Virgo Potens

Our Lady of Prompt Succor, hasten to our help. Novena to Our Lady of Prompt Succor (Feast Day ~ January 8th) Begins tomorrow, January 8th, at Christus Regnat ~ https://t.me/RexUniversi

2 of 2 JANUARY 7 — ST. LUCIAN, MARTYR He revised the books of the Old and New Testament, expunging the errors which had found their way into the text either through the negligence of copyists or the malice of heretics, thus preparing the way for St. Jerome, who shortly after was to give to the world the Latin translation known as "The Vulgate." Having been denounced as a Christian, Lucian was thrown into prison and condemned to the torture, which was protracted for twelve whole days. Some Christians visited him in prison, on the feast of the Epiphany, and brought bread and wine to him; while bound and chained down on his back, he consecrated the divine mysteries upon his own breast, and communicated the faithful who were present. He finished his glorious career in prison, and died with the words, "I am a Christian,” on his lips. REFLECTION. — If we would keep our faith pure, we must study its holy truths. We cannot detect falsehood till we know and love the truth; and to us the truth is not an abstraction, but a Person, Jesus Christ, God and Man. ~ Pictorial Lives of the Saints (1878) St. Lucian, pray for us.

2 of 2 Month of the Holy Name of Jesus ~ January 7th 2. They were simple of heart, untainted by the world's deceits. None but good, simple men would have thus come in the darkness of the night, to the stable of Bethlehem, to find their Saviour and their King. God loves simplicity. "If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be lightsome," says Our Lord, and He thereby describes the happy lot of those whose one aim is to do their work with simplicity for God alone. Is this my spirit? 3. They were shepherds. The occupation is one which God seems to love. The man after God's own heart was a shepherd. Our Lord calls Himself the Good Shepherd. The apostles' dignity lies in the fact that they were shepherds of the flock. Every Christian is a shepherd, in that some sheep or lands are committed to his care. Am I a zealous shepherd of the sheep of Christ? ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

Month of the Holy Name of Jesus ~ January 7th 7. — The Shepherds’ Visit The first who came to pay their homage to the new-born King were the shepherds who were watching in the fields of Bethlehem, and to whom an angel had announced the birth of Christ the Lord. They received this honor because— 1. They were poor, and therefore were well suited to gather round the King Who came to live in poverty on earth. The Eternal Father chose poverty for His well-beloved Son, and therefore poverty must be better than riches. The poor are to be envied rather than pitied, so long as their poverty is not due to their own sin or folly. How many who have saved their souls in poverty would have lost them if they had been rich ! Hence, if you are poor, do not regret your poverty, but rather rejoice in it. (continued)

2 of 2 Month of the Holy Name of Jesus ~ January 6th 2. They are also singing of peace to men. What sort of peace? Not external peace, for Christ came not to bring peace, but a sword; but true peace, internal peace, that tranquillity of soul that nothing can destroy. This is the boon that Christ gives to all who love Him, in proportion to their love. 3. But peace not for all, only for men of good will. Christ, indeed, brought peace to all, but all did not accept it, only those whose good will and loyal spirit of submission made them ready to acknowledge Him as their Lord, and whom, therefore, the good will of God had predestined to the eternal peace and joy of heaven. God grant that I may be one of these! ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

Month of the Holy Name of Jesus ~ January 6th 6. — The Angels' Song On the night of the Nativity a countless multitude of the heavenly host were singing the praises of the new-born King. Let us listen to them. 1. They are singing Gloria in excelsis Deo—"Glory to God in the highest!" It is the first song they have sung on earth since the Fall. It is sung on the occasion of the infinite humiliation of the Son of God. Yet they sing, Glory to God in the highest! It must, therefore, be a source of unspeakable glory to God that He has taken the form of a servant, that He has humbled Himself to the very dust. If this is such a source of glory to God, my true glory must consist in humbling myself. (continued)

2 of 2 Month of the Holy Name of Jesus ~ January 5th 2. Consider this maiden had a still greater privilege. She ministered to God Himself as He lay in the manger. She had the singular honor of being the first after His Mother and St. Joseph to wait upon the King of kings; nay, to carry Him in her arms, and to look upon the face of God; to fold Him to her bosom. How pure and holy she must have been! How pure and holy I ought to be who in holy Communion am brought into still closer contact with the sacred body of Christ! 3. Consider how you would have acted had you been that little servant. Imagine yourself ministering to the Infant Jesus. How unworthy of the task, yet how eager to fulfil it well, to anticipate the wishes of Mary! Do I thus minister to Him in His brethren? ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

Month of the Holy Name of Jesus ~ January 5th 5. — The Little Maid Tradition asserts that besides Joseph and Mary there was present in the stable at Bethlehem a little maid, who had accompanied them from Nazareth and ministered to Our Lady and the new-born Child. 1. Consider the happiness of this little servant who was privileged to wait upon the holy Mother of God. If to wait upon a queen is considered an honor worthy of maidens of the highest birth, how much more to wait upon the Queen of heaven! Angels must have envied her the task, and longed to be allowed to share in it. I, too, can wait upon Mary by walking in processions in her honor, by kneeling before her statue, by offering her flowers or votive candies, or, if this is out of my power, by declaring to her my loyalty and desire to serve her. (continued)

FIRST SATURDAY of JANUARY 💙 “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.

