St. Michael - pray for us

Dedication of St. Michael the Archangel
J.M.J.

VENERATION OF ST. MICHAEL

According to the great St. Alphonsus Liguori, veneration of the holy
Angels, and particularly of St. Michael, is an outstanding sign of
predestination. St. Lawrence Justinian says: "Although we must honor all the
Angels, we ought to invoke in a very special manner the glorious St.
Michael, as the Prince of all the heavenly spirits, because of his sublime
dignity, his pre-eminent office and his invincible power, which he proved in
his conflict with Satan, as well as against the combined forces of Hell."
Again, the same Saint says: "Let all acknowledge St. Michael as their
protector, and be devoted to him, for he cannot despise those who pray to
him . . . But he guards them through life, directs them on their way and
conducts them to their eternal home."

Holy Church recognizes the exalted dignity and power of St. Michael by
the veneration which she pays to him. Until the reform of the breviary in
1961, she had tow feasts in his honor; the Apparition of St. Michael on May
8, and the Dedication of St. Michael, or Michaelmas, on September 29. Her
liturgy for the latter feast, which she has retained (in the Traditional
Latin Mass), is replete with the praises of St. Michael as the Prince of the
heavenly hosts and as the protector of the children of God. . .

THE DEDICATION OF ST. MICHAEL

The Feast of Saint Michael, or Michaelmas Day, is September 29. As it is
not certain just what church is commemorated as having been dedicated on
this day, the pious belief has gained favor that the entire Catholic Church
is here indicated. For by casting the rebel spirits into the abyss, St.
Michael dedicated the Church Triumphant in Heaven as the peaceful abode of
the Angels; and as he wards off the devil and his colleagues from the Church
upon earth, he has dedicated the Church Militant as the secure dwelling
place of the faithful upon earth. Finally, as helper and consoler of the
souls in Purgatory, the Church Suffering is place under his care. This feast
of St. Michael has ever been one of the outstanding feasts of the Church.
However, the liturgy for the feast is not confined to the veneration of St.
Michael alone, but includes all the Angels, particularly those who are
appointed as guardians of mankind.

PRAYER TO ST. MICHAEL

O Glorious Prince of the heavenly hosts and victor over rebellious
spirits, be mindful of me who am so weak and sinful and yet so prone to
pride and ambition. Lend me, I pray, thy powerful aid in every temptation
and difficulty, and above all do not forsake me in my last struggle with the
powers of evil. Amen.

-------------
The above is taken from the booklet "St. Michael the Archangel" (available
in our Store - http://www.olrl.org/mm5/merchant.mvc).

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New Offering from OLRL

Month dedicated to Our Mother of Sorrows
Sts. Cosmas & Damian - Martyrs
J.M.J.

JOY IN SUFFERING
According to St. Therese of the Child Jesus
by Bishop A. A. Noser, S.V.D., D.D.

St. Therese suffered much, yet she was truly happy. Here in 27 brief but
powerful instructions (3 each for a novena of 9 days) Bishop Noser sets
forth St. Therese's "secrets" for dealing with sufferings of body, heart and
soul. Even though a person may feel bad, and even though a person is still
plagued by faults and failings, St. Therese shows how to live each moment
such that one's life is immensely fruitful for eternity, and nothing will be
wasted. JOY IN SUFFERING shows how the Catholic Faith possesses the key to
solid peace and joy even in the most painful situations of life.
99 page booklet, only 95 cents ea.
Published by TAN Books.

-------------------------

Visit our Store (http://www.olrl.org/mm5/merchant.mvc) to order "Joy in
Suffering", a must read for every Catholic!

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Modernism

Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost
St. Linus - Pope, Martyr
J.M.J.

"The Rector's Letter"

MODERNISTIC RATS

Dear friends and benefactors,

Truth cannot grow old. The years follow one another, men die, and all
things pass, but only truth remains, unspoiled, intact. Fruit of the
intrinsic relation existing between intelligence and reality, Truth escapes
indeed the frailty of events and of men. Even Better, Truth transcends it by
attaining the very being of things. What is true one day cannot become false
the following day. Truth also keeps intact its power of attraction. As our
intelligence naturally aspires to understand the world that surrounds us, it
cannot be satisfied for long with the fables it is fed. Only Truth satisfies
the intelligence.

Immutable in itself, Truth is however always new. We could easily
imagine that with the passing of time Truth would lose its newness, obliged
to repeat tirelessly the same thing to every generation, one after the
other, forever stuck in the same ruts! But it is not so: Truth, although
being always essentially the same, remains always to be discovered. We can
never tire of Truth, since it puts our souls in relation with reality.

It is different with error. Error ages badly! And it grows old taking
jealous care of putting on all the artifices of its make-up. Aren't they its
single weapon of seduction? We must not be impressed by the aggressive
campaigns of its publicity agents, who well know that behind their masks
there is only a void, but still try to put us off track! This emptiness of
error explains why it fears the light so much and prefers going to ground,
as the common rodents with which it shares more than one trait . . . be it
only its disgusting aspect!

The Modernist can boast of being a past master in this art of
dissimulation. Leo XIII and St. Pius X multiplied in vain their increasingly
precise and solemn warnings against the innovations which were being
introduced into the Church. Such warnings were ineffective. They were not
enough. The troublemakers - let us call them by their true name: the
heretics - cried out and claimed to be the unhappy and innocent victims of
malicious interpretations! Saint Pius X then decided to reveal their hidden
intentions in the luminous encyclical PASCENDI, which we celebrate the
centenary this September. Advancing disguised, the heretics refused, indeed,
to leave the Church, undermining it from the interior. They could not have
followed better the instructions and the methods of Freemasonry, the true
parent of this pernicious error.

