We beseech Thee, O Lord, that we may be helped by the merits of the Spouse of Thy most holy Mother, so that what we cannot obtain of ourselves may be given to us through his intercession.
(The Blessing of the Altar frequently takes place the
evening before the feast, March 18th. If there is a procession to the Altar, a
hymn may be sung on the way.)
Celebrant
O, glorious Saint Joseph, we stand
before this Altar with joyful and grateful hearts. We lovingly present to you
the labor of our hands and the dedication of our hearts that have fashioned
this Altar in your honor. We again place ourselves under your powerful
protection. Help us follow your example of complete trust and faith in Divine
Providence. Open our minds and hearts to love and serve the poor, the suffering
and those rejected or ignored by society. As a family, teach us to love and
honor each member of our families with the love and reverence you had for Jesus
and Mary. As a nation, inspire in us the will and the way to live in peace with
all nations of the world that in our day we can experience the fulfillment of
Jesus’ prayer–“Peace be to you.” Grant this through Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.
V. O, Glorious Saint Joseph,
through the love you bear to Jesus Christ and the glory of His name,
R. Hear
our prayers and obtain our petitions.
Celebrant
Lord Jesus, bless this Altar,
all this food, the candles and all those who visit it. We ask this in the name of
the Father, + and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
(As the Altar is being
blessed and incensed, the Litany of St. Joseph is said or a hymn is sung.)
All
Remember, O most pure spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, my sweet protector,
Saint Joseph, that no one ever had recourse to your protection or implored your
aid without obtaining relief. Confiding therefore in your goodness, I come
before you and humbly supplicate you. O, despise not my petitions, foster
father of our Redeemer, but graciously receive them. Amen.
(Now that the Altar
is blessed, guests are invited to visit the Altar and offer their own prayers
to Saint Joseph.)
Yesterday, Network: A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby, released a letter in support of Obama’s bill (HR 3590) to overhaul US healthcare. Obama proposal and the bill put forward is morally flawed.
Great news for the Archdiocese of New York: Old St Patrick’s Cathedral (since 1809) has been a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI.
The servant of Christ is captured and sold as a slave; he feeds the king’s swine; he, whom Christ has chosen, and foretold to be the pastor of his flock.
It was announced this morning by the Holy See that Pope
Benedict XVI will beatify John Henry Newman on 19th September 2010, during his
visit to the U.K., in the Archdiocese of Birmingham. The Cause of Newman’s
Canonisation has released the following statement:
The Fathers and many friends
of the English Oratories are delighted by the official announcement that our
Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI will beatify our founder, the Venerable John Henry
Newman, in the Archdiocese of Birmingham during his visit to Britain in
September. Newman made his home in the Archdiocese for all his adult life,
first in Oxford, where he lived as an Anglican and was received into the
Catholic Church, and later in Birmingham itself where he founded and worked in
the Birmingham Oratory for over forty years.
The Holy Father’s life-long
devotion to Newman has made a profound contribution to understanding the depth
and significance of our founder’s legacy. His decision to beatify Newman in
person confers a unique blessing upon the English Oratories and all who have
drawn inspiration from Newman’s life and work.
We joyfully look forward to
welcoming the Holy Father, as well as the many pilgrims and visitors who will
come to the Beatification ceremony and visit Newman’s shrine at the Birmingham
Oratory.
We also look forward to the challenging work of preparing for the
Beatification in conjunction with Church and civil authorities. We pray that
the Beatification will fittingly reflect both Newman’s significance for the
Universal Church and the honour paid to our Archdiocese and our country by the
Holy Father’s presence among us.
Very Rev. Richard Duffield
Provost of the Birmingham Oratory and Actor of the Cause of
John Henry Newman
Additionally, the Procurator of the Congregation of the Oratory, Very Reverend Father Edoardo Aldo Cerrato, CO, has written to the all the Oratories of the world on this great gesture of Pope Benedict XVI in personally beatifying the Venerable Servant of God John Henry Newman. The letter is here: Letter-of-the-Procurator-General-of-the-Oratory-Confederation-March-2010.pdf
Sandro Magister, a favorite journalist of matters Catholic, published a startling story today, “The Legion Awaits a New General. And Trembles.” In a few a words he reviews the moral and theological decay in the Legion of Christ. Magister gives an anatomy of the current situation and gives a likely cure to the illness the Legion is living with these days. Magister confirms my suspicions that some Legionary priests still refuse to accept that the founder, Father Maciel lived a second life, that the Congregation is flawed and it has dragged its feet in making the radical changes the Holy Father has asked for. From what I can gather there needs to be a total revolution in the Legion if it’s going to survive.
The film, Pedro Arrupe: His Life and Legacy, was produced in 2008 by Georgetown University and features rare footage of Father Pedro Arrupe and interviews with his closest advisers.
Father Arrupe was the 28th superior general of the Society of Jesus, from 1965-1983. Born in Bilbao, Spain in 1907, he studied medicine prior to entering the Jesuit order. Before his service as superior general, he served as Japan’s first Jesuit provincial; but a defining moment in Arrupe’s life was his work caring for the victims of the Hiroshima’s atomic bomb. He died in Rome on February 5, 1991, after suffering the effects of a debilitating effects of a stroke on August 7, 1981 just as his airplane landed from an exhausting trip to the Far East. He was succeeded as Father General of the Society by Father Peter Hans Kolvenbach.
Father Arrupe’s writings are some of the best works on Ignatian spirituality there is. One memorable piece is his reflection on the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Before Father Kolvenbach was elected general Father Arrupe’s prayer was read to the elected delegates of the 33rd General Congregation, marking his true identity of being totally free to do God’s will: “More than ever I find myself in the hands of God. This is what I have wanted all my life from my youth. But now there is a difference; the initiative is entirely with God. It is indeed a profound spiritual experience to know and feel myself so totally in God’s hands.”
This five-part documentary on Father Pedro Arrupe, SJ, is now available online on the Jesuit Channel, which is sponsored by the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities.