Stabat Mater Menevia

Stabat Mater Menevia
We praise you O Lord and we bless you, for by thy Holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world

Thursday 27 December 2012

Solemn High Mass - Sunday 30th December




Next Sunday's Latin Mass will be at 3pm at the Church of St Benedict, Sketty, Swansea.
Every Mass is special but it is quite rare to be able to attend a Solemn High Mass these days.

Please pass this information on to family and friends - all are welcome

Monday 24 December 2012

Thank God we do believe

The only Latin Tridentine Midnight Mass to be offered in Wales is at the Church of St Therese, Sandfields, Nr Port Talbot, comencing with the Holy Rosary at 11.30am. Celebrant: Fr Paul Brophy, organised by the Latin Mass Society.


Thank God, thank God, we do believe,
Thank God that this is Christmas Eve.
Even as we kneel upon this day,
Even so, the ancient legends say
Nearly two thousand years ago
The stalled ox knelt, and even so
The ass knelt full of praise, which they
Could not express, while we can pray.
Thank God, thank God, for Christ was born
Ages ago, as on this morn:
In the snow-season undefiled
God came to earth a little Child;
He put His ancient glory by
To live for us, and then to die.
How shall we thank God? How shall we
Thank Him and praise Him worthily?
What will He have Who loved us thus?
What presents will He take from us?
Will He take gold, or precious heap
Of gems? or shall we rather steep
The air with incense, or bring myrrh?
What man will be our messenger
To go to Him and ask His will?
Which having learned we will fulfil
Though He choose all we most prefer: –
What man will be our messenger?
Thank God, thank God, the Man is found,
Sure-footed, knowing well the ground.
He knows the road, for this the way
He travelled once, as on this day.
He is our Messenger beside,
He is our door, and path, and Guide;
He also is our Offering,
He is the gift that we must bring.
Let us kneel down with one accord
And render thanks unto the Lord:
For unto us a Child is born
Upon this happy Christmas morn;
For unto us a Son is given,
Firstborn of God and Heir of Heaven.

Thursday 20 December 2012

O Ddwyfol Nos! - Midnight Mass in Wales

Midnight Mass (Missa Cantata) will be celebrated at the Church of St Therese of Lisieux at Sandfields, near Port Talbot on 24th December, commencing with the Holy Rosary at 11.30am with Mass starting at 12pm.

All are welcome




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Wednesday 19 December 2012

Thank you Fr Gilbert

The good wishes and thanks of Confraternity members are sent to Fr Ceirion Gilbert who is in charge of editorial matters at Diem, the bi-monthly magazine of Menevia Diocese.


Carpe Diem!

Fr Gilbert has kindly published details of the schedule for Masses in the Extraordinary Form in Menevia in the current issue, enabling full information on the Latin Mass to reach a wider audience.

   Thank you Fr Gilbert - we wish you a peaceful, holy and happy Christmas Feast

The 4th Sunday of Advent Mass is at the Cathedral

Low Mass in the Extraordinary Form will be celebrated this coming Sunday 23rd December at 12 noon at St Joseph's Cathedral, Swansea, courtesy of Fr Michael Burke.

Rorate........................

Wednesday 12 December 2012

Sunday 16th December.....

....a Missa Cantata at St Benedict's Church, Clydach at 2pm on the third Sunday of Advent - rejoice! It's Gaudete Sunday!

Saturday 8 December 2012

The Immaculate Conception and Lourdes




Salve Regina, Mater Misericordiae,
Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, Salve!
Ad te clamamus, exsules filii Hevae,
Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes,
In hac lacrimarum valle.
Eja ergo, Advocata nostra,
Illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte
Et Jesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui,
Nobis, post hoc exilium, ostende,
O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria.


The following post is courtesy of A Reluctant Sinner blog:



Cardinal Wiseman’s brilliant reflection on the day Blessed Pope Pius IX dogmatically defined the Immaculate Conception

Cardinal Wiseman (source: Wikimedia)
Below is a part of an eye-witness account of the events that surrounded the official promulgation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception by Blessed Pope Pius IX on 8 December 1854. It was written by the first Archbishop of Westminster, Nicholas, Cardinal Wiseman (1802-65).

The Cardinal’s style of writing was always highly engaging, and this document is no exception. His vivid recollection of this wonderful event – one of the most significant in the Church’s history – makes present, for me at least, a joy no-longer to be imprisoned in the past.

I reproduce significant parts of this account, called 'The Eighth of December', as my way of marking today's great solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the ever-glorious Virgin Mary. Hope you enjoy...


The Eighth of December
by Nicholas Patrick Stephen, Cardinal Wiseman

It was scarcely fully day when the unexampled assembly of prelates, about to take part in the solemnities of the day, met in the chapel of the Vatican Palace, known as the Sixtine [sic – Sistine] Chapel, and it was soon crowned by the arrival of the sovereign Pontiff, surrounded by his court. The Litany of the Saints having been intoned, as on penitential occasions, the procession set forth, and presented one of the noblest ecclesiastical spectacles ever witnessed, even in St Peter’s.

[...]
We will not attempt to describe the magnificence of the celebration of the holy Sacrifice which followed. All the special grandeur which accompanies it, when offered up by the sovereign Pontiff in the greatest of churches, was this year immensely enhanced by the additional attendance of so many illustrious prelates.

No regal, or imperial, ceremony could be more august than the procession of these two hundred prelates – as each singly approached to do homage to the Head of the Church, before the Mass commenced.

The office of Terce was first chanted: the Epistle and the Gospel were, according to the custom, sung in Greek as well as Latin; it was a quarter past eleven when the last note of the evangelist sounded over the shrine of St Peter, and a silence took place such as is difficult to imagine in a crowd of thirty or forty thousand persons, who filled the church.

The declaration of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception fresco in the Lady Chapel, Westminster Cathedral
Every breath was held, every nerve was strained, and attention of eye and ear was keenly directed toward the Pontifical throne. The venerable Dean of the Sacred College, Cardinal Macchi, in his eighty-sixth year, but still in enjoyment of full mental vigour, approached its steps, accompanied by a Greek, and an Armenian bishop, as supporters and witnesses of his petition, together with twelve senior archbishops of the Western Church, who were assistants at the throne, and the officers of the household, who are official witnesses of such important transactions.

Kneeling there, the eminent postulant, in the name of his brethren and the whole Catholic episcopate, supplicated the Holy Father to pronounce his dogmatical definition of the Immaculate Conception of the ever-glorious Virgin Mary.

The Pontiff assented; but called on all to join him in invoking the light and grace of the Holy Spirit at such a solemn moment. He knelt, and in his clear, sonorous, and musical voice, intoned the hymn, Veni Creator Spiritus.

The choir sang the first verse, and, according to practice, was going to continue, when the entire congregation, not only of assembled bishops and clergy, but of crowded people, spontaneously and simultaneously, and with admirable harmony, took up the song, and with a voice, loud as the sound of many waters, but one as the expression of a single heart, filled the whole Basilica with such a strain as perhaps never before struck against its golden vaults.

It was grand, beyond conception; and came nearer the realisation of what St John  heard of heavenly music, whose armies sing with one accord, than anything which we, or others before ever listened to: and it was repeated at each alternate verse, with a perfect regularity as if the whole multitude had been trained to answer the choir.

But still more sublime than this glorious strain was the silence that ensued. Standing at his throne, the Holy Father commenced his reading of the solemn decree, by which, as superior Pastor and visible Head of the universal Church, as successor of the apostles SS Peter and Paul, and as Vicar of Jesus Christ on earth, he authoritatively and dogmatically pronounced that the immunity from original sin, or in other words, the Immaculate Conception of the ever Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, is a revealed doctrine of the Catholic Church.