Born in those strange and hidden, noxious chambers where, during long
years, was prepared the ruin of Holy Mother Church, Modernism refused to be
presented as a coherent doctrine. Thus enabling the modernists, spread
throughout the Church, to deny shamelessly the existence of any such
organization! This absence of official doctrine and this dishonest refusal
to show themselves openly gave them the advantage of settling with impunity
at the very heart of the Church, corrupting many promising young souls,
surreptitiously gaining them to their cause. One of the glories of St. Pius
X, and not the least, is to have managed to present in PASCENDI the
synthesis of this scattered, diffuse, elusive system which Modernism was at
that time and brand it, qualifying it very precisely as the "main sewer of
all heresies"!

We should read this encyclical to know the modernistic heresy and to
learn how to recognize it behind its multiple and hideous masks. An error is
always defined by its comparison to the truth! Saint Pius X denounces this
heresy vigorously and with a high degree of accuracy. We may affirm that
PASCENDI remains the best and surest synthesis, unequalled to date, of the
modernistic heresy! Moreover, firmly established upon the immutable
principles of a sound philosophy and a sounder theology, the encyclical
transcends fashions and remains today, more than ever, relevant - since
Modernism, raising again its ugly head, enjoys what it thinks to be its
final triumph.

Within the limits of this simple letter, we cannot have the pretension
of exposing in detail the dense contents of the encyclical, but we will
limit ourselves to indicate its plan, hoping that this rapid overview will
be an invitation to read directly its text.

Saint Pius X does not hide that his task is particularly delicate
because the heresy ahs already established itself within the sanctuary of
doctrine, in the very bosom of Holy Mother Church. This infiltration is so
profound that the saint Pope wonders whether the "Man of Perdition" (of whom
the Apocalypse speaks) is not already at work! After a few lines of
introduction, which underline the urgency and importance of the encyclical,
the Pope exposes in a masterly way in what the modernistic doctrine
consists, and then he explains, by showing some of its causes, why this
heresy is from now on installed at the very center of the Church. Lastly,
faithful to his role of Shepherd, he presents the remedies necessary to
fight this effectively pernicious error and which are of a practical nature
solemnly asking the bishops of the whole world to assist him in his fight.

Unmasked, the modernists themselves were forced to acknowledge that the
Pope denounced perfectly their error! In fact, he took away all its means of
seduction by revealing its true nature, and he clearly showed the way to
victory by pointing out with which weapons it was necessary to fight this
monstrous heresy. How come, then, that this powerful encyclical did not stop
Modernism dead on its tracks?

In fact, the modernists reacted in accordance with their own nature, as
rats! The latter indeed, when they are flushed out, build quickly new hoes
where they can, at leisure, continue their gnawing away. And so they did.
Immense holes were dug, such as the "Liturgical Movement", while theology
was undermined by the disastrous "New Theology".

Pius XII tried in vain to oppose the progression of the error. His
condemnations were useless. Hidden away, in the shadows of its dark holes,
the modernist heresy waited patiently until the arrival of the hour for
emerging in the daylight to its final triumph. And thus, we had the Second
Vatican Council . . .

PASCENDI is today more relevant than ever. If we were to doubt it, the
miserable state of Holy Mother Church, corroded by the modernistic error,
would remind us of it! Let us not be easily deceived: the evolution of
Modernism is only one effect of its make-up. The error does not change, it
only evolves. The principles stated in the encyclical are always valid to
judge Modernism . . . and to condemn it as an unbearable insult made
against intelligence and the virtue of faith.

In the hope that you will not hesitate to open this encyclical to
celebrate with dignity the centenary of such noble document!

In Christo sacerdote et Maria.

Fr. Yves le Roux

From "The Rector's Letter" - September 8, 2007
(http://www.stas.org/publications/letter/)
-----------------------------------------------

PASCENDI DOMINICI GREGIS
ON THE DOCTRINE OF THE MODERNISTS
ENCYCLICAL OF POPE PIUS X, SEPTEMBER 8, 1907
Available online at http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Pius10/p10pasce.htm
or in print at http://angeluspress.org/index.php?act=warehouse&id=028

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Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

The Epistle of St. Paul to the Ephesians, iii. 13-21.

Brethren: I pray you not to faint at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. For this cause I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom all paternity in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened by his Spirit with might unto the inward man, that Christ may dwell by faith in your hearts; that being rooted and founded in charity, you may be able to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth, and length, and height, and depth: To know also the charity of Christ, which surpasseth all knowledge, that you may be filled unto all the fulness of God. Now to him who is able to do all things more abundantly than we desire or understand, according to the power that worketh in us; To him be glory in the church, and in Christ Jesus unto all generations, world without end. Amen.


Explanation

St. Paul was in prison at Rome when he wrote this epistle, and was anxious lest the Ephesians might think that the Faith, the proclaimers of which were thus persecuted, was not from God. He therefore exhorts them to remain firm in their belief; assures them that his sufferings would be for their glory if they remained as firm as he; and prays that they may be enlightened to know the love of God - that is, what Christ had done and suffered for us. Hence we learn to ask earnestly of God grace to understand the mysteries of faith.


Aspiration

O heavenly Father, according to the example of St. Paul, I humbly pray that Thy spirit, Thy knowledge, Thy charity, may be deeply implanted in us, that Thou mayest possess our hearts, and that we, filled with all the fulness of Thy grace, may serve Theee more perfectly, and give Thee thanks forever.

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ, According to St. Luke, xiv. 1-11.

At that time, when Jesus went into the house of one of the chief of the Pharisees, on the sabbath day, to eat bread, that they watched him. And behold, there was a certain man before him that had the dropsy. And Jesus answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying: Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day? But they held their peace. But he taking him, healed him, and sent him away. And answering them, he said: Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fall into a pit, and will not immediately draw him out, on the sabbath day? And they could not answer him to these things. And he spoke a parable also to them that were invited, marking how they chose the first seats at the table, saying to them: When thou art invited to a wedding, sit not down in the first place, lest perhaps one more honourable than thou be invited by him: And he that invited thee and him, come and say to thee, Give this man place: and then thou begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when thou art invited, go, sit down in the lowest place; that when he who invited thee, cometh, he may say to thee: Friend, go up higher. Then shalt thou have glory before them that sit at table with thee. Because every one that exalteth himself, shall be humbled; and he that humbleth himself, shall be exalted.

Why did the Pharisees watch Jesus so closely? To discover something in Him for which they might censure and accuse Him. How like them are those Christians who watch every step of their neighbors, and particularly of priests, hoping to find something for which to blame them, and represent them as evil persons!

Who is, spiritually, like the man with the dropsy? The avaricious man; for as a dropsical person is never satisfied with drinking, so the avaricious man never has enough; and like the dropsy, too, avarice is hard to cure, since it grows worse with age, and generally does not leave a man till he comes to the grave.

Why is avarice reckoned among the seven deadly sins? Because it is the root of many evils; for it leads to usury, theft, the use of false weights and measures, to the retaining of unjustly gotten goods, to the oppression of the poor, of widows and orphans, to the denial and suppression of justice, to apostacy from the faith, and to dispair. Hence the Apostle says: "They that will become rich fall into temptation, and into the snare of the devil, and into many unprofitable and hurtful desires, which drown men into destruction and perdition" (I. Tim. vi. 9).

An efficacious remedy for avarice is the consideration that we are only the stewards, and not the owners of our goods, of which we can take nothing with us at the hour of our death (I. Tim. vi. 7); and that one day God will require of us a strict account of what we have had.


INSTRUCTION ON KEEPING HOLY SUNDAYS AND HOLY-DAYS OF OBLIGATION.

How must we sanctify the Sundays and holy-days? As the third commandment enjoins, that is, on Sundays and holy-days, we must not only abstain from servile labor, but we must, as far as possible, attend divine service, both in the forenoon and afternoon; for God has not said, thou shalt be idle on the Sabbath-day, but thou shalt keep holy the Sabbath day. God will not suffer those who desecrate His holy-day to go unpunished; He will cover them with disgrace and scorn (Mal. ii. 3), and will send upon them all the evils of the time.

Goffine's Devout Instructions on the Epistles and Gospels for the Sundays and Holy Days, 1896

Behold Thy Mother - conclusion

Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary
J.M.J.

Taken from: "The Servite Manual: BEHOLD THY MOTHER - a Collection of
Devotions Chiefly in Honor of Our Lady of Sorrows," compiled by The Servite
Fathers; 6th ed; Servite Fathers, Chicago, 1947; pages xv-xxix.

THE TRUE NATURE OF THE DEVOTION TO OUR LADY OF SORROWS; ITS EXCELLENCE AND
ADVANTAGES

In the practice of every devotion it is before all things needful to know
its nature, object, and end; otherwise we
are in danger of taking the wrong path, and thus of losing the fruits
attached to that devotion. We have therefore to examine the nature and
precise object of the devotion to our Lady of Sorrows. It consists of a
heartfelt and sincere compassion for the Sorrows which the most holy Virgin
endured through her whole life, especially for her long martyrdom, which
began with the prophecy of holy Simeon, and was consummated on Calvary. The
sight of a great misfortune always moves us, sometimes even to tears; but
our compassion is increased, when the sufferer is united to us by ties of
affection; above all when it is a beloved mother who weeps, when we have
caused her tears, when she suffers for love of us. Now Mary is the most
tender of mothers; her grief was greater than we can imagine; we pierced her
heart in crucifying her Son by our sins; for us she sacrificed herself with
her divine Son.

As Holy Church sings -

"Is there one who would not weep,
Whelmed in miseries so deep,
Christ's dear Mother to behold?
Can the human heart refrain
From partaking in her pain,
In that Mother's pain untold?"

But in order to compassionate the sorrows of Mary, we must understand and
feel them, and to this end we must meditate deeply on them, considering also
the sufferings of Jesus which caused them. Meditation, therefore, on the
Dolors of Mary and the Passion of Jesus is a necessary condition of this
devotion. But our compassion for Jesus and Mary must not be sterile, nor be
the mere utterance of a few sighs or the shedding of a few tears. Every
true devotion must be practical, solid, and substantial, and therefore a
true devotion to our Lady of Sorrows should tend to excite in us a profound
horror of all sin. For it was for our sins that Jesus died on the cross and
Mary suffered such bitter woe, and every time we sin, as St. Paul expresses
it, we crucify again to ourselves the Son of God, and make him a mockery
(Heb. vi. 6). This hatred of sin should be extended even to venial sins.
It would indeed be a "crown of cruelty," when Jesus is covered with blood
from head to foot, to
inflict on Him new wounds under the pretense that they are not mortal.

