Prayer Requests

A friend of mine, her daughter, and I can all use some prayers. Of course, we've always been in need of prayer-but we really need it now. About a week ago my friend and her daughter lost one of their dogs when both of them got out. And one of them, Sabrina, never came back, but they got Isabella back right away.

And I'm worried about getting to Mass Sunday. My usual ride will be back Sunday and able to take me; that's not the problem. The problem is I'm "grounded". Where I live I have a room of my own as well as a landline (same number that I had at my apartment), my own Internet service, and a full bath.

But I live where they have a lot of rules and they deal with different infractions by placing us on restriction which means I can't go any where except for some things-such as doctor appointments-as long as they're not with the Great Physician-God Himself. They use to allow us to go to church while on restriction, but that didn't work out too well. Some of the women who went to church brought home notes from their pastors on church letter heads but came home drunk any way.

The reason I'm on restriction is that one of the staff members went to my room to talk to me Saturday and saw what a mess it was. Today I'm on restriction-not as a disciplinary measure-but as a way to get me to stay home and clean it, which I try to anyway. When someone leaves while on restriction without permission or fails to produce any paperwork showing that they only did what they were given permission to do-they're automatically evicted. Some people die rather than to follow someone's orders not to do what the Lord wants them to do-they're called martyrs, and they do no time in Purgatory. Here I'm not facing the death penalty for walking out the door and going to church Sunday morning; the worst they could do is evict me which is a pretty messy situation as it is.

So anyway, I want my friend and her daughter to get Sabrina back and to be able to make it to the Latin Mass Sunday. That's why I need prayers. I don't want to have to lose my place to avoid committing a mortal sin-or even a venial one-this Sunday.

Novena to St Anthony-Day 9

O Holy St Anthony, gentlest of Saints, your love for God and charity for His creatures, made you worthy, when on earth, to possess miraculous powers.

Miracles waited on your word, which you were ever ready to speak for those in trouble or anxiety. Encouraged by this thought, I implore you to grant this for me (request). The answer to my prayer may require a miracle. Even so, you are the Saint of Miracles.

O gentle and loving St. Anthony, whose heart was ever full of human sympathy, whisper my petition into the ears of the Sweet Infant Jesus, who loved to be folded in your arms; and the gratitude of my heart will ever be yours. Amen.

Day 9

St. Anthony, servant of Mary, glory of the Church, pray for our Holy Father, our bishops, our priests, our religious orders, that through their apostolic labors all may be united in faith and give greater glory to God.

Please intercede on my own behalf that I too may live my life as a true disciple of Christ.

Close with Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be to the Father, St Anthony Pray for Us

Knights of the Holy Eucharist

Mother Angelica, the founder of the Catholic network, EWTN, also founded a community of men called the Knights of the Holy Eucharist. I just found out 4 of their seminarians have a blog called "Knighthood and Priesthood." I've heard of this community before and am happy to find this blog.

According to what I've read that the Knights isn't a community where you take permanent vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience like many religious; it's more short-term. While the men are in the community, they do need to live as religious priests and brothers-no dating while in the community.

It would be interesting to see how long the men stay and what they do when they leave. Hopefully this will provide us with more priests-especially diocesan priests who know how to celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass.

I have read that they even celebrate Mass alongside members of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, a community of priests whose purpose is to celebrate the Traditional (or Tridentine) Latin Mass.

The url for their blog is http://studiousknights.blogspot.com/

Ad Jesum per Mariam! JMJ

Pope's Message to the Priests

VATICAN DOSSIER

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Take a Look at Who You Are, Pope Tells Priests

Reflects on Fundamentals of Identity and Mission

VATICAN CITY, JULY 1, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Priests need to take a good look at their identity, says Benedict XVI, and he offered the example of St. John Vianney and the Year for Priests as an opportunity for this examination.

The Pope took up again today during the general audience the theme of the Year for Priests, under way since the feast of the Sacred Heart, June 19. He spoke about how important it is for priests to understand their identity and their mission.

He pointed to St. John Vianney, patron saint of parish priests and model for this jubilee year, noting that "what shines forth in the existence of this humble minister of the altar [is] the complete identification of the man with his ministry."

It is fundamentally important for a priest to grow in progressive identification with Christ, the Holy Father explained, saying this "will guarantee him fidelity and fruitfulness in the evangelical testimony."

It is the priest's awareness of his "new being," which is fundamental to his mission, he added.

"The priest's renewed enthusiasm for his mission will always depend on the certainty of his personal identity, which is not artificially constructed, but rather given and received freely and divinely," the Pontiff explained. "What I have written in the encyclical 'Deus Caritas Est' is also true for priests: 'Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.'

"Having received such an extraordinary gift of grace with their 'consecration,' priests become permanent witnesses of their encounter with Christ. Beginning precisely from this interior awareness, they can plentifully fulfill their 'mission,' by means of the proclamation of the Word and the administration of the sacraments. […] Jesus sends the apostles, at that time and now, to proclaim the Gospel and he gives them the power to cast out evil spirits. 'Proclamation' and 'power,' that is to say 'word' and 'sacrament,' are therefore the two foundational pillars of priestly service, beyond its many possible configurations."

Established in service

However, Benedict XVI observed, without taking into account the "consecration-mission" of the priest, "it becomes truly difficult to understand the identity of the priest and his ministry in the Church."

"Who in fact is the priest, if not a man converted and renewed by the Spirit, who lives from a personal relationship with Christ, constantly making the Gospel criteria his own," the Po pe asked. "Who is the priest, if not a man of unity and truth, aware of his own limits and at the same time, of the extraordinary greatness of the vocation he has received, that of helping to extend the Kingdom of God to the ends of the earth?

"Yes! The priest is a man totally belonging to the Lord, because it is God himself who calls him and who establishes him in his apostolic service. And precisely being totally of God, he is totally of mankind, for all people."

Thus, the Holy Father invited the faithful to take advantage of the jubilee and pray for all priests and for priestly vocations.

He encouraged the multiplying of prayer initiatives and also "opportunities for silence and listening to the Word, and better attention to spiritual direction and the sacrament of confession, so that the voice of God, who always continues calling and confirming, can be heard and promptly followed by many youth."

"One who prays is not afraid; one who prays is never alone; one who prays is saved," the Bishop of Rome concluded. "St. John Vianney is undoubtedly a model of an existence made prayer. Mary, Mother of the Church, help all priests to follow his example so as to be, like him, witnesses of Christ and apostles of the Gospel."
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