He had not, however, proceeded far before his tears and sobs interrupted his speech; and it was only by an effort, which evidently cost him great exertion, that he could make his words struggle through the tide of his emotions, and rise audible above the flood of his overpowering feelings. He succeeded, indeed, so that we had the happiness of hearing every word and syllable of his most memorable decree; but the flood of tender devotion drew after itself corresponding sentiments from the souls of others, so that scarcely a dry eye was to be seen among those who witnessed this touching scene. The cannon’s voice gave the signal of the happy accomplishments of so many fervent desires to the whole city; and the prolonged peals of gladness from the olden towers of Basilicas and the belfries of modern churches represented the acclaim of the earlier and later periods of unchangeable catholicity.

The Cardinal Dean returned before the throne to return thanks, and, accompanied by the proper official personages, to request that the official deed should be drawn up of the proceeding, and the Bull issued, containing the decree just pronounced. The Mass then continued, and at the Te Deum which closed it the people joined in, with the same overwhelming melody as they had introduced into the invocation of the Holy Ghost.

It is not necessary that we should enter into details concerning the less religious celebration of the day [...]

Inmaculada Concepción by Francisco de Zurbaran

But one feature of the glorious day could not fail to strike the mind of all who enjoyed it. For several days previously, and down to the very evening before, a gloomy atmosphere, and the vigil itself torrents of rain, such are rare even in Italy, poured down unceasingly; and the day following the function the same unfavourable weather returned – only during the day the sky itself was serene and beautiful, the sun shone forth in splendour, the crowds of citizens and strangers could move freely and cheerfully through the streets to the Vatican Basilica in the morning, and again in the evening, to fill its interior, and assist at the sublime office and function there performed, and in the evening to crowd round its exterior, and gaze with admiration at the huge structure traced in lines of light against the deep azure sky, and then breaking into a mass of fire, as though a new and brilliant constellation had sprung from earth to heaven.

___________________________________________

Tuesday 4 December 2012

Next Sunday's Latin Mass will be at.......

......5pm at the Parish Church of St Therese of Lisieux at Sandfields, near Port Talbot, that is the Second Sunday of Advent, December 9th.

NEWS REGARDING A CHRISTMAS EF MASS.....



There will be a Midnight Mass on December 24th also at St Therese de Lisieux, Sandfields, organised by the Latin Mass Society.

Sunday 25 November 2012

Change to Mass times for next Sunday

The Mass in the Extraordinary Form will not now be a vigil Mass but will be offered on Sunday 2nd December at 2pm at The Sacred Heart, Morriston - if you have not attended a Latin Mass before, please come and see the richness of the Church's liturgy at first hand.

Next Sunday is, of course, the First Sunday of Advent



Rorate Caeli Desuper

Rorate caeli desuper, et nubes pluant iustum.
Rorate caeli desuper, et nubes pluant iustum.

Ne irascaris Domine, ne ultra memineris iniquitatis: ecce civitas Sancti facta est deserta: Sion deserta facta est: Jerusalem desolata est: domus sanctificationis tuae et gloriae tuae, ubi laudaverunt te patres nostri.

Rorate caeli desuper, et nubes pluant iustum.

Peccavimus, et facti sumus tamquam immundus nos, et cecidimus quasi folium universi: et iniquitates nostrae quasi ventus abstulerunt nos: abscondisti faciem tuam a nobis, et allisisti nos in manu iniquitatis nostrae.

Rorate caeli desuper, et nubes pluant iustum.

Vide Domine afflictionem populi tui, et mitte quem missurus es: emitte Agnum dominatorem terrae, de Petra deserti ad montem filiae Sion: ut auferat ipse iugum captivitatis nostrae.

Rorate caeli desuper, et nubes pluant iustum.

Consolamini, consolamini, popule meus: cito veniet salus tua: quare maerore consumeris, quia innovavit te dolor? Salvabo te, noli timere, ego enim sum Dominus Deus tuus, Sanctus Israel, Redemptor tuus.

