Virgo Potens

2 of 2 The Sacred Heart at Bethlehem 2. While the Sacred Heart is grieved by the ingratitude and discourtesy of the inhabitants of Bethlehem, He is grieved, too, by the thought of the misery which is to come upon them when Herod murders all the children in Bethlehem and the country around, and He destines for them a rich reward. So now He grieves with every bereaved mother, with every suffering child, and delights to carry the little ones in His arms to heaven. 3. In the stable Christ is born, and the Sacred Heart of Jesus becomes the centre of worship for the faithful souls who gather round the manger. The shepherds come to adore the new-born Infant : His Heart rejoices in their simplicity. The Magi come from afar with their triple offerings, and He blesses them and raises them to a higher than earthly royalty. Above all, Joseph and Mary kneel before their Son and their God. His Heart basks in their burning love. I will fancy myself kneeling there and offering myself to Jesus. ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus ~ June 7th ✧❁❁✧✿✿✧❁❁✧ The Sacred Heart at Bethlehem 1. Mary, when about to bring forth her first born Son, could find no shelter at Bethlehem, and had to take refuge in the cave which served as a stable for the oxen. Meanwhile, the Sacred Heart of Jesus was experiencing, even before His birth, the sort of treatment that He was to receive all His life long. He came to His own, and His own received Him not. It is the same now: He begs for admittance now as then. Mary and Joseph are still His faithful companions; but Jesus, Mary, and Joseph still ask in vain for admittance. O my Jesus! have I ever refused to open when Thou hast called by the secret whisper of Thy grace? (continued)

2 of 2 ~ 10.— Saturday before Pentecost 2. The gift of fear produces an intense quickness of perception in the soul, so that we see our smallest faults, and lament over them. It makes us dread any approach to sin, anything that could leave the faintest stain upon the soul. It also produces a great fear of any unfaithfulness to grace in matters where there is no question of sin. Why have I so little of this gift? It is because my love is so faint and feeble. Why am I so blind to my faults? It is because I am so careless in guarding against them. 3. The fear of the Lord, says the Wise Man, is the beginning of wisdom, and from the very first those whom Our Lord chose to be His apostles and disciples had this fear already existing in their hearts. They had a reverential dread of the judgments of God. They had a fear of the wrath to come. But this preliminary fear was very different from the fully-developed gift they needed in order to be apostles of Christ to the world. We, too, if we are to be apostles ofChrist to others, must have this gift of loving fear. ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus ~ June 7th ✧❁❁✧✿✿✧❁❁✧ ~ 10.— Saturday before Pentecost VII.—The Gift of the Fear of the Lord 1. The gift of fear includes not only that fear which is the beginning of wisdom, but a fear which is the completion and perfection of wisdom. It gives to him who receives it a continual dread of any kind of offence against God, even of sins committed thoughtlessly and without full deliberation. It is not a slavish, cowardly, frightened fear, but a loving, reverential, affectionate fear, founded on intense love. It is joined to perfect confidence in God, and flows from a joyful acknowledgment of His complete dominion. (continued)

2 of 2 ❀•°❀°•❀•°❀°•❀ •°❀°•❀ THE FIVE FIRST SATURDAYS MARY’S GREAT PROMISE AT FATIMA (continued from above) This devotion and the wonderful promises connected with it were revealed by the Blessed Virgin with these words recorded by Lucy, one of the three children to whom the Blessed Virgin appeared at Fatima, Portugal, in 1917: I promise to help at the hour of death, with the graces needed for salvation, whoever on the First Saturday of five consecutive months shall: 1. Confess and receive Holy Communion. 2. Recite five decades of the Rosary. 3. And keep me company for fifteen minutes while meditating on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary, with the intention of making reparation to me. NOTE: Confession during the week, preceding the first Friday, will suffice for the first Saturday, or conversely when Saturday is the first day of the month. The Rosary May be recited at any convenient time of the day, and the fifteen minute meditation may be made at any time during the day on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary. A sermon for the occasion may be substituted for the meditation. ~ St. Joseph Daily Missal (1950) ❀•°❀°•❀•°❀°•❀ •°❀°•❀

June 7th, 2025 FIRST SATURDAY of JUNE 💙 1 of 2 ❀•°❀°•❀•°❀°•❀ •°❀°•❀ THE FIVE FIRST SATURDAYS MARY’S GREAT PROMISE AT FATIMA THE observance of the First Saturday in honor of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is intended to console her Immaculate Heart, and to make reparation for all the blasphemies and ingratitude of men. (continued)

