Greetings in Jesus and Mary.. Today is Ember Friday, a day of fast and prayer during Lent and especially for the tradition of Ember days! Two for the price of one! Thanks be to God! Today also starts the Novena to St. Joseph. St. Teresa of Jesus had a tremendous devotion to the Spouse of Mary...St. Joseph. She always recommended that everyone turn to him in need as he has never refused her! A great intercessor before the throne of God and to the Heart of Mary! May we add this Novena to our prayers this Lent. May we ask him to help our families to come back to God and may he ask the Eternal Father through the Heart of Mary for peace in our troubled world! May we ask him to pray that the reign of the Immaculate Heart of Mary may triumph very soon! Below is an article from TFP. They always have many novenas posted throughout the year for our use. God bless them! Below is taken from an article posted March 8th, 2022 by TFP - "Why You Need Devotion to St. Joseph Now"..... "You live in a world surrounded by every type of sin and confusion. Your family is being ripped apart by every kind of immoral and cultural force. You need to fight back with the power of Saint Joseph. Find out how powerful Saint Joseph is in tackling every problem by listening to the words of a saint. No one could put it better than St. Teresa of Avila: “Saint Joseph gave me everything I asked for.” I took for my advocate and lord the glorious Saint Joseph and commended myself earnestly to him, and I found that this my father and lord delivered me both from this trouble and also from other and greater troubles concerning my honor and the loss of my soul and that he gave me greater blessings than I could ask of him. I do not remember even now that I have ever asked anything of him which he has failed to grant. I am astonished at the great favors which God has bestowed on me through this blessed saint and at the perils from which He has freed me, both in body and soul. To other saints, the Lord seems to have given the grace to succor us in some of our necessities, but of this glorious saint, my experience is that he succors us in them all and that the Lord wishes to teach us that as He was Himself subject to him on earth (for, being His guardian and being called His father, he could command Him) just so in Heaven, He still does all that he asks. This has also been the experience of other persons whom I have advised to commend themselves to him, and even today, there are many who have great devotion to him through having newly experienced this truth. I used to try to keep his feast with the greatest possible solemnity, but, though my intentions were good, I would observe it with more vanity than spirituality, for I always wanted things to be done very meticulously and well. I had this unfortunate characteristic that, if the Lord gave me the grace to do anything well, the way I did it was full of imperfections and extremely faulty. I was very assiduous and skillful in wrongdoing and in my meticulousness and vanity. May the Lord forgive me. I wish I could persuade everyone to be devoted to this glorious saint, for I have great experience of the blessings which he can obtain from God. I have never known anyone to be truly devoted to him and render him particular services that did not notably advance in virtue, for he gives very real help to souls who commend themselves to him. For some years now, I think, I have made some request of him every year on his festival, and I have always had it granted. If my petition is in any way ill directed, he directs it aright for my greater good. If I were a person writing with authority, I would gladly describe the favors this glorious saint has granted to me and others at greater length and in the minutest detail. But in order not to do more than I have been commanded, I shall have to write about many things briefly, much more so than I should wish, and at unnecessarily great length about others: in short, I must act like one who has little discretion in all that is good. I only beg, for the love of God, that anyone who does not believe me will put what I say to the test, and he will see by experience what great advantages come from his commending himself to this glorious patriarch and having devotion to him. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us! Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us! Good St. Joseph, pray for us!
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Greetings in Jesus and Mary... We just had Ember Wednesday yesterday and Ember Friday and Saturday will be tomorrow and the next. We can truly practice this fruitful devotion especially now during Lent and at a time when the world is in such need. The price of gas is on its way past the roof and into space. This can only mean higher food prices coupled with a lack of fertilizers coming from Russia and the take over of our fertile farm lands by China and Bill Gates. Is there an agenda? (posted below) Will there be famine? Yes to both of these questions. Let us pray and prepare! The following information was taken from the website "AmericanNeedsFatima.org". "Ember days are three days at the beginning of each of the four seasons that the Church has traditionally set aside as days of fasting, abstinence, and prayer in thanksgiving for the blessings of the last season and in petition for the next. Historically, it is likely that the Ember days were celebrated from the earliest days of the Church – after all, it is a tradition adapted from the Old Testament: Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah seasons of joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love truth and peace. (Zechariah 8:19) Pope Gelasius, who was pope from the year 492-496, speaks of the Ember days (or in the Latin, the Quatuor Tempora, or four- times.) We know of their practice in Rome at this time, and the practice spread throughout the Church until they were officially prescribed by Pope Saint Gregory VII during his pontificate, 1073-1085. When are the Ember Days? Sant Crux, Lucia, Cineres, Charismata Dia Ut sit in angaria quarta sequens feria. This old rhyme was long used to aid in remembering the dates of the Ember days. It is translated: Holy Cross, Lucy, Ash Wednesday, Pentecost are when the quarter holidays follow. The dates of the Ember days each year can be figured from the dates of these feasts. The Winter Ember days are the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday following the feast of St. Lucy on December 13th. The Spring Ember days are the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday the week after Ash Wednesday, in the first full week of lent. The Summer Ember days fall on the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after Pentecost. The Autumn Ember days fall the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after the feast of the Holy Cross on September 14th. It might be easier to just remember “Lucy, Ashes, Dove, and Cross.” Practicing Ember Days While no longer mandatory, it is nonetheless beneficial to voluntarily practice the observation of Ember days each year. It is one of many ways we can heed the words of Our Lady of Fatima: "Sacrifice yourselves for sinners and say many times, especially when you make a sacrifice, 'O Jesus, this is for love of Thee, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.'" St. Basil the Great says of fasting: "Fasting gives birth to prophets and strengthens the powerful; fasting makes lawgivers wise. Fasting is a good safeguard for the soul, a steadfast companion for the body, a weapon for the valiant, and a gymnasium for athletes. Fasting repels temptations, anoints unto piety; it is the comrade of watchfulness and the artificer of chastity. In war it fights bravely, in peace it teaches stillness." The basic observance of fasting on Ember days is similar to Ash Wednesday or Good Friday - one primary meal and two lesser meals. On Ember Wednesday and Ember Saturday meat is be allowed in the main meal only. On Ember Friday the traditional practice of abstinence from meat is observed at all meals. Those who are unable for health or age reasons to participate in the full fast should perform some other penance. While the fast is similar to that of Lent, there is a different focus to our prayers. Unlike the somber fasts of Lent, as we prepare for and participate in Christ’s suffering on the cross, the Ember days give us an opportunity to fast with greater joy. While there has certainly always been the component of penance for our sins and a resolve to do better in the coming season, the focus of thanksgiving for the gifts received in the previous season and the prayer of petition for a fruitful coming season is a very important part of the Ember days. Our hearts should be filled with joy at the thought of the great love and care Our Heavenly Father shows for His Children. While joyful music and celebration would be out of place on Good Friday, they are fitting in the celebration of the Ember days, even as we practice the virtue of fasting. Another important aspect of the Ember days, stemming from the practice of ordinations being held on Ember Saturdays for many years, is to pray for priests and for new vocations. In these days when our priests are so under attack both from the world and the devil, setting aside days each year to pray and fast for our priests is even more important than ever. While these intentions should be in all of our daily prayers, we do well to make special note on the Ember days. Finally, let us not forget those less fortunate as we give thanks for our blessings. The Ember days have also always traditionally been days when the fruits of the harvest would be shared with the poor. Even though few of us have harvests to share, there are still many ways we can share what we have with those who have less, whether by donating money, or time, or even those things in our homes that we no longer use. The world is drifting farther and farther away from God, and as it does it is becoming harder for us to live a Christian life. Incorporating the feasts and fasts of the Church, such as the Ember days, will help us to grow in grace and to keep our focus on Christ." Below is information regarding "The Great Reset" of our food supply. It will be genetically made and fertilized with waste products. The current fertilizer crisis and current land grab is to control the food supply in the design of the globalists...New World Order. May we pray to God that they are not successful...but here is the information below to know that we need to pray about this. God bless.... Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us! Greetings in Jesus and Mary... Archbishop Vigano has spoken out about this war that has erupted with Russia and the Ukraine. This document is posted below. It is very long but will give a better understanding for what is going on. The biggest thing is DO NOT LISTEN TO THE MEDIA THAT HAS ALREADY LED US ASTRAY WITH THE COVID NARRATIVE. THEY ARE NOT GIVING YOU THE TRUTH. Here is the conclusion to the document done my Archbishop Vigano: "There is great concern that the destinies of the peoples of the world is in the hands of an elite that is not accountable to anyone for its decisions, that does not recognize any authority above itself, and that in order to pursue its own interests does not hesitate to jeopardize security, the economy, and the very lives of billions of people, with the complicity of politicians in their service and the mainstream media. The falsification of facts, the grotesque adulterations of reality, and the partisanship with which the news is spread stand alongside the censorship of dissenting voices and leads to forms of ethnic persecution against Russian citizens, who are discriminated against precisely in the countries that say they are democratic and respectful of fundamental rights. I earnestly hope that my appeal for the establishment of an Anti-Globalist Alliance that unites the peoples of the world in opposition against the tyranny of the New World Order will be accepted by those who have at heart the common good, peace between nations, concord among all peoples, freedom for all citizens and the future of the new generations. And even before that, may my words – along with those of many intellectually honest people – contribute to bringing to light the complicity and corruption of those who use lies and fraud to justify their crimes, even in these moments of great apprehension about the war in Ukraine. “May the strong listen to us, so as not to become weak in injustice. May the powerful listen to us, if they want their power not to be destruction but support for the peoples and protection for tranquility in order and work” (Pius XII, Radio message to Heads of State and Peoples of the World in Imminent Danger of War, August 24, 1939). May Holy Lent lead all Christians to ask pardon from the Divine Majesty for the sins of those who trample His Holy Law. May penance and fasting move the Lord God to mercy, while we repeat the words of the Prophet Joel: Parce, Domine: parce populo tuo; et ne des hæreditatem tuam in opprobrium, ut dominentur eis nationes. Forgive your people, Lord, and do not expose your inheritance to reproach, to the derision of the nations (Jl 2:17). + Carlo Maria Viganò, Archbishop, Former Apostolic Nuncio to the United States of America March 6, 2022 Greetings in Jesus and Mary.... I pray all are well and that all were able to get out to Mass yesterday for our Lenten ashes to help us prepare in mind, spirit and body for this very important Lent. I have posted a link below with the announcement that the Ukrainian Bishops have asked the Pope to consecrate Russia and the Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. This and the events now unfolding show that Fr. Gruner who was demonized by Rome for asking CONTINUALLY for this Consecration,,,,, was right......it had never been done the way Our Lady had asked! All the Popes who had seen the Third Secret and decided not to do the Consecration the way She had asked are all guilty for where we are today. There is guilt for the bishops and priests who did not offer First Saturdays of Reparation and promote the praying of the Rosary by their faithful! There is also guilt with the layman for not begging their priests to offer this even if their priest says NO! We as laymen can go to Mass on Saturday in a spirit of reparation. We as laymen can pray our Rosaries daily for peace and the Consecration. We can help spread this message! WE ARE ALL TO BLAME! The following messages from Lucia are taken from Fatima.org..... they are about the efficacy of the Rosary and how Our Lady gave it a new efficacy for our times to help us WITH EVERYTHING. Our Lady came to warn us and She knew the battle would be great and the consequences for allowing the Children of Darkness to be more zealous that the Children of Light would bring harm to the souls of many and physical chastisement to the world!!! Why now?....because the devil is waging a war like never before against the Holy Mass and the Rosary. The Reparation Prayers taught at Fatima help with the reparation for all the blasphemies and sacrileges done today against the Blessed Sacrament. We need to pray these daily along with our Rosaries. May we include a plea to the Eternal Father to grant a Consecration of Russia very soon....if not from this Pope....from the next! In her 1957 interview with Father Fuentes, Sister Lucy spoke of a decisive battle between the Blessed Virgin and the devil. Though not as evident as the crisis of Faith and pastoral negligence, this third theme frequently appears in the communications of Sister Lucy. Yet what does she mean by “decisive battle”? In her interview with Father Fuentes, Sister Lucy discusses this