The following Annunciation Novena has been adapted and initiated by members of the Christian faithful to pray for the success of this Roman Day of Dialogue and for the eventual definition on the Fifth Marian Dogma.  We are happy to forward on to you this novena which we have received, and to encourage readers the world over to participate in this novena from Wednesday, March 17 to Thursday, March 25, that the Holy Spirit through the Immaculate and Coredemptive Heart of Mary will overshadow those participating in the Day of Dialogue and ultimately our beloved Holy Father regarding the dogmatic crowning of our Mother Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix of all graces and Advocate. -Ed.

Annunciation Novena

I greet you. Ever-blessed Virgin, Mother of God, Throne of Grace, miracle of Almighty Power! I greet you, Sanctuary of the Most Holy Trinity and Queen of the Universe, Mother of Mercy and Refuge of Sinners!

During the Fatima solar miracle of October 13, 1917, St. Joseph appeared with the Child Jesus and blessed the world. The following is the account of Sr. Lucia from her Memoirs:

This Josephite event is only understandable in light of the heart of the Fatima message, revealed on July 13, 1917. Our Lady of the Rosary revealed that following grave global event, inclusive of the worldwide spread of the error of Communism, a conditional second world war, the annihilation of various nations, and much suffering for the Holy Father and the Church, that eventually, "in the end, My Immaculate Heart will triumph" and "a period of peace would be granted to the world."

Inspired by the Gospel, the Fathers of the Church from the earliest centuries stressed that just as St. Joseph took loving care of Mary and gladly dedicated himself to Jesus Christ's upbringing (1), he likewise watches over and protects Christ's Mystical Body, that is, the Church, of which the Virgin Mary is the exemplar and model.

On the occasion of the centenary of Pope Leo XIII's Encyclical Epistle Quamquam Pluries (2), and in line with the veneration given to St. Joseph over the centuries, I wish to offer for your consideration, dear brothers, and sisters, some reflections concerning him "into whose custody God entrusted his most precious treasures" (3). I gladly fulfill this pastoral duty so that all may grow in devotion to the Patron of the Universal Church and in love for the Savior whom he served in such an exemplary manner.

"He that is lesser among you all, he is the greater" (Luke 9:48)

The opinion that St. Joseph is the greatest of the saints after Our Lady is one which is becoming daily more commonly held in the Church. We do not hesitate to look on the humble carpenter as higher in grace and eternal glory than the patriarchs and the greatest of the prophets—than St. John the Baptist, the Apostles, the martyrs and the great doctors of the Church. He who is least in the depth of his humility is, because of the interconnection of the virtues, the greatest in the height of his charity: "He that is the lesser among you all, he is the greater."

The messages from "Anne, a Lay Apostle," from the international spiritual movement "Lay Apostles of Jesus Christ the Returning King" have been released for international distribution with the permission of Bishop Leo O'Reilly of the Diocese of Kilmore, Ireland, the diocese in which Anne and the international headquarters of the Lay apostolate reside. They have also been submitted by Bishop O'Reilly to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome (see article, "Discernment of Lay Apostolate of Jesus Christ the Returning King," Marian Private Revelation section).

The following messages come from Volume Six, entitled Heaven Speaks to Families. I strongly encourage our readers to download these messages and, if possible, read them prayerfully before the Blessed Sacrament in the presence of our Eucharistic Jesus. They have been of untold spiritual benefit to me. - Ed.

June 14, 2004

I send the most affectionate greetings to my brothers and sisters on earth. I have come particularly to speak to fathers during this time of darkness. If you have been given a child or the care of a child, you must take responsibility for the formation and support of that child. I wish to share a glimpse of my family with you, so that you can follow the example we have set. There were three of us, Jesus, Mary, and me, Joseph. I took responsibility, as much as possible, for the support of the family. We were poor, it is true, because we lived in difficult times and for a time we were exiled. When you move to a land that is not your home, you are at a disadvantage, often, with regard to work. That was the case with me, and while I was skilled at my profession, I found it difficult to obtain as much work as I would have liked. Nevertheless, I made enough to keep us and we lived simply. I taught my Son that work was to be enjoyed and that through work a soul gave God great glory. I worked steadily and thoroughly, always being scrupulously honest and fair. My reputation was sound and I would have been known as a just man, both professionally and personally. I understood that my responsibility to Jesus was important to the Kingdom. I had the task of accompanying Him through His precious childhood.

