Virgo Potens

LENT March 11th, 2026 ✧❁❁✧✿✿✧❁❁✧ Wednesday after the Third Sunday in Lent— St. Peter's Repentance Read St. Luke xxii. 55-62 And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and were sitting about it, Peter was in the midst of them. Whom when a certain servant maid had seen sitting at the light, and had earnestly beheld him, she said: This man also was with him. But he denied him, saying: Woman, I know him not. And after a little while, another seeing him, said: Thou also art one of them. But Peter said: O man, I am not. And after the space, as it were of one hour, another certain man affirmed, saying: Of a truth, this man was also with him; for he is also a Galilean. And Peter said: Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, as he was yet speaking, the cock crew. And the Lord turning looked on Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, as he had said: Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter going out, wept bitterly. 1. St. Peter had thrice denied his Master, and the third time with oaths and curses. He was ashamed of Christ, afraid to own himself a servant of Christ, and all because of a woman's jeering tongue. As I look over my life, how many times there have been when I have been faithless as Peter was! I have not boldly spoken out as I ought. I have perhaps taken part in talk hateful to my Lord and Master. I have been ashamed to run counter to uncharitable or evil conversation, though I knew well enough that it was sinful. 2. After the third denial the cock crew, and at the same time Our Lord turned and looked on Peter. It was at the moment when He was being dragged from the tribunal to the servant's room, amid the jeers and mockery of the soldiers. All this time St. Peter had been present to His thoughts, amid all the outrages and insults; and not St. Peter alone, but all who, though not at heart disloyal, nevertheless fall through weakness into sin. Remember me, O Lord,when Iam in danger of falling, and when Satan desires to have me that he may riddle me as wheat. 3. That look pierced the heart of St. Peter with a keen pang of shame and sorrow and repentance. How could he have been faithless to the Lord Whom he loved and for Whom he had joyfully given up all! At once he made his way out of the hall, and with tears of anguish begged for pardon. Those tears were not unmixed with the sweet consolation of knowing that he was forgiven, and with a firm resolution not to let this fall discourage him. Here is a model for me when I have sinned. ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

2 of 2 Month of St. Joseph ~ March 10th It will be useless then to excuse ourselves by saying that we fell into such and such a sin from want of grace. “Grace was there,” the Lord will answer; “but you ought to have asked for it with humility and not forfeited it by your pride.” Pride is an obstacle harder than steel which hinders the beneficent infusion of grace into the soul. And it is the doctrine of St. Thomas that it is precisely by pride that our soul is placed in such a state ”as to be deprived of all inner spiritual good.” [22, qu. cxxxii, art. 3] Do you desire grace in this world and glory in the next? Humble yourself, says St. James: “Be humbled in the sight of the Lord, and He will exalt you.” [Jas. iv, 10] God created out of nothing all that we can see in our world when “the earth was void and empty,” [Gen. i, 2] and He filled with oil all the empty vases with which the widow presented Eliseus: “Empty vessels not a few.” [4 Kings, iv, 3] And He also fills with His grace those hearts which are emptied of self–—that is to say, which have neither self-esteem nor self-confidence and do not rely upon their own strength. ~ Fr. Cajetan Mary da Bergamo (1660-1753), Humility of Heart. Tr. Herbert Cardinal Vaughan (1903).

1 of 2 Month of St. Joseph ~ March 10th 38. God resists the proud, because the proud oppose Him; but He dispenses His graces liberally to the humble, because they live in subjection to His will. Oh, if we humbly made place for the Divine gifts, how great would be the affluence of that grace in our souls! One of the worst consequences of our lack of humility will be that it will render the Day of Judgment so terrible to us; because on that day we shall not only have to give account of the graces which we have received and of which we have made a bad use, but also of those graces which God would have given us if we had been humble, and which He withheld from us on account of our pride. (continued)

LENT March 10th, 2026 ✧❁❁✧✿✿✧❁❁✧ Tuesday after the Third Sunday in Lent — St. Peter's Denial of Jesus Read St. Luke xxii. 55-62 And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and were sitting about it, Peter was in the midst of them. Whom when a certain servant maid had seen sitting at the light, and had earnestly beheld him, she said: This man also was with him. But he denied him, saying: Woman, I know him not. And after a little while, another seeing him, said: Thou also art one of them. But Peter said: O man, I am not. And after the space, as it were of one hour, another certain man affirmed, saying: Of a truth, this man was also with him; for he is also a Galilean. And Peter said: Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, as he was yet speaking, the cock crew. And the Lord turning looked on Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, as he had said: Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter going out, wept bitterly. 1. What was the secret of Peter's miserable fall? He was brave and generous, and loved Our Lord dearly. Yet, through human respect and fear, he denied all knowledge of Him. The season why he fell was that he trusted in himself and his natural qualities instead of in God. In the spiritual warfare natural courage and generosity avail not. He who does not rely upon God alone is sure to fall. When dangers are imminent he loses heart, and then all goes wrong. 2. St. Peter had not yet learned that natural impulse as a motive of action is sure to lead man astray. It never avails before God. Its excellence, whatever it may be, only avails in the things of this world, and even there it is a dangerous and untrustworthy motive. In things divine it is the road to ruin. We must exercise anti-impulsive effort if we are to be safe. We must do more; we must turn our thoughts to God, and seek a divine impulse, an inspiration from Heaven, if we are to remain faithful and avoid frequent faults. 3. St. Peter had neglected prayer. Our Lord had expressly warned him to watch and pray, and he had allowed himself to sleep while Christ was suffering His sacred Agony. True, he was weary and his eyes were heavy, but still he could have made the attempt. It might have seemed an unsatisfactory prayer, yet it would have saved Peter from his fall. He might have used vocal prayers and repeated the same words like Our Lord did. Learn from this that mere struggle against heaviness is very pleasing to God. ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

GOD OF MERCY AND COMPASSION Hymn GOD of mercy and compassion, Look with pity upon me. Father—let me call Thee Father— ‘Tis Thy child returns to Thee. Chorus.—Jesus, Lord, I ask for mercy ; Let me not implore in vain. All my sins I now detest them ; Never will I sin again. By my sins I have deserve’d Death and endless misery, Hell, with all its pains and torments, And for all eternity. Chorus.—Jesus, Lord, etc. By my sins I have abandoned Right and claim to heaven above, Where the saints rejoice for ever In a boundless sea of love. Chorus.—Jesus, Lord, etc. See our Saviour, bleeding, dying, On the cross of Calvary. To that cross my sins have nailed Him ; Yet He bleeds and dies for me. Chorus.—Jesus, Lord, etc. ~ Rev. Edmund Vaughan, C.SS.R. (1827-1908) Hymns and Songs for Catholic Children (1870)

2 of 2 Month of St. Joseph ~ March 9th Let us be humble and humility will teach us to fear and avoid all dangerous occasions. In the lives of the Saints we read how careful they were to avoid familiar intercourse with women; and also in the lives of Saintly women how equally cautious they were to avoid familiarity with men. Why did they fear so much, since they already had so many penances and prayers with which to defend themselves against temptation? The reason is that they were humble and distrusted the weakness of human nature without presuming on grace; and thus their humility was the means by which they kept their purity unsullied. You say: I can put myself in the way of temptation, but I am not afraid, because I will not sin. This is a temerity proceeding from pride, as St. Thomas says: “This is a real temerity and is caused by pride, [22 qu. liii, art 3, ad 2] and you would find yourself shamed by an unexpected fall. “And he that loveth danger shall perish in it.” [Ecclus iii, 27] All that presume thus will undoubtedly fall, and their fall is the just punishment of their pride, as the prophet predicted: “This shall befall them for their pride.” [Soph. ii, 10]” ~ Fr. Cajetan Mary da Bergamo (1660-1753), Humility of Heart. Tr. Herbert Cardinal Vaughan (1903).

