Category Archives: Devotion

Devotion

Prayer in Times of Pestilence

We invite our Members and Friends to visit this page frequently for updated news regarding the reopening of churches and resumption of the schedule of Latin Masses at St. Stanislaus Church in New Haven.

In the meantime, we encourage all to offer the following Prayer in Times of Pestilence with a beautiful antiphon attributed to the Sisters of the Monastery of Santa Clara in Coimbra, Portugal, during the Black Death. One among many renditions of this chant available online here.

  Stélla caéli extirpávit 

Quae lactávit Dóminum 

Mórtis péstem quam plantávit

Prímus párens hóminum.

Ipsa stélla nunc dignétur

Sídera compéscere,

Quórum bélla plébem caédunt

Dírae mórtis úlcere.

O gloriósa stélla máris

A péste succúre nóbis:

Audi nos, nam te fílius

Níhil négans honórat.

Sálva nos, Jésu!

Pro quíbus vírgo máter te órat.

V. Ora pro nobis, sancta Dei Genitrix.

R. Ut digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi

Oremus.

Deus misericórdiae, Deus pietátis, Deus indulgéntiae, qui misértus es super afflictiónem pópuli tui, et dixísti Angelo percuténti pópulum tuum: Cóntine manum tuam ob amórem illíus Stellae gloriósae, cuius úbera pretiósa contra venénum nostrórum delictórum quam dúlciter suxísti; praesta auxílium grátiae tuae, ut intercedénte Beata Vírgine María Matre tua et Sancto Ráphael tuo Archángelo, ab omni peste et improvísa morte secúre liberémur, et a totíus perditiónis incúrsu misericórditer salvémur. Per Te, Iesu Christe Rex glóriae, qui vivis et regnas in saécula saeculórum. Amen.

 The Star of Heaven 

That nourished the Lord 

Drove away the plague of death 

Which the first parents of man 

Brought into the world. 

May this bright Star now vouchsafe to Extinguish that foul constellation whose battles Have slain the people with the wound of death.

O most pious Star of the Sea,

Preserve us from pestilence; 

Hear us, O Lady, for Thy Son honours Thee 

By denying Thee nothing. 

Save us, O Jesus, 

For whom Thy Virgin Mother supplicates Thee.

V. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God.

R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray.

O God of mercy, God of forbearance, God of forgiveness, who was moved to compassion for the affliction of Thy people, and who said to the Angel devastating Thy people: AStay thy hand,@ for the love of that glorious Star, at whose dearest breast Thou graciously fed against the poison of our sins; grant the help of Thy grace, that as Thy Mother the Blessed Virgin Mary, and Saint Raphael, Thine Archangel, we be safely freed from every disease and from an unprovided death, and that we may be mercifully saved from the assault of utter ruin. Through Thee, Christ Jesus, King of Glory, who lives and reigns, world without end. Amen.
Catechesis, Devotion

July is the month of the Precious Blood of Jesus

July is dedicated to the Precious Blood of Jesus. July 1st is the particular feast day for the Precious Blood.

It was Blessed Pope Pius IX who instituted the feast in 1849 recognizing the devotion is as old as Christian dispensation.

You may know that the early Fathers taught that the Church was born from the pierced side of Jesus Christ on the cross, and that the sacraments were brought forth through His Blood.

“The Precious Blood which we worship is the Blood which the Savior shed for us on Calvary and reassumed at His glorious Resurrection; it is the Blood which courses through the veins of His risen, glorified, living body at the right hand of God the Father in heaven; it is the Blood made present on our altars by the words of Consecration; it is the Blood which merited sanctifying grace for us and through it washes and beautifies our soul and inaugurates the beginning of eternal life in it.

More on this important month, visit this link.

By the Precious Blood of the Lamb are we saved!

Devotion

Happy and Blessed New Year, 2019!!!

A plenary indulgence may be obtained (under the usual conditions) by chanting or reciting the Veni Creator Spiritus on the first day of the year. We will be chanting this hymn at the end of Holy Mass today.

