Virgo Potens

Our Lord answers this prayer of the gocd thief with divine generosity. All his sins are forgiven him; and as soon as his agony is over, he is to be received into the company of the blest and to be with Christ in paradise. What a rich reward for his confession of Christ! What a glorious answer to his prayer that Christ will remember him! ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

LENT March 27th, 2026 ✧❁❁✧✿✿✧❁❁✧ Friday after the Fifth Sunday in Lent — The Deriding of Jesus Read St. Matthew xxvii. 39-44 And they that passed by, blasphemed him, wagging their heads, And saying: Vah, thou that destroyest the temple of God, and in three days dost rebuild it: save thy own self: if thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. In like manner also the chief priests, with the scribes and ancients, mocking, said: He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the king of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God; let him now deliver him if he will have him; for he said: I am the Son of God. And the selfsame thing the thieves also, that were crucified with him, reproached him with. 1. The sight of Jesus hanging on the cross, so far from melting the hearts of the Jews, only hardened them the more against Him. Instead of feeling pity, they rejoiced over their Victim, and insulted Him in His misery. When men deliberately refuse to listen to the voice of Jesus, they become quite insensible after a time to His claim on them. They think evil good, and good evil; they are given over to a reprobate mind. Even in little things those who do not obey the impulses of grace become deaf to its calls, or even feel a positive aversion for that which they once loved but have now rejected. 2. How apparently impotent to save Himself the King of Glory seems to be! But that weakness is true strength. It is by these outrages and insults, by this passive endurance of their jeers and gibes, that Christ Our Lord is doing the wondrous work of our Redemption, and earning graces for all those who suffer insult for Him, to rejoice in being counted worthy to suffer shame for His sake. 3. But He is doing more than this. He is also preparing for His sacred humanity a glory corresponding to all this ignominy. Of Him it is true beyond all others that he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Each taunt, each mocking word, was to earn the praise of the angels and saints to all eternity. Here is an encouragement for us! What matters it if men despise and insult us, if God approves? The just Judge will not forget in the day of account what we have suffered for Him. ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893) 4/12/25 Month of the Holy Eucharist ~ April 12th ✧❁❁✧✿✿✧❁❁✧ Saturday after the Fifth Sunday in Lent — The Good Thief Read St. Luke xxiii. 39-43 And one of those robbers who were hanged, blasphemed him, saying: If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering, rebuked him, saying: Neither dost thou fear God, seeing thou art condemned under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this man hath done no evil. And he said to Jesus: Lord, remember me when thou shalt come into thy kingdom. And Jesus said to him: Amen I say to thee, this day thou shalt be with me in paradise.   1. Among those who mocked and derided Jesus were the two thieves crucified with Him. But very soon His unspeakable gentleness and meekness touched the heart of one of the two. First he ceased his words of insult, then he boldly reproved his companion and bore testimony to the innocence of Jesus, and to His authority as King and Lord. What a divine power there is in weakness! The sight of the uncomplaining patience of Christ convinced this robber that He was King of all the earth, and that He Who now was dying on the cross would soon reign forever and ever. "Lord, remember me when Thou shalt come into Thy kingdom!” 2. Remember me! This was his simple prayer. But we know that it was enough. If Christ remembers us, all will be well. What we have to dread is lest He forget us by reason of our having forgotten Him. This prayer should often be on our lips: "O Lord, remember me! In the hour of temptation, remember me! When sorrow bears hard on me, remember me! In sickness and in my last agony, O Lord, remember me!" 3.

NOVENA to the HOLY FACE of JESUS Begins today, March 26th, at Christus Regnat ~ https://t.me/RexUniversi

2 of 2 Month of St. Joseph ~ March 26th For there the proud will be cast headlong, and I should be there with them at this moment, eternally insulted and tormented by devils, had I not been preserved therefrom by the mercy of God. Millions of Angels have been imprisoned there for having committed one sole sin of pride and that only in thought. Ah, my soul, continue thus in thy pride and thy false self-esteem, guarding thy own susceptibilities and oblivious of the rights of others, and “thou shalt be brought down to Hell;” that place of torment awaits thee, and there below thy pride shall indeed be humbled. Thou who delightest now in thy own proud thoughts shalt there be thrust into flames of fire, and thou who now wishest to be above all shalt then be below all. For there below thou wilt have to face a God Who bears an infinite hatred to the proud and is infinitely angry with them. And as it is a truth that the humble shall be exalted in Heaven, it is also a truth that the proud shall be humbled and cast down into Hell. “And the rich man also died”; thus writes St. Luke of a proud man who was “clothed in purple and fine linen.” And the rich man died–—that is the end of all humanity and vanity; and “he was buried in Hell” [Luke xvi, 22] –—that is the end of all pride. The grave is the end of man; Hell is the end of the proud. ~ Fr. Cajetan Mary da Bergamo (1660-1753), Humility of Heart. Tr. Herbert Cardinal Vaughan (1903).

1 of 2 Month of St. Joseph ~ March 26th 54. O my soul, humble thyself in the remembrance that there is a Hell, not considering it only in the abstract, nor even as a contrivance for the punishment of sinners in general, but regard it rather as a place specially prepared for thyself, and deserved by thee more than once! (continued)

LENT March 25th, 2026 ✧❁❁✧✿✿✧❁❁✧ Thursday after the Fifth Sunday in Lent — Jesus is Nailed to the Cross Read St. Luke xxiii. 32-34 And there were also two other malefactors led with him to be put to death. And when they were come to the place which is called Calvary, they crucified him there; and the robbers, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. And Jesus said: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. But they, dividing his garments, cast lots. 1. Arrived at the summit of Calvary, our Divine Saviour is roughly stripped of His garments and exposed to the rude gaze of the scoffing multitude. This shame He endured to atone for our most shameful deeds, for our human respect, for our glorying in our shame, for our boasting and love of display before the eyes of men. Yet when we see the King of Glory thus exposed to shame, will not shame be far dearer to us than the empty honors that men bestow? 2. The executioners then seize Jesus and lay Him down upon the cross. Holes have been bored in the wood at the extremities of the cross-piece and in the lower part of the stem, and Our Lord's sacred limbs are almost dislocated by being dragged until the hands and feet reach the parts that have been pierced. Then the long, sharp nails are held by one of the soldiers, while another with a hammer drives them in through the hands and feet of Jesus. The blows are struck; the blood gushes forth; while the Divine Victim moans piteously under the exquisite pain. O Jesus, grant me a heartfelt compassion with Thee in Thy sufferings. 3. When Our Lord is nailed to the cross, the soldiers raise it on high, and let the base of it fall into a hole dug in the ground. The shock renews afresh the agony ofJesus. No word is heard from His mouth, save one which He repeats again and again: "Father, forgive them!" Even then He was thinking of others, not of Himself. Was ever love like His? Why do I not love Him more in return? ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

Nine Month Novena for Impossible Rehquests Begins today, March 25th, at Christus Regnat ~ https://t.me/RexUniversi

2 of 2 Month of St. Joseph ~ March 25th Therefore if I esteem myself and seek to be esteemed by others either as more virtuous or less sinful than I really am, it is certain that such a desire can only arise from my own hypocrisy, by which I appear before the eyes of men under a false disguise, leading them to believe that I am one thing when I am really another, because I know that they cannot see what is going on in my heart; but a time will come when God will reveal my wickedness to the whole world: “I will show thy nakedness to the nations, and thy shame to kingdoms.” [Nahum iii, 5] And then I shall appear as I really am. And what will they say of me who have been deceived by my false dissemblings? O my soul, be humble and forget not that the more thou art exalted in thy own esteem the more wilt thou be shamed and confounded at the judgment day. For then, as says the prophet, “Man shall be humbled,” [Isa. v, 15] and only the humble will be able to glory “in his exultation.” [Jas i, 9] Remember that according to the saying of Isaias, the day of judgment has been appointed especially to humble the proud: “Because the day of the Lord of hosts shall be on every one that is proud and high-minded, and he shall be humbled,” [Isa. ii, 12] and thou shouldest regard as though specially directed to thyself that prophetic voice from God which says: “Behold I come against thee, O proud one, saith the Lord, for thy day is come, the time of thy visitation. And the proud one shall fall, he shall fall down, and there shall be none to lift him up.” [Isa. 1, 31] Ah, how can I indeed esteem myself more than others when we have all to appear as criminals, miserable and naked, before God’s judgment seat? So writes St. Paul in his Epistle to the Romans: “But thou, why judgest thou thy brother? And why dost thou despise thy mother? For we shall all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ.” [Rom. xiv, 10]” ~ Fr. Cajetan Mary da Bergamo (1660-1753), Humility of Heart. Tr. Herbert Cardinal Vaughan (1903).

