
Jesus agonizes
in the Garden
43 And there
appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him.
Luke 22:43
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"Holy Communion is the shortest and safest way to Heaven." --Saint Pope Pius X |
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LENT
Lent
begins with Ash Wednesday this week on March 5th and ends on Easter Sunday,
April 20th.
Lent is the period of 40 days including weekdays and Saturdays from Ash Wednesday, March 5 through Easter Sunday April 20th.

GOALS FOR LENT
1)
To confess and turn away from all sin in our lives
through Penance/Confession and Prayer.
2) To increase our love for God by attending Mass and
receiving the Body of Christ.
3) To increase our love for our neighbor by forgiving our
neighbor their faults and by doing good works to help our neighbor and the
community. This Lent ask God to give you the Grace to forgive
those who have offended you the most.
4) Pray
for the end of Abortion. Say rosaries for the unborn. Say the Divine Mercy Chaplet for the end of abortion. Vote prolife.
If your able, pray outside local abortion clinics asking God to save the
lives of the children that will be killed each week there and throughout the
world.
5) ABSTINENCE
is a penitential practice consisting of refraining from the consumption
of meat and is to be observed by all Catholics who are 14 years of age
and older. Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and the Fridays during Lent
are days of abstinence in which meat is not to be eaten. Pastors
and parents are encouraged to see that children who are not bound by the
obligation to fast and abstain are led to appreciate an authentic sense
of penance.
FASTING AND ABSTINENCE: In
addition to abstinence, fasting is to be observed by all Catholics
between the ages of 18-59 years (inclusive).
There are two days for this: Ash Wednesday and Good Friday (no meat is to be eaten on these two days). On days of fasting, one full meal is allowed.
Two smaller meals, sufficient to maintain strength, may be taken
according to one's needs, but together they should not equal another
full meal. Eating between meals is not permitted, but liquids are
allowed. Note: If a person is unable to observe the above
regulations due to ill health or serious reasons, they are urged to
practice other forms of self-denial that are suitable to their
condition.
6) Watch the
movie, "THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST," by Mel Gibson,
and the movie, "JESUS OF
NAZERETH", directed by
Franco Zeffirelli and co-written by
Zeffirelli,
Anthony Burgess, and
Suso Cecchi d'Amico which dramatizes
the
birth,
life,
ministry,
crucifixion and
resurrection of Jesus..
PRAYERS AND MEDITATIONS FOR LENT
5) Praying for the women who are considering having an
abortion.
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INDEX: |
LORICA OF SAINT
PATRICK
(Breast Plate Prayer "Lorica")

PRAY:
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.
I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth and His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion and His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection and His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.
I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In preachings of the apostles,
In faiths of confessors,
In innocence of virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.
I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock.
I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me;
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's hosts to save me
From snares of the devil,
From temptations of vices,
From every one who desires me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone or in a multitude.
I summon today all these powers between me and evil,
Against every cruel merciless power that opposes my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of women and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul.
Christ shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that reward may come to me in abundance.
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through a confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation
St. Patrick (ca. 377)
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"At the evening of life, you will be examined in love. Learn to love as God desires to be loved and abandon your own ways of acting." Saint John of the Cross |
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MASS READINGS FOR TODAY
Tuesday, March
25, 2025
Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord
Reading 1
Isaiah 7:10-14; 8:10
The LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying:
Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God;
let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky!
But Ahaz answered,
“I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!”
Then Isaiah said:
Listen, O house of David!
Is it not enough for you to weary people,
must you also weary my God?
Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:
the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel,
which means “God is with us!”
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 40:7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 11
R. (8a and 9a) Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Sacrifice or oblation you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Holocausts or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, “Behold I come.”
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
“In the written scroll it is prescribed for me,
To do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!”
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Your justice I kept not hid within my heart;
your faithfulness and your salvation I have spoken of;
I have made no secret of your kindness and your truth
in the vast assembly.
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Reading 2
Hebrews 10:4-10
Brothers and sisters:
It is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats
take away sins.
For this reason, when Christ came into the world, he said:
“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
in holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight.
Then I said, ‘As is written of me in the scroll,
behold, I come to do your will, O God.’”
First he says, “Sacrifices and offerings,
holocausts and sin offerings,
you neither desired nor delighted in.”
These are offered according to the law.
Then he says, “Behold, I come to do your will.”
He takes away the first to establish the second.
By this “will,” we have been consecrated
through the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Verse Before the Gospel
John 1:14ab
The Word of God became flesh and made his dwelling among us;
and we saw his glory.
Gospel
Luke 1:26-38
The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”
But Mary said to the angel,
“How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?”
And the angel said to her in reply,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God.”
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.
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SAINT FOR TODAY OR FEAST DAY
March 25
Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
This great festival takes its name from the happy tidings brought by the
Archangel Gabriel to the Blessed Virgin, announcing the Incarnation of the Son
of God. It commemorates the most important embassy that was ever known, an
embassy sent by the King of kings, and performed by one of the chief princes of
His heavenly court, and directed, not to the great ones of this earth, but to a
poor, unknown virgin who, being endowed with angelic purity of soul and body,
and perfect humility and submission to God, was greater in His eyes than the
mightiest monarch in the world.
When the Son of God became man, He could have taken our nature without the
cooperation of any creature; but He was pleased to be born of a woman, the One
announced in the third chapter of Genesis. In choosing Her whom He raised
to this most sublime of all dignities, He was turning to the one maiden who, by
the riches of His grace and virtues, was of all others the most holy and the
most perfect. The purpose of this embassy of the Archangel was to give a Saviour
to the world, a victim of propitiation to the sinner, a model to the just, a son
to this Virgin who would remain a virgin, and a new nature to the Son of God —
the nature of man, capable of suffering pain and anguish in order to satisfy
God's justice for our transgressions.
When the Angel appeared to Mary and addressed Her, the Blessed Virgin was
troubled; not at his coming, says Saint Ambrose, for heavenly visions and
conversation with the blessed spirits had been familiar to Her, but what alarmed
Her, he says, was the Angel's appearing in human form, in the shape of a young
man. What added to her alarm on this occasion was his words of praise. Mary,
guarded by her modesty, was in confusion before expressions of this sort, and
dreaded even the shadow of deluding flattery. Such high commendations made her
cautious, until in silence She had more fully considered the matter: She
deliberated in her mind, says Saint Luke, what manner of salutation this could
be.
The Angel, to calm her, said: Fear not, Mary, for Thou hast found favor
before God. He then informed Her that She was to conceive a Son whose name would
be Jesus, who would be great and the Son of the Most High, and possessed of the
throne of David, Her illustrious ancestor. Mary, out of a just concern to know
how she may comply with the will of God without prejudice to Her vow of
virginity, inquired, How shall this be? Nor did She give Her consent until the
heavenly messenger informed Her that it was to be a work of the Holy Spirit,
who, in making Her fruitful, would not alter in the slightest Her virginal
purity. In submission to God's will, without any further inquiries, She
expressed Her assent in these humble but powerful words: Behold the handmaid of
the Lord; be it done unto Me according to thy word. What faith and confidence
Her answer expressed! What profound humility and perfect obedience!
Reflection. Humility is the foundation of a spiritual life.
By it Mary was prepared for the extraordinary graces and virtues which would
ever enrich Her, and for the eminent dignity of Mother of God.
Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, a compilation
based on Butler's Lives of the Saints and other sources by John
Gilmary Shea (Benziger Brothers: New York, 1894).
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