Virgo Potens

FRUITS of MEDITATION on the PASSION of CHRIST ~ Our Lord will never be outdone in generosity: by consoling Him, we gain merit in heaven ~ “I wish that my face, which reflects the deep pains of my soul, the sorrow and love of my heart, be better honoured: who contemplates me consoles me.“ ~ Our Lord to Blessed Maria Pierina, 1936, First Friday of Lent

Month of the Holy Eucharist ~ April 10th ✧❁❁✧✿✿✧❁❁✧ 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)

Month of the Holy Eucharist ~ April 9th ✧❁❁✧✿✿✧❁❁✧ Wednesday after the Fifth Sunday in Lent — Simon of Cyrene Read St. Mark xv. 21 And they forced one Simon a Cyrenian who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and of Rufus, to take up his cross. 1. Our blessed Lord falls again and again be neath the weight of the cross, until it becomes evident to the soldiers that He will never be abletodragittothe placeofexecution. They accordingly lay hold of a heathen passing by, Simon the Cyrenian, and him they compel to carry the cross. How little Simon knew the happiness in store for him when those rough soldiers seize him and force him to the ignomin ious task of carrying for a public criminal the instrumentofhispunishment! Howoftenwe too fail to recognize in the sudden disagreeables and contradictions we encounter God's wonder ful designs of mercy to us ! 2. Simon at first bore the cross surlily and re luctantly, chafing under the hardship inflicted onhim. Butashecarriesit,somehowanunac countablechangecomesoverhim. Ithasthe virtue to change his heart, and to make of him a devoted follower of the Crucified, one of the pillarsoftheApostolicChurch. Thusmanya cross that we carry reluctantly turns out to be really the means of our sanctification and sal vation. 3. Before Simon arrives at the summit of Calvary, the cross has endeared itself to him. HehasrecognizedthattocarryitforJesuswas no hardship, but a privilege and a happiness. So too the saints learn to love the cross, to em brace it, to seek it, to carry it with all joy, to be almost discontented if they are without it. This is the very height of peace and felicity; forthose who find their joy in the cross find everywhere around them cause for rejoicing. ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

FRUITS of MEDITATION on the PASSION of CHRIST ~ His Divine Likeness Will Be Imprinted On Our Souls ~ “He then once more promised me to imprint His Divine likeness upon the souls of those who honor the features of His Face." Our Lord Himself called devotion to His Holy Face, “The most beautiful work under the sun”.   ~ Our Lord to Sr. Marie de St. Pierre

GOOD FRIDAY NOVENA To be prayed once each day from the Wednesday of Passion Week until Holy Thursday. Day 1 - April 9th O Jesus, Who by reason of Thy burning love for us hast willed to be crucified and to shed Thy Most Precious Blood for the redemption and salvation of our souls, look down upon us here gathered together in remembrance of Thy most sorrowful Passion and Death, fully trusting in Thy mercy; cleanse us from sin by Thy grace, sanctify our toil, give unto us and unto all those who are dear to us our daily bread, sweeten our sufferings, bless our families, and to the nations so sorely afflicted, grant Thy peace, which is the only true peace, so that by obeying Thy commandments we may come at last to the glory of heaven. Amen. (Here mention your requests.) Recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be.

Month of the Holy Eucharist ~ April 8th ✧❁❁✧✿✿✧❁❁✧ 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)

FRUITS of MEDITATION on the PASSION of CHRIST ~ It Ensures For Us A Special Glory In Heaven ~ This was revealed to Saint Gertrude: On the feast of Saint John the Evangelist she beheld how this beloved Apostle enjoyed a special bliss in heaven because he had always begun his contemplation with the remembrance of our Saviour’s Passion, of which he had been an eye witness.