Rorate caeli desuper, et nubes pluant iustum.


 
Drop down Dew, ye Heavens, from Above

Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the Just One.

Be not angry, O Lord, and remember no longer our iniquity : behold the city of thy sanctuary is become a desert, Sion is made a desert. Jerusalem is desolate, the house of our holiness and of thy glory, where our fathers praised thee.

Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the Just One.

We have sinned, and we are become as one unclean, and we have all fallen as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast crushed us by the hand of our iniquity.

Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the Just One.

See, O Lord, the affliction of thy people, and send him whom thou hast promised to send. Send forth the Lamb, the ruler of the earth, from the rock of the desert to the mount of the daughter of Sion, that he himself may take off the yoke of our captivity.

Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the Just One.

Be comforted, be comforted, my people; thy salvation shall speedily come. Why wilt thou waste away in sadness? why hath sorrow seized thee? I will save thee; fear not: for I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Redeemer.

Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the Just One.





Wednesday 21 November 2012

Last Sunday after Pentecost

The Tridentine Latin Mass next Sunday (25th November) will be at St Joseph's Cathedral, Swansea at 12 noon - courtesy of Fr Michael Burke.

And today, November 21st is the Feast of The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary



Ave Maria, gratia plena, 
Dominus tecum, 
benedicta tu in mulieribus, 
et benedictus fructus ventris tui Iesus. 
Sancta Maria mater Dei, 
ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae. 
Amen

Thursday 15 November 2012

Next Sunday's Mass now at Morriston


Angels carry a soul to Heaven...Eternal rest
grant unto them O Lord and let perpetual
light shine upon them, may they rest in peace.
Amen.

Latin Mass on Sunday 18th November will now be at The Sacred Heart, Morriston, NOT Clydach.

Still at 2pm


And....for a good source of information on news within the Faith, please visit Rorate Caeli HERE

Tuesday 13 November 2012

Latin Mass in Menevia Sunday 18th November


Our next Latin Mass will be on Sunday 18th November
at St Benedict's Clydach at 2pm.


 And, for a reflection on the month of the Holy Souls and a report on the Pontifical High Mass celebrated in St Peter's Basilica, Rome, read A Reluctant Sinner's post here:

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them -
May they rest in peace. Amen.

Monday 5 November 2012

"They shall not grow old...."




Remembrance Sunday, 11th November - Mass in the Extraordinary Form will be celebrated by Father Paul Brophy at 5pm at St Therese, Southdown Road, Sandfields, PORT TALBOT SA12 7HL.

For The Fallen
With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.
Solemn the drums thrill; Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres,
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.
They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted;
They fell with their faces to the foe.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years contemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.
But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;
As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.

Although the poet, Lawrence Binyon, speaks of "England" I hope that, with a little poetic licence, Wales may also be included in this most inclusive of verses.


Thursday 1 November 2012

Vigil Mass on Saturday 3rd November

Mass in the Extraordinary Form will be celebrated at The Church of The Sacred Heart, Morriston, Nr Swansea on Saturday 3rd November at 5pm.

The Mass on All Saints' Day was attended by 36 people, many of whom, had not experienced a Latin Mass for many years.

Some of the comments made afterwards spoke volumes. The words 'so reverent' were used many times.

After Mass some parishioners and members of the Confraternity of the Holy Cross enjoyed lunch in the nearby Red Lion and a presentation of a set of Portmeirion glassware was made to Fr Jason Jones on this  the anniversary of his ordination (15 years) and of the first Latin Mass that he celebrated (5 years).

                                                       Dominus meus, et Deus Meus


                               Fr Jason receiving his gift from Elaine Sharpling of the Confraternity

Monday 29 October 2012

Mass on All Saints Day - from Alpha to Omega

From St Aaron to St Zygmunt Goradzowski and the thousands in between, we celebrate the great Feast of All Saints this coming Thursday 1st November at 12 noon at The Church of The Sacred Heart, Morriston, near Swansea - all are welcome to  Low Mass in the Extraordinary Form.

And from Cardinal Arinze, an appraisal of the Holy Father's Summorum Pontificum in respect of the return of the Extraordinary Form of Mass.

Monday 22 October 2012

Feast of Christ the King next Sunday

A change of time and church.

Sung Mass in the Extraordinary Form will now be at 2pm at The Sacred Heart, Morriston, nr Swansea. That's Sunday 28th October.


Friday 19 October 2012

October devotions, hymns and the Rosary....

....all will follow the next Mass in the Extraordinary Form which will be offered at St Benedict's Church, Clydach, near Swansea this coming
Sunday 21st October at 2pm.

                                                   Adoro te devote

Sunday 7 October 2012

Schedule of Latin Masses in Menevia


                                               The Feast of Christ the King - 28th October                                    
  • Sunday 14th October - 5pm St Therese of Lisieux, Sandfields, Nr Port Talbot
  • Sunday 21st October - 2pm St Benedict's, Clydach, Nr Swansea
  • Sunday 28th October (Feast of Christ the King) - 3pm Sung Mass at St Joseph's Cathedral, Swansea


Friday 5 October 2012

St Januarius


Reproduced by kind permission of Dylan Parry - A Reluctant Sinner blog



The Miracle of St Januarius' Blood reminds me both of the joy of my own Baptism as well as the Miracle of the Altar

Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe of Naples
(c) Sannita
Published under a Creative Commons licence
(source: Wikimedia Commons)
On 17 October, St Ignatius of Antioch's Day in the post-Conciliar Calendar, I hope to celebrate the 20th anniversary of my baptism and entry in the Catholic Church. So, I hope it will please Almighty God, the Father of all, to grant me the grace to see that day!

Strangely, it feels as if I have been a Catholic for about 60 years, even though I am only 36-years-old! Yet, in another sense the past two decades also seem to have flown by. In fact, I often think I'm still just a young student! (Obviously, I have not yet grown up properly!)

As I mentioned in a previous post, one of the men responsible for my conversion to the Catholic faith was the current Cardinal Archbishop of Naples, Crescenzio Sepe. I will remain eternally grateful to him for the kind letter he sent me all those years ago, which convinced me that God wanted me to know Him and love Him in the only way that satisfies, as a member of His Holy Church.

One day, I hope to get to Naples for the Feast of St Januarius, the martyr-bishop who is the city's patron. His feast is kept on 19 September (today), which also happens to be my best friend's birthday. Who knows, if I do ever get to Italy's ancient 'new city' for Januarius' feast, I might also finally get to meet Cardinal Sepe at the same time?

A well known 'miracle' occurs on St Januarius' Day -- namely, the liquefaction of the fourth century martyr's congealed blood, a relic that is regarded as Naples' most important treasure. The liquefaction only occurs, as far as I know, at the hands of the city's Archbishop -- Januarius' successor.


Sadly, it seems that -- bar God granting me the miracle of bilocation! -- I will not be able to get to Naples today, for the Feast of  St Januarius and the miracle of his blood. But, as the above video points out, a far greater miracle is happening right now somewhere in the world, the Eucharistic miracle; and we Catholics are privileged to share in it in the most intimate way possible!

Happy St Januarius' Day!

St Januarius, pray for us.

Sunday 30 September 2012

Mass for Saturday 6th October

Holy Mass for the 19th Sunday after Pentecost will be at Sacred Heart Morriston, Saturday October 6th at 5pm. All are most welcome.

Friday 7 September 2012

Menevia Latin Mass next Sunday

Sunday 9th September's EF Mass will be at the Church of St Therese de Lisieux at Sandfields, near Port Talbot at 5pm.

Due to holiday breaks, there will fewer EF Masses during September - we will advise as and when Mass dates and times are known.

We adore Thee O Christ and we praise Thee, because by Thy Holy Cross 
Thou hast redeemed the world"

Wednesday 29 August 2012

Cardigan Pilgrimage Sunday 2nd September

The Annual Latin Mass Society Pilgrimage to the National Shrine of Wales, Our Lady of the Taper, Cardigan will commence at 2pm on Sunday 2nd September.



Mass in the Extraordinary Form will start at 3pm.


Please join us if you are able.

Monday 20 August 2012

EF Mass for Sunday 26th August....

......will be at 12 noon at St Joseph's Cathedral, Swansea, mother church of Menevia Diocese.

Help us to ensure that this regular EF Mass is maintained by coming to the Cathedral next Sunday (even if you are from outside of the Diocese).

The Confraternity also thanks Fr Michael Burke for offering this Mass each month on behalf of the Diocese.

Your prayers are requested for Professor Robin Whatley who is ill at this time.

Also - a reminder about the Pilgrimage to Our Lady of Cardigan on 2nd September.

Devotions commence at 2pm followed by an EF Mass (thanks to Mgr Johnson). This pilgrimage is organised by the Latin Mass Society.

Friday 17 August 2012

Mass at Clydach

The EF Mass next Sunday (19th) will be at St Benedict's, Clydach* at 2pm - please note the earlier than usual time.

                   St Benedict's also has a shrine to St Vincent de Paul complete with first class relic



*SA6 5NS for visitors with satnavs.

Thursday 16 August 2012

Wednesday 15 August 2012

The Feast of the Assumption in Wales




Today members of the Confraternity of the Holy Cross and parishioners of The Sacred Heart Church in Morriston, attended a Sung Mass in honour of The Assumption of Our Lady.

The Mass was sung by the Newcastle Emlyn Schola and the celebrant was Fr Jason Jones, Parish Priest and Menevia Diocese Coordinator for the EF Mass.


                                                 Seamus and Matthew were the servers.

After Mass which was attended by over 30, all retired for a celebratory lunch and a presentation to Matthew Palmer who is shortly to join the FSSP Seminary in Nebraska, making him the first FSSP seminarian from Wales.



Confraternity members had contributed to a Liber Usualis for Matthew and Fr Jones made the presentation.


Monday 13 August 2012

Mass for the Feast of The Assumption

The good news is that next Wednesday's (15th August) Latin Mass on the Feast of The Assumption of Our Lady, will now be a Missa Cantata, thanks to the Newcastle Emlyn Schola and the altar servers who will be jetting in from Merthyr Tydfil as well as Swansea.

Mass will commence at 12 noon at The Church of the Sacred Heart, Morriston and afterwards, there will be an informal buffet lunch so please bring a contribution in the form of food with you.


                                          Source: The Hermeneutic of Continuity



Loving Mother of the Redeemer,
Gate of heaven, star of the sea,
Assist your people
who have fallen yet strive to rise again.
To the wonderment of nature you bore your Creator,
yet remained a virgin after as before.
You who received Gabriel's joyful greeting,
have pity on us, poor sinners.

Sunday 12 August 2012

National Welsh Pilgrimage

The Latin Mass Society is to hold its annual pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of the Taper on Sunday 2nd September 2012.

The pilgrimage will commence at 2pm with Devotions and Mgr Johnson will be the celebrant at the EF Mass.

Please try and attend this important pilgrimage - it is open to all, not just members of the LMS.
www.ourladyofthetaper.org.uk

Sunday 5 August 2012

Latin Mass next Sunday - 12th August

The XI Sunday after Pentecost - Mass will be at 3pm at The Sacred Heart, Morriston.

                                      

Thursday 2 August 2012

Menevia EF Mass Schedule for August




Saturday 4th August


5pm
 Sacred Heart
 Morriston


Wednesday 15th Aug


12pm
 Sacred Heart
 Morriston
 Feast of the Assumption
Buffet lunch

Sunday 19th August

 
 
 
 
 

2pm
 St Benedict's
Clydach


Sunday 26th August


12pm
 St Joseph's
Cathedral

Friday 27 July 2012

Start today - a Novena for the priests of the Diocese of Menevia




                                                             



August 4th is the Feastday of the Cure of Ars, patron saint of all priests.

