Virgo Potens

1 of 2 Month of the Holy Family ~ February 8th Eighth Day Be abject in your own eyes, and esteem yourself happy to be regarded so by others. Do not exalt yourself on account of the gifts of God. Then you will be perfectly humble.—St. Bonaventure St. Magdalene of Pazzi persuaded herself that she was the most miserable of creatures, that there was nothing on earth more abominable than herself. Her great humility made her exaggerate her least faults, so that others also might have the same opinion of her. It was a great torment to so humble a soul to hear herself praised, to see herself esteemed. She was most unhappy that she was unable to hide the favors which Our Lord granted her as a sign of His love and of her predilection. Another saint attributed to her sins all those committed by others. She said she resembled the demon on account of her pride and ingratitude. (continued below)

2 of 2 Month of the Holy Family ~ February 7th Seventh Day (continued from above) Prayer My God, I am worthy of Thy anger, of Thy maledic­tions, and of Thy vengeance, on account of my sins and the abuse of Thy grace. Have pity on this miserable sinner, who dares not raise his eyes to Thee and is penetrated with sorrow. ~ Abbé Lasausse, Short Meditations For Every Day (1889)

1 of 2 Month of the Holy Family ~ February 7th Seventh Day One day during which we humble ourselves profoundly on account of our sins and miseries brings to us more graces than many days employed in prayer.—St. Teresa St. Francis of Assisi regarded himself as the greatest sinner in the universe, and worthy of hell. He said that he did not deserve that God would deign to cast one look upon him. “I know what I will do to appease Our Lord,” said St. Bonaventure. “ I will look upon myself as the vilest on earth; I will be to my eyes an object of horror; and when I see myself humbled, despised, outraged, covered with opprobrium, I will rejoice, I will bless the Lord.” St. Vincent de Paul humbled himself continually before God, and said: “How many sins will I not commit if Thou regulate not my words and actions!” (continued below)

(continued below) 2 of 2 Month of the Holy Family ~ February 7th Seventh Day (continued from above) Prayer My God, I am worthy of Thy anger, of Thy maledic­tions, and of Thy vengeance, on account of my sins and the abuse of Thy grace. Have pity on this miserable sinner, who dares not raise his eyes to Thee and is penetrated with sorrow. ~ Abbé Lasausse, Short Meditations For Every Day (1889)

1 of 2 Month of the Holy Family ~ February 7th Seventh Day One day during which we humble ourselves profoundly on account of our sins and miseries brings to us more graces than many days employed in prayer.—St. Teresa St. Francis of Assisi regarded himself as the greatest sinner in the universe, and worthy of hell. He said that he did not deserve that God would deign to cast one look upon him. “I know what I will do to appease Our Lord,” said St. Bonaventure. “ I will look upon myself as the vilest on earth; I will be to my eyes an object of horror; and when I see myself humbled, despised, outraged, covered with op­probrium, I will rejoice, I will bless the Lord.” St. Vincent de Paul humbled himself continually before God, and said: “How many sins will I not commit if Thou regulate not my words and actions!” (continued below)

2 of 2 Month of the Holy Family ~ February 6th Sixth Day (continued from above) Prayer Lord, I have nothing, I deserve nothing, I am less than nothing, since I am a sinner. I have recourse to Thee. The more wretched a poor man is, the greater is his hope that the rich, to whom he addresses himself, will take pity on him. I beseech Thee, have mercy on me, according to the greatness of my miseries. ~ Abbé Lasausse, Short Meditations For Every Day (1889)

1 of 2 Month of the Holy Family ~ February 6th Sixth Day The humble, those who have a lowly opinion of themselves and love to be despised by others, please God the most. He makes it His delight to be with them, to pour upon them the treasures of His grace, to reveal to them His secrets, and to attract them sweetly to Himself.—Thomas à Kempis Thais, being converted, never forgot her past disorderly life. Penetrated with confusion at her sins, she never dared to mention the holy name of God. Thus she expressed herself in addressing Him: “Thou Who hast created me, have mercy on me.” By such sentiments of humility she became so pleasing to God that she obtained an eminent degree of sanctity. A servant of God much esteemed by St. Ignatius said: “He who thinks he is of no value is worth much; and he who thinks he is of much worth is worth nothing.” (continued below)

I firmly wish that My Face reflecting the intimate pains of My Soul, the suffering and love of My Heart, be more honored! Whoever gazes upon Me already consoles Me . . . NOVENA IN HONOR OF THE HOLY FACE OF JESUS OF THE SHROUD OF TURIN “See how I suffer. Nevertheless, I am understood by so few. What ingratitude on the part of those who say they love Me. I have given My Heart as a sensible object of My great love for man and I give My Face as a sensible object of My sorrow for the sins of man. I desire that It be honored by a Special Feast on Tuesday in Quinquagesima [Shrove Tuesday – the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday]. The Feast will be preceded by a Novena in which the faithful make reparation to Me, uniting themselves in participating with Me in My sorrow.” (Our Lord Jesus Christ to Sister Maria Pierina) This novena may be said anytime during the year. Posted at Defende nos in prœlio. https://t.me/Defende_nos

