Litany Lane: Sunday, August 26, 2012 - Litany Lane Blog: Catechize, Joshua 24:1-2, 15-17, John 6: 60-69, St Teresa Jornet, Our Lady of Prompt Succor Hurricane Protection Novena

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Sunday, August 26, 2012 - Litany Lane Blog: Catechize, Joshua 24:1-2, 15-17, John 6: 60-69, St Teresa Jornet, Our Lady of Prompt Succor Hurricane Protection Novena

Sunday, August 26, 2012 - Litany Lane Blog:
Catechize, Joshua 24:1-2, 15-17, John 6: 60-69, St Teresa Jornet, Our Lady of Prompt Succor Hurricane Protection Novena

Good Day Bloggers!
Wishing everyone a Blessed Week!

P.U.S.H. (Pray Until Something Happens). It has a remarkable way of producing solace, peace, patience and tranquility and of course resolution...God's always available 24/7..

We are all human. We all experience birth, life and death. We all have flaws but we also all have the gift knowledge and free will as well, make the most of it. Life on earth is a stepping to our eternal home in Heaven. Its your choice whether to rise towards eternal light or lost to eternal darkness. Material items, though needed for sustenance and survival on earth are of earthly value only. The only thing that passes from this earth to Heaven is our Soul, our Spirit...it's God's perpetual gift to us...Embrace it, treasure it, nurture it, protect it...

"Raise not a hand to another unless it is to offer in peace and goodwill." ~ Zarya Parx 2012

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Today's Word: catechize cat·e·chize [kat-i-kahyz]

Origin: 1375–1425; late Middle English < Late Latin catēchizāre < Greek katēchízein to make (someone) learn by teaching orally, equivalent to katēch ( eîn ) to teach orally ( see catechist) + -izein -ize

verb (used with object), cat·e·chized, cat·e·chiz·ing.

1. to instruct orally by means of questions and answers, especially in Christian doctrine.

2. to question with reference to belief.

3. to question closely.

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Today's Old Testament Reading - Joshua 24:1-2, 15-17

¹ Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel together at Shechem; he then summoned all the elders of Israel, its leaders, judges and officials, and they presented themselves in God's presence.

² Joshua then said to all the people: 'Yahweh, the God of Israel, says this, "From time immemorial, your ancestors, Terah, father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the River, and served other gods.

¹⁵ But if serving Yahweh seems a bad thing to you, today you must make up your minds whom you do mean to serve, whether the gods whom your ancestors served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are now living. As regards my family and me, we shall serve Yahweh.'

¹⁶ The people replied, 'Far be it from us to desert Yahweh and to serve other gods!

¹⁷ Yahweh our God was the one who brought us and our ancestors here from Egypt, from the place of slave-labour, who worked those great wonders before our eyes and who kept us safe all along the way we travelled and among all the peoples through whom we passed.

¹⁸ And Yahweh has driven all the nations out for us, including the Amorites who used to live in the country. We too shall serve Yahweh, for he is our God.'

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Today's Gospel Reading - John 6: 60-69

The disciples' heart tested by the Word of the Lord.
The challenge: to keep faith in the Father and the Son
or to side with the evil one.

1. John 6: 60-69:
60 Many of his disciples, when they heard it, said, "This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?"
61 But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at it, said to them, "Do you take offence at this? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of man ascending where he was before?
63 It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But there are some of you that do not believe." For Jesus knew from the first who those were that did not believe, and who it was that would betray him.
65 And he said, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father."
66 After this many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with him.
67 Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also wish to go away?"
68 Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life;
69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God."

2. Understanding Todays Gospel:

a) Placing the passage in its proper context:

These are the concluding verses of the great chapter six of John's Gospel, where the Evangelist presents his "Eucharistic theology". This conclusion is the climax of the chapter, because the Word leads us deeper into and towards the centre of things; from the crowd at the start of the chapter, to the Jews who discuss with Jesus in the synagogue in Capernaum, to the disciples, to the twelve, even to Peter, the only one who stands for each one of us, alone, face to face with the Lord Jesus. Here we hear the reply to Jesus' teaching, to the Word sown abundantly in the heart of his listeners. Here we verify whether the soil of the heart produces thorns and weeds or green shoots that produce ears and finally good corn in the ears.