1 of 2 Month of St. Joseph ~ March 9th 37. As for those other temptations there must certainly be presumption on our part when we seek them of our own accord and place ourselves in dangerous occasions of sin. He who is humble knows his own weakness; and, knowing it, fears to place himself in danger; and because he fears it he flees from it. He who is humble trusts implicitly in the help of Divine grace, on those involuntary occasions he may encounter, but he never presumes upon the help of Divine grace on those occasions which he has sought himself. (continued)

LENT March 9th, 2026 ✧❁❁✧✿✿✧❁❁✧ Monday after the Third Sunday in Lent — The Condemnation of Christ Read St. Mark xiv. 60-64 And the high priest rising up in the midst, asked Jesus, saying: Answerest thou nothing to the things that are laid to thy charge by these men? But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said to him: Art thou the Christ the Son of the blessed God? And Jesus said to him: I am. And you shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of the power of God, and coming with the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rending his garments, saith: What need we any further witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy. What think you? Who all condemned him to be guilty of death. 1. In the midst of the false witnesses and their lying testimony Jesus remains silent. The high-priest, angry and impatient, urges Him to reply: "Answerest Thou nothing to the things which these witness against Thee?" Still Jesus answers not a word. How different from our eager anxiety to answer every accusation and every word of blame! How much better if we could hold our peace after the example of Jesus! 2. At length the high-priest rises and asks a direct question; nay, he summons Christ in the name of God to declare the truth: "I adjure Thee by the living God, that Thou tell us if Thou be the Christ, the Son of God." Ordered by authority, Jesus at once says: "I am; and one day I shall come in all the power of God that is now entrusted to you as the high-priest of God." Another lesson for us. We must obey authority even where he who carries it shamefully abuses it; for those in authority, like Caiphas, speak in their official capacity as in the place of God. 3. When Christ declares Himself to be the Son of God, the high-priest and the council rise indignantly to protest against such blasphemy. In this they are the type of modern heretics who accuse the Church of God and the Vicar of Christ of blasphemously usurping divine prerogatives. Pride and jealousy and self-love so blinded the eyes of the Sanhedrin that they called good evil, and evil good; condemned the Son of God to death because He told them the truth. My God, preserve me from ever being thus blinded by sin! ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

TEN PRAYERS OF DEVOUT AFFECTIONS, In which our Lord's Passion is pleaded with Him FIRST PRAYER O Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Sweetness and Jubilee of those who love Thee, remember all the presentiment of grief Thou didst endure from the moment of Thy conception, and especially at Thine entrance into Thy Passion, when Thou didst say: My soul is sorrowful, even unto death; and when, by reason of overwhelming dread and anguish and grief, Thou didst sweat as it were drops of blood trickling down upon the ground. Remember all the bitterness of Thy sorrow when Thou wast seized upon by the Jews, accused by false witnesses, condemned by Thy three judges, buffeted and smitten, spit upon, scourged, and crowned with thorns. O sweetest Jesus, I implore Thee, by all the sorrows and insults thou didst endure, have mercy on me a sinner. Amen. ~ Preces Gertrudianæ (1861)

❀•°❀°•❀•°❀°•❀ ON THE PASSION OF OUR LORD TEN PRAYERS OF DEVOUT AFFECTIONS, In which our Lord's Passion is pleaded with Him It was revealed to St. Gertrude that reading and meditations on the Passion are far more useful and efficacious than all other spiritual exercises. As those who handle flour cannot avoid contracting some whiteness, so no one, however imperfect his devotion may be, can occupy his mind with the Passion of our Lord without receiving some benefit therefrom. And, however cold and lukewarm our devotion, our Lord will look upon us with greater long-suffering and mercy if we never omit the memory of his Passion. ~ Preces Gertrudianæ (1861) ❀•°❀°•❀•°❀°•❀

