(1175 – January 6, 1275)

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Saint Raymond of Peñafort’s Story

Since Raymond lived into his hundredth year, he had a chance to do many things. As a member of the Spanish nobility, he had the resources and the education to get a good start in life.

By the time he was 20, he was teaching philosophy. In his early 30s he earned a doctorate in both canon and civil law. At 41 he became a Dominican. Pope Gregory IX called him to Rome to work for him and to be his confessor. One of the things the pope asked him to do was to gather together all the decrees of popes and councils that had been made in 80 years since a similar collection by Gratian. Raymond compiled five books called the Decretals. They were looked upon as one of the best organized collections of Church law until the 1917 codification of canon law.

Earlier, Raymond had written for confessors a book of cases. It was called Summa de Casibus Poenitentiae. More than simply a list of sins and penances, it discussed pertinent doctrines and laws of the Church that pertained to the problem or case brought to the confessor.

At the age of 60, Raymond was appointed archbishop of Tarragona, the capital of Aragon. He didn’t like the honor at all and ended up getting sick and resigning in two years.

He didn’t get to enjoy his peace long, however, because when he was 63 he was elected by his fellow Dominicans to be the head of the whole Order, the successor of Saint Dominic. Raymond worked hard, visited on foot all the Dominicans, reorganized their constitutions and managed to put through a provision that a master general be allowed to resign. When the new constitutions were accepted, Raymond, then 65, resigned.

He still had 35 years to oppose heresy and work for the conversion of the Moors in Spain. He convinced Saint Thomas Aquinas to write his work Against the Gentiles.

In his 100th year, the Lord let Raymond retire.

Reflection

Raymond was a lawyer, a canonist. Legalism can suck the life out of genuine religion if it becomes too great a preoccupation with the letter of the law to the neglect of the spirit and purpose of the law. The law can become an end in itself, so that the value the law was intended to promote is overlooked. But we must guard against going to the opposite extreme and seeing law as useless or something to be lightly regarded. Laws ideally state those things that are for the best interests of everyone and make sure the rights of all are safeguarded. From Raymond, we can learn a respect for law as a means of serving the common good.

"...Say the Rosary every day Pray, pray a lot and offer the sacrifices for sinners. 
I'm the Lady of the Rosary, Only I will be able to help you. 
In the end My Immaculate Heart will triumph."
         - Our Lady of Fatima

Come and pray the rosary live around the world.
The 15 Promises to those who pray the Holy Rosary

The practice of the Rosary dates back to the 11th century, when the illiterate religious recited Pater Nosters and Ave Marias in the place of the office in choir. These monks who could not read recited 150 Ave Marias, in lieu of the 150 psalms: this was called the Psalter of Mary. The Dominican Alain de la Roche spread the recitation of the Rosary in the 15th century. The Catholic rosary, made up of beads grouped in five decades, is the material object used for reciting the Rosary which includes joyful, luminous, sorrowful and glorious sets of mysteries.

… The word “rosary” means a crown of flowers …and comes from courtly love. A "rosarium," meaning "field of roses," denoted a collection of poems that a knight dedicated to his lady. To greet Mary with Ave Marias is like offering her roses by meditating with her on the gospel.

Pope Francis is very devoted to the Rosary. His secretary shared on Vatican Radio on March 10, 2014, that "the Pope does not waste a minute, he works tirelessly. When he feels the need for a short pause, he sits down and recites the Rosary. He prays three of them a day. He says: ‘It helps me relax.’ "

The Divine Mercy Chaplet is a relatively recent but very popular devotion revealed by Our Lord to St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun. On Good Friday 1937, Christ appeared to Saint Faustina and asked her to recite this chaplet for nine days, starting on Good Friday and ending on the Octave of Easter (the Sunday after Easter Sunday), now known as Divine Mercy Sunday. Click Here for instruction as to how to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet. Divine Mercy Chaplet sung and prayed by Donna Cori Gibson.

Experience the Power of Divine Mercy Every Day

Start each day off right! Join tens of thousands of Catholics receiving brief, daily reflections from the Diary of St. Faustina every morning.

thedivinemercy.org/dmdsignup

Come, Holy Spirit, Creator blest,

and in our souls take up Thy rest;
come with Thy grace and heavenly aid
to fill the hearts which Thou hast made.
O comforter, to Thee we cry,
O heavenly gift of God Most High,
O fount of life and fire of love,
and sweet anointing from above.

Thou in Thy sevenfold gifts are known;
Thou, finger of God’s hand we own;
Thou, promise of the Father, Thou
Who dost the tongue with power imbue.

Kindle our sense from above,
and make our hearts o’erflow with love;
with patience firm and virtue high
the weakness of our flesh supply.

Far from us drive the foe we dread,
and grant us Thy peace instead;
so shall we not, with Thee for guide,
turn from the path of life aside.

Oh, may Thy grace on us bestow
the Father and the Son to know;
and Thee, through endless times confessed,
of both the eternal Spirit blest.

Now to the Father and the Son,
Who rose from death, be glory given,
with Thou, O Holy Comforter,
henceforth by all in earth and heaven. Amen. 

God of goodness and mercy, we commend to your all-powerful protection our home, our family, and all that we possess. Bless us all as you did bless the holy family of Nazareth.
O Jesus, our most holy Redeemer, by the love with which you became man in order to save us by the mercy through which you died for us upon the cross, we entreat you to bless our home, our family, our household. Preserve us from all evil from all hatred and from the evil intentions of our enemies., for the plague,  famine, and war. Let not one of us die without the holy sacraments. O Jesus, bless us, protect us against the evil spirit, lead us by the hand through this vale of tears; reconcile us with your divine Son; commend us to him, that we may be made worthy of his promises.
St Joseph, the reputed father of Our Savior, guardian of HIS most holy Mother, head of the holy family, intercede for us, bless and protect our home always.
St. Michael, defend us agains all the wicked wiles of hell.

Here is a prayer approved by Pope Leo XIII that emcompassess all worries of a parent. Say this prayer to keep your family safe.

Heavenly Father,In every age, you have been our refuge.Yet again and still, we stand before you asking for your protection on your holy Church.For the victims of abuse and their families,pour out your healing and your peace.For the Bishops of this country,continue to inspire their decisions,and guide them with your Spirit.For the thousands of good and faithful priests,who have followed yourcall to serve you and your people in holiness,sustain them by your grace.For the faithful who are angry, confused, and searching for answers,embrace them with your love,restore their trust,console them with your clear Gospel message,and renew them with your sacraments.We place our Church in your hands,for without you we can do nothing.May Jesus, our High Priest and true compass,continue to lead her in every thought and action –to be an instrument of justice,a source of consolation,a sacrament of unity,and a manifestation of your faithful covenant.Grant this through that same Jesus Christ, our Lord,who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Credit:Rita Thiron,Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commission

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My Lord Jesus Christ, You who are the Doctor of doctors, the one who restores all that we think is lost.
My Lord Jesus Christ, You who are the Doctor of doctors, the one who restores
all that we think is lost. Who heals the most hardened hearts and who has all
the power to deliver from evil. There is no disease that does not bow to your
presence, that resists your creator power. That is why we ask you, to come with
strength and help us free ourselves from this terrible evil of the coronavirus.
Through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, our Holy Mother, we ask you to
protect us from the coronavirus epidemic. You are the most powerful and
merciful. You can make it happen.
Lord Jesus, we ask You to grant the leaders of the government, and above all,
the medical specialist throughout the world the graces of wisdom and
knowledge to combat the spread of the coronavirus and to find a cure for it.
Holy Virgin Mary, You who trusted in the love of the Father in the face of the
obstacles, challenges and distressing situations that you face together with the
Holy Family, we ask you at this moment to look at us with your merciful eyes,
with your eyes of a sweet mother and to help us get rid of this coronavirus
disease.
You are our refuge in moments of anguish, who can calm this anxiety. You are
the health of the sick. Therefore, we turn to You, who are the Mother of
goodness, so that, before the divine Throne, You may drop our humble request
and help us find healing and protection from this illness.
You who were protected by that Angel during your journey in the desert
protecting The Child of God, we ask you to give us also that strength and faith to
go through this time of trial in sickness.
May all the power of God’s mercy be unleashed and may he relive all the sick
from this sickness. Above all, to all the elderly, whom the coronavirus is
attacking in great magnitude.
We trust in the providence of the eternal Father, we trust that He does not
abandon any of His children, we trust that He is deploying His entire angelic
court to care for all His own, freeing us from all anxiety and putting peace in our
hearts.
O blessed Virgin Mother, protect us, relive us, console us, bring us good and
protect us from this epidemic of the coronavirus. We allow ourselves to be
covered by your mantle of love so that God may send us the strength and health
we need in this moment of anguish and despair due the coronavirus disease.
“Mercy, my God; have mercy on me, for I have sought my refuge in you; I take
refuge in the shadow of your wings until misfortune has passed. I invoke the
most High God, the God who does so much for me”. (Psalm, 57,1)
Holy Spirit of God, come with your peace to fill our hearts with peace as we go
through these dark hours. Help us to do whatever is necessary and within our
reach to fight this epidemic of coronavirus.
Bless, O Holy Spirit of power, all people who are working together to eradicate
this epidemic so that they may work together as one family of God.
Most Holy Trinity, we believe in Your absolute power that heals and restores
everything. We place all our hope in You. You are our strength and our shield; in
You our hearts trust.
Sweet Mother of God, be our refuge in the midst of this anguish. Through your
intercession, may your help each and every one of those who have fallen ill due
to this terrible epidemic of the coronavirus. Immaculate Heart of Mary, we seek
your intercession for us, for our loved ones, for our nations and for this entire
world. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Holy Virgin Mary, come and give me your company.
Holy Virgin Mary, be the salvation of my soul.
Under your protection we take refuge. Holy Mother of God. Do not despise the
pleas we make to you in our needs but deliver us from all dangers. O glorious
and blessed Virgin. Amen