b) An aid to the reading of the passage:

v. 60: Some disciples condemn the Word of the Lord and thus also Jesus himself who is the Word of God. God is not seen as a good Father who speaks to his children, but as a hard master (Mt 25: 24), with whom it is not possible to enter into dialogue.
vv. 61-65: Jesus unveils the incredulity and hardness of heart of his disciples and reveals his mysteries of salvation: his ascension into heaven, the gift of the Holy Spirit and our participation in the divine life. But these mysteries can only be understood and accepted by the wisdom of a docile heart, capable of listening, and not by means of physical intelligence.
v. 66: This verse reveals the first great betrayal by many disciples who have failed to understand the true teaching of Jesus. Instead of turning their gaze on the Master, they turn their backs on him and thus interrupt communion and no longer walk with him.
vv. 67-69: Jesus now addresses himself to the twelve, his most intimate friends, and places before them a final and absolute choice, whether to stay with him or go away. Peter answers on behalf of all and proclaims the faith of the Church in Jesus as Son of God and in his Word, which is the true source of life.

3. A moment of silent prayer

I have received the Gift, the grace, I have listened to the Word of the Lord, now I do not wish to murmur (v. 61), I do not wish to be scandalised (v. 61), nor do I wish to be confused by incredulity (v. 64). I do not wish to betray my Master (v. 64), I do not wish to withdraw and not walk with him any longer (v. 66)… I wish to remain with the Lord at all times! In the silence of my heart, I repeat endlessly to him: "Lord to whom shall I go if not to you??!". Behold, Lord, I come…

4. A few questions

to open my heart and plough my interior soil with a plough capable of pulling up the roots of hardness and incredulity.

a) What kind of disciple am I? Am I really willing every day to learn at the school of Jesus, to receive his teaching, which is not the doctrine of human beings but the wisdom of the Holy Spirit?
b) "This is a hard saying, who can listen to it?" Is it really the Word of the Lord that is hard or is it my heart that wants only to close itself and no longer listen?
c) "Jesus knowing in himself…". He knows my heart and knows what is in each person (Jn 1: 48; 2; 25; 4: 29; 10: 15). How do I react to his gaze, to his voice that calls my name, to his coming into my life, to his constant knocking (Ap 3: 20)? What choices do I make?
d) "It is the Spirit that gives life". However, do I allow myself to be led like Mary (Lk 1: 38) and Simeon (Lk 2: 27), do I allow the Lord to take me where he wills, where he waits for me, or do I always want to decide for myself the direction of my life?
e) Do I answer Jesus' personal invitation "Come to me! Come and follow me!" every day, every moment, in the most diverse situations of my life, in various circumstances, in the presence of others? To whom do I go? Where do I turn to? Whose footsteps am I following?

5. A key to the reading

I ask the Scriptures to be my guide, to enlighten each step, each movement, because I wish to go to Jesus. I ask the verbs he uses, the expressions he repeats, the silence of the unsaid words, to reveal to me the way… to find him and not someone else.

• The Word of the Lord and the love relationship with it

In this passage, John presents to me the Word of the Lord as meeting point, the holy place for an appointment with Him. I realise that this is the place of my decision, of ever deeper separations in my heart and in my conscience. I realise also that the Word is a Person, it is the Lord himself, present before me, given to me, open to me. The whole of the Bible, page after page, is an invitation, sweet yet at the same time strong, to meet the Word, to get to know the Promised one, the Bride who is really the Word that comes from the kiss of love, from the mouth of the Lord. The meeting accorded is not superficial, empty, nor is it fleeting or sporadic, but intense, full, constant, uninterrupted, because it is like the meeting between the bride and groom. Thus does the Lord love me and give himself to me. It is, therefore, important to listen carefully and lovingly so that not one word may be in vain (1 Sam 3: 19); it is important to listen with the heart, with the soul (Ps 94: 8; Bar 2: 31); it is important to obey in practice for a lifetime (Mt 7: 24-27; Ja 1: 22-25); it is important to make a true and final decision that will choose the Word of the Lord even to making it my sister (Pr 7: 1-4) or my bride to be taken into my home (Wis 8: 2).

