Pilgrimage to France

The District of Asia will be sending a group of over 100 pilgrims to France today, with Singapore having the largest delegation of more than 30 pilgrims. They will embark on a highly spiritual journey, visiting great Marian Shrines in France, which used to be the Eldest Daughter of the Church. They will join the rest of the 10 000 pilgrims from the Society of St Pius X and other affliated traditional Catholic religious orders all over the world next weekend in the magnificent and solemn Marian Pilgrimage to Lourdes, in honour of the Apparition of the Immaculate Mother to little Bernadette 150 years ago.

In your charity, please keep them in your prayers, and unite your prayers and petitions to the Blessed Virgin and the great Saints of the Church with those of the pilgrims.

St James the Greater, Patron of Pilgrims, pray for them!

LUMENA PAXTE CUMFI

... rearranged to be PAX TECUM FILUMENA, or 'Peace be with you, Filumena'.

Such are the words on the set of tiles that appear on the tomb of St Philomena, which was discovered in May 1802. Either the person who arranged and placed the tiles on the tomb of the fourth century Virgin Martyr was in such a mad rush - probably to sneak off before the Christian persecutors could find him, roast him, and destroy the Catacombs of St Priscilla - or his Latin was just plain horrid.

St Philomena is known to be a wonder-worker, and even St Jean-Marie Vianney had attributed the miracles he performed during his life to her most powerful intercession in Heaven.

Her short and courageous life, punctuated with tortures, visions and miracles, before concluded by her crowning martyrdom, can be summarised with the Litany St Jean-Marie Vianney composed in honour of this his favourite Saint:

Litany of St Philomena

Lord have mercy on us.
Christ have mercy on us.
Lord have mercy on us.
God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity one God, have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, Queen of Virgins, pray for us.
St. Philomena, pray for us.
St. Philomena, filled with the most abundantgraces from your very birth, pray for us.
St. Philomena, faithful imitator of Mary, pray for us.
St. Philomena. model of Virgins, pray for us.
St. Philomena, temple of the most perfect humility, pray for us.
St. Philomena, inflamed with zeal for the Glory of God, pray for us.
St. Philomena, victim of the love of Jesus, pray for us.
St. Philomena, example of strength and perseverance, pray for us.
St. Philomena, invincible champion of chastity, pray for us.
St. Philomena, mirror of the most heroic virtues, pray for us.
St. Philomena, firm and intrepid in the face of torments, pray for us.
St. Philomena, scourged like your Divine Spouse, pray for us.
St. Philomena, pierced by a shower of arrows, pray for us.
St. Philomena, consoled by the Mother of God, when in chains, pray for us.
St. Philomena, cured miraculously in prison, pray for us.
St. Philomena, comforted by angels in your torments, pray for us.
St. Philomena, who preferred torments and death to the splendors of a throne, pray for us.
St. Philomena, who converted the witnesses of your martyrdom, pray for us.
St. Philomena, who wore out the fury of your executioners, pray for us.St. Philomena, protectress of the innocent, pray for us.
St. Philomena, patron of youth, pray for us.
St. Philomena, refuge of the unfortunate, pray for us.
St. Philomena, health of the sick and the weak. pray for us.
St. Philomena, new light of the church militant, pray for us.
St. Philomena, who confounds the impiety of the world, pray for us.
St. Philomena, who stimulates the faith and courage of the faithful, pray for us.
St. Philomena, whose name is glorified in Heaven and feared in Hell, pray for us.
St. Philomena, made illustrious by the most striking miracles, pray for us.
St. Philomena, all powerful with God, pray for us.
St. Philomena, who reigns in glory, pray for us.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God Who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.

V: Pray for us, Great St. Philomena.
R: That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray,
We implore Thee, O Lord, by the intercession of Saint Philomena, Virgin and Martyr, who was ever most pleasing to Thy eyes by reason of her eminent purity and the practice of all the virtues, pardon us our sins and grant us all the graces we need (and name any special grace you may require). Amen.

Upon request, a fellow Catholic friend took a picture of his home altar on the Feast of St Philomena, specially decorated for the occasion.

Memorare of St Francis de Sales

Ayez mémoire et souvenance, très douce Vierge, que vous êtes ma Mère et que je suis votre enfant, que vous êtes très puissante et que je suis un pauvre petit être bien faible, je vous supplie, ma très douce Mère, de me gouverner et défendre dans toutes mes voies et actions.

Ne me dites pas, gracieuse Vierge, que vous ne pouvez: car votre bien-aimé Fils vous a donne toute puissance! Ne me dites pas que vous ne devez: car vous êtes la commune Mère de tous les humains et singulièrement la mienne…

Si vous ne pouviez, je vous excuserais, disant: Il est vrai qu’elle est ma Mère et me chérit comme son Fils : mais la pauvrette manque d‘avoir et de pouvoir!