Pray this novena to him on behalf of the priests of Menevia, especially those about to be ordained and for all priests throughout the world.

                     Novena to St. John Vianney for the Priesthood
.



St. John Vianney was ordained a priest in 1815. Three years later he
was made parish priest of Ars, a remote French hamlet, where his reputation
as a confessor and director of souls made him known throughout the
Christian world. Accustomed to the most severe austerities, beleaguered by
swarms of penitents, and besieged by the devil, this great mystic manifested
a imperturbable patience. He was a wonderworker loved by the crowds, but
he retained a childlike simplicity, and he remains to this day the living image
of the priest after the heart of Christ. He heard confessions of people from
all over the world for the sixteen hours each day. His life was filled with
works of charity and love. It is recorded that even the staunchest of sinners
were converted at his mere word. He died August 4,1859, and was
canonized May 31, 1925.
First Day - July 27
St. John Vianney, Who Accepted the Cross
O holy Priest of Ars, as a young seminarian you encountered many obstacles
on the road to the Priesthood, but you realized that to suffer was to suffer
with Christ on Calvary, and so, if following our Lord meant taking up His
cross, you lovingly embraced it. Your motto in life became loving while
suffering and suffering in order to love. You did not get discouraged, but
your strong faith united you closer to Jesus every day of your life.
O great St. John Vianney, you know what is needed for our Priests’ salvation
-- a strong faith able to accept the will of God in all things. To serve Christ,
they too must take up their crosses and follow Him. By your prayers, obtain
for them a heart full of courage and strength. Obtain for each Priest that
same courage and strength to follow Jesus wholeheartedly even if it means
following Him to Calvary. Intercede for them before the Lord that they may
do the will of God, obey the commandments, and loyally love the Church,
the Bride of Christ.
Recite the Novena Prayer.
Novena Prayer
O holy Priest of Ars, St. John Marie Vianney, you loved God and served Him
faithfully as His Priest. Now you see God face to face in heaven. You never
despaired but persevered in your faith until you died. Remember now the
dangers, fears and anxieties that surround our Priests and intercede for
them in all theirs needs and troubles especially console them in their most
difficult moments, grant them serenity in the midst of crisis, and protect
them from evil.
O St. John Vianney, Patron of Priests, I have confidence in your intercession.
Please pray for us and our Priests! Please pray especially for the needs of
Father(s) ____________ and for an increase in vocations to the Priesthood.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
(5x in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to receive a Partial Indulgence*)
Second Day - July 28
St. John Vianney, Full of Zeal for Souls
O holy Priest of Ars, you taught men to pray daily: “O my God, come to me,
so that You may dwell in me and I may dwell in You.” Your life was the very
living out of this prayer. The divine life of grace abided in you. Your zeal for
the salvation of souls was manifested by your total self-surrender to God,
which was expressed in your selfless service to others. You gave of yourself
unreservedly in the confessional, at the altar, in the classroom, in fact, in
every action you performed.
O great St. John Vianney, obtain for each Priest the realization that God also
dwells in him when he is free of sin. Remind him that the salvation of his
soul is the fulfillment of his existence. Awaken in him a sense of self-giving
for the salvation of souls. Obtain for our Priests, by your intercession, a zeal
for souls like your zeal. May each Priest see that God dwells in him and in his
fellow men. Obtain for them from our Lord the grace to lead all men to
salvation. Let your prayer be theirs: “If you really love God, you will greatly
desire to see Him loved by all the world.”
Recite the Novena Prayer.
Third Day - July 29
St. John Vianney, Adorer of the Blessed Sacrament
O holy Priest of Ars, you had such an overwhelming love for Christ in the
Blessed Sacrament that you prayed for hours in His presence. You said that
“when our Lord sees them coming eagerly to visit Him in the Blessed
