Novena for the Feast of Epiphany ~ December 28, 2015 to January 5, 2016 ~

At Thy birth, O Jesus, a star of wondrous splendor shone forth in the Eastern skies and led to Bethlehem the Magi, those envoys of far-distant, pagan peoples, even as the Angel, bathed in heavenly light, was summoning to Thy manger the shepherds, as representatives of the chosen people.
For the Gentiles as well as the jews, must needs recognize in Thee, a poor and helpless Infant, the Almighty King of Ages, the Savior of mankind.
Neither scepter nor diadem disclosed Thy kingly state; no sweet harmonies, no hosts of angels mustering around Thy crib revealed Thy divine nature; but the star shining above Thy wretched stable pointed to the Heavens, the earth, and the entire universe as Thine absolute possessions;
even as the Magi, who at the inspiration of Thy grace, coming promptly from afar, caring naught for dangers, overcoming every difficulty, and embracing every sacrifice, reached Thy feet and kneeling in reverence offered Thee gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Thirsting for God, they had gone eagerly in search of Thee, and Thou did reveal Thyself to them in a wonderful manner, while still in Thy crib, filling them with joy and transforming them into the first messengers of Thy glories to the peoples of the East.
After the appearance of the star, which sufficed to render the Magi Thy ardent followers, O Jesus, did Thou demonstrate Thy divinity!
Yet what darkness still overshadows our poor minds! How reluctantly our wills give way to the loving impulses of Thy grace, even when they do not openly resist Thee!
Give us, therefore, O Jesus, the strength to reply ever promptly and generously to Thy call, and grant that the divine light of faith, which was enkindled by Thee within us while still in our cradles, may ever accompany us on the road of life, until, blessed at last in Heaven, we shall be able to fix our eyes upon Thee in the light of glory. +Amen

Novena to Saint John the Apostle

I. My most loving Saint, Saint John the Apostle, behold me kneeling at thy feet, beseeching thee with all the affection of my heart to grant me thy special protection, particularly when in danger of offending God. O my dear and Holy advocate, remember me before the throne of the most Holy Trinity, and obtain for me from the infinite goodness of God, the virtues of humility, purity, obedience, and the grace to fulfill exactly the duties of my state.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory


II. O my dear Saint, I renew to the Lord, Saint John the Apostle, through thee, the holy resolutions which I have frequently made of intending to love and serve Him faithfully. I am resolved to detach myself from every earthly thing, and I desire ardently to unite myself to Him, as my first beginning, last end, and sovereign good. My dear Saint, I beseech thee to offer to the most Holy Trinity the sacrifice of my whole being, particularly of my judgment and will, in order to conform fully to God most holy, because I desire nothing else besides His grace and His holy love.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory


III. My sweet and holy Protector, Saint John the Apostle, behold me again full of love for thee and full of confidence, beseeching thee to cast thyself on thy knees before the throne of the most Holy Trinity, and entreat most ardently that God, through His infinite goodness, may grant me the grace to fly sin, and the gift of final perseverance. Thou knowest, O my dear Saint John the Apostle, how great are the temptations to which man is subject, and how continual are the perils I run of being lost; do thou assist me with thy efficacious prayers.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory

Of Thy goodness, O Lord, enlighten Thy Church: that being illumined by the doctrines of blessed John Thy Apostle and Evangelist, she may attain to everlasting gifts.
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.

(Roman Breviary)

Venite Adoremus!

(written by Dr. Thomas A. Droleskey, Ph.D. )



Rejoice!

Venite Adoremus!

Our Saviour has been born for us of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Midnight in piercing cold. Venite Adoremus!

Surrounded by the host of Heavenly angels, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity Who was made Man in His Most Blessed Mother's Virginal and Immaculate Womb by the power of the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity, God the Holy Ghost, at the Annunciation nine months before is born for us this night. The long awaited Messiah comes as a helpless Infant, born in anonymity, poverty and humility. Bright radiant beams shine forth from His Holy Face, a Face that would be marred beyond all recognition by our sins as He walked on the Via Dolorosa on Good Friday to redeem us on the wood of the Holy Cross and thus make possible for us eternal life in Heaven in the glory of the Beatific Vision of God the Father, Himself, the God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.

