Virgo Potens

Novena for the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Prayer Lord Jesus Christ, Thou hast destroyed the power of death and given the hope of eternal life for body and soul. Thou hast granted Thy Mother a special place in Thy glory, and didst not allow decay to touch her body. As we rejoice in the Assumption of Mary, grant us renewed confidence in the victory of life over death. Amen. DAY 1 - August 6th Immaculate Virgin, Mother of Jesus and our Mother, we believe in thy triumphant assumption into heaven where the angels and saints acclaim thee as Queen of Heaven and earth. We join them in praising thee and bless the Lord Who raised thee above all creatures. With them we honor thee. We are confident that thou watchest over our daily lives and we ask thee to intercede for us now. (Here mention your request). We are comforted by our faith in the coming Resurrection and we look to thee for prayers and comfort. After this earthly life, show us Jesus, the blessed fruit of thy womb, O kind, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. O Queen, assumed into heaven, pray for us. Amen.

Novena to St. Jean-Marie Baptiste Vianney, the Curè of Ars August 6th ~ Day Seven: Dispeller of Satan ℣ Saint John-Marie Baptist Vianney, O Holy Priest of Ars, ℟ The infamous attacks of satan which thou hadst to suffer and the trials which disheartened thee by fatigue would not make thee give up the sublime task of converting souls. The devil attacked thee for many years to disturb thy short rest but thou conquered through mortification and prayers. Powerful Protector, thou knowest the tempter's desire to harm my baptized and believing soul. He would have me sin, by rejecting the Holy Sacraments and the life of virtue. Good Saint of Ars, dispel from me the traces of the enemy. Holy Priest of Ars, I have confidence in thine intercession. ℣ Pray for me during this novena especially for (name your request(s)) Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be. ℣ St. John-Marie Vianney, Patron of Priests, ℟ Pray for us and for all priests, especially (name the priest(s) for whom you wish to pray). Amen.

Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 6th O most holy Mary, Thy divine Son, Jesus, hath created thy Heart, and He alone knows the great treasures He has hidden therein. He it was who lit the fire burning in this furnace, and none but He can measure the heights reached by the flames which leap from its abyss. He alone can measure the vast perfections with which He has enriched the masterpiece of His all-powerful goodness, or count the innumerable graces He has poured into this ocean of grace: “He created her in the Holy Ghost, and saw her, and numbered her, and measured her.” ~ Saint John Eudes, The Admirable Heart of the Most Holy Mother of God (1680)

ACT of REPARATION to the IMMACULATE HEART of MARY 💙 Most holy Virgin and our Mother, we listen with grief to the complaints of thy Immaculate Heart surrounded with the thorns which ungrateful men place therein at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. Moved by the ardent desire of loving thee as our Mother and of promoting a true devotion to thy Immaculate Heart, we prostrate ourselves at thy feet to prove the sorrow we feel for the grievances that men cause thee, and to atone, by means of our prayers and sacrifices, for the offenses with which men return thy tender love. Obtain for them and for us the pardon of so many sins. A word from thee will obtain grace and amendment for us all. Hasten, O Lady, the conversion of sinners, that they may love Jesus and cease to offend the Lord, already so much offended, and will not fall into hell. Turn thine eyes of mercy towards us, that henceforth we may love God with all our hearts while on earth and enjoy Him forever in heaven. Amen.

FIRST SATURDAY of AUGUST 💙 “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.

Novena to St. Jean-Marie Baptiste Vianney, the Curè of Ars August 5th ~ Day Six: The Real Presence ℣ Saint John-Marie Baptist Vianney, O Holy Priest of Ars, ℟ Whose only comfort in this world was the Real Presence of Jesus in the tabernacle, was it not thy great joy to distribute the Sacred Eucharist to the pilgrims who visited thee? Thou refused Holy Communion to the souls who refused to reform; but to contrite souls of goodwill thou opened wide the doors of the Eucharistic Feast. Each day, at the Most Holy Sacrifice thou didst receive Holy Communion with great love: grant me some of thy fervor, I beg thee. With freedom from mortal sin and a resolute conviction to reject all intentional venial sin, obtain for me a sincere desire to profit from receiving Holy Communion. Holy Priest of Ars, I have confidence in thine intercession. ℣ Pray for me during this novena especially for (name your request(s)) Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be. ℣ St. John-Marie Vianney, Patron of Priests, ℟ Pray for us and for all priests, especially (name the priest(s) for whom you wish to pray). Amen.

Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 5th The God of Angels finds even the footsteps of this glorious Queen so holy and so pleasing to His Divine Majesty that He exclaims: “How beautiful are thy steps in shoes, O prince’s daughter!” Under His divine inspiration Holy Church, both Militant and Triumphant, celebrates on earth and in heaven Our Lady’s visitation to her cousin Elizabeth. From this we see how great is Our Lord’s desire that we should admire and honor as He does the many holy and admirable actions which were inspired in the most amiable Heart of His peerless Mother. ~ Saint John Eudes, The Admirable Heart of the Most Holy Mother of God (1680)

FIRST FRIDAY of AUGUST ❤️ Sacred Heart of Jesus, I give myself to thee through Mary. An indulgence of 300 days. A plenary indulgence on the usual conditions, for the daily repetition of this invocation for a month. (S.P. Ap., June 19, 1920; March 1, 1923 and April 23, 1936). (The Raccolta, 1957) If possible, receive Holy Communion today and make reparation to Our Lord for past and present offenses against His love.