Such, in a few words, is the true nature of the devotion to our Lady of
Sorrows, as it was revealed to the Seven Holy Founders, and has been handed
down to their children from age to age. We may here cite the words of one
of the most ancient chroniclers, who lived but a short time after St.
Alexis, the last survivor of the Holy Founders. They express in a language
simple indeed, but striking and precise, what we have endeavored to explain.
Speaking to the Religious of the Order, and we may apply what he says to the
members of the Confraternity also, he says: "The spirit of our Order
consists in mediating often, nay continually, on the Dolors of the most holy
Mother of God, and in striving that all should meditate on them. But our
brethren must make no mistake, as though meditation on, and compassion for,
the most holy Virgin of Sorrows were to end in the meditation itself. Far
different is that which the holy Mother of God expects from us. She desires
that, while we excite our hearts to compassionate her, that, we should far
more move them not to increase the occasion of her Dolors, which is sin.
She wills us to be good religious, fearing God, and free from sins, at least
from grievous and heavy sins, and to make seculars the same, so that through
us all may be holy.

"The Friars of St. Francis have by their poverty to teach us contempt of the
world. The Friars of St. Dominic have to teach and preach the holy faith,
God having chosen that Saint to be the master of Preachers. But we have a
spirit no less worthy and notable, that is, to be holy ourselves and to make
every one else holy, and that easily, namely, by meditating, and causing
others to meditate, on the sufferings of the most holy Mother of God and
those of her most holy Son.

"Such has been the intention of our Lady in instituting our Order; and our
holy father Alexis during his life never ceased to declare this, nor ever
tired of the declaration; and he added that we need not fear the destruction
of the Order, however great the persecutions raised against it, if we were
exact and diligent to fulfill our Lady's holy will, but that woe was laid up
for us, if we had neglected it. And he was wont to say, 'My children, this
I know from the mouth of our Mistress, whose Servants we are; therefore
believe and trust in it; happy are you if you do it.'"

Although the most holy Virgin only asks of us not to increase her sorrows by
committing sin, her devout servants will never rest in that alone. A good
and loving child, if he sees his mother in grief, especially if it be he who
has caused her grief, is not content that he does not cause her to weep
more, but does his best to console her. This we should do in regard to our
well-beloved Mother, the most holy Virgin. We should endeavor to console
her and cause her joy, at least in proportion to the affliction we have
wrought. We should do this, in the first place, by showing ourselves
fervent in the service of God, in loving Jesus above all in His Holy
Eucharist, in being devout to His Passion; we should do this, next, in
working to destroy the reign of sin around us, in leading others to good, in
teaching them to know and to love our Lady of Sorrows. So only can we
worthily repair the evil we have done, and the sorrow we have caused to our
beloved Mother.

Having thus set forth, as briefly as possible, the true idea of the devotion
to our Lady of Sorrows, let a few words be said on its excellence and its
advantages. Its excellence arises in the first place from the object it
sets before us, which is no other than the Dolors of Mary, and consequently
the Passion of our Lord. Now among all the mysteries of the life and death
of our Lord, that which the Saints recommend above all others for our
contemplation is His bitter Passion; nor can we ever so understand His
sufferings, as when we meditate on them in the company of His most holy
Mother. For no one in this world ever entered so deeply into those dolorous
mysteries, no one ever felt them so deeply, no one suffered more from the
ingratitude of men to Jesus crucified, no one desired more ardently to see
His love requited. Therefore, when any soul gives itself to our Lady of
Sorrows, it receives at once from her the most tender devotion to the
Passion of our Lord, and to the Holy Eucharist, which is the memorial
thereof.

Likewise, among all the mysteries of the life of Mary, none offers to our
meditation an object more noble and sublime than the sorrows which she has
endured for us. There she shone in the brightest light, therein she, as it
were, repaid her God for the ineffable privileges which she received from
Him, therein she most evidently manifested her love for us, and therein
finally we shall find the explanation for her power over the Heart of Jesus.

The excellence of this devotion arises also from the fact that Jesus deigned
to be Himself the first to indicate it, and to urge it on us at the most
solemn time. When He willed to give us the most holy Virgin for our Mother,
He chose, as we have already said, the greatest and saddest moment of her
life, when she was in agony at the foot of His cross, so that the sweet name
of Mother, which we love to give Mary, should be, if we wish to answer to
the desire of the Heart of Jesus, intimately connected with the memory of
her sufferings and her martyrdom. This is the true devotion to Mary which
Jesus has taught us and bequeathed to us as His last will, a thought which
infinitely raises the dignity of the devotion to the Mother of Sorrows.

Again its excellence is shown herein, that when in the fullness of time God
would more widely spread this devotion in the Christian world, Mary herself
chose the Seven Holy Founders, prepared them carefully, and at length
revealed to them their mission, which was that of consecrating their whole
life to the cultus of her Dolors, and founding one of the great Orders of
the Middle Ages, with this object. Thus, after Jesus, devotion to the
Sorrows of Mary has herself for its authoress, and it can have no higher
claim to excellence.