2 of 2 Month of St. Joseph ~ March 8th Temptations arise against purity or against faith or any other virtue, but we can easily overcome them if we humble ourselves in our hearts and say: “Lord, I deserve these terrible temptations as a punishment for my pride, and if Thou comest not to my help, I shall surely fall. I feel my weakness, and that I can do no good of myself. Help me!” “Come unto my help, O God, O Lord, make haste to help me.” [Ps. lxix, 2] The more a soul humbles itself before God the more God comforts that soul with His grace, and inasmuch as God is with us, who shall prevail against us? “The Lord is the protector of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?” [Ps. xxvi, 1] said King David; and St. Paul said: “If God be for us, who is against us?” [Rom. viii, 31] The strongest subterfuge which the devil can employ in order to make us fall into temptation is to flatter our humility, thus preventing us from being humble, for if the evil one succeeds in persuading us that we have sufficient strength of ourselves to overcome temptation, we have already succumbed, as those succumbed of whom it was written that the Lord humbleth “them that presume of themselves and glory in their own strength.” [Jude vi, 15] Charity never grows cold nor fervor tepid except from lack of humility. Let us stand on our guard clad in the armor of humility, and that will be sufficient. God will help us in the measure in which we are humble, and with His help we shall be able to say: “I can do all things in Him Who strengtheneth me.” [Phil. iv, 13] ~ Fr. Cajetan Mary da Bergamo (1660-1753), Humility of Heart. Tr. Herbert Cardinal Vaughan (1903).

“Come unto my help, O God, O Lord, make haste to help me.” [Ps. lxix, 2] 1 of 2 Month of St. Joseph ~ March 8th 36. There are also two kinds of temptations: those that come to us through the wickedness of the evil one and those which we go in search of ourselves in our own weakness and malice, but there is no better safeguard against either than humility. Humility causes the evil one to flee because he cannot face the humble on account of his great pride, and it causes every temptation to vanish suddenly because there can be no temptation without a touch of pride. (continued)

2 of 2 The Third Sunday in Lent — In the Palace of Caiphas And the high priest rising up in the midst, asked Jesus, saying: Answerest thou nothing to the things that are laid to thy charge by these men? But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said to him: Art thou the Christ the Son of the blessed God? And Jesus said to him: I am. And you shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of the power of God, and coming with the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rending his garments, saith: What need we any further witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy. What think you? Who all condemned him to be guilty of death. 1. From the house of Annas Jesus was dragged to the palace of Caiphas the high-priest. Notice the bustle and activity that prevails: the chief priests and council searching everywhere for a show of evidence; messengers sent to and fro; bribes offered; all the most worthless summoned to testify against Him. This is always the way: the wicked so much more active in fighting against God than the good in fighting in His behalf; Our Lord's disciples and friends are doing nothing, while His enemies are seeking to destroy Him. When I look at myself, how little I have done, how little I do now, for the interests of Jesus! 2. The false witnesses who came forward had a certain show of truth. The words they quoted against Him were really spoken. They had learned the ways of their master the devil; Satan, when he deceives, always mixes up a large element of truth with his deceits. This is why we should never argue with him, for he can represent what is false and unlawful as true and right, if once we listen, by bringing into prominence the element of truth it contains. 3. These false witnesses, in spite of their cunning, could not agree together, but contradicted one another. It is one of the certain tests of error, that it is inconsistent and self-contradictory; the city of confusion and the home of strife always thus betrays its imposture. Jarring discord is the mark of the foes of Christ; peace and concord are the privilege of those who are on His side. How I should thank God that He has caused me to dwell in the City of Truth, the Church of the Living God ! ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

LENT March 8th, 2026 ✧❁❁✧✿✿✧❁❁✧ The Third Sunday in Lent — In the Palace of Caiphas Read St. Mark xiv. 55-64 And the chief priests and all the council sought for evidence against Jesus, that they might put him to death, and found none. For many bore false witness against him, and their evidences were not agreeing. And some rising up, bore false witness against him, saying: We heard him say, I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another not made with hands. And their witness did not agree. (continued)

2 of 2 Month of St. Joseph ~ March 7th But if we accept the other humiliations which come to us, irrespective of our will, mortifying our feelings, thoughts and passions with prompt resignation to the will of God, it is a sign of a true and sincere humility; because such humiliations tend to mortify our self-love and to perfect the submission which we owe to God. Voluntary and self-sought humiliations may cause the soul to become hypocritical. But involuntary humiliations sent to us by the Divine Will, and borne by us with patience, sanctify the soul; and for this reason the Holy Ghost has given us this most important mandate: “In thy humiliation keep patience. For gold and silver are tried in the fire, but acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation.” [Ecclus ii, 4, 5] It is impossible except in rare cases not to discover the hypocrisy of affected humility: “Touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.” [Ps. cxliii, 5] And, again, it is impossible not to know the virtue of true humility, because its spirit is “gentle, kind, steadfast, assured, secure, having all power.” [Wisd. vii, 23] ~ Fr. Cajetan Mary da Bergamo (1660-1753), Humility of Heart. Tr. Herbert Cardinal Vaughan (1903).

1 of 2 Month of St. Joseph ~ March 7th 35. There are two kinds of humiliations: those which we seek of our own free-will, and those which proceed from the natural and temporal vicissitudes of this life. Against the first we must be on our guard, notwithstanding the ardor with which we embrace them, for the ever-lurking vanity of our self-love is so subtle that it seeks even to enhance its own vain-glory while it appears to seek the contempt of man. (continued)

LENT March 7th, 2026 ✧❁❁✧✿✿✧❁❁✧ Saturday after the Second Sunday in Lent — In the House of Annas Read St. John xviii. 19-24 The high priest therefore asked Jesus of his disciples, and of his doctrine. Jesus answered him: I have spoken openly to the world: I have always taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither all the Jews resort; and in secret I have spoken nothing. Why asketh thou me? ask them who have heard what I have spoken unto them: behold they know what things I have said. And when he had said these things, one of the servants standing by, gave Jesus a blow, saying: Answerest thou the high priest so? Jesus answered him: If I have spoken evil, give testimony of the evil; but if well, why strikest thou me? And Annas sent him bound to Caiphas the high priest. 1. Try to picture the scene; watch the persons, listen to their words, observe their actions. Annas, a cunning, bitter, cynical old man, delighted to find his enemy in his power; the Pharisees' crowding round in eager excitement, the false witnesses trying to concoct a plausible story, and in the midst Jesus, sorrowful, bleeding, exhausted, yet calm and full of dignity. Hear the insulting questions of Annas, the derisive jeers of the Pharisees, the shouts of the mob, the firm, quiet, gentle words of Jesus. See the angry, eager gestures of the enemies of Christ, the assumed indignation, of the judge, the cruel blow struck by the mailed hand of the soldier on the face of Jesus, causing the blood to flow from His sacred mouth. 2. Christ received this blow upon His face to atone for our sins of the tongue, for the wicked words, the censorious words, the uncharitable words, the impure words that too often proceed from our mouth. Grant, O Lord, that I may remember Thee suffering this cruel blow, and so may learn to hate my sins of the tongue, that inflicted it upon Thee. 3. Our Lord desired to teach us another lesson, viz., to bear with patience and gentleness all outrage and unkindness, all reproaches and ill-usage, and especially such as we endure fot His sake. "Blessed are ye," He says, "when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for My sake." But we must take care to bear it for Christ's sake, and for love of Him, if we would earn the blessing. ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

2 of 2 ACT of CONSECRATION (to the Immaculate Heart of Mary) We pledge ourselves to keep the commandments of God and His Church, in particular to keep holy the Lord's Day. We likewise pledge ourselves to make the consoling practices of the Christian religion, and above all, Holy Communion, an integral part of our lives, in so far as we shall be able to do. Finally, we promise thee, O glorious Mother of God and loving Mother of men, to devote ourselves whole-heartedly to the service of thy blessed cult, in order to hasten and assure, through the sovereignty of thine immaculate heart, the coming of the kingdom of the Sacred Heart of thine adorable Son, in our own hearts and in those of all men, in our country, and in all the world, as in heaven, so on earth. Amen. An indulgence of 3 years. A plenary indulgence under the usual conditions, if this act of consecration is repeated daily for a month (S. C. Ind., Feb. 21, 1907; S. P. Ap., April 29, 1933). ~ The Raccolta (1943)