Pray along with this beautiful setting by the great Catholic composer and master of what is now known as the Sistine Chapel Choir, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, asking the Holy Spirit to bless you and your family throughout the New Year!!!

Devotion

All Souls Indulgence

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let the radiance of your light shine forever upon them (cf. 2 Es 2:35).

To you our praise is due in Zion, O God.
To you we pay our vows, you who hear our prayer; to you all flesh will come (Ps 64:2-3).

Requirements for Obtaining a Plenary Indulgence on All Souls Day (November 2 )

– Piously visit a church to pray for the faithful departed
– Say one “Our Father” and the “Creed” in the visit to the church
– Say one “Our Father” and one “Hail Mary” for the intentions of the Pope
– Worthily receive Holy Communion (ideally on the same day)
– Make a Sacramental Confession within a week of (before or after) All Souls Day
– that one be free from all attachment to sin, even venial sin.

Requirements for Obtaining a Plenary Indulgence from November 1 to 8

– Devoutly visit a cemetery and pray for the dead.
– Say one “Our Father” and one “Hail Mary” for the intentions of the Pope
– Worthily receive Holy Communion (ideally on the same day)
– Make a Sacramental Confession within a week of (before or after) All Souls Day
– that one be free from all attachment to sin, even venial sin.

The “technical” things on Indulgences (so that we don’t fall into error)…from the Handbook of Indulgences, Norms:

“1. An indulgence is the remission in the eyes of God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose culpable element has already been taken away. The Christian faithful who are rightly disposed and observe the definite, prescribed conditions gain this remission through the effective assistance of the Church, which, as the minister of redemption, authoritatively distributes and applies the treasury of the expiatory works of Christ and the Saints.”

“22. The prescribed work for gaining a plenary indulgence attached to a church or oratory is a devout visit there, which includes the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer and the Creed (Pater Noster and Credo), unless otherwise stated in a specific grant.”

“23. 1. Besides the exclusion of all attachment to sin, even venial sin, the requirements for gaining a Plenary Indulgence are the performance of the indulgenced work and fulfillment of three conditions: Sacramental Confession, Eucharistic Communion, and prayer for the Pope’s intentions.

  1. Several Plenary Indulgences may be gained on the basis of a single Sacramental Confession; only one may be gained, however, on the basis of a single Eucharistic Communion and prayer for the Pope’s intentions.
  2. The three conditions may be carried out several days preceding or following performance of the prescribed work. But it is more fitting that the Communion and the prayer for the Pope’s intentions take place on the day the work is performed.
  3. If a person is not fully disposed or if the prescribed work and the three mentioned conditions are not fulfilled, the Indulgence will only be partial …”
  4. The condition requiring prayer for the Pope’s intentions is satisfied by reciting once the Our Father and Hail Mary for his intentions (Pater Noster and Ave Maria); nevertheless all the faithful have the option of reciting any other prayer suited to their own piety and devotion.”

From the Handbook of Indulgences, Grants

  1. Visiting a Church or an Oratory on All Souls Day
    A Plenary Indulgence, which is applicable only to the Souls in Purgatory is granted to the Christian faithful who devoutly visit a church or an oratory on (November 2nd,) All Souls Day.13. Visiting a cemetery
    An indulgence is granted the Christian faithful who devoutly visit a cemetery and pray, if only mentally, for the dead, This indulgence is applicable only to the souls in purgatory. This indulgence is a plenary one from November 1 through November 8 and can be granted on each one of these days. On the other days of the year this indulgence is a partial one.
Devotion

Ember Days after the Cross

Ember Days or the Quatuor Temporas are a traditional time of harvest fasting “four times” per year. The Ember days are the Wednesday, September 19, Friday, September 21 and Saturday, September 22.

This is a time to ask God for the gift of holy priests for the harvest of souls. Let us voluntarily take up the Ember Days, whatever your intention may be.

For more on the Ember Days: