FIRST TIME



V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

My Jesus, the heavy burden of my sins has made thee fall beneath the cross. My Jesus, I loathe them I detest them; I beseech Thee to pardon them; aided by Thy grace I will never commit them anymore.

V. Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc.
R. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
V. Have mercy on us.



STATION IV.
JESUS MEETS HIS SORROWFUL MOTHER



V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Jesus, most suffering! Mary, Mother, most sorrowful! if for the past by sin I have caused you pain and sorrow, yet by divine grace it shall be so no more, but I will love you faithfully until death.

V. Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc.
R. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
V. Have mercy on us.



STATION V.
SIMON HELPS JESUS TO CARRY THE CROSS



V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

My Jesus, happy was that man of Cyrene, who aided Thee to bear the cross. Happy shall I be if I too aid Thee to bear the cross, by suffering with patience and good-will the crosses Thou shalt send me during life. My Jesus, give me grace to do so.

V. Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc.
R. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
V. Have mercy on us.



STATION VI.
VERONICA WIPES THE FACE OF JESUS



V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Jesus, most compassionate, who didst deign to print thy sacred countenance upon the towel with which Veronica wiped the sweat from off Thy brows, print in my soul deep, I pray Thee, the lasting memory of Thy most bitter pains.

V. Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc.
R. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
V. Have mercy on us.



STATION VII.
JESUS FALLS THE SECOND TIME



V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

My Jesus, often have I sinned and by sin often made Thee fall beneath the cross. Help me to use such efficacious means of grace, that I may never fall again into sin.

V. Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc.
R. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
V. Have mercy on us.



STATION VIII.
THE WOMEN OF JERUSALEM WEEP OVER JESUS



V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

My Jesus, who didst comfort the pious women of Jerusalem, who wept to see Thee so tormented, comfort my soul with Thy mercy, for in Thy mercy alone is my sole trust. Oh, may I never frustrate it!

V. Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc.
R. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
V. Have mercy on us.





STATION IX.
JESUS FALLS THE THIRD TIME



V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

My Jesus, by all the bitter pains Thou didst endure, when a third time Thou didst fall beneath the heavy cross, oh! never, never let me fall away, but rather let me die than ever mortally sin again!

V. Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc.
R. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
V. Have mercy on us.



STATION X.
JESUS IS STRIPPED OF HIS GARMENTS



V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

My Jesus, who wast stripped of Thy clothes, and drenched with gall, strip me of love for things of earth, and make me loathe all that savours of the world and sin.

V. Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc.
R. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
V. Have mercy on us.



STATION XI.
JESUS IS NAILED TO THE CROSS



V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

My Jesus, by those agonizing pains thou didst endure when the cruel nails pierced Thy tender hands and feet, and fixed them to the cross, O make me ever crucify my flesh with the spirit of true Christian penance.

V. Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc.
R. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
V. Have mercy on us.



STATION XII.
JESUS DIES ON THE CROSS



V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

My Jesus, three hours didst Thou hang in agony upon the cross, and then didst die for me; let me die before I sin again, and if I live, may I live to love Thee and serve Thee faithfully.

V. Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc.
R. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
V. Have mercy on us.



STATION XIII.
JESUS IS TAKEN DOWN FROM THE CROSS



V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Mary, Mother most sorrowful, the sword of grief pierced thy soul when thou didst see thy dear Son Jesus lying lifeless in thy bosom; ask for me hatred of sin, which was the cause of his death, and made thee suffer so much; and then obtain for me grace to live a true Christian life, and save my soul.

V. Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc.
R. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
V. Have mercy on us.



STATION XIV.
JESUS IS LAID IN THE SEPULCHRE



V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

My Jesus, with Thee in the tomb I desire that I may ever remain as one dead; and if I live, I wish to live only to Thee, that so one day I may come with Thee to taste the bliss of heaven, the fruit of Thy passion and most painful death. Amen.

V. Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc.
R. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
V. Have mercy on us.



LET US PRAY.

O GOD, who by the precious blood of Thy only begotten Son didst sanctify the standard of the cross, grant, we beseech Thee, that those whose joy is in the same holy cross, may rejoice also everywhere in Thy protection: through the same Christ our Lord.

http://catholicharboroffaithandmorals.com/

A Priest's prayer for the removal of Bergoglio from the Chair of Saint Peter

                                                        

Saint Francis de Sales wrote that veneration of Michael is the greatest remedy against despising the rights of God and against insubordination to God's laws, skepticism and infidelity.

Daniel, 12: 1. “But at that time Michael will rise up, the great leader, who stands up for the sons of your people. And a time will come, such as has not been from the time that nations began, even until that time. And, at that time, your people will be saved, all who will be found written in the book.

 St. Thomas says of St. Michael: “Michael is the breath of the Redeemer’s spirit who will, at the end of the World, combat and destroy antichrist, as he did Lucifer in the beginning”. 

A PRIEST'S PRAYER: For the End of the Francis "Pontificate"

By:   Father Athanasius

Many of you may be familiar with the musical, Fiddler on the Roof, about life in a small Jewish community of a pre-revolutionary Russian village. One by one the Jewish father of five daughters watches painfully as the religious and cultural traditions of the village collapse around him. In the opening scene of the musical, the rabbi’s son asks, “Is there a proper blessing for the czar?” The rabbi responds: “A blessing for the czar? Of course! May God bless and keep the czar . . . far away from us!”

Like the little Jewish village of the musical, with a fiddler on the roof, the modernist institutional Catholic Church has its own fiddler, though he sits on a chair and not on a roof. His name is Francis and like Nero, who is said to have fiddled while Rome burned, so too, this fiend fiddles while the Church burns. It is also suspected that Nero himself set the destructive fires, which is certainly the case with Francis of Rome.

We suggest that it is legitimate to pray for the removal of Francis of Rome from the Chair of Saint Peter. It seems to us that there are three principal ways in which such a prayer might be answered, taking into proper account divine grace and human will.

Francis is a spiritual and religious arsonist, who has now set so many destructive fires in the institutional Church that even the fallen world is taking notice and commenting upon the dismal state of Catholicism. 

What we are advocating is a prayer for Francis of Rome, with the hope of resolving this matter. Now we know that there are countless prayers being offered for the conversion of Francis and for his eternal soul, and we urge that these continue. But is there another prayer that may ethically be offered?

We suggest that it is legitimate to pray for the removal of Francis of Rome from the Chair of Saint Peter, along the lines of the Rabbi’s prayer to keep the czar far away. It seems to us that there are three principal ways in which such a prayer might be answered, taking into proper account divine grace and human will.

Is the removal of Francis by the discernment of the Cardinals probable? No, this is highly unlikely. With rare exception, the Cardinals have shown themselves to be feckless cowards or sycophantic loyalists.

The first manner in which Francis could be removed would be for Cardinals of the Church to convene and discern that for one reason or another, Francis is not validly a pope. Reasons abound for which the papacy of Francis might be found to be invalid: the matter of the validity of the resignation of Pope Benedict; the possibility that there were violations of the rules of the conclave that elected Bergoglio; the possibility that Francis himself has forfeited the office of pope through idolatry or heresy.

Is the removal of Francis by the discernment of the Cardinals probable? No, this is highly unlikely. With rare exception, the Cardinals have shown themselves to be feckless cowards or sycophantic loyalists. In place of cardinal red that they wear for martyrdom, they should rather be air brushed in cowardly yellow.

The second manner in which our prayer could be answered would be by Francis removing himself from the Chair, due to his conversion to the truth, for which so many of the faithful and clergy are praying. But as with the first possibility, this too is highly unlikely, for it would require two things to happen: Francis would need to be offered the grace of repentance by God and he would need to accept this divine grace.

As the great Doctor of Morality Saint Alphonsus Liguori wrote, once someone has forfeited the grace of baptism by mortal sin, God is not obliged to offer the grace of repentance to that person, without which one is not able to repent of sin and seek forgiveness. As we know from experience, God often does offer this grace for those who fall into mortal sin, but when the sin becomes habitual and destructive, the soul becomes hardened and even the offer of grace which is unmerited may be scorned by the sinner.

Our prayer for the removal of Francis could be realized by his death, not at the hands of men but by the hand of God. There is an historical papal precedent for this ultimate solution to a problem pope.

The third manner in which our prayer for the removal of Francis could be realized is by his death, not at the hands of men but by the hand of God. There is an historical papal precedent for this ultimate solution to a problem pope. In the sixteenth century, in the face of a plethora of unauthorized translations of the Bible emerging from the pens of Protestants, Pope Sixtus V assembled a commission of theologians and biblicists to provide a new Latin translation of the Sacred Scriptures. Dissatisfied with their drafts, the Pope decided to do a translation himself; furthermore, he was prepared to declare his translation inerrant.

Not even the Vulgate version of the great Saint Jerome, which had served as the official version of the Church for a thousand years, had ever been considered inerrant, that is, free from all error. Only the original writings of the Sacred Authors, penned under the direct inspiration of God, are truly inerrant.