1 of 2 Month of St. Joseph ~ March 25th 53. Another humiliating thought lies in the remembrance of the judgment to come. Saints tremble at the thought that they will be judged by a God in Whose presence not even the Angels are immaculate. They tremble, although they have nothing to be judged except their good works. And what will become of me, therefore, who am guilty of so many sins? (continued)

2 of 2 Month of St. Joseph ~ March 24th Our self-love is wounded at the thought that we must soon die, and when we least expect it, and that with death everything comes to an end for us in this world; but at the same time this reflection weakens and humbles our self-love. Unfortunately, we do not think of death with that seriousness which we ought to give to it. If I knew for certain that I had to die within a year, I imagine that I should grow more humble from day to day at the thought that each day was bringing me nearer to my death. But who can assure me that I have one year to live–—I, who am not certain to live to the end of the day? O my God, true light of my soul, keep alive within me the remembrance of my death. Tell me often with Thine own voice in my heart that I must die, perhaps within a year, perhaps within a month, perhaps within a week; and thus I shall remain humble. In order that the thought of death may not be unfruitful to me, excite within my soul now that knowledge and those feelings which I shall have at that last hour of my life when the blessed taper is placed in my hands “in the day of trial.” [Wisd. iii, 18] Make me know now as I shall know then what vanity is, and then how can I ever be arrogant again in the face of that most certain truth? “Vanity of vanities, and all is vanity.” [Eccles. i, 2] Job was always humble even in in the days of his prosperity: “My days shall be shortened and only the grave remaineth for me.”[Job xvii, 1] ~ Fr. Cajetan Mary da Bergamo (1660-1753), Humility of Heart. Tr. Herbert Cardinal Vaughan (1903).

1 of 2 Month of St. Joseph ~ March 24th 52. God has Himself given us the means of obtaining this humility of heart, in the remembrance of death and by meditation upon it. Death is the best teacher of truth; and pride–—being nothing but an illusion of our heart–—clings to a vanity which it does not recognize as vanity; and therefore death is the best means by which we can learn what vanity is and how to detach our hearts from it. (continued)

LENT March 24th, 2026 ✧❁❁✧✿✿✧❁❁✧ Tuesday after the Fifth Sunday in Lent — Jesus Meets His Holy Mother Read St. Matthew xvi. 24-28 Then Jesus said to his disciples: If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For he that will save his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for my sake, shall find it. For what doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul? Or what exchange shall a man give for his soul? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels: and then will he render to every man according to his works. Amen I say to you, there are some of them that stand here, that shall not taste death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom. 1. Our blessed Lady, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, goes forth to meel her Son as He drags Himself up the hill of Calvary. With what horror and dismay must she have been stricken through at the sight of her darling Son and her God, His divine beauty obliterated, mangled and torn, covered with blood and filth, unsightly and terrible to behold! Heart broken anguish fills her soul, and we may well believe that she would have died of sorrow had she not been miraculously supported by the power of God. O Mother of God! obtain for me a share in Thy grief and Thy intercession! 2. What a fresh pang of sorrow to the gentle heart of Jesus to see His holy Mother, pale and haggard, come to share in His sacred Passion by her compassion! None so full of sympathy as He, none so full of acute feeling for the woes of others. If He compassionated the women on the way, how much more His own Mother, whom He loved far better than all the world beside! O Mary, obtain for me, a sinner, the sacred compassion of Jesus! 3. Our Lady shared in the Passion of Christ in a way in which none else could—none even of the saints—simply because she was sinless. She had not to suffer for herself. She had no sin to expiate. This it is which justifies us in giving her the title of co-Redemptorix. She too, who knew no sin, was made sin for us. This earned for her the privilege of sharing in all the agony of the sinless Lamb of God. ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