Novena to St. Jean-Marie Baptiste Vianney, the Curè of Ars August 4th ~ Day Five: Confessor of Souls ℣ Saint John-Marie Baptist Vianney, O Holy Priest of Ars, ℟ Thou knowest how absolutely necessary a good confession is for the Christian life. It was to procure the happy fruits of millions of souls that thou agreed to be in an uncomfortable confessional, which was like a prison, up to 15 and 18 hours on certain days. With thine aid, I will strive to develop the habit of frequent confession, to prepare properly each time, to have true contrition for my sins, and a firm purpose of amendment, for the sanctification of my soul and the grace of final perseverance. Implore the Lord for this grace for me, I beg thee. Holy Priest of Ars, I have confidence in thine intercession. ℣ Pray for me during this novena especially for (name your request(s)) Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be. ℣ St. John-Marie Vianney, Patron of Priests, ℟ Pray for us and for all priests, especially (name the priest(s) for whom you wish to pray). Amen.

August 4th ~ ST. DOMINIC de GUZMÁN ~ Confessor Founder of the Dominicans Patron Saint of astronomers, natural scientists and those wrongfully accused (b. circa 1170, Castile, Spain - d. August 6, 1221, Bologna, Italy) Traditional Feast St. Dominic was born in Spain in 1170. With the dawn of reason his whole soul turned to God. His childhood was most pious and his youth angelic in purity. In the University of Palencia he was the model student. At twenty five he became a canon regular at Osma, and with the religious habit he put on the Lord Jesus and strove in all things to imitate Him. His time was divided into prayer, study of Scripture, and com­munity duties. Silence and retirement were his delight; works of penance and tears of contrition his meat and drink. Going in 1205 to France, he spent many years in every kind of labor for the conversion of the Albigensian heretics. Like Jesus Christ he passed the day in apostolic work, the night in prayer. His penance was extreme, but to others he was gentle, sweet, and kind. Many were converted by his miracles, many by the example of his holy life. Six times he jour­neyed to Rome, once to Spain, once to Paris, walking barefoot, praying or singing on the road; preaching in the towns and villages, spending the nights in contemplation. He founded in 1215 the Order of Friars Preachers for the conversion of souls. He was a man of truly apostolic heart, a column of the Faith, a trumpet of the Gospel, the light of Christ to men. He died at Bologna in 1221. Pray for us, blessed father, St. Dominic, that we may be made worthy of the prom­ises of Christ.

August 4th ~ ST. DOMINIC de GUZMÁN ~ Confessor Founder of the Dominicans Patron Saint of astronomers, natural scientists and those wrongfully accused (b. circa 1170, Castile, Spain - d. August 6, 1221, Bologna, Italy) Traditional Feast

Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 4th When the angels beheld their Queen and ours at the moment of her immaculate conception they were filled with admiration at such fulness of grace and in their wonderment exclaimed: “Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as any army set in array?” What then must their rejoicing be, now that they behold in heaven all the marvellous perfections of her Heart from the first moment of her life on earth until the last? ~ Saint John Eudes, The Admirable Heart of the Most Holy Mother of God (1680)

Novena to St. Jean-Marie Baptiste Vianney, the Curè of Ars August 3rd ~ Day Four: For a Horror of Sin ℣ Saint John-Marie Baptist Vianney, O Holy Priest of Ars, ℟ Thou wast so adamant against sin, yet so sympathetic and so ready to welcome the sinner. I come to thee today as if thou wert still on earth and as if I were kneeling at thy feet; for thou canst hear and aid. Bend towards me, listen to my repentant sorrow for the weaknesses and miserable deeds of mine. Holy Priest of God, inexhaustible Confessor, I beg thee, obtain for me the horror for sin. Thou wanted us first to avoid the occasion of sin. I want to heed thy advice and make the resolution to break sinful habits and to avoid the dangerous occasions of sin. Help me today to examine my conscience. Holy Priest of Ars, I have confidence in thine intercession. ℣ Pray for me during this novena especially for (name your request(s)) Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be. ℣ St. John-Marie Vianney, Patron of Priests, ℟ Pray for us and for all priests, especially (name the priest(s) for whom you wish to pray). Amen.

Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 3rd Of Mary’s admirable Heart I shall attempt to speak in this book although to speak and write worthily of the holy Heart of God’s own Mother one would need a heart of fire. To know and proclaim the perfections of the noble Heart of the Queen of Angels one should have the intellect of a cherub and the flaming love of a seraph. Nay more, it would be necessary to possess the mind, the heart, the tongue and the hand of Jesus Christ, the King of all hearts, to understand, honor, proclaim or commit to writing the treasures of sanctity contained in the holy Heart of Mary, the worthiest, most royal and most marvellous of all hearts after the most adorable Heart of our Saviour Himself. ~ Saint John Eudes, The Admirable Heart of the Most Holy Mother of God (1680)

On the Immaculate Heart of Mary In the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I Trust. Look to the Star. Call upon Mary! In danger, in difficulty, or in doubt, think of Mary, call upon Mary. Keep her name on your lips. Never let it pass out of your heart. Following in her footsteps, you will not go astray: praying to her, you will not fall into despair: thinking of her, you will not err. While she keeps hold of your hand, you will not fall, you will not grow weary, you will have no fear. Enjoying her protection, you will reach the goal. ~ Saint Bernard

DEVOUT EXERCISES The faithful who offer prayers or other acts of piety in honor of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, on any day in the month of August, may gain: An indulgence of 5 years, once. Those who persevere in such a devout exercise daily throughout the month of August, may gain: A plenary indulgence on the usual conditions. (S.C. Holy Off., March 13, 1913; S.P. Ap., June 2, 1935). (The Raccolta, 1957)