theme, saying: “Father, the devil is in the mood for engaging in a decisive battle against the Blessed Virgin, and the devil knows what it is that most offends God, and which in a short space of time will gain for him the greatest number of souls. Thus the devil does everything to overcome souls consecrated to God, because in this way the devil will succeed in leaving the souls of the faithful abandoned by their leaders, thereby the more easily will he seize them. “Father, the Most Holy Virgin did not tell me that we are in the last times of the world, but She made me understand this for three reasons. The first reason is because She told me that the devil is in the mood for engaging in a decisive battle against the Virgin. And a decisive battle is the final battle where one side will be victorious and the other side will suffer defeat. Hence from now on we must choose sides. Either we are for God or we are for the devil; there is no other possibility. “The second reason is because She said to my cousins as well as to myself, that God is giving two last remedies to the world. They are the Holy Rosary and devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. These are the last two remedies which signify that there will be no others. “The third reason is because in the plans of Divine Providence, God always, before He is about to chastise the world, exhausts all other remedies. Now, when He sees that the world pays no attention whatsoever then, as we say in our imperfect manner of speaking, He offers us with a certain trepidation the last means of salvation, His Most Holy Mother. It is with a certain trepidation because if you despise and reject this ultimate means, we will not have any more forgiveness from Heaven, because we will have committed a sin which the Gospel calls the sin against the Holy Ghost. This sin consists of openly rejecting, with full knowledge and consent, the salvation which He offers. Let us remember that Jesus Christ is a very good Son and that He does not permit that we offend and despise His Most Holy Mother. We have recorded through many centuries of Church history the obvious testimony which demonstrates by the terrible chastisements which have befallen those who have attacked the honor of His Most Holy Mother, how Our Lord Jesus Christ has always defended the honor of His Mother. “The two means for saving the world are prayer and sacrifice. [Regarding the Holy Rosary, Sister Lucy said:] Look, Father, the Most Holy Virgin, in these last times in which we live, has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary to such an extent that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or above all spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families, of the families of the world or of the religious communities, or even of the life of peoples and nations, that cannot be solved by the Rosary. There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary. With the Holy Rosary we will sanctify ourselves. We will console Our Lord and obtain the salvation of many souls. “Finally, devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, our Most Holy Mother, consists in considering Her as the seat of mercy, of goodness and of pardon, and as the sure door of entering Heaven.” Father Alonso stated that the texts of Father Fuentes’ interview “do not say anything that Sister Lucy has not said in her numerous writings delivered to the public.” In further writings, Sister Lucy spoke of the diabolical campaign being waged. In a letter to her friend Mother Martins, after discussing devotion to the Rosary, she writes: “That is why the devil has waged such a war against it! And the worst is that he has succeeded in leading into error and deceiving souls having a heavy responsibility through the place which they occupy …! They are blind men guiding other blind men. …” The following year Sister Lucy wrote again to Mother Martins: Thus the little pamphlets [referring to a text on the Rosary composed by Sister Lucy] will remain with souls, as an echo of Our Lady’s voice, to remind them of the insistence with which She recommended the prayer of the Rosary to us, so many times. It is because She already knew that there had to come these times, during which the devil and his supporters would fight so much against this prayer, to lead souls away from God. And without God, who shall be saved?! For this reason we must do everything in our power to lead souls back to God. Finally, in a letter to Don Umberto Pasquale, who was very devoted to the cause of Fatima, Sister Lucy wrote: … The decadence which exists in the world is without any doubt the consequence of the lack of the spirit of prayer. Foreseeing this disorientation, the Blessed Virgin recommended recitation of the Rosary with such insistence. And since the Rosary is, after the holy Eucharistic liturgy, the prayer most apt for preserving faith in souls, the devil has unchained his struggles against it. Unfortunately, we see the disasters he has caused. … We must defend souls against the errors which can make them stray from the good road. … We cannot and we must not stop ourselves, nor allow, as Our Lord says, the children of Darkness to be wiser than the children of Light … The Rosary is the most powerful weapon for defending ourselves on the field of battle. Our Lady of Fatima....pray for us! Saints Lucia, Jacinta and Francesco, pray for us! |
AuthorBernadette Porter is a Traditional Catholic, a wife of 42 years with 6 adult home-schooled children and 6 grandchildren. A sincere devotion to Mary, the Mother of God leads me to want to share "The Church's best kept secret" - Mary! Archives
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