2 of 2 Month of the Holy Name of Jesus ~ January 4th 2. When God gives to any one an office, He gives him the virtues and the qualities which are required for its perfect exercise. What, then, must have been the virtues of St. Joseph! He must have had every virtue, not only in an eminent degree, but in a degree to which none other of the sons of men ever attained. In prudence, justice, humility, charity, he was far above all others. I therefore must ask of him every grace that I need. 3. Above all, St. Joseph was eminent for his unspotted purity. Many theologians assert that he was sanctified in his mother's womb. None save Mary was ever so pure as he. This it was that qualified him for his intimate union with Jesus and Mary. If I desire to be united to them, I must be pure of heart. St.Joseph, obtain for me this grace of purity! ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

Month of the Holy Name of Jesus ~ January 4th 4. — The Foster-father At no great distance from the Mother of God stands His holy foster-father St. Joseph, the third person of that earthly trinity. What can we learn from him ? 1. He is the true husband of Mary, united to her by a closer bond than any on earth save that which exists between the Mother and the Son. He is, moreover, the true earthly father of Jesus in everything except the fact of carnal generation. He has committed to him the care of God Himself, and of her who is dearer to God than all the world beside. He is, therefore, next to Mary, of all mankind the most privileged and the most exalted. How, then, can we honor him enough? (continued)

2 of 2 Month of the Holy Name of Jesus ~ January 3rd 2. Yet Mary has a still greater claim to our homage, a more fruitful source of blessedness even than the divine maternity. Her unswerving obedience to the inspirations of God is declared by Our Lord Himself to be a still higher privilege. "Yea, rather blessed are they who hear the Word of God and keep it." If only we realized the blessedness of unswerving obedience, how different our lot would be! 3. What are Mary's thoughts as she sits watching there? She has no thought save of God. She is absorbed in Him. The hours pass like minutes, they are a sort of anticipation of Paradise. She sees her God face to face, and though His glory is veiled under the robe of flesh, yet Mary can pierce through it as none else ever could, and can bask in the Divinity which it conceals. O God, help me to realize now Thy presence when Thou art veiled under the sacramental species. ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

Month of the Holy Name of Jesus ~ January 3rd 3. — The Holy Mother By the side of the manger where the Infant lies, His Mother is watching. Who is she? 1. A poor and humble maiden, but nevertheless the Mother of God. The Mother of God! How can this be? How can the Eternal, Infinite God have a human mother? Yet so it is; Mary has a privilege which raises her immeasurably above the highest of the seraphim. It makes her more perfect in her likeness to God than is possible to any other creature. If, then, we honor the saints and angels, how much more should we honor God's own Mother! (continued)

2 of 2 Month of the Holy Name of Jesus ~ January 2nd 2. He teaches us never to judge by appearances. If we had been told that God had come to dwell on earth, would not the stable of Bethlehem have been the last place where we should have sought Him? In how many a humble cottage there may still be found saints more dear to God than even those who have a world wide repute for their holiness and virtue! 3. He teaches us the true dignity of self-abasement. God could not do anything unworthy of Himself when clad in human flesh. It therefore was no disparagement to the divine honor that He should thus infinitely condescend. Nay, it proved that the greatest possible likeness to God is attained by the most complete humiliation of self. How little I have learned to practise this lesson! ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

1 of 2 Month of the Holy Name of Jesus ~ January 2nd 2. — The New-born Child In the cradle before us lies the new-born Infant wrapped in swaddling-clothes and laid in the manger. Let us contemplate Him for a few moments and see what lessons He teaches us. 1. He teaches us the unspeakable force of divine charity. How was it possible for the Eternal Word, the co-equal Son of God, to leave the bosom of His Father to clothe Himself with the flesh of sinful man? It seem san almost extravagant act of love, one unworthy of the dignity of God. Yet love puts everything aside except the burning desire to promote the welfare of the loved. The Son of God forgot all else in His divine compassion for us. How dearly He must love us! How great should be our confidence in His love! (continued)

2 of 2 Month of the Holy Name of Jesus ~ January 1st 2. All the world was at peace at the moment when Christ was born. The angry passions of men were hushed as if in compliment to the Prince of peace. He never comes where strife and confusion prevail. If I desire that He should come into my heart to-day, I must resolve to keep under my evil passions, and the self-will that dares to do battle against the will of God. 3. But when the gift came at last, it was a gift worthy of the divine generosity. It was a gift of infinite value, given to all and each of the sons of men. It was a gift in which God gave Himself to be wholly ours. That little Infant in the cradle before Whom I kneel to-day is the omnipotent God, loving me with an immeasurable love; my King, my Lord, my Redeemer, my best Friend, the divine Lover of my soul. Oh, would that I loved Him more! ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

1 of 2 Month of the Holy Name of Jesus ~ January 1st The Holy Infancy ~ Short Meditations for Christmas I. — The Nativity 1. Four thousand years had passed since God promised to our first parents that a Redeemer should come to free the world from the curse that had fallen upon it when Adam was disobedient to the divine command. Prophets and kings had desired to see the day when that promise should be fulfilled, but had not seen it. The whole world had long expected the day of redemption. God always is slow in His best gifts. Hence learn to be patient. "He will surely come, He will not tarry." (continued)

✯¸.•´*¨`*•✿ ✿•*`¨*`•.¸✯ 2025 January ~ Month of the Holy Name of Jesus ✯¸.•´*¨`*•✿ ✿•*`¨*`•.¸✯

⭐️Happy New Year!⭐️ Thank you, dear Readers, for your patronage of these channels during 2024! May God bless you and bring you a Happy New Year! +A.M.D.G.+ For the greater glory of God! Virgo Potens https://t.me/Virgo_Potens Defende nos in prœlio https://t.me/Defende_nos Chantbird’s Garden of Song https://t.me/chantbirds_garden_of_song Catholic Universe https://t.me/Catholic_Universe One, Holy, Catholic https://t.me/one_holy_catholic Christus Regnat https://t.me/RexUniversi Glory to God https://t.me/AdDeiGloria