Those bright beams that shone forth from the Newborn Baby Jesus this morning are meant to shine forth from our own souls as we grow in the graces that He won for us on the wood of the Holy Cross and that flow into our hearts and souls through the loving hands of Our Lady, she who is the Mediatrix of All Graces. There is no Holy Mass, where Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is born under the appearances of bread and wine every time a true bishop or a true priest utters the terrible words of Consecration, without this holy night. Just as Our Lord obeyed His Heavenly Father to become Man, so does He obey mere men when they, whose immortal souls have been conformed to His Priesthood and Victimhood, utter the words of Consecration over the mere elements of this earth, making Him Incarnate to feed our bodies and souls unto eternal life.

There is no regeneration of souls in the Baptismal font or in the Sacred Tribunal of Penance without this holy night.

There is no hope for mankind without this Holy Night.

There is, as the first Pope, Saint Peter, teaches us, no "salvation in any other. For there is no other name under heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4: 12.) Only Christ the King is God. None other. Catholicism is the one and only foundation of personal and social order. None other.

We gather around Our Lady, out of whose Virginal and Immaculate Womb the Newborn Babe passed as light through crystal this morning, and her Most Chaste Spouse, Good Saint Joseph, to adore Our Saviour, the very Lamb of God Who takest away the sins of the world, including yours and, most especially, mine!

May the Joyful Mysteries we continue to pray during this Octave of Christmas help us to be ever thankful for the great, incomparable gift that Our Lady gave to us this night as she brought forth her Divine Son so that He, Who stretched out His holy arms in the Crib this night, could stretch out this holy arms on the wood of the Cross to embrace all men to lift them up to the Heavenly Father in Spirit and in Truth.

On behalf of my wife Sharon and our daughter Lucy, I wish each of you a most Blessed and Joyous Christmas. This greeting is extended to all who access this site. No matter the difficulties of the present moment as false ecclesiastical officials deny the Sacred Rights of the Social Reign of Christ the King and esteem the symbols of false religions that are hideous and loathsome in His sight, the peace of Christ the King that He has entrusted to the Immaculate Heart of His Most Blessed Mother is something that a believing Catholic must will for everyone, praying fervently for all whom God's Holy Providence has placed in his path over the years, including those, of course, from whom various events have estranged us.

May each of us, united to the Merciful Heart of the Divine Redeemer that was formed out of us and is united yet to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, help us to pray for each other as we pray for the day with all Catholics will speak with one voce (una voce) and will think with but one mind, that of the Catholic Church, she who teaches the unchanging truths of the Immutable Triune God.

Rejoice! Our Lord and King is born

Our Lord , Savior and King Jesus Christ is born! Let us rejoice and adore! Isa. 9:6 "A Child is born to us and a Son is given to us . . . and His name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, God the Mighty, the Father of the world to come, the Prince of Peace."


Christmas Prayer
from the Raccolta, 1878

I adore Thee, Incarnate Word true, Son of God from all eternity, and true son of the Virgin Mary in the fulness of time! Adoring Thy divine person, and the humanity which is united to it, I feel moved, moreover to venerate the poor crib which welcomed thee, an infant, and was truly the first throne of Thy love.
Would that I could prostrate myself before it with the simplicity of the shepherds, with the faith of Joseph, with the love of Mary!
Would that I could bend in adoration of so precious a memorial of our salvation, with the spirit of mortification, of poverty, of humility, with which Thou, the Lord of Heaven and of earth, didst choose a manger to receive and shelter Thy trembling limbs!

Do Thou, O Lord! who, while yet a babe, didst deign to rest in this crib, vouchsafe also to pour into my heart a little of the joy excited in those who beheld Thy lovely childhood, and the wonders which accompanied Thy birth; through which I beseech Thee to give to the whole world peace and good will, and, in the name of all mankind, to render all thanksgiving and glory to the Father, and to the Holy Ghost, who, with Thee, liveth and reigneth, one God, world without end. Amen