• Murmuring is closing one's heart

The theme of murmuring, of rebelling, shakes me up and creates a crisis in me; when I read the Bible, even when I just recall it, I realise that murmuring against the Lord and his actions in our lives is the most terrible and destructive thing that could possibly live in my heart, because it takes me away from Him, it separates me strongly and makes me blind, deaf and insensitive. It makes me say that He does not exist while all the time He is very near; that He hates me when He loves me with an eternal and faithful love (Dt 1: 27)! It is the greatest and most profound foolishness! In Exodus, Numbers and the Psalms, I come across a people of God that weeps, complains, gets angry, murmurs, closes itself, rebels, turns away (Es 16: 7ff; Num 14: 2; 17, 20ff; Ps 105: 25)); a hopeless, lifeless people. I understand that this kind of situation comes about when there is no longer dialogue with the Lord, when the contract with Him is broken, when, instead of listening to Him and asking questions of Him, there is only murmuring, a kind of continuous droning in the soul, in the mind, that makes me say: "Can God supply food in the dessert?" (Ps 77: 19). If I murmur against my Father, if I stop believing in his Love for me, in his tenderness, that He showers me with every good thing, I am lifeless, I am without nourishment for the every-day journey. Or if I get angry, if I become jealous because He is good and gives His love to all, without reserve, and I act like the Pharisees (Lk 15: 2; 19: 7), then I am entirely alone and besides no longer being His child I am no longer even brother or sister of anyone. In fact, there is a close relationship between murmuring against God and murmuring against brothers and sisters (Phil 2: 14; 1 Pt 4: 9). I learn all this when I follow the trail of this word…

• The Gift of the Son of man: the Holy Spirit

It seems that I see a road full of light, traced by the Lord Jesus and almost hidden in these verses that are so compact and overflowing in spiritual richness. The starting point lies in a true and deep listening to his Words and in welcoming them. From here we pass on to the purification of the heart, which from a heart of stone, hard and closed, becomes, through the tenderness of the Father, a heart of flesh, soft, a heart that He can hurt, mould, take into His hands and hold tight, as a gift. Yes, all this is accomplished by the Words of Jesus when they come to me and enter into me. It is only thus that I can continue on my journey, overcoming murmurings and scandal, until I am able to see Jesus with new eyes, eyes renewed by the Word, eyes that do not rest on superficial things, on the hardness of the rind, but eyes that learn, every day a little more, to go beyond and to look on high. "Then what if you were to see the Son of man ascending where he was before?" (v. 62). This is the welcoming of the Spirit, gift of the Risen One, gift of the One who ascended at the right hand of the Father, gift from on high, perfect gift (Ja 1: 17). He had said: "When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to me" (Jn 12: 32) and He draws me with the Spirit, He makes me His own with the Spirit, He sends me in the Spirit (Jn 20: 21s), He strengthens me thanks to the Spirit (Acts 1: 8). If I take a long look at the pages of the Gospels, I can see how the Spirit of the Lord is the strength that dwells in each person, each reality, because He is the eternal love of the Father, the very life of God in us. I pay attention and dwell on the verbs and the expressions used, on the words that follow and enlighten each other, enriching each other. I feel that I am really immersed in living Waters that gush and gurgle, I feel that I receive a new baptism and I thank the Lord with my whole heart. "He will baptise you in the Holy Spirit and fire" (Mt 3: 11), so cries John and, as I read, this Word comes true in me, inside me, in my whole being. I feel the Spirit speaking in me (Mt 10: 20); who, with His power, drives away from me the spirit of evil (Mt 12: 28); who fills me, as He did Jesus (Lk 4:1), John the Baptist (Lk 1: 15), the Virgin Mary (Lk 1: 28. 35), Elisabeth (Lk 1: 41), Zachary (Lk 1: 67), Simeon (Lk 2: 26), the disciples (Acts 2: 4), Peter (Acts 4: 8) and so many others. I feel and meet the Spirit who teaches me what to say (Lk 12: 10); who really gives new birth to me so that I may never die (Jn 3: 5); who teaches me all things and reminds me of all that Jesus said (Jn 14: 26); who guides me towards truth (Jn 16: 13); who gives me strength to witness to the Lord Jesus (Acts 1: 8), to His love for me and for everyone.

• The struggle of faith: in the Father or in the evil one?

This passage of John's Gospel challenges us to a great struggle, a hand-to-hand fight between the spirit and the flesh, between the wisdom of God and human reason, between Jesus and the world. I can see that Job was right when he said that human life on earth is a time of temptation and a struggle (Job 7: 1), because I too experience the evil one who tries to discourage me by creating doubts concerning the divine promises and urging me to turn away from Jesus. He would like to send me away, tries by every means to harden my heart, to close me, to break my faith, my love. I hear him roaming around like a roaring lion seeking whom to devour (1 Pt 5: 8), like a tempter, a creator of divisions, an accuser, like a scoffer mocking and repeating all the time: "Where is the promise of his coming?" (2 Pt 3: 3f). I know that it is only with the arms of faith that I can win (Eph 6: 10-20; 2 Cor 10: 3-5), only in the strength that comes to me from the Words of my Father; hence I choose them, love them, study them, scrutinise them, learn them by heart, repeat them and say: "Even if a whole army surrounds me, I will not be afraid; even if enemies attack me, I will still trust in God!" (Ps 26: 3).

• Profession of faith in Jesus, Son of God

The appearance of Simon Peter at the end of this passage is like a pearl set on a precious jewel, because it is he who proclaims truth, light and salvation through his profession of faith. I gather other passages from the Gospels, other professions of faith that help my incredulity, because I too wish to believe and then know, I too wish to believe and be firm (Is 7: 9): Mt 16: 16; Mk 8: 29; Lk 9: 20; Jn 11: 27).

Reference: Courtesy of Order of Carmelites, www.ocarm.org.

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Featured Item of the Day from Litany Lane

Our Mother of Perpetual Help Ipad Cases by LitanyLane

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Saint of the Day: St. Teresa of Jesus Jornet e Ibars

Died: August 26, 1897

Patron Saint: retired and elderly

Teresa Jornet e Ibars was the foundress of the Little Sisters of the Abandoned Aged, better known as the Little Sisters of the Abandoned Poor (not to be confused with the congregation also called this, founded in France by St. Jeanne Jugan). She was born on January 9, 1843, to a farmer Francisco Jornet and his wife, Antonieta Ibars, in the Catalan region of Spain.

From a young age, Teresa demonstrated a strong concern for the poor, often bringing them to the home of an aunt, where they were sure to receive assistance. She later moved to the nearby city of Lérida, living with another aunt, as she pursued her education. She grew up to become a teacher in the suburbs of Barcelona.

During this time, she felt drawn to the monastic life and applied for admission to the Poor Clares near Burgos. She was prevented from doing so, however, by anti-clerical laws then in effect. Due to this turn of events, she devoted herself to her teaching, and became a Carmelite tertiary to help in the development of her spiritual life. The death of her father was followed by a severe illness which kept her homebound for a prolonged period.

At that time, she was encouraged by her spiritual director, the Reverend Saturnino López y Novoa, to undertake the care of the many elderly people of the region who were living in solitude and poverty. This answered a strong sense of futility Teresa had been feeling in her life, and she accepted the challenge.

In 1872, she opened the first house to this end in the city of Barbastro. Among the small group of helpers who enabled this was her own sister, María. On January 27 of the following year, this small group took the habit and became a religious congregation, with Teresa taking the name of the great foundress of the Carmelite Order to which she had previously belonged, Teresa of Jesus. She was elected the first superior of the new community.

The members of the community were totally dedicated to the care of their aged charges. Mother Teresa of Jesus taught her Sisters to sacrifice their own personal comforts for that of the men and women for whom they cared, to the point of denying themselves even coats in the winter, which could be given to them. In addition to her intense commitment, she was noted for a strong air of serenity all her life, all of which drew many young women to join in her work.

An outbreak of cholera hit Spain in 1897. She joined the other members of the congregation in their non-stop care of the victims of this plague. By the time it had ended, twenty-four Little Sisters and seventy of their patients had succumbed to the disease. Worn out by this effort, she was physically overwhelmed and retired to the house in Liria, south of Valencia. It was there that she died, on August 26. At the time of her death, there were fifty houses of the congregation she had started.

Pope Pius XII beatified her in 1958 and she was declared a saint by Pope Paul VI in 1974. Her feast day is celebrated on August 26, the date of her death.

References:

Courtesy of Wikipedia

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Featured Items Panel from Litany Lane

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Today's Snippet : Hurricane Protection Novena

Change of Snippet Posts: Due to active Hurricanes in the Atlantic and Pacific Basins, I felt it necessary to include the Our Lady of Prompt Succor Hurricane Protection Novena for today. Please feel free to share novena.....Tomorrow I will continue the series History of Crusades.

OUR LADY OF PROMPT SUCCOR

NOVENA FOR HURRICANE PROTECTION

OUR LADY OF PROMPT SUCCOR

Our Lady of Prompt Succor is a religious title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus, by the Roman Catholic Church. It refers to a statue of the Madonna kept in a shrine in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. She is also known as Notre-Dame de Bon Secours. She is the principal patroness of the state of Louisiana, the Archdiocese of New Orleans, and the city of New Orleans.

Her feast day is celebrated on January 8.

It is customary for the citizens of New Orleans to pray before the statue of Our Lady of Prompt Succor, asking for her intercession whenever a hurricane threatens the city, reciting the prayer:
Our Lady of Prompt Succor, Hasten to Help Us!

During hurricane season, prayers are said at every Mass in the city during the Prayers of the Faithful requesting Our Lady of Prompt Succor's intercession and protection. After Hurricane Katrina, prayers were made to Our Lady of Prompt Succor asking for the quick recovery of the damaged city and surrounding area.

The statue of Our Lady of Prompt Succor was moved from the Old Ursuline convent in the French Quarter to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Prompt Succor, located on the State Street campus of Ursuline Academy and Convent., New Orleans, Louisiana.

Brief History of Devotion

On their arrival in New Orleans, December 30,18lO, this precious statue was solemnly installed in the Convent Chapel, and from that time the homage and veneration offered to Mary under the title of "OUR LADY OF PROMPT SUCCOR" has been constantly growing in our city and state and spreading far and wide allover the United States.

It does not come within the sphere of this brief sketch to relate all the favors, both spiritual and temporal, wrought through the intercession of Our Lady of Prompt Succor during the past one hundred years and more. The Chronicles of the Ursuline Convent sum up these graces by saying: "Under this title,the Most Blessed Virgin has so often manifested her power and goodness, that the Religious have unbounded confidence in her."Two historical facts are especially worthy of notice here: First the fire in 1812; Second the Battle of New Orleans in 1815.

Devotion to Our Lady of Prompt Succor was only beginning to be known in New Orleans when, in 1812, a terrible fire ravaged the city. The wind rapidly drove the flames toward the convent, and the danger being imminent an order was given to leave the convent. Just then, Sr. Anthony placed a small statue of Our Lady of Prompt Succor on a window sill facing the fire, and Mother St. Michel prayed aloud: "Our Lady of Prompt Succor, we are lost, unless you hasten to our help." Instantaneously, the wind changed, the convent and environs were out of danger, and the flames extinguished. Witnesses of this inexplicable incident cried out unanimously: "Our Lady of Prompt Succor has saved us!"

General Andrew Jackson's glorious victory over the British in the battle of New Orleans, fought on the plains of Chalmette, January 8, 1815, is another signal favor rightly attributed to the all-powerful intercession of Our Lady of Prompt Succor. Before the combat, in order to obtain God's blessing upon the American forces, the weeping, terror-stricken wives, mothers, children, and sisters of Jackson's valiant little band spent the night of January 7th in prayer before the statue of Our Lady of Prompt Succor in the Ursuline Chapel. On the morning of January 8th, Very Rev. William Dubourg, Vicar General and, later, Bishop of New Orleans, offered the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at the main altar, above which the statue had been placed, and the Ursulines, through their Prioress, Mother Ste. Marie Olivier de Vezin, made the vow to have a Mass of Thanksgiving sung annually should the Americans be victorious. At the moment of Communion, a courier rushed into the chapel, announcing the glad tidings of the enemy's defeat. After Mass Father Dubourg intoned the Te Deum, which was sung enthusiastically and with heartfelt gratitude. No one could reasonably doubt the miraculous intervention of Our Lady of Prompt Succor. Jackson himself did not hesitate to admit of a Divine interposition in his favor, and came in person to the convent, accompanied by his staff, to thank the nuns for their prayers on his behalf. The vow made by the Ursulines has been faithfully kept throughout these long years.

Rome has officially approved "DEVOTION TO OUR LADY OF PROMPT SUCCOR." Most precious documents have, at different times, emanated from the Holy See, placing the Seal of Holy Church on this devotion andn conferring special privileges upon it. On September 27, 1851, His Holiness, Pius IX, graciously authorized the celebration of the feast of Our Lady of Prompt Succor and the singing of the yearly Mass of Thanksgiving on January the 8th...