Si vous n’étiez ma Mère, avec raison je patienterais, disant: Elle est bien riche pour m’assister, mais hélas, n’étant pas ma Mère, elle ne m’aime pas…

Puis donc, O très douce Vierge, que vous êtes ma Mère et que vous êtes puissante, comment vous excuserais-je si vous ne me soulagez?

Vous voyez, ma Mère, que vous êtes contrainte d’acquiescera à toutes mes demandés. Pour l’honneur et la gloire de votre Fils, acceptez-moi comme votre enfant, sans avoir égard à mes misères et péchés. Délivrez mon âme et mon corps de tout mal, et me donnez toutes vos vertus, surtout l’humilité!

Enfin, faites-moi présent de tous les dons, biens et grâces qui plaisent à Sainte Trinité, Père, Fils, et Saint-Esprit.

Ainsi-soit-il.

For the unofficial English and Chinese, kindly contact me directly or drop me a comment with your contact information. Thank you.

Ecce Fidelis Servum et Prudens!

The Feast of St Joseph, the Holy Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is transferred from 19 March, which is Spy Wednesday this year, to today, 1 April. (This is no April Fools' joke!)

King Solomon, in his great wisdom bestowed upon him by God, foretold about St Joseph, the seed of David, in this most apt description of him in the Book of Proverb:

A faithful man shall be greatly praised, and he that is the keeper of the Lord shall be glorified.

Proverbs 28:20, 27:18

He is indeed the servant most faithful, who, despite not having any human explanation for the pregnancy of his Blessed Spouse, accepted and obeyed readily when the Angel of the Lord appeared unto him, saying:

Joseph, son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost, and she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt name His name Jesus.

St Matthew 1:20-21

In very truth, he is the keeper of the Lord, for he is appointed by the Most High to be the Foster-Father of the Incarnate Word, of the Only-Begotten Son of God. Even the King of kings, the Lord of lords, our Lord Jesus Christ, is put under his charge before He began His public ministry, as St Luke the Evangelist wrote in the Gospel:

Jesus went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them.

St Luke 2:51

On this blessed occasion, I would also like to introduce and promote this wonderful devotion to St Joseph - the wearing of the Cincture or Cord of St Joseph. A white cotton rope with 7 knots on one end blessed by any Priest with a special blessing, St Joseph's Cord is usually girded and worn around the waist. Indulgences may be granted through the wearing of this Cord if the wearer is attached to the Archconfraternity of St Joseph in Rome, but more commonly it is worn for the following reasons:

1. St Joseph's special protection;
2. The grace of chastity;
3. Final perseverance; and
4. St Joseph's particular assistance at the hour of death.

The wearer of St Joseph's Cord is to daily say a Gloria on each of the 7 knots, in honor of and while meditating on each of the 7 Sorrows of St Joseph, and to recite a prayer to St Joseph for the holy virtue of purity. These meditations and prayers, and also more information on St Joseph's Cord, may be obtained from here.

Litany of St Joseph

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, pray for us.
St Joseph, pray for us.
Noble scion of David, pray for us.
Light of the Patriarchs, pray for us.
Spouse of the Mother of God, pray for us.
Chaste Guardian of the Virgin, pray for us.
Foster-father of the Son of God, pray for us.
Sedulous Defender of Christ, pray for us.
Head of the Holy Family, pray for us.
Joseph most just, pray for us.
Joseph most chaste, pray for us.
Joseph most prudent, pray for us.
Joseph most valiant, pray for us.
Joseph most obedient, pray for us.
Joseph most faithful, pray for us.
Mirror of patience, pray for us.
Lover of poverty, pray for us.
Model of all who labor, pray for us.
Glory of family life, pray for us.
Protector of virgins, pray for us.
Pillar of families, pray for us.
Consolation of the afflicted, pray for us.
Hope of the sick, pray for us.
Patron of the dying, pray for us.
Terror of the demons, pray for us.
Protector of Holy Church, pray for us.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.

V: He made him the lord of his household.
R: And prince over all his possessions.

Let us pray.
O God, Who, in Thine ineffable Providence didst vouchsafe to choose blessed Joseph to be the Spouse of Thy most holy Mother; grant, we beseech Thee, that we may be worthy to have him for our intercessor in Heaven whom, on earth, we venearate as our protector. Who livest and reignest world without end. Amen.

St Joseph, Protector of Holy Church, restore Catholic tradition!

Love is in the Air!

Yes, among couples and lovebirds. But how about the love for this holy Priest, possibly Bishop, and Martyr of the Church?

Just when the world celebrates this day with much consumerism and forgets who St Valentine is...

Saint Valentine, pray for us!

The Apparition of Our Lady of Lourdes

... in its 150th anniversary.