2 of 2 Month of the Holy Family ~ February 5th Fifth Day (continued from above) St. Dominic was accustomed to kneel at the gates of the city where he was about to preach, and beg of God not to afflict the people with any chastisements on account of his sins. St. Philip Neri advised those whom he directed to say when they had fallen into a fault: “ If I had been humble I should not have fallen.” Prayer Lord, I am but a sinner. How many sins have I not committed! I sin unceasingly. Have pity on me; grant me mercy. Woe to me if Thou treatest me as I have merited! ~ Abbé Lasausse, Short Meditations For Every Day (1889)

1 of 2 Month of the Holy Family ~ February 5th Fifth Day The most powerful weapon to vanquish the demon is humility.—St. Francis of Paula St. Teresa could not conceive why preachers spoke so frequently of the necessity of humility. Is it not evident, said she, that in nothing can we glorify ourselves, since all the good we have comes from God? How can we, who are subject to so many miseries, and who have committed so many sins, be proud? We have nothing in us of which we can be vain. Father Alvarez compared his life to a bunch of grapes in which almost every grape was spoiled. Among so many actions, said he, there is scarcely any without a defect. “And woe to me,” added he, “if God examines them too closely!” (continued below)

1 of 2 Month of the Holy Family ~ February 5th Fifth Day The most powerful weapon to vanquish the demon is humility.—St. Francis of Paula St. Teresa could not conceive why preachers spoke so frequently of the necessity of humility. Is it not evident, said she, that in nothing can we glorify ourselves, since all the good we have comes from God? How can we, who are subject to so many miseries, and who have committed so many sins, be proud? We have nothing in us of which we can be vain. Father Alvarez compared his life to a bunch of grapes in which almost every grape was spoiled. Among so many actions, said he, there is scarcely any without a defect. “And woe to me,” added he, “if God examines them too closely!” (continued below)

2 of 2 Month of the Holy Family ~ February 4th Fourth Day (continued from above) Prayer Lord, Who hatest the proud and wilt humble them, give me humility. Without humility I shall offend Thee un­ceasingly; without humility I shall be lost. ~ Abbé Lasausse, Short Meditations For Every Day (1889)

1 of 2 Month of the Holy Family ~ February 4th Fourth Day Humility Is necessary, not only to acquire virtues, but to be saved. Jesus Christ has said that the gates of heaven are so narrow that only the little, that is the humble, can enter therein.—St. Bernard St. Philip Neri was accustomed to say: “The wound in the side of Jesus Christ is large; but unless He has pity on me I will make it still larger." Every morning he addressed to God this prayer: “Lord, watch over me this day. If Thou dost not guard me I will betray Thee, and I will fall into grievous sins.” Each time that he left his house, he said to God: “Take care of me, otherwise I depart a Christian and shall return a Jew.” Is it not true, self-evident, that we are nothing, can do nothing? Can we lose sight of our miseries, of our sins? He who has a wound on his body which gives him pain does not reflect whether it is there, for he sees and feels it.” (continued below)

2 of 2 ACT of CONSECRATION (to the Immaculate Heart of Mary) (continued from above) 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)

1 of 2 ACT of CONSECRATION (to the Immaculate Heart of Mary) O Mary, Virgin most powerful and Mother of Mercy, Queen of Heaven and Refuge of Sinners, we consecrate ourselves to thine immaculate heart. We consecrate to thee our very being and our whole life; all that we have, all that we love, all that we are. To thee we give our bodies, our hearts, and our souls; to thee we give our homes, our families, our country. We desire that all that is in us and around us may belong to thee, and may share in the benefits of thy motherly benediction. And that this act of consecration may be truly efficacious and lasting, we renew this day at thy feet the promises of our Baptism and our First Holy Communion. We pledge ourselves to profess courageously and at all times the truths of our holy Faith, and to live as befits Catholics who are duly submissive to all directions of the Pope and the Bishops in communion with him. (continued below)

FIRST SATURDAY of FEBRUARY 💙 “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.

Month of the Holy Family ~ February 3rd Third Day He who is not profoundly humble can never arrive at a sublime degree of prayer.—St. Teresa. St. Bridget heard these words from Our Lord: that a soul which seeks the things of heaven must lower itself and walk in paths of humiliation. St. Clare of Montefalco during fifteen days was deprived of the heavenly favors with which Our Lord was accustomed to visit her, because she had not resisted sentiments of self-love after having done a good action, although she had not failed to weep and punish herself for her fault. Prayer My God, I desire most ardently to be humble, and I will not cease to beg it of Thee, that Thou mayest look upon me with mercy, and give me grace to please Thee here and love Thee eternally in heaven. ~ Abbé Lasausse, Short Meditations For Every Day (1889)

An Aspiration to the Eternal Father to be Frequently Recited During the Day Eternal Father, we offer Thee the Holy Face of Jesus, covered with blood, sweat, dust, and spittle, in reparation for our sins and the sins of the whole world. ~ Sr. Mary of St. Peter