]]> kevinc@student.franciscan.edu (Anne a Lay Apostle) frontpage Sat, 20 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.motherofallpeoples.com/articles/general-mariology/did-mary-truly-cooperate-in-our-redemption.html http://www.motherofallpeoples.com/articles/general-mariology/did-mary-truly-cooperate-in-our-redemption.html The following catechesis  was given by Dr. Christoph Cardinal Schönborn in Vienna, May 27th, 2001 -Asst. Ed.

“Mary, help!” On the Meaning of Marian Devotion

I

On May 13th 1981 at 5.19 PM shots were fired at Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square. The 9mm bullet fired by an expert marksman, Ali Agca, hit the Holy Father in the abdomen and would have caused internal bleeding and death within a short time. Ali Agca was pardoned by the Italian President last year at June 15th, to the great joy of the Pope, who had been requesting this for some time. The surgeons at the Gemelli Hospital operated for hours to save the Pope, whose life was hanging by a thread. They found that the bullet had just missed the artery by a few millimeters and had thus not hit any of the vital nerve centers. Later the Pope described this event thus: "One hand fired the shot, another guided the bullet."

It was May 13th, the anniversary of the first apparition at Fatima. The Pope himself said that at that time he was not yet so conscious of the significance of Fatima, but as soon as possible he had all the documents about the events of Fatima brought to the Gemelli Hospital. Among them was the text of the so-called third secret, which he read and then returned to the Archives, where it was kept until May 13th 2000, when, surprisingly the contents were published in its essentials by the Pope or rather by his Secretary of State, in Fatima. Soon after, this secret of Fatima was published, with an explanatory commentary by Cardinal Ratzinger.

The price of our salvation is offered to you. We shall be set free at once if you consent. In the eternal Word of God we all came to be, and behold, we die. In your brief response we are to be remade in order to be recalled to life.

"Yes" to the Annunciation: Lk. 1: 26-38

"Let it be done to me according to your word" 

There are years when, by date, the Annunciation falls during Holy Week, even on Easter Sunday; in 1989, for example, the twenty-fifth of March was Holy Saturday. In the Latin Church the problem of such double booking is solved by transferring the feast to a day outside the privileged Paschal period. However, in the Churches of the Byzantine rite, the solemnity of the Incarnation Stands its ground alongside the commemoration of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection. If the Annunciation coincides with "Great Friday" or "Great Saturday," these cease to be the two days of the year when the Eucharist is not celebrated; the divine liturgy is served in honor of the Incarnation, and there is a hectic duplication of offices. This custom may look like just another example of oriental delight in complication, but it is much more than that. First, it reflects a tradition going back at least as far as Tertullian, according to which Our Lord died on the Cross on the eighth day before the Calends of April, that is to say, the twenty-fifth of March, the very day on which, by a later reckoning, he had been conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin. (1) Secondly, both the eastern liturgical practice and the calendrical tradition upon which it is based express an intuition of faith, the Church's sense that the "mysteries of March"—the Incarnation, the Cross, and the Resurrection—are inseparably connected. Christian poets have always loved to entwine them. For example, St Ephrem, the fourth century Syriac writer, speaks of the new and everlasting springtime inaugurated by the coincidences of the month to which he gives the Semitic name of "Nisan."

The following is the sixth in a series of sermons on the Eucharist to be published on motherofallpeoples.com  from The Real Presence by Saint Peter Julian Eymard.

- Asst Ed.                   

                       THE EUCHARIST AND THE DEATH OF OUR SAVIOR

Quotiescumque manducabitis panem hunc, et calicem bibetis; mortem Domini annuntiabitis.
As often as you shall eat this bread, and drink the chalice, you shall show the death of the Lord. (1 Cor. xi. 26.)

                                                                      I
FROM whatever angle the Eucharist is viewed, it reminds us in a striking manner of the death of our Lord, He instituted it on the eve of His death, "the same night in which He was betrayed," Pridie quam pateretur . . . in qua nocte tradebatur.
He called it the New Testament instituted in His Blood. Novum testamentum in sanguine meo.
The state of Jesus is one of death. At Brussels and at Paris, in 1290 and in 1369 respectively, He appeared with His wounds, like a Divine Victim.
He is without power of self-motion, without a will of His own; like a corpse that has to be carried around.