June 7th, 2025 FIRST SATURDAY of JUNE 💙 “See my daughter, how my heart is encircled by thorns with which ungrateful men pierce me at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. You, at least, try to console me, and announce that I promise to assist at the hour of death, with the graces necessary for salvation, all those who on the First Saturdays of five consecutive months, confess, receive Holy Communion, recite part of My Rosary, and keep me company for a quarter of an hour, meditating on its mysteries with the intention of offering me reparation.” ~ Words of Our Lady to Sr. Marie (Lucia dos Santos) on December 10, 1925 If possible, make First Saturday devotions today, in reparation for offenses against the Immaculate Heart of Mary, as requested by Our Lady herself in 1925, and confirmed by Our Lord in 1927.

Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus ~ June 7th ✧❁❁✧✿✿✧❁❁✧ The Sacred Heart at Bethlehem 1. Mary, when about to bring forth her first born Son, could find no shelter at Bethlehem, and had to take refuge in the cave which served as a stable for the oxen. Meanwhile, the Sacred Heart of Jesus was experiencing, even before His birth, the sort of treatment that He was to receive all His life long. He came to His own, and His own received Him not. It is the same now: He begs for admittance now as then. Mary and Joseph are still His faithful companions; but Jesus, Mary, and Joseph still ask in vain for admittance. O my Jesus! have I ever refused to open when Thou hast called by the secret whisper of Thy grace? (continued)

2 of 2 The Earliest Pulsations of the Sacred Heart 2. What was the second thought following close on this, and, in a manner, one with it? It was an acceptance of the special work God had sent Him to do. God sent His Son into the world that the world through Him might be saved. He received with joy the task of the world's redemption, though He knew full well all it would cost Him. I shall never tread in the footsteps of Jesus until I learn by the sacrifice of myself to imitate His Sacred Heart. 3. The will of God thus recognized, the Sacred Heart conceived at once an intense love for each and all of those whom He had come to redeem. They were entrusted to Him by His Eternal Father, they were His brethren, flesh of His flesh, and bone of His bone, and His Heart went out towards them with the yearning of an intense affection. He yearned for the happiness and salvation of each with a Divine longing. He yearned then and yearns now for my happiness. Courage, then, faint heart, and think of the love of the Heart of Jesus for thee ! ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

Voilà ce cœur qui vous a tant aimés. Behold this heart which has so loved you. Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus ~ June 6th ✧❁❁✧✿✿✧❁❁✧ The Earliest Pulsations of the Sacred Heart 1. What was the first thought that flashed through the Sacred Heart of Jesus? Naught else than an act of complete and absolute submission to the holy will of God: "Lo, I come to do Thy will, O my God," and a joy in the prospect of living for no other end than this: "I am content to do it; yea, Thy law is within My heart." Here is the foundation of all holiness— perfect conformity to the Divine will. Yet, how rare it is! How sadly wanting in my sinful heart ! (continued)

2 of 2 ~ 9.— Friday after the Ascension 2. The gift of fortitude makes easy what would otherwise be difficult or impossible. It helps men to bear with fortitude sufferings otherwise unendurable. It makes feeble women endure torture with joy. It makes those naturally weak strong against all the assaults of Satan ; it renders self-denial and self-sacrifice attractive. It sweetens suffering, and makes us content under pain and trouble. O heavenly gift! Grant it to me, O Christ my Lord! 3. The disciples of Our Lord exhibited during His life a curious mixture of courage and cowardice. St. Peter had great natural courage; so had St. John, who alone followed Our Lord throughout His sacred Passion. St. Joseph of Arimathaea and St. Nicodemus in their burial of Him were bold and generous. But on the other hand, there had been at the time of His Passion sad weakness. All had deserted Him in the garden when He was arrested. St. Peter had denied Him; the rest had hidden themselves in fear. Human courage can do little in the face of fierce temptation or sudden alarm. Perhaps I know this by my own experience. ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus ~ June 6th ✧❁❁✧✿✿✧❁❁✧ ~ 9.— Friday after the Ascension VI.—The Gift of Fortitude 1. The gift of fortitude in some degree is absolutely necessary to one who wants to save his soul. All Christians are called upon sometimes to endure for religion sufferings for which mere human courage will not suffice. Those who desire a high place in heaven are called to a hard struggle, and one quite impossible to us in our own strength. Any one may be called on to die for his faith; most are exposed on some occasion in their lives to ridicule, loss of friends, or contempt. (continued)

