For the Feast of St. Gertrude

Holy Mother Church honors St. Gertrude the Great on November 16.  She was born in Germany in 1232, and when she was five years old she was placed in the care of the Benedictine nuns at Helfta.  The nuns soon recognized in the young St. Gertrude a chosen soul of God.  Already as a child, she sought time with God rather than worldly pursuits.

Our Lord called her his "chosen Lily," and related to another favored soul that Gertrude "contains and perfects in her soul those five virtues which please Me above all others, and which I have placed therein by a singular liberality; she possesses purity, by a continual influence of My grace; she possesses humility, amidst the great diversity of gifts which I have bestowed on her --- for the more I effect in her, the more she abases herself; she possesses a true benignity, which makes her desire the salvation of the whole world for My greater glory; she possesses a true fidelity, spreading abroad, without reserve, all her treasures for the same end. Finally, she possesses a consummate charity; for she loves Me with her whole heart, with her whole soul, and with her whole strength; and for love of Me, she loves her neighbor as herself." 

At age 30, St. Gertrude became the Abbess of her monastery and remained in this position for forty years, frequently conversing with Jesus and always striving to to fulfill His Will.  St. Gertrude lived a holy life with great devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the souls in Purgatory, and the Passion of our Lord.  She died in 1291.

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The following prayer was penned by St. Gertrude the Great to be said after the Offertory at Holy Mass.  When she had offered herself to our Lord on one occasion, He told her, "This offering of thy good will is as it were a royal sceptre in My hand, and a rejoicing and a glory to Me in presence of all my Angels and Saints. And whenever thou renewest this intention before Me, it is as though that sceptre budded and put forth most fragrant flowers."

St. Gertrude's Prayer at the Offertory

O MOST merciful Father, in union with that unimaginable love wherewith Thine Only Son offered to Thee the whole influx of the Godhead into His Humanity, and thus with ineffable gratitude referred it back to its immeasurable, unfathomable source, I offer Thee whatever gifts and graces Thou hast ever bestowed on me of Thy sovereign and unutterable goodness; and I lay them on Thine Altar, together with the merits and graces of the same Thy Son, as a Sacrifice of everlasting praise, and a pledge and expression of my boundless gratitude to Thee. More especially, I offer Thee my heart, all too defiled and loathsome as it is; and I plunge it into this Chalice, to the end and with the desire that all the prayers and benedictions which shall be spoken over this Chalice may be spoken also over my heart, and that by the virtue of the ineffable consecration whereby Thou changest this wine into the Blood of Thy Son, it may be wholly turned to the perfect and constraining love of Thee.

And that I may obtain these my petitions, I unite myself to all the love and the gratitude with which Thy Son endured all His sorrows; and I offer to Thee whatever sorrow or affliction Thy fatherly love has ever laid on me or any son of man in order to our salvation, beseeching Thee that they may come up before Thee in union with this Sacrifice as a sweet-smelling odour, and may avail for our salvation. Finally, in union with the resignation of Thine Only Son I offer and resign myself to Thy most holy will, beseeching Thee with my whole heart that Thine adorable good pleasure may always in all things be done in me and by me and in all that concerns me. To this end I lay at Thy feet, O Thou King of kings and my Lord, all my substance and being, my body and my soul, to serve Thee henceforth and ever more to the glory of Thy most worshipful Majesty.   Amen.

God bless!

+JMJ+

Prayer of Preparation Before Receiving Holy Communion

Holy Mother Church dedicates the month of April to the Most Blessed Sacrament.  During this Easter season may we truly learn to contemplate and love this great Gift from Our Lord!  After Christ's burial, the Apostles and our Blessed Mother had to wait until the resurrection for Our Lord's presence once again.  However, in the Blessed Sacrament we not only have the great privilege of continuously having God physically present, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, in the tabernacle, we also, although unworthy, are able to receive our Blessed Lord within us in holy communion!

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How often do we contemplate this immense gift of our Lord?  How well do we ensure we are focused on this Gift of Love, our Lord Himself, especially during Mass and Adoration?  Do we strive to ensure our souls are worthy dwelling places for the King of Kings?  In Catholic Churches throughout the world, our Blessed Lord dwells within the tabernacles, waiting and thirsting for souls to seek Him, visit Him, and love Him.  Throughout this month of April and always, may we work to shower our Lord with thanksgiving and love, truly treasuring the wondrous gift of His Presence, the Holy Eucharist.

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In the following beautiful prayer by St. Ambrose, we implore God's mercy on our sins and seek His help to overcome them, with the hope of worthily receiving our Blessed Lord in this great Sacrament.  I love reciting this prayer before Holy Communion, and I am grateful that our FSSP parish has this book, which includes St. Ambrose's prayer, in the pews.  I am also very grateful for the FSSP overall and the beautiful, reverent Masses and devotions we are privileged to experience through them.  Please keep these wonderful priests in your prayers.

Prayer of Preparation before Holy Communion

O loving Lord Jesus Christ, I a sinner, presuming not on my own merits, but trusting in Thy mercy and goodness, with fear and trembling approach the table of Thy most sacred banquet. For I have defiled both my heart and body with many sins, and have not kept a strict guard over my mind and my tongue. Wherefore, O gracious God, O awful Majesty, I, a wretched creature, entangled in difficulties, have recourse to Thee, the font of mercy; to Thee do I fly that I may be healed, and take refuge under Thy protection. And I ardently desire to have Him as my Savior, Whom I am unable to withstand as my Judge.

To Thee, O lord, I show my wounds, to Thee I lay bare my shame. I know that my sins are many and great, on account of which I am filled with fear. But I trust in Thy mercy, of which there is no end. Look down upon me, therefore, with the eyes of Thy mercy on me, who am full of misery and sin, Thou Who wilt never cease to let flow the fountain of mercy.

Hail, Victim of salvation, offered for me and for all mankind on the tree of the Cross. Hail, noble and precious Blood, flowing from the wounds of my crucified Lord Jesus Christ and washing away the sins of the whole world. Remember, O Lord, Thy creature, whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy Blood. I am grieved because I have sinned, I desire to make amends for what I have done.

Take away from me, therefore, O most merciful Father, all my iniquities and sins, that, being purified both in soul, and body, I may worthily partake of the Holy of Holies. And grant that this holy oblation of Thy Body and Blood, of which, though unworthy, I purpose to partake, may be to me the remission of my sins, the perfect cleansing of my offenses, the means of driving away all evil thoughts and of renewing all holy desires, the accomplishment of works pleasing to Thee, as well as the strongest defense for soul and body against the snares of my enemies.   Amen.

--St. Ambrose

God bless!

+JMJ+

The First Thanksgiving in North America

Happy Thanksgiving!  May we praise God for all of His blessings!  Deo gratias!

I wanted to share this story about the first thanksgiving in the New World.

History books consistently portray America's first Thanksgiving taking place in Plymouth, Massachusetts.  It is illustrated as a gathering of Pilgrims, dressed in black and white, sharing turkey and other foods of the harvest with Native Americans. However, contrary to this common story, the research of Michael Gannon, an expert on Florida colonial history and a professor of history at the University of Florida, revealed that St. Augustine, America's oldest city, was actually the site of the first Thanksgiving in the New World.

This first Thanksgiving was a Traditional Latin Mass of Thanksgiving in St. Augustine.  It took place in 1565, fifty years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, when the Spanish founder of St. Augustine, Pedro Menindez de Avilis, and 800 Spanish settlers shared in a Mass of Thanksgiving. Following the Mass, Menindez ordered a meal to be shared by the Spaniards and the Seloy Indians who occupied the territory. That meal would have consisted of the rations the Spaniards had on board their ships and whatever foods the Indians contributed.

Thus as we gather around our Thanksgiving table this year, thanking God for all of His amazing blessings, especially our most holy Faith, may we remember the celebration of this first Thanksgiving, the Holy Mass, and share its story with our children or anyone else present.  May we remember, in awe of God, that this celebration was (and continues to be) much greater than any we can organize.  After all this Thanksgiving celebration, celebrated by the traditional Roman Catholics, did not have as its centerpiece an autumn bouquet or a turkey, but the Traditional Latin Mass and the Most Blessed Sacrament.

Deo gratias!

Happy Thanksgiving, and God bless!

+JMJ+