2 of 2 About The ROSARY of the HOLY WOUNDS It was revealed by Our Lord to Sr. Mary Martha Chambon (1841-1907), of the Monastery of the Visitation of Chambery. The cause for her beatification was introduced in 1937. Promises of Our Lord to Those Who Practice the Devotion of The ROSARY of the HOLY WOUNDS   1. At each word that you pronounce of the Chaplet of the Holy Wounds, I allow a drop of My Blood to fall upon the soul of a sinner. 2. Each time that you offer to My Father the merits of My Divine Wounds, you win an immense fortune. 3. Souls that will have contemplated and honored My crown of thorns on earth, will be My crown of glory in Heaven! 4. I will grant all that is asked of Me through the invocation of My Holy Wounds. You will obtain everything, because it is through the merit of My Blood, which is of infinite price. With My Wounds and My Divine Heart, everything can be obtained. 5. From My Wounds proceed fruits of sanctity. As gold purified in the crucible becomes more beautiful, so you must put your soul and those of your companions into My sacred Wounds; there they will become perfected as gold in the furnace. You can always purify yourself in My Wounds. 6. My Wounds will repair yours. My Wounds will cover all your faults. Those who honor them will have a true knowledge of Jesus Christ. In meditation on them, you will always find a new love. My Wounds will cover all your sins. 7. Plunge your actions into My Wounds and they will be of value. All your actions, even the least, soaked in My Blood, will acquire by this alone an infinite merit and will please My Heart. 8. In offering My Wounds for the conversion of sinners, even though the sinners are not converted, you will have the same merit before God as if they were. 9. When you have some trouble, something to suffer, quickly place it in My Wounds, and the pain will be alleviated. 10. This aspiration must often be repeated near the sick: "My Jesus, pardon and mercy through the merits of Thy Holy Wounds!" This prayer will solace soul and body. 11. A sinner who will say the following prayer will obtain conversion: "Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Wounds of our Lord Jesus Christ to heal those of our souls." 12. There will be no death for the soul that expires in My Holy Wounds; they give true life. 13. This chaplet is a counterpoise to My justice; it restrains My vengeance. 14. Those who pray with humility and who meditate on My Passion, will one day participate in the glory of My Divine Wounds. 15. The more you will have contemplated My painful Wounds on this earth, the higher will be your contemplation of them glorious in Heaven. 16. The soul who during life has honored the Wounds of our Lord Jesus Christ and has offered them to the Eternal Father for the Souls in Purgatory, will be accompanied at the moment of death by the Holy Virgin and the Angels; and Our Lord on the Cross, all brilliant in glory, will receive her and crown her. 17. The invocations of the Holy Wounds will obtain an incessant victory for the Church. ~ Prayers and Heavenly Promises (1990)

1 of 2 The ROSARY of the HOLY WOUNDS Pray using regular Rosary beads. On the crucifix and the three small beads: O JESUS, Divine Redeemer, be merciful to us and to the whole world. Amen. STRONG God, holy God, immortal God, have mercy on us and on the whole world. Amen. GRACE and mercy, O my Jesus, during present dangers; cover us with Thy Precious Blood. Amen. ETERNAL Father, grant us mercy through the Blood of Jesus Christ, Thine only Son; grant us mercy, we beseech Thee. Amen, Amen, Amen. Using the decade beads, say the following prayers, composed by Our Lord: On the Our Father beads: Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Wounds of our Lord Jesus Christ, To heal the wounds of our souls. On the small Hail Mary beads: My Jesus, pardon and mercy, Through the merits of Thy Holy Wounds. End by saying, three times: Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Wounds of Our Lord Jesus Christ, To heal the Wounds of our souls. (continued)

Month of the Holy Eucharist ~ April 7th ✧❁❁✧✿✿✧❁❁✧ 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)

FRUITS of MEDITATION on the PASSION of CHRIST ~ It Gives Us The Assurance of a Happy Death ~ Souls that are tormented by the devil and tremble for their eternal salvation will feel great consolation in withdrawing their eyes from the outward world and fixing them on the cross where Jesus hangs, bleeding from every wound. ~ Saint Alphonsus

Month of the Holy Eucharist ~ April 7th ✧❁❁✧✿✿✧❁❁✧ 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 3 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)