Born Marie-Bernarde Soubirous to a humble and devout family in the little town of Lourdes, France, St Bernadette is the eldest of the six children of Monsieur François Soubirous and Madame Louise (née Castérot) Soubirous. The Catholic Faith forms an integral part of their life, and it is the Holy Faith, and their love and support for one another, that sustained them even though they lived in extreme poverty.

St Bernadette, being the eldest of the children in the family, took on the responsibility of herding the sheep. She prays the Rosary each time she brings her sheep to graze.

On 11 February 1858, while the fourteen-year-old Bernadette was gathering firewood with her sister and a friend near the grotto at Massabielle just outside Lourdes, she had a vision of 'a small young Lady' standing at a niche in the rocks. The Lady asked that she returned to the grotto every day for fifteen consecutive days. This was the first of eighteen Apparitions of a Lady that Saint Bernadette had seen in the grotto. No one else could see the beautiful Lady.

On the ninth vision of St Bernadette, the Lady told the young seer to drink the water that flowed under the rock and eat the plants that grew there freely. The ground was hard and dry, and there was no known spring at the reported location. However, St Bernadette did as was instructed, but there was no springwater that came forth. Many people became sceptical of the Apparitions that St Bernadette claimed to have seen - but not for long.

During the sixteenth of the Lady at the grotto, St Bernadette asked the Lady what her name was. The Lady only replied by smiling lovingly back at the young girl. St Bernadette had to ask the same question three times before she got the answer from the Lady: 'Que soi er'immaculada concepcion.' ('I am the Immaculate Conception.' It is in Occitan, the dialect used in Lourdes.) This confirmed the doubts of Saint Bernadette - the Lady she had been seeing in the Apparitions was the Queen of Heaven and Earth, the Blessed Virgin Mary

These apparitions of our Blessed Mother in Lourdes was a sure sign that our Lady is well pleased with the definition and promulgation of the dogma of her Immaculate Conception by Pope Pius IX just four years ago, on 8 December 1854.

On January 18, 1862, Bishop Laurence, the Bishop of Tarbes, gave the solemn declaration: "We are inspired by the Commission comprising wise, holy, learned and experienced priests who questioned the child, studied the facts, examined everything and weighed all the evidence. We have also called on science, and we remain convinced that the Apparitions are supernatural and divine, and that by consequence, what Bernadette saw was the Most Blessed Virgin. Our convictions are based on the testimony of Bernadette, but above all on the things that have happened, things which can be nothing other than divine intervention".

After the series of Apparitions as seen by St Bernadette was declared to be worthy of belief by the Church, the grotto where the Apparitions took place soon became the largest Marian Shrine in the Roman Catholic Church and a major site for pilgrimage, attracting millions of Catholics each year. A beautiful statue of Our Lady of Lourdes placed in the niche of the rock, marking the sacred site of the Apparitions. When St Bernadette saw the statue, she was, however, utterly disappointed by the representation of the glorious Lady she saw in her visions.

Many people claimed to receive miraculous cure at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, but only 68 have been certified by the Lourdes Medical Bureau and the Catholic Church as medically inexplicable. Some were healed of their illness by drinking from the spring at the grotto, some by merely praying piously at the sanctified spot, and others, during the visits of our Blessed Lord in the Holy Eucharist to the Sanctuary.

Processions were held at the famous Marine Shrine of Lourdes each year, with the thousands, nay, millions of pilgrims uniting their voices to pray and sing praises to the Most Holy Virgin.

Immaculate Mary

Immaculate Mary!
Our hearts are on fire,
That title so wondrous
Fills all our desire.

Refrain Ave, ave, ave, Maria!Ave, ave, ave, Maria!

We pray for God's glory,
May His Kingdom come!
We pray for His Vicar,
Our Father, and Rome.

Refrain

We pray for our Mother
The Church upon earth,
And bless, sweetest Lady,
The land of our birth.

Refrain

For poor, sick, afflicted
Thy mercy we crave;
And comfort the dying
Thou light of the grave.

Refrain

There is no need, Mary,
Nor ever has been,
Which thou canst not succour,
Immaculate Queen.

Refrain

In grief and temptation,
In joy or in pain,
We'll ask thee, our Mother,
Nor seek thee in vain.

Refrain

O bless us, dear Lady,
With blessings from heaven.
And to our petitions
Let answer be given.

Refrain

And crown thy sweet mercy
With this special grace,
To behold soon in heaven
God's ravishing face.

Refrain

Now to God be all glory
And worship for aye,
And to God's virgin Mother
An endless Ave.

Refrain

In death's solemn moment,
Our Mother, be nigh;
As children of Mary
O teach us to die.

Refrain

Jésus, Marie, Joseph...

Je vous aime!

Sauvez les âmes!