2 of 2 Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus We are now resolved to expiate each and every deplorable outrage committed against Thee; we are determined to make amends for the manifold offences against Christian modesty in unbecoming dress and behavior, for all the foul seductions laid to ensnare the feet of the innocent, for the frequent violations of Sundays and holidays, and the shocking blasphemies uttered against Thee and Thy Saints. We wish also to make amends for the insults to which Thy Vicar on earth and Thy priests are subjected, for the profanation, by conscious neglect or terrible acts of sacrilege, of the very Sacrament of Thy Divine Love; and lastly for the public crimes of nations who resist the rights and teaching authority of the Church which Thou hast founded. Would, O divine Jesus, we were able to wash away such abominations with our blood. We now offer, in reparation for these violations of Thy divine honour, the satisfaction Thou didst once make to Thy eternal Father on the cross and which Thou dost continue to renews daily on our altars; we offer it in union with the acts of atonement of Thy Virgin Mother and all the Saints and of the pious faithful on earth; and we sincerely promise to make recompense, as far as we can with the help of Thy grace, for all neglect of Thy great love and for the sins we and others have committed in the past. Henceforth we will live a life of unwavering faith, of purity of conduct, of perfect observance of the precepts of the gospel and especially that of charity. We promise to the best of our power to prevent others from offending Thee and to bring as many as possible to follow Thee. O loving Jesus, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our model in reparation, deign to receive the voluntary offering we make of this act of expiation; and by the crowning gift of perseverance keep us faithful unto death in our duty and the allegiance we owe to Thee, so that we may one day come to that happy home, where Thou with the Father and the Holy Ghost livest and reignest God, world without end. Amen. ~ Fr Ladislaus, SS CC Approved by Pope St. Pius X in 1908. Indulgence of 300 days each time it is said.

2 of 2 Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus We are now resolved to expiate each and every deplorable outrage committed against Thee; we are determined to make amends for the manifold offences against Christian modesty in unbecoming dress and behavior, for all the foul seductions laid to ensnare the feet of the innocent, for the frequent violations of Sundays and holidays, and the shocking blasphemies uttered against Thee and Thy Saints. We wish also to make amends for the insults to which Thy Vicar on earth and Thy priests are subjected, for the profanation, by conscious neglect or terrible acts of sacrilege, of the very Sacrament of Thy Divine Love; and lastly for the public crimes of nations who resist the rights and teaching authority of the Church which Thou hast founded. Would, O divine Jesus, we were able to wash away such abominations with our blood. We now offer, in reparation for these violations of Thy divine honour, the satisfaction Thou didst once make to Thy eternal Father on the cross and which Thou dost continue to renews daily on our altars; we offer it in union with the acts of atonement of Thy Virgin Mother and all the Saints and of the pious faithful on earth; and we sincerely promise to make recompense, as far as we can with the help of Thy grace, for all neglect of Thy great love and for the sins we and others have committed in the past. Henceforth we will live a life of unwavering faith, of purity of conduct, of perfect observance of the precepts of the gospel and especially that of charity. We promise to the best of our power to prevent others from offending Thee and to bring as many as possible to follow Thee. O loving Jesus, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our model in reparation, deign to receive the voluntary offering we make of this act of expiation; and by the crowning gift of perseverance keep us faithful unto death in our duty and the allegiance we owe to Thee, so that we may one day come to that happy home, where Thou with the Father and the Holy Ghost livest and reignest God, world without end. Amen. ~ Fr Ladislaus SS.CC. Approved by Pope St. Pius X in 1908. Indulgence of 300 days each time it is said.