If we now consider the advantages which are attached to it, we shall be
still more eager to embrace it. From what has been said above, it is clear
it inspires and nourishes in us the most tender devotion to the Passion of
Jesus, than which devotion there is no more powerful means of
sanctification. We have seen also that no consideration makes us know and
love Mary better, and gives us more confidence in her power, than that of
her Dolors. It gives us, therefore, a true devotion to Mary, at once tender
and strong. Now devotion to Mary, when true and solid, is eminently
sanctifying, and in the judgment of all the Saints it is a certain sign of
predestination. It is impossible not to hate sin and not to love and tend
to virtue, when we often have before our mind the thought of Jesus crucified
and of His afflicted Mother.

Under another aspect devotion to the Dolors of Mary is the source of most
abundant graces. From the height of His cross Jesus looks down with love on
those who compassionate His sufferings in union with His Mother, as well as
on those who feel compassion for her own Sorrows. Seeing them, He can no
longer say, "I looked for one that would grieve together with Me, but there
was none; and for one that would comfort Me, and I found none." (Psalm
lxviii. 21). And seeing them faithful to Him in misfortune and humiliation,
He opens in their behalf the richest treasures of His Heart, as He did for
St. John and St. Mary Magdalen. When in their turn they are in trouble and
affliction, He will come to console them lovingly, will pour balm into their
wounds, uphold and fortify them, and after their trial give them the purest
joy. So also Mary can no more say as of old: "They have heard that I sigh,
and there is none to comfort me" (Lam. I. 21); and, as her Son, she opens
with love the treasures which are placed in her hands by Him, and in her
turn consoles them that comfort her and gives them her choicest blessings.

One of the most precious of these gifts is the grace of a good and holy
death. In recompense for her fidelity in remaining near Jesus as He died on
the cross, our Lady of Sorrows has received from Him a special power to
assist souls in their last agony, and no doubt she will above all exercise
this power in behalf of those who have wept with her and compassionated her.
The peaceful deaths of the Seven Holy Founders, of St. Philip, St.
Peregrine, and so many Blessed of the Servite Order, are all striking proofs
of this. If she does not always assist her devout servants in a visible
manner, she assists them in an invisible, but not less efficacious, way.
Now there is no grace more precious than that of a good and holy death; it
is, we may say, the grace of graces. It gives the crown to all others, and
without it the most precious gifts are for ever useless.

Our Blessed Lady revealed to St. Mechtilde and St. Bridget that those who
practice a tender devotion to her sorrows will enjoy the following
advantages:

1. Contrition at the hour of death.

2. Assistance in all their afflictions, and especially at the hour of
death.

3. Jesus Christ will imprint in their hearts compassion for His sufferings
and the sorrows of Mary, that He may
hereafter reward them for it in heaven.

4. Jesus promised His mother, who had suffered so much on His account, that
He would grant whatever grace may be to the advantage of those amongst her
children who are devout to her Sorrows.

Let us then embrace with love a devotion so touching and so excellent, a
devotion so full of advantages. Let us ask it often of the Sacred Heart of
Jesus, which is its source, of St. Joseph and St. John, who were the
witnesses of the Sorrows of Mary and shared them, of the Seven Holy Founders
and St. Philip Benizi, who were the admirable models of this devotion and
its zealous propagators. Oh, that it might be with us as with St. Philip,
of whom it was said that there was nothing else in his heart than the
Passion of Jesus and the great Sorrow of Mary!

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Behold Thy Mother - continued

Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
St. Peter Claver - Confessor
J.M.J

Taken from: "The Servite Manual: BEHOLD THY MOTHER - a Collection of
Devotions Chiefly in Honor of Our Lady of Sorrows," compiled by The Servite
Fathers; 6th ed; Servite Fathers, Chicago, 1947; pages xv-xxix.

But this did not terminate the favors of Mary towards her well-beloved
Servants. In 1242, Ardingo, Bishop of Florence, having ordered a general
procession in his Episcopal city to implore the cessation of the troubles
then affecting the Church, and having invited the Seven Holy Founders to
take part therein, infants once again were constrained by a supernatural
impulse to cry: "Behold the Servants of Mary." Two years later, in 1244,
when St. Peter of Verona came to Florence to combat the heresy of the
Patarines, Mary, several times, when he was praying, showed him in a vision
a high mountain covered with fair flowers, amidst which were seven lilies,
dazzling white, of exquisite perfume. Angels descended from heaven to
gather these flowers and weave them into garlands, which she graciously
accepted, above all the seven lilies, which were her peculiar choice. This
mountain, as Mary herself explained to St. Peter, represented Mount Senario;
the flowers were the religious who dwelt thereon, the seven lilies the seven
first Fathers. "All these flowers," she said, "are precious and dear to me,
but the seven lilies are precious above all, and are my favorite flowers. I
and I only have planted and nurtured them for my special delight, and I
desire that thou treat with veneration and honor those whom I so highly
esteem." At another time she appeared to the holy Martyr clad all in black,
covering with her large mantle Religious in the same habit, among whom he
recognized St. Bonfil and St. Alexis, and said to him: "Know, Peter, my
beloved son, that these Religious are my Servants. I have chosen them from
among men, and honored them with that title, that they may serve me in a
special manner. They are dedicated to me, and their Order is founded by me
and for me."