At the request of Their Excellencies Most Reverend John William Shaw, Archbishop of New Orleans; Most Reverend Cornelius Van de Ven, Bishop of Alexandria; and Most Reverend Jules B. Jeanmard, Bishop of Lafayette; in a decree rendered on the thirteenth day of June, 1928, by the Sacred Congregation of Rites, the Holy See approved and confirmed the choice of Our Lady of Prompt Succor as the Principal Patroness of the City of New Orleans and of the State of Louisiana, conceding at the same time each and all of the liturgical privileges proper to the principal patrons of places.

Accordingly, each year the Patronal Feast continues to be celebrated with solemnity on eighth day of January, the anniversary date of the battle of New Orleans...

May devotion to Mary under her hope-inspiring tide of Our Lady of Prompt Succor spread far and wide! To invoke Our Lady under this tide is to tell her that our needs are great and pressing, and that we hope for and expect much from her. Her power equals her love; therefore, our confidence should know no bounds

Our Lady of Prompt Succor, hasten to help us!

Reference: L’Osservatore Romano, Weekly Edition in English 24 May 1982

BELOW ARE LISTED: DAILY PRAYER, DAILY LITANY, 9 DAY NOVENA

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DAILY PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF PROMPT SUCCOR
FOR PROTECTION DURING HURRICANE SEASON

Our Lady of Prompt Succor, ever Virgin Mother of Jesus Christ our Lord and God, you are most powerful against the enemy of our salvation. The divine promise of a Redeemer was announced right after the sin of our first parents; and you, through your Divine Son, crushed the serpent’s head. Hasten, then, to our help and deliver us from the deceits of the evil one. Intercede for us with Jesus that we may always accept God’s graces and be found faithful to Him in our particular states of life. As you once saved our beloved City from ravaging flames and our Country from an invading army, have pity on us and obtain for us protection from hurricanes and all other disasters. (silent pause for individual petitions). Assist us in the many trials which beset our path through life. Watch over the Church and the Pope as they uphold with total fidelity the purity of faith and morals against unremitting opposition. Be to us truly Our Lady of Prompt Succor now and especially at the hour of our death, that we may gain everlasting life through the merits of Jesus Christ Who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.

Our Lady of Prompt Succor, hasten to help us. (Three times)

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NINE DAY NOVENA FOR HURRICANE PROTECTION

TO

OUR LADY OF PROMPT SUCCOR

Opening Prayer to Our Lady

Oh, Immaculate Heart! Help us to conquer the menace of evil, which so easily takes root in the hearts of the people of today, and whose immeasurable effects already weigh down upon our modern world and seem to block the paths towards the future!

From famine and war, deliver us.
From nuclear war, from incalculable self-destruction, from every kind of war, deliver us.
From sins against the life of man from its very beginning, deliver us.
From hatred and from the demeaning of the dignity of the children of God, deliver us.
From every kind of injustice in the life of society, both national and international, deliver us.
From readiness to trample on the commandments of God, deliver us.
From attempts to stifle in human hearts the very truth of God, deliver us.
From sins against the Holy Spirit, deliver us, deliver us.

Accept, O Mother of Christ, this cry laden with the sufferings of all individual human beings, laden with the sufferings of whole societies. Let there be revealed, once more, in the history of the world your infinite power of merciful Love. May it put a stop to evil. May it transform consciences. May your Immaculate Heart reveal for all the light of Hope.

FIRST DAY

When we wish to obtain some special favor through the intercession of Our Blessed Lady, the first disposition to bring to prayer is the humble recognition of our unworthiness, for it is the prayer of the contrite and humble heart that rises to the very throne of God.

PRAYER

Our Lady of Prompt Succor, you are after Jesus our only hope. O Most Holy Virgin, whose merits have raised you high above angel choirs to the very throne of the Eternal and whose foot crushed the head of the infernal serpent, you are strong against the enemies of our salvation. O Mother of God, you are our Mediatrix most kind and loving. Hasten, then, to our help, and as you did once save your beloved City from ravaging flames and our Country from an alien foe, do now have pity on our misery, and obtain for us the graces we beg of you. Deliver us from the wiles of Satan, assist us in the many trials which beset our path in this valley of tears, and be to us truly Our Lady of Prompt Succor now and especially at the hour of our death. Amen.