2 of 2 Month of St. Joseph ~ March 23rd It is very easy for us to fall into this fault of praising ourselves until it becomes a habit, and with this habit so opposed to humility how can we be humble? What good qualities have we of our own for which we can praise ourselves? All the good that is in us comes from God, and to Him alone we must give praise and honor. When, therefore, we praise ourselves we are usurping glory which is due to God alone. Even though in praising ourselves we sometimes refer all to the honor of God, it matters little; when there is no absolute necessity it is better to abstain from self-praise, for although we refer all to the glory of God with our lips, our ingenious and subtle self-love cannot fail to appropriate it secretly. And even speaking depreciatingly of ourselves there may lurk some hypocritical pride in our words, such as was mentioned by the sage of old when he said: “There is one that humbleth himself wickedly, and his interior is full of deceit.” [Ecclus xix, 23] Therefore we can never watch over ourselves enough, because there is nothing that teaches us so well to know the pride of our heart as our words, with which we either reveal or hide the depravity of our affections. And this is the characteristic of the proud, according to St. Bernard: “One who boastfully proclaims what he is, or lies about what he is not.” [Epist. lxxxvii] Let us bear in heart and mind this precious advice given by Tobias to his son: “Never suffer pride to reign in thy mind or in thy words.” [Tob. iv, 14] The words of a proud man are nauseous, whether he speaks of himself or others, and they are hated both by God and man: therefore we should detest this vice, not only from the Christian but also from the human standpoint. ~ Fr. Cajetan Mary da Bergamo (1660-1753), Humility of Heart. Tr. Herbert Cardinal Vaughan (1903).

1 of 2 Month of St. Joseph ~ March 23rd 51. But in order to acquire humility, it is necessary also to be prudent in not speaking well of oneself. “Let another praise thee,” says the inspired word, “and not thy own mouth, a stranger and not thy own lips.” [Prov. xxvii, 11] (continued)

LENT March 23rd, 2026 ✧❁❁✧✿✿✧❁❁✧ Monday after the Fifth Sunday in Lent — Via Dolorosa Read St. Luke xxiii. 27-31 And there followed him a great multitude of people, and of women, who bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning to them, said: Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not over me; but weep for yourselves, and for your children. For behold, the days shall come, wherein they will say: Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that have not borne, and the paps that have not given suck. Then shall they begin to say to the mountains: Fall upon us; and to the hills: Cover us. For if in the green wood they do these things, what shall be done in the dry? 1. Torn and bleeding, scarcely able to sustain the heavy burden of the cross, with His long garment entangling His feet, dragged on by the brutal soldiery, Jesus treads the sacred way of the cross. After going a few steps He stumbles and falls; rising with difficulty, He totters on a short distance farther and falls again. O my Lord and my God, I beseech Thee by these Thy most painful falls, grant that I may never again fall into deliberate sin. 2. On the way some women express their grief and compassion with Jesus. His appearance is so pitiable that they cannot restrain their tears. Jesus turns to them, tells them to weep not for Him, but for themselves and for their children. If sin has wrought such a work of destruction in the Son of God, in Whom evil had nothing to lay hold of, in Whom the green wood could be blackened externally but not consumed by the flame, what would be its effects on sinners in whom the fire of sin rages as in the dry tinder? How ought I to fear the least spark of sin which may kindle in me the fire of passion and destroy me utterly! 3. One of those holy women, named Veronica, with a handkerchief wipes from His face the blood and sweat. On looking at the handkerchief she sees the impression of His sacred countenance stamped upon it. So upon the hearts of all who do acts of kindness for Christ's sake there is imprinted His likeness. Each deed of charity tends to produce in our soul that likeness to Him in which all holiness consists. ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

2 of 2 Month of St. Joseph ~ March 22nd Who has given me the power to judge my brethren? When I thus constitute myself their judge and in the tribunal of my thoughts condemn first one and then another, I am usurping an authority I do not possess and which belongs to God alone: “For God is Judge.” [Ps. xlix, 6] And if this is not pride, what is pride? In punishment of such arrogance God often permits us to fall into the very faults that we have condemned in others, and it is well for us to remember the teaching of St. Paul: “Wherefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest. For wherein thou judgest another thou condemnest thyself.” [Rom. ii, 1] There is always some pharisaical pride in the heart of him who judges and speaks evil of others, because in belittling others he exalts himself. It is in vain that we try and cover our evil-speaking under the veil of some good motive; it must always be the result of pride which is quick to find out the weaknesses of others while remaining blind to its own. If we are guilty of pride let us try and amend and not flatter ourselves that we possess the smallest degree of humility, until by our good resolutions carefully carried out we have mortified our evil tendency to speak ill of our neighbor. Let us hearken to the Holy Ghost: “Where pride is there also shall be reproach, but where humility is there also is wisdom.” [Prov. xi, 2] The proud man is scornful and arrogant in his speech; and the humble alone knows how to speak well and wisely. If there is humility in the heart it will be manifested in the speech, because “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good.” [Luke vi, 45]” ~ Fr. Cajetan Mary da Bergamo (1660-1753), Humility of Heart. Tr. Herbert Cardinal Vaughan (1903).

1 of 2 Month of St. Joseph ~ March 22nd 50. Humility is charitable, interpreting all things for the best and pitying and excusing the faults of others as much as possible. For this reason St. Peter, wishing to exhort us to love and have compassion upon our fellow-creatures, also exhorts us at the same time to be humble: “Having compassion one of another, being lovers of the brotherhood–—humble,” [1 Pet. iii, 8] for there can be no charity without humility, and therefore to censure and criticize too readily the actions of our neighbors and to judge and speak ill of them are vices which are directly opposed to the virtue of humility. (continued)

2 of 2 The Fifth Sunday in Lent — Jesus Sets Out on the Way to Calvary 1. It was not really Pilate who condemned Jesus to death, says St. Bernard, it was His love for us. He had been longing all His life through for that moment when He was to carry out His Father's will and redeem the world by dying for us. He knew that the divine mandate had gone forth that without shedding of blood there would be no remission. The voice of Pilate, sentencing Him to death, was but the expression of His own love for sinners, and of His joyful acceptance of the cross for their sake. O Jesus, may I love Thee in return for such love for me! 2. The cross has been prepared beforehand, and as soon as the sentence has been passed they bring it forward to be laid upon the shoulders of their Victim. Jesus takes the cross, and kisses the instrument of His Agony as a welcome friend. He did this not merely because He loved us and therefore loved the cross, but to teach us to love our crosses, to accept them as gifts from God to be welcomed, not to be rejected or regarded with aversion and dislike. How can we dislike them when they make us like to Jesus, and must be borne after Him if we are ever to share His joy in heaven ? 3. On the shoulder of Jesus was a large, open wound, scarcely covered by the garments thrown upon Him. The weight of the cross rested on this wound, causing Him the most exquisite agony. It was by this that He was earning for us patience under our bodily sufferings. However keen, they are nothing to what the Son of God endured on His road to Calvary. Jesus, grant me patience under my sufferings. ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

LENT March 22nd, 2026 ✧❁❁✧✿✿✧❁❁✧ The Fifth Sunday in Lent — Jesus Sets Out on the Way to Calvary Read St. Matthew xxvii. 31 And after they had mocked him, they took off the cloak from him, and put on him his own garments, and led him away to crucify him. (continued)