To so many testimonies of her love Mary added yet another, which was to last
through the ages, even to our own days. This was her miraculous picture of
the Annunciation in the Servite Church at Florence, hence called the Virgin
of the Annunciation. In 1252, St. Bonfil and St. Alexis desired to have a
beautiful picture of the most holy Virgin in their church, and confided the
work to a painter named Bartolomeo. He succeded in finishing the picture,
with the exception of the face of the most holy Virgin, which he was unable
to represent as he wished. Aware of his incompetence, he applied himself to
prayer and the sacraments, and God rewarded his trust. During his absence
an angel finished the fresco, painting the face of the most holy Virgin
which is the admiration of all who see it. Graces without number at once
bore witness to the miraculous origin of the sacred portrait, and made that
church one of the most celebrated sanctuaries of Italy. Before that picture
St. Philip, two years afterwards, had the vision wherein our Lady of Dolors
exhorted him to enter her Order. The devotion which St. Aloysius Gonzaga
bore to it is well known, and during his stay at Florence he allowed no day
to pass without spending a time before it in prayer.

In gratitude for favors so many and so great, the Holy Founders and their
spiritual children worked everywhere with boundless zeal to extend the
devotion to their heavenly Lady, and above all compassion for her Dolors.
St. Philip Benizi followed in their steps, and during the eighteen years he
was General of the Order he gave an extraordinary impulse both to the Order
and the devotion of which it is the standard-bearer. Thus less than half a
century after its foundation, thanks to the labors of the Founders, of St.
Philip, and of their Religious, the devotion to our Lady of Dolors had been
preached not only in Italy, but also in France, in Germany, on the shores of
the North Sea, and throughout the vast regions of Poland. The work so well
begun by the Holy Founders and St. Philip was zealously continued by their
successors, especially in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, during
which this beautiful devotion had an extraordinary development.

Many illustrious persons asked for and received the Black Scapular, out of
love for the Mother of Dolors. According to some authors, St. Louis and
Philip the Bold in France, and the Emperor Rudolph of Hapsburg in Germany,
received it from the hands of the Holy Founders and St. Philip; but there is
no certainty about this matter. In the fourteenth century a zealous
religious, Fr. Luke of Prato, preached in Spain, and gave the scapular to
Ferdinand, King of Portugal, and many princes of his court; to Henry, King
of Castille; Peter IV, King of Aragon; and John, King of Navarre. In
Germany the Emperor, Charles IV and his consort the Empress Anne received
it, and shortly afterwards, Ladislas IV in Poland. But among all those who
were distinguished by their devotion towards our Lady of Dolors, must be
named, in the sixteenth century, Philip I, King of Spain and Archduke of
Austria, who, wishing to remedy the troubles which desolated Flanders, there
instituted the Confraternity of the Seven Dolors, and had the consolation of
seeing those troubles soon brought to an end. The Emperors Maximilian,
Ferdinand, Matthias, Leopold, and others of the house of Austria continued
this holy tradition of devotion to our Lady of Dolors and the Order founded
by her. In 1734, the Emperor Charles VI requested that the Feast of our
Lady of Dolors in September should be extended to all his states, and his
example was followed in the following year by Philip V for Spain. Anna
Juliana, Archduchess of Austria, who reestablished the Servite Order in
Germany, considered this devotion so salutary to her soul that she retired
as a tertiary with her daughter into one of the three convents she had
herself built in Innsbruck and frequently remarked that she considered the
wearing of the scapular as above privileges of wealth and exalted rank. So
great was the esteem in which this pious princess held the holy habit of Our
Lady of Dolors, that in order to receive it, she refused the nuptial
alliance of the emperors Rudolph II and Matthias, and her daughter that of
Philip III of Spain.

Nor has this devotion slackened in our own days; on the contrary, it would
appear to have gained a new impulse of late years, if we may judge from the
many petitions addressed to the Right Reverend Father General of the Order
for powers to establish the Confraternity and give the Scapular. At present
a large number of Bishops and Cardinals not only belong to the
Confraternity, but also to the Third Order, and manifest a great devotion to
our Lady of Sorrows.

Now, owing doubtless to the sad times we are going through, Christian souls
turn instinctively to Mary, the sorrowful Mother. Their pains are so like
an echo to Mary's pains.

In meditating on her sorrow, they find much relief and strength. The
contemplation of the Passion of Christ is a fruitful source of spiritual
help, nor can we ever know or understand His sufferings, as when we meditate
on them in the company of His most Holy Mother. For no one in this world
ever entered so deeply into those sorrowful mysteries. Houses of the
Servite Order being established in England and America are so many means to
help the development of that so Christian devotion to the Mother of Christ
in English speaking countries.

O sweet Virgin, made sad by our sins and former ingratitude to Jesus and to
thee, to thee we turn, humbled and contrite that thou mayest show thy mercy
towards us, as thou didst upon the seven glorious Saints called by thee to
establish the Order of thy Servants.
Yes make us thy true servants, make us serve Jesus faithfully, increase the
number of thy faithful ones and their fidelity, that even as thy pains
merited for thee the queenly diadem, so our affection for thee may entitle
us to be thy happy subjects forever. Amen.

to be continued . . .

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September, month of Our Mother of Sorrows

September, the month dedicated to Our Mother of Sorrows
Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
J.M.J.

Taken from: "The Servite Manual: BEHOLD THY MOTHER - a Collection of
Devotions Chiefly in Honor of Our Lady of Sorrows," compiled by The Servite
Fathers; 6th ed; Servite Fathers, Chicago, 1947; pages xv-xxix.