Month of the Holy Eucharist ~ April 6th ✧❁❁✧✿✿✧❁❁✧ 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)

Month of the Holy Eucharist ~ April 5th ✧❁❁✧✿✿✧❁❁✧ Saturday after the Fourth Sunday in Lent — The Condemnation to Death Read St. Matthew xxvii. 24-26. And Pilate seeing that he prevailed nothing, but that rather a tumult was made; taking water washed his hands before the people, saying: I am innocent of the blood of this just man; look you to it. And the whole people answering, said: His blood be upon us and our children. Then he released to them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him unto them to be crucified. 1. Pilate tries first one plan, then another, to avoid passing a sentence which he knew to be unjust. One plan after another fails, and now he is brought face to face with a choice on which the salvation of his soul may well depend. It was the turning-point in his life: the grace of God urging him on one side, and on the other the fear of man. So in the life of each there is some turning-point, some occasion when the choice made will decide his future both in life and in eternity. Unhappy those who in such a moment choose as Pilate chose! 2. The motive that led Pilate to condemn Jesus was the fear of man. He did not dare to face the consequences of doing his duty. He trembled before the opinion of others and the dread of losing his worldly position and honor. To how many has the same motive been a cause of eternal loss! Is it not one before which I have sometimes quailed, loving honor from men, and failing in what I knew was the will of God from a desire to please others? 3. Pilate ordered the sentence to be written out condemning Jesus to death, and then deliberately signed it. But first he washed his hands before the people, declaring himself guiltless of the blood of the just man that he condemned. O fruitless ceremony! He could not wash from his soul the black stain of cowardice and of treachery to his conscience. It is no use doing ill and saying we did not mean it. Such an evasion, like Pilate's protest, rather adds to than diminishes the sin. ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

2 of 2 ACT of CONSECRATION to the QUEEN of HEAVEN If it pleases you, use all that I am and have without reserve, wholly to accomplish what was said of you: “She will crush your head,” and, “You alone have destroyed all heresies in the world.”  Let me be a fit instrument in your immaculate and merciful hands for introducing and increasing your glory to the maximum in all the many strayed and indifferent souls, and thus help extend as far as possible the blessed kingdom of the most Sacred Heart of Jesus.  For wherever you enter, you obtain the grace of conversion and growth in holiness, since it is through your hands that all graces come to us from the most Sacred Heart of Jesus. ℣ Allow me to praise you, O sacred Virgin. ℟ Give me strength against your enemies. ~ St. Maximilian Kobe

2 of 2 Act of Consecration to the Queen of Heaven If it pleases you, use all that I am and have without reserve, wholly to accomplish what was said of you: “She will crush your head,” and, “You alone have destroyed all heresies in the world.”  Let me be a fit instrument in your immaculate and merciful hands for introducing and increasing your glory to the maximum in all the many strayed and indifferent souls, and thus help extend as far as possible the blessed kingdom of the most Sacred Heart of Jesus.  For wherever you enter, you obtain the grace of conversion and growth in holiness, since it is through your hands that all graces come to us from the most Sacred Heart of Jesus. ℣ Allow me to praise you, O sacred Virgin. ℟ Give me strength against your enemies. ~ St. Maximilian Kobe

2 of 2 Act of Consecration to Mary If it pleases you, use all that I am and have without reserve, wholly to accomplish what was said of you: “She will crush your head,” and, “You alone have destroyed all heresies in the world.”  Let me be a fit instrument in your immaculate and merciful hands for introducing and increasing your glory to the maximum in all the many strayed and indifferent souls, and thus help extend as far as possible the blessed kingdom of the most Sacred Heart of Jesus.  For wherever you enter, you obtain the grace of conversion and growth in holiness, since it is through your hands that all graces come to us from the most Sacred Heart of Jesus. ℣ Allow me to praise you, O sacred Virgin. ℟ Give me strength against your enemies. ~ St. Maximilian Kobe