2 of 2 Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus We are now resolved to expiate each and every deplorable outrage committed against Thee; we are determined to make amends for the manifold offences against Christian modesty in unbecoming dress and behavior, for all the foul seductions laid to ensnare the feet of the innocent, for the frequent violations of Sundays and holidays, and the shocking blasphemies uttered against Thee and Thy Saints. We wish also to make amends for the insults to which Thy Vicar on earth and Thy priests are subjected, for the profanation, by conscious neglect or terrible acts of sacrilege, of the very Sacrament of Thy Divine Love; and lastly for the public crimes of nations who resist the rights and teaching authority of the Church which Thou hast founded. Would, O divine Jesus, we were able to wash away such abominations with our blood. We now offer, in reparation for these violations of Thy divine honour, the satisfaction Thou didst once make to Thy eternal Father on the cross and which Thou dost continue to renews daily on our altars; we offer it in union with the acts of atonement of Thy Virgin Mother and all the Saints and of the pious faithful on earth; and we sincerely promise to make recompense, as far as we can with the help of Thy grace, for all neglect of Thy great love and for the sins we and others have committed in the past. Henceforth we will live a life of unwavering faith, of purity of conduct, of perfect observance of the precepts of the gospel and especially that of charity. We promise to the best of our power to prevent others from offending Thee and to bring as many as possible to follow Thee. O loving Jesus, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our model in reparation, deign to receive the voluntary offering we make of this act of expiation; and by the crowning gift of perseverance keep us faithful unto death in our duty and the allegiance we owe to Thee, so that we may one day come to that happy home, where Thou with the Father and the Holy Ghost livest and reignest God, world without end. Amen. ~ Fr Ladislaus SS.CC. Approved by Pope St. Pius X in 1908. Indulgence of 300 days each time it is said.

ACT of REPARATION to the SACRED HEART of JESUS O sweet Jesus, Whose overflowing charity for men is requited by so much forgetfulness, negligence and contempt, behold us prostrate before Thy altar eager to repair by a special act of homage the cruel indifference and injuries, to which Thy loving Heart is everywhere subject. Mindful alas! that we ourselves have had a share in such great indignities, which we now deplore from the depths of our hearts, we humbly ask Thy pardon and declare our readiness to atone by voluntary expiation not only for our own personal offences, but also for the sins of those, who, straying far from the path of salvation, refuse in their obstinate infidelity to follow Thee, their Shepherd and Leader, or, renouncing the vows of their baptism, have cast off the sweet yoke of Thy Law. (continued)

June 6th, 2025 FIRST FRIDAY of JUNE ❤️ O Sacred Heart of Jesus, animated with a desire to repair the outrages unceasingly offered to Thee, we prostrate before Thy throne of mercy, and in the name of all mankind, pledge our love and fidelity to Thee! If possible, receive Holy Communion today and make reparation to Our Lord and Saviour for past and present offenses against His Most Sacred Heart.

2 of 2 The First Worshippers 2. There was another present who joined with Mary in her submission, in her gladness, in the union of her will with God's. Gabriel, before he departed from her, humbly adored his Incarnate God, doing reverence to that Sacred Heart of Jesus, and rejoicing in the Divine decree that was to be the means of filling up the places in heaven of those who had fallen from their high estate. 3. A few days passed, and the Sacred Heart of Jesus received from another the testimony of his recognition and his joy. The unborn infant in Elizabeth's womb leaped with delight within his mother's womb, and received from the Sacred Heart the gift of being freed from the stain of sin and clad in the robe of justice. To me, too, the Sacred Heart offers the same happiness, if only I choose to avail myself of it! ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus ~ June 5th ✧❁❁✧✿✿✧❁❁✧ The First Worshippers 1. When the Angel's message came to Mary, and she had accepted the Divine decree, she be came conscious of the presence in her womb of the Incarnate God, in whose Sacred Heart was centred His love for fallen man. What was her prevailing sentiment in contemplating this mystery of Divine compassion? We know it from her own words. She desired that her heart should humbly cooperate with the Sacred Heart of Jesus, that she, in the lowly capacity of His handmaid, should be allowed to take her share in the work He had come to do. (continued)

2 of 2 ~ 8.— Thursday after the Ascension 2. This spirit of loyalty which we thus receive from the Holy Spirit is one of the most powerful, exalted, all-embracing of motives. It puts us on our mettle, and engenders a chivalrous spirit of generous obedience. It is the true application of the proverb Noblesse oblige. If I am a son of God, loyal to my Father in heaven, how this thought should influence my every act and word and thought! 3. From the first moment that Our Lord called the apostles to follow Him, they had continually entertained a loyal and intense devotion to Him. They had also had the virtue of piety, by reason of which they loved God as their sovereign Lord. But neither of these was the gift of piety. The first was a personal affection to Our Lord in His sacred humanity; the second was a love for God founded upon the law, not upon the Gospel. The disciples of Our Lord had never fully realized the new obligation of filial affection that was the result of Our Lord's Incarnation, till after His Ascension. God had become their Father in a new sense, and the prayer they were taught by their Master insisted on this first of all. Do I at all realize it? ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)