INTRODUCTION

The Devotion and Confraternity of Our Lady of Seven Dolors

Origin and Propagation of the Devotion to the Seven Dolors of our Blessed
Lady

The devotion to the Dolors of Mary is as old as Holy Church: it had its
birth on the day of the Passion at the foot of the cross, when our Lord gave
us His Mother to be our Mother also. She to whom He bade us turn our eyes,
when in the person of St. John He said to us, "Behold thy Mother," is not
Mary in her Immaculate Conception, in her Annunciation, or her Assumption,
but Mary plunged in sorrow and bathed in tears, the Mother of Dolors. Thus
we see that among the manifestations of Christian piety towards the most
holy Mother of God, compassion for her Dolors is one of the most ancient;
and among the oldest archaeological remains it is by no means rare to find
her image at the foot of the cross beside that of the crucified Savior.

Like all the devotions of Holy Church, that to the Dolors of Mary developed
by degrees and took a more precise and definite form. In the middle ages it
had become extremely popular; and we may venture to say that there was no
cathedral or principal church wherein was not exposed for the veneration of
the faithful the image or statue of Mary at the foot of the cross, or
holding the dead body of Jesus on her knees. Nay more, the same was often
found in even the humblest village churches. But in order that this worship
might be still more extended, God willed that there should be in His Church
an Order especially set apart for its propagation, and in the persons of the
Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order, of St. Philip Benizi and their
successors, He raised up indefatigable apostles to travel through Italy and
the whole of Europe, preaching everywhere compassion for the sufferings of
Jesus crucified and of Mary desolate, as well as hatred for sin, the
accursed cause of these sufferings.

Nothing is more touching and wonderful than the manner in which this mission
was entrusted to the Seven Holy
Founders. These men where seven Florentine patricians who, according to the
custom of that period, were also engaged in commerce. Their names were
Bonfilius, Monaldi, Bonagiunta Manetti, Amideus de Amedei, Manettus dell
Antella, Sosteneus Sostegni, Hugh Uguccioni and Alexius Falconieri. They
were enrolled in the ranks of canonized Saints by Pope Leo XIII, January 5,
1888.

We designate them now by the names of Saints Bonfil, Bunajunt, Amideus,
Manettus, or Manette, Sostene, Hugh and Alexis. Members of a pious
Confraternity of the most holy Virgin, they were engaged in reciting her
office on the 15th of August, the feast of her Assumption, in the year 1233,
when she herself appeared to them in the glory of her triumph, and exhorted
them to leave the world, in order to dedicate themselves under her auspices
to the service of God. They renounced their riches and their families
without delay, and retiring to an hermitage near their native town of
Florence, lived a life of prayer and penance in the closest brotherly love.
God was soon pleased to manifest by a wondrous miracle how pleasing to Mary
were these holy men. In the following month of January, when two of them
were traversing the streets of Florence and asking alms, infants still
unweaned cried: "Behold the Servants of Mary; give alms to the Servants of
Mary." Among these infants was St. Philip Benizi, who was to become one of
the most glorious in the Order of Servites. Owing to the crowds drawn to
them by this miracle, the Seven Holy Founders were obliged to seek a more
secluded retreat, and chose Mount Senario, a wild and desert spot about nine
miles North of Florence. There, after six years passed in extreme
austerities, Mary showed them, by many miracles, the design she had in
calling them out of the world. First of all, in the month of March 1240, a
time of the year in which the mountain is still covered with hoar frost, a
young vine, which they had planted in the previous year, grew miraculously
during the night, and was clothed at once with foliage, flower, and fruit,
symbol of the speedy increase of their little company, as was revealed at
the same time to the Bishop of Florence, Ardingo Trotti. Shortly
afterwards, on Good Friday of the same year, after having meditated and wept
all day over the sufferings of Jesus and the Dolors of His most holy Mother,
the Holy Founders were gathered together at eventide in their little
oratory, when our Lady of Dolors appeared to them, gentle and majestic in
aspect, her eyes streaming with tears, in black garments, and covered with a
long mourning robe. She bore in her hands habits of like color and form.
Around her was a numerous choir of angels and heavenly spirits. One of these
bore a kind of label, on which, in letters as of gold, glowed the words
"Servi Mariae" (Servants of Mary), another held an open book, whereon were
inscribed the first words of the Rule of St. Augustine, while a third gently
waved a magnificent palm, emblem of victory.
Looking upon them with love, while she slowly drew near, she signed to them
to approach and take the habits which she delivered to them, saying in
gentle tones: "It is I, my beloved, I upon whom you have so often called.
I have chosen you out of the world, in order that you may be my Servants,
and under that name work in the vineyard of my Son, producing fruits of
salvation in abundance. Look upon the habit wherewith I am clothed; symbol
of mourning and sadness, it indicates the profound grief which filled my
soul at the death of my only Son. Take this mourning habit," and as she
said this, she gave to them the garments which she held in her hands, "this
habit like unto mine, and, in memory of the extreme dolor which I suffered,
when I witnessed the cruel death of my dear Son, wear it through life and
until the hour of your death, spreading everywhere the memory of my Dolors
and of the Passion of my Jesus." Then she gave them the Rule of St.
Augustine, and commanded them to observe it diligently, as also to keep
always the name of Servants of Mary, promising as their reward the palm of
eternal life. Thus having spoken, she vanished from the eyes of the Seven
Founders, leaving their hearts filled with pity, gratitude and sweet
consolation.

[FOOTNOTE: These facts, as well as those which follow, are told with
greater detail in the "Story of the Seven Holy Founders," by Fr. Ledoux
(Burns & Oates), and in the "Storia dei Sette Santi Fondatori," published in
Rome at Propaganda, in 1888, on the occasion of their canonization.]

Such is the origin of the black scapular of our Lady of Dolors, such its
touching significance. It recalls to us
the profound grief of the most holy Virgin, and associates us with it, in
making us wear with her a garb of mourning. It should be still more
venerable in our eyes from its great antiquity, since it even preceded that
of Mount Carmel, which is often supposed to be the most ancient in the
Church, but was given to St. Simon Stock only several years after the gift
of that of the Seven Dolors.

... to be continued

EXERCISES AND PRAYERS
In Honor of Our Lady of Seven Dolors

Taken from: "The Servite Manual: BEHOLD THY MOTHER" - pages 169-176.

THE CROWN or ROSARY of the SEVEN DOLORS of OUR LADY

An Act of Contrition

Oh my most loving Savior, behold me before Thy divine presence, full of
confusion for the many offences I have committed against Thee. I repent of
them from my whole heart, and detest them above all evils, because they
offend Thine infinite goodness; and I firmly purpose to wash my soul in the
Sacrament of Penance, and never to offend Thee again. Forgive me, my
crucified Savior, in Thine infinite mercy. And thou, most tender Virgin,
Refuge of Sinners, do thou, by thy bitter pains, obtain for me the pardon of
all my sins, and grace never to crucify thy Son again.

Come, Oh Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful, and
kindle in them the fire of Thy love.
V. Send forth Thy Spirit and they shall be created.
R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the Earth.
V. Remember Thy congregation.
R. Which Thou hast possessed from the beginning.
V. Oh Lord, hear my prayer.
R. And let my cry come unto Thee.

Let us pray.

Enlighten our minds, we beseech Thee, Oh Lord, with the
light of Thy brightness, that we may see what we ought to
do, and be able to do what is right. Through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen.

I. The First Sorrow of our Blessed Lady was when, having
presented Jesus, her Divine Son, in the Temple, she heard
the words of holy Simeon, "Thy own soul a sword shall
pierce;" by which he foretold the Passion and Death of her
Son Jesus.

Our Father ...
Hail Mary ...
V. Virgin most sorrowful,
R. Pray for us.

II. The Second Sorrow of our Blessed Lady was when she
was obliged to flee into Egypt, because King Herod was
seeking the Child to destroy Him.

Our Father ...
Hail Mary ...
V. Virgin most sorrowful,
R. Pray for us.

III. The Third Sorrow of our Blessed Lady was when,
returning from Jerusalem after the feast of the Pasch, she
lost her beloved Son Jesus and for three days, with St.
Joseph, sought Him sorrowing.

Our Father ...
Hail Mary ...
V. Virgin most sorrowful,
R. Pray for us.

IV. The Fourth Sorrow of our Blessed Lady was when she
met on the way to Calvary her dear Son Jesus, carrying on
His bruised shoulders a heavy cross, whereon He was to be
crucified for our salvation.

Our Father ...
Hail Mary ...
V. Virgin most sorrowful,
R. Pray for us.

V. The Fifth Sorrow of our Blessed Lady was when she saw
her Divine Son nailed to the cross, shedding blood from all
parts of His sacred body, and after three hours' agony
beheld Him die.

Our Father ...
Hail Mary ...
V. Virgin most sorrowful,
R. Pray for us.

VI. The Sixth Sorrow of our Blessed Lady was when a
soldier with a spear opened the sacred Side of Jesus, and
when His sacred body, being taken down from the cross, was
laid on her most pure bosom.

Our Father ...
Hail Mary ...
V. Virgin most sorrowful,
R. Pray for us.

VII. The Seventh Sorrow of our Blessed Lady was when she
saw the most sacred Body of her Son Jesus laid in the
sepulcher.

Our Father ...
Hail Mary ...
V. Virgin most sorrowful,
R. Pray for us.

In honor of the tears which our Lady shed in her Dolors,
that we may obtain a true sorrow for our sins and gain the
holy indulgences.

Hail Mary ...

Optional:

The Stabat Mater

V. Pray for us, most sorrowful Virgin.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray.

Grant, we beseech Thee, Oh Lord Jesus Christ, that the most
blessed Virgin Mary, Thy Mother, whose most holy soul was
pierced with the sword of sorrow in the hour of Thy
Passion, may intercede for us before the throne of Thy
mercy, now and at the hour of our death. Through Thee,
Jesus Christ, Savior of the world, who, with the Father and
the Holy Ghost, livest and reignest world without end.
Amen.

In honor of the Seven Holy Founders, who were so devoted to
our Blessed Lady.

Our Father ...
Hail Mary ...
Glory be to the Father ...

For our benefactors, living and dead, and for those who
practice this devotion.

Hail, holy Queen ...

For the Sovereign Pontiff, the wants of Holy Church, and
for all our necessities, spiritual and temporal.

V. Virgin most sorrowful,
R. Pray for us.

V. May the sorrowful Virgin Mary
R. Bless us with her loving Child.

--------------------------

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