Despite the pleading of cardinals, theologians, biblicists and even a saint, Pope Sixtus V was determined to promulgate his error ridden version of the Bible, with a papal bull declaring it to be inerrant. Or so he planned. But before he could carry this out as an Apostolic Act, which would have been contrary to the indefectibility of the Church and the infallibility of his office, Sixtus took to his bed and died in his sleep.

I offer this prayer to Saint Michael, with a few modifications, for your consideration:

Saint Michael the Archangel, 

defend us in battle. 

Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of Francis (Bergoglio). 

May God remove him, we humbly pray, 

and do thou, 

O Prince of the heavenly hosts, 

by the power of God, 

cast from the Church Francis (Bergoglio), 

and all the other Modernists, 

who have infiltrated the Church 

seeking the ruin of souls. Amen

Dozens of billboards go up around Rome in defense of the TLM

 Rorate Caeli

All around Rome today, dozens of billboards, in Italian and in English, were posted in defense of the Traditional Latin Mass. The following press release was sent out to explain the initiative.

PRESS RELEASE

Starting this morning, and lasting for 15 days, several dozen billboards dedicated to the traditional liturgy will be posted near and around the Vatican.

An organizing committee, whose members are participating in a personal capacity and who come from different Catholic entities (such as the blogs, Messainlatino and Campari & de Maistre, and the associations, National Committee on Summorum Pontificum and the St Michael the Archangel Association), wished to make public their profound attachment to the traditional Mass at a time when its extinction seems to be planned. They do so out of love for the Pope, so that he might be paternally opened to understanding those liturgical peripheries that no longer feel welcome in the Church, because they find in the traditional liturgy the full and complete expression of the entire Catholic Faith.

“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden of even considered harmful” (Benedict XVI, Letter to the Bishops on the occasion of the publication of the Apostolic Letter Summorum Pontificum). The growing hostility towards the traditional liturgy finds no justification on either a theological or pastoral level. The communities that celebrate the liturgy according to the 1962 Roman Missal are not rebels against the Church. On the contrary, blessed by steady growth in lay faithful and priestly vocations, they constitute an example of steadfast perseverance in Catholic faith and unity, in a world increasingly insensitive to the Gospel, and an ecclesial context increasingly yielding to disintegrating impulses.

For this reason, the attitude of rejection with which their own pastors are forced to treat these communities today is not only reason for bitter sorrow, which these faithful strive to offer for the purification of the Church, but also constitutes a grave injustice. In the face of this injustice, charity itself demands that we not remain silent: for “indiscreet silence leaves in error those who might have been instructed” (Pope St Gregory the Great, Pastoral Rule, Book II, chapter 4).

In the Church of our day, in which listening, welcoming, and inclusion inspire all pastoral action, and there is a desire to build ecclesial communion “with a synodal method,” this group of ordinary faithful, young families, and fervent priests has the confident hope that its voice will not be stifled but welcomed, listened to, and taken into due consideration. Those who go to the “Latin Mass” are not second-class believers, nor are they deviants to be re-educated or a burden to be gotten rid of.

The Organizing Committee

(Toni Brandi, Luigi Casalini, Federico Catani, Guillaume Luyt, Simone Ortolani, Marco Sgroi)

prolibertatemissalis@gmail.com

More images here.

Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Against the Bergoglian Heresy

O Powerful Virgin, who alone hast destroyed all heresies throughout the world, deliver the Christian world from the snares of the devil, and have compassion on the souls deceived by diabolical cunning, that laying aside all heretical guilt, the hearts of the erring may be converted and return to the unity of the Catholic Faith, through thy intercession with our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen.

(100 Days, Leo XIII, December 19, 1885)

Related:

⚠️Caution Bergoglio is blaspheming 💀:

Bergoglio Suggests Mary Did Not Intend to Be ‘Ever Virgin’

Bergoglio supported a Sacrilegious Parody of the Annunciation and Pentecost at the 2019 World Youth Day

Under Bergoglio regimen the Pontifical International Marian Academy (PAMI) betrays Mary and surrenders to Islam

Our Lady of Guadalupe destroys the Ecumenical Masonic heresy of religious indifferentism promoted by Bergoglio

No Greater Enemy of Our Lady Than Modern Ecumenism: Priest and Martyr Maximilian Kolbe

Bergoglio destroys the Marian dogma and replaces it with the Marxist egalitarian mariology, which is the negation of the Universal Queenship of Mary

Saint Louis de Montfort warns inveterate sinners about their false and presumptuous devotion to the Virgin Mary

71 – ‘Your Holiness, we offer you this spiritual treasure: 3,525 rosaries’  – Bergoglio: there are certain restorationist groups, they go back to practices that I lived through, but not now…

62 – Mary surely she wanted to say to the Angel: ‘Liar! I was deceived.’

Bergoglio's heretical blasphemy: “Pagan Blood Runs through the Veins of Jesus”

Archbishop Viganò defends the Virgin Mary from the offense that Bergoglio did to her: “Pope Bergoglio uses pachamama to try to defeat the Guadalupana”

Let's make an act of reparation against Bergoglio's blasphemies against our Blessed Mother.

The Feast Day of the Annunciation

 Rev. Prosper Gueranger, 1870

This is a great day, not only to man, but even to God Himself; for it is the anniversary of the most solemn event that time has ever witnessed. On this day, the Divine Word, by which the Father created the world, was made flesh in the womb of a Virgin, and dwelt among us (St. John. i. 14). We must spend it in joy. Whilst we adore the Son of God who humbled himself by thus becoming Man, let us give thanks to the Father, who so loved the world, as to give his Only Begotten Son (3 Ibid. iii. 16.); let us give thanks to the Holy Ghost, Whose almighty power achieves the great mystery. We are in the very midst of Lent, and yet the ineffable joys of Christmas are upon us: our Emmanuel is conceived on this day, and, nine months hence, will be born in Bethlehem, and the Angels will invite us to come and honour the sweet Babe.

During Septuagesima Week, we meditated upon the fall of our First Parents, and the triple sentence pronounced by God against the serpent, the woman, and Adam. Our hearts were filled with fear as we reflected on the divine malediction, the effects of which are to be felt by all generations, even to the end of the world. But, in the midst of the anathemas then pronounced against us, there was a promise made us by our God; it was a promise of salvation, and it enkindled hope within us. In pronouncing sentence against the serpent, God said, that His head should one day be crushed, and that, too, by a Woman.

The time has come for the fulfilment of this promise. The world has been in expectation for four thousand years; and the hope of its deliverance has been kept up, in spite of all its crimes. During this time, God has made use of miracles, prophecies, and types, as a renewal of the engagement he has entered into with mankind. The blood of the Messias has passed from Adam to Noah; from Sem to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; from David and Solomon to Joachim; and now it flows in the veins of Mary, Joachim's Daughter. Mary is the Woman, by whom is to be taken from our race the curse that lies upon it. God has decreed that she should be Immaculate; and, thereby, has set an irreconcilable enmity between her and the serpent. She, a daughter of Eve, is to repair all the injury done by her Mother's fall; she is to raise up her sex from the degradation into which it has been cast; she is to co-operate, directly and really, in the victory which the Son of God is about to gain over his and our enemy.

A tradition, which has come down from the Apostolic Ages, tells us, that the great Mystery of the Incarnation was achieved on the twenty-fifth day of March (St. Augustine, De Trinitate, Lib. iv. cap. v.). It was at the hour of midnight, when the most Holy Virgin was alone and absorbed in prayer, that the Archangel Gabriel appeared before her, and asked her, in the name of the Blessed Trinity, to consent to become the Mother of God. Let us assist, in spirit, at this wonderful interview between the Angel and the Virgin; and, at the same time, let us think of that other interview, which took place between Eve and the serpent. A holy Bishop and Martyr of the 2nd century, Saint Ireneus, who had received the tradition from the very disciples of the Apostles, shows us that Nazareth is the counterpart of Eden (Adv. Haereses. Lib. v. cap. xix).

In the garden of delights, there is a virgin and an angel; and a conversation takes place between them. At Nazareth, a virgin is also spoken to by an angel, and she answers him; but the angel of the earthly Paradise is a spirit of darkness, and he of Nazareth is a spirit of light. In both instances, it is the Angel that has the first word. Why, said the serpent to Eve, why hath God commanded you, that you should not eat of every tree of Paradise? His question implies impatience and a solicitation to evil; he has contempt for the frail creature to whom he addresses it, but he hates the image of God which is upon her.

See, on the other hand, the Angel of light; see with what composure and peacefulness he approaches the Virgin of Nazareth, the new Eve; and how respectfully he bows himself down before her: Hail full of grace! The Lord is with thee! Blessed art thou among women! Such language is evidently of heaven: none but an Angel could speak thus to Mary.

Eve imprudently listens to the tempter's words; she answers him; she enters into conversation with one that dares to ask her to question the justice of God's commands. Her curiosity urges her on. She has no mistrust in the serpent; this leads her to mistrust her Creator.

Mary hears what Gabriel has spoken to her; but this Most Prudent Virgin is silent. She is surprised at the praise given her by the Angel. The purest and humblest of Virgins has a dread of flattery; and the heavenly Messenger can get no reply from her, until he has fully explained his mission by these words: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a Son: and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of David His father: and He shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end.

What magnificent promises are these, which are made to her in the name of God! What higher glory could she, a daughter of Juda, desire? knowing, too, as she does, that the fortunate Mother of the Messias is to be the object of the greatest veneration! And yet, it tempts her not. She has for ever consecrated her virginity to God, in order that she may be the more closely united to Him by love. The grandest possible privilege, if it is to be on the condition of her violating this sacred vow, would be less than nothing in her estimation. She thus answers the Angel: How shall this be done? because I know not man.

The first Eve evinces no such prudence or disinterestedness. No sooner has the wicked spirit assured her, that she may break the commandment of her divine benefactor, and not die; that the fruit of her disobedience will be a wonderful knowledge, which will put her on an equality with God Himself; than she immediately yields; she is conquered. Her self-love has made her at once forget both duty and gratitude: she is delighted at the thought of being freed from the two-fold tie, which binds her to her Creator.

Such is the woman that caused our perdition! But how different is She that was to save us! The former cares not for her posterity; she looks but to her own interests: the latter forgets herself to think only of her God, and of the claims He has to her service. The Angel, charmed with this sublime fidelity, thus answers the question put to him by Mary, and reveals to her the designs of God: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the povier of the Most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be bom of thee, shall be called the Son of God. And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren; because no word shall be impossible with God. This said, he is silent, and reverently awaits the answer of the Virgin of Nazareth.

Let us look once more at the virgin of Eden. Scarcely has the wicked spirit finished speaking, than Eve casts a longing look at the forbidden fruit: she is impatient to enjoy the independence it is to bring her. She rashly stretches forth her hand; she plucks the fruit; she eats it, and death takes possession of her: death of the soul, for sin extinguishes the light of life; and death of the body, which, being separated from the source of immortality, becomes an object of shame and horror, and finally crumbles into dust.

But let us turn away our eyes from this sad spectacle, and fix them on Nazareth. Mary has heard the Angel's explanation of the mystery; the will of heaven is made known to her, and how grand an honor it is to bring upon her! She, the humble maid of Nazareth, is to have the ineffable happiness of becoming the Mother of God, and yet the treasure of her Virginity is to be left to her! Mary bows down before this sovereign will, and says to the heavenly Messenger: Behold the Handmaid of the Lord: be it done to me according to thy word.

Thus, as the great St. Ireneus and so many of the Holy Fathers remark, the obedience of the second Eve repaired the disobedience of the first: for no sooner does the Virgin of Nazareth speak her FIAT, be it done, than the Eternal Son of God, (Who, according to the divine decree, awaited this word,) is present, by the operation of the Holy Ghost, in the chaste womb of Mary, and there He begins His human life. A Virgin is a Mother, and Mother of God; and it is this Virgin's consenting to the divine will that has made her conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost. This sublime Mystery puts between the Eternal Word and a mere woman the relations of Son and Mother; it gives to the Almighty God a means whereby he may, in a manner worthy of his Majesty, triumph over Satan, who had hitherto seemed to have prevailed against the divine plan.

Never was there a more entire or humiliating defeat, than that which was this day gained over Satan. The frail creature, over whom he had so easily triumphed at the beginning of the world, now rises and crushes his proud head. Eve conquers in Mary. God would not choose man for the instrument of His vengeance; the humiliation of Satan would not have been great enough; and therefore she who was the first prey of hell, the first victim of the tempter, is selected as the one that is to give battle to the enemy. The result of so glorious a triumph is, that Mary is to be superior not only to the rebel angels, but to the whole human race, yea, to all the Angels of heaven. Seated on her exalted throne, she, the Mother of God, is to be the Queen of all creation. Satan, in the depths of the abyss, will eternally bewail his having dared to direct his first attack against the woman, for God has now so gloriously avenged her; and in heaven, the very Cherubim and Seraphim reverently look up to Mary, and deem themselves honoured when she smiles upon them, or employs them in the execution of any of her wishes, for she is the Mother of their God.

Therefore is it, that we the children of Adam, who have been snatched by Mary's obedience from the power of hell, solemnise this day of the Annunciation. Well may we say of Mary those words of Debbora, when she sang her song of victory over the enemies of God's people: The valiant men ceased, and vested in Israel, until Debbora arose, a Mother arose in Israel. The Lord chose new wars, and He Himself overthrew the gates of the enemies (Judges, v. 7, 8.). Let us also refer to the holy Mother of Jesus these words of Judith, who, by her victory over the enemy, was another type of Mary: Praise ye the Lord our God, who hath not forsaken them that hope in him. And by me, his handmaid, he hath fulfilled his mercy, which He promised to the house of Israel; and He hath killed the enemy of his people by my hand this night. The Almighty Lord hath struck him, and hath delivered him into the hands of a woman, and hath slain him (Judith, xiii. 17, 18; xvi. 7.).

FIRST VESPERS

When the Annunciation falls on any other day than Monday, the First Vespers of this Feast are sung before mid-day, according to the rule prescribed for Fast-days of Lent: but when it falls on a Monday, this Office is celebrated at the ordinary time of Vespers, and only a commemoration is made of the Sunday by the Magnificat Antiphon and the Prayer.

The Office of First Vespers is always the commencement of a Feast. The Antiphons of the Vespers, at which we are going to assist, are taken from the Gospel of St. Luke, where the Evangelist reveals to us the sublime interview between the Angel and the Virgin. The Psalms are those which tradition has consecrated to the celebration of Mary's glories.


Ant. The Angel Gabriel was sent to Mary, a Virgin, espoused to Joseph.

PSALM 109.

The Lord said to my Lord: Sit thou at my right hand: Until I make thy enemies thy footstool. The Lord will send forth the sceptre of thy power out of Sion: rule thou in the midst of thy enemies. With thee is the principality in the day of thy strength: in the brightness of the saints: from the womb before the day star I begot thee. The Lord hath sworn, and he will not repent: Thou art a priest for ever according to the order of Melchisedech. The Lord at thy right hand hath broken kings in the day of his wrath.

He shall judge among nations, he shall fill ruins: he shall crush the heads in the land of the many. He shall drink of the torrent in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head.


Ant. The Angel Gabriel was sent to Mary, a Virgin, espoused to Joseph.

Ant. Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: Blessed art thou among women.

PSALM 112

Praise the Lord, ye children: praise ye the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name of the Lord, from henceforth now and for ever. From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, the name of the Lord is worthy of praise. The Lord is high above all nations; and his glory above the heavens. Who is as the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high:

And looketh down on the low things in heaven and in earth? Raising up the needy from the earth, and lifting up the poor out of the dunghill: That he may place him with princes, with the princes of his people. Who maketh a barren woman to dwell in a house, the joyful mother of children.

Ant. Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: Blessed art thou among women.

Ant. Fear not, Mary; thou hast found grace with God: behold thou shalt conceive, and shalt bring forth a Son.

PSALM 121

I rejoiced at the things that were said to me: We shall go into the house of the Lord. Our feet were standing in thy courts, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem, which is built as a city, which is compact together. For thither did the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord: the testimony of Israel, to praise the name of the Lord. Because their seats have sat in judgment, seats upon the house of David.

Pray ye for the things that are for the peace of Jerusalem: and abundance for them that love thee. Let peace be in thy strength: and abundance in thy towers. For the sake of my brethren, and of my neighbours, I spoke peace of thee. Because of the house of the Lord our God, I have sought good things for thee.


Ant. Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God: behold thou shalt conceive, and shalt bring forth a Son.

Ant. And the Lord shall give unto Him the throne of David His father, and He shall reign for ever.

PSALM 126.

Unless the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it. Unless the Lord keep the city, he watcheth in vain that keepeth it. It is vain for you to rise before light, rise ye after you have sitten, you that eat the bread of sorrow. When he shall give sleep to his beloved, Behold the inheritance of the Lord are children: the reward, the fruit of the womb. As arrows in the hand of the mighty, so the children of them that have been shaken. Blessed is the man that hath filled the desire with them; he shall not be confounded when he shall speak to his enemies in the gate.


Ant. And the Lord shall give unto Him the throne of David His father, and He shall reign for ever.

Ant. Behold the handmaid of the Lord: be it done to me according to thy word.

PSALM 147.

Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem: praise thy God, O Sion. Because he hath strengthened the bolts of thy gates, he hath blessed thy children within thee. Who hath placed peace in thy borders: and filleth thee with the fat of corn. Who sendeth forth his speech to the earth: his word runneth swiftly.

Who giveth snow like wool: scattereth mists like ashes. He sendeth his crystal like morsels: who shall stand before the face of his cold? He shall send out his word, and shall melt them: his wind shall blow, and the waters shall run. Who declareth his word to Jacob: his justices and his judgments to Israel. He hath not done in like manner to every nation: and his judgments he hath not made manifest to them.


Ant. Behold the handmaid of the Lord: be it done to me according to thy word.

Capitulum (Is. VII.)

Behold a Virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and His name shall be called Emmanuel. He shall eat butter and honey, that He may know to refuse the evil, and to choose the good.

HYMN

Hail, Star of the Sea! Blessed Mother of God, yet ever a Virgin! O happy gate of heaven!

Thou that didst receive the Ave from Gabriel's lips, confirm us in peace, and so let Eva be changed into an Ave of blessing for us.

Loose the sinner's chains, bring light to the blind, drive from us our evils, and ask all good things for us.

Show thyself a Mother, and offer our prayers to Him, Who would be born of thee, when born for us.

O incomparable Virgin, and meekest of the meek, obtain us the forgiveness of our sins, and make us meek and chaste.

Obtain us purity of life, and a safe pilgrimage; that we may be united with thee in the blissful vision of Jesus.

Praise be to God the Father, and to the Lord Jesus, and to the Holy Ghost: to the Three one self-same praise. Amen.


V. Hail, Mary, full of grace.
R. The Lord is with thee.

Antiphon Of The Magnificat.

The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, O Mary, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee.

Let us pray:

O God, Who wast pleased that Thy Word, when the Angel delivered his message, should take flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, give ear to our humble petitions, and grant, that we who believe her to be truly the Mother of God, may be helped by her prayers. Through the same, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.

Prayer:

O Emmanuel, God with us! Who, as Thy Church says in her Hymn, "being to take upon thee to deliver man, didst not disdain the Virgin's womb," the whole human race gives thanks to Thee, on this day, for Thy merciful coming. O Eternal Word of the Father! it was not enough for thee to have drawn man out of nothing, by Thy power; Thine exhaustless love would follow him even to the abyss of misery, into which he had fallen. By sin, man had forfeited the dignity Thou hadst given him; that he might regain it, Thou didst come in person and assume his nature, so to raise him up again to Thyself. In Thee, from this day forward unto all eternity, God is made man, and man is made God. Thy Incarnation is the fulfilment of the promises made in the Canticle; Thou unitest Thyself to human nature, and it is in the virginal womb of a daughter of David that Thou celebratest these ineffable espousals. O incomprehensible humiliation! O ineffable glory! The humiliation is for the Son of God, the glory is for the son of man. Thus hast Thou loved us, O Divine Word! thus hast Thou removed from us the degradation of our fall! The rebel angels fell, and thou didst leave them in the abyss; we fell, and thou hadst mercy on us. A single look of Thy pity would have sufficed to save us; but it would not satisfy Thy love: therefore didst Thou descend into this world of sin, take upon Thyself the form of a slave (Philipp. ii. 7.), and lead a life of humiliation and suffering. O Word made Flesh! Who comest not to judge, but to save (St. John, xii. 47.)! we adore Thee, we praise Thee, we love Thee. Make us worthy of all that Thy love has led Thee to do for us.

We salute thee, O Mary, full of grace, on this the day whereon thou didst receive thy sublime dignity of Mother of God. Thy incomparable purity drew down upon thee the love of the great Creator, and thy humility drew Him into thy womb; His presence within thee increased the holiness of thy spirit and the purity of thy body. What must have been thy happiness in knowing that this Son of God was living by thy life, and was taking from thine own substance the new being, which His love for us induced Him to assume! Between thee and Him is formed that ineffable union which is granted to none else but to thee: He is thy Creator, and thou art His Mother; He is thy Son, and thou art his Creature. Every knee bows down before Him, O Mary! for He is the great God of heaven and earth; but every creature reveres thee, also, for thou hast carried Him in thy womb, thou hast fed him at thy breast; thou alone canst say to him, as does His heavenly Father: Thou art my Son! O Mother of Jesus! thou art the greatest of God's works: receive the humble homage of mankind, for thou art most dear to us, seeing that thou art of the same flesh and blood as ourselves. Thou art a Daughter of Eve, but without her sin. By thy obedience to the divine decrees, thou savest thy mother and her race; thou restorest Adam and his children to the innocence they had lost. Jesus, Whom thou bearest in thy womb, is our pledge that all these blessings are to be ours; and it is by thee that He comes to us. Without Jesus, we should abide in death; without thee, we should not have had Him to redeem us. It is from thy virginal womb that He receives the precious Blood which is to be our ransom, that Blood whose purity He protected in thy Immaculate Conception, and which becomes the Blood of God by the union, that is consummated in thee, of the Divine with the Human Nature.

Today, O Mary! is fulfilled in thee the promise made by God after Adam's sin, that he would put enmity between the Woman and the Serpent. Up to this time, the human race had not the courage to resist the enemy; it was subservient to him, and everywhere were altars raised up in his honour; but, on this day, his head is crushed beneath thy foot. Thy humility, thy purity, thy obedience, have conquered him; his tyranny is checked. By thee we are delivered from his sway; and nothing but our own perversity and ingratitude could again give him the mastery. Let not this be, O Mary! Come to our assistance. During this Season of repentance, we humbly acknowledge that we have abused the grace of God; we beseech thee, on this the Feast of thy Annunciation, intercede for us with Him, Who, on this day, became thy Son. Holy Mother of God! by the salutation addressed to thee by the Angel Gabriel, by thy virginal fear, by thy fidelity to God, by thy prudent humility, by thy consent, obtain for us conversion of heart, and sincere repentance; prepare us for the great Mysteries we are about to celebrate. These Mysteries are so full of sorrow to thy maternal heart; and yet thou wouldst have us rejoice on this day, as we think on the ineffable happiness which filled thy soul at the solemn moment when the Holy Ghost overshadowed thee, and the Son of God became thine. Yes, Blessed Mother of Jesus! we will spend the whole of this day near thee, in thy humble dwelling at Nazareth. Nine months hence, we will follow thee to Bethlehem, and there, in company with the Shepherds and the Angels, we will prostrate ourselves in adoration before the InfantGod, our Saviour: we will join our voices with those of the heavenly host, and we will thus express our gladness: Glory be to God in the highest! and peace on earth to men of good will!

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Prayer of the Most Holy Virgin Mother
of the Incarnate Word

Most holy Virgin, Mother of the incarnate Word, A treasure house of grace, and refuge of us wretched sinners, with lively faith we have recourse to thy motherly love, and ask of thee the grace of ever doing God's will and thine. In thy most holy hands we place our hearts, and of thee we ask health of body and soul; and, as we have the sure hope that thou, our most loving Mother, wilt hear us, we say to thee with lively faith:

Hail Mary, three times.


Let us pray:

Defend, we beseech thee, O Lord! through the intercession of the blessed Mary, ever virgin, Thy servants from all infirmity; and mercifully deign to guard them, prostrate in the sincerity of their hearts before Thee, against the snares of the enemy. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

(Indulgence of 100 days, once a day. Leo XII, Aug. n, 1824.)



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Mary, Mother of God and Mother of mercy, pray for us and for the departed.

(Indulgence of 100 days, once a day. Leo XIII, Dec. 15, 1883)



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One Ave and Prayer, O Domina Mea! for Victory in Temptations, especially those against Chastity.

O My Queen! my Mother! I give thee all myself, and, to show my devotion to thee, I consecrate to thee this day my eyes, ears, mouth, heart, my entire self. Wherefore, O loving Mother, as I am thy own, keep me, defend me, as thy property and possession.

(Indulgence 100 days--Pius IX)



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Prayer of St Alphonsus to be said before a representation of Our Lady.

Most holy Mary, Immaculate Virgin and Mother, to thee who art the Mother of my Lord, the refuge of sinners, I, who am the most miserable of all, have recourse today. I adore thee, O great Queen, and I thank thee for the many favours thou hast done me up to now, especially for having preserved me from hell, which I have so often deserved. I love thee, most dear Lady; and by the love I bear thee I promise to desire ever to serve thee and to do all I can to make thee loved by others. I place all my hopes in thee, all my salvation. Accept me for thy servant and shelter me under thy mantle, O thou Mother of mercy. And since thou art so powerful with God, free me from all temptations, or obtain for me strength to overcome them as long as I live. Of thee I ask true love of Jesus Christ. Through thee I hope to die a good death. O Mother, by the love thou bearest to God, I pray thee to help me always, but specially in the last moment of my life. Do not leave me until thou seest me safe in Heaven, there to bless thee and sing thy mercies for all eternity. This is my hope. Amen.

(Indulgence 300 days)



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Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Against Heresy

O Powerful Virgin, who alone hast destroyed all heresies throughout the world, deliver the Christian world from the snares of the devil, and have compassion on the souls deceived by diabolical cunning, that laying aside all heretical guilt, the hearts of the erring may be converted and return to the unity of the Catholic Faith, through thy intercession with our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen.

(100 Days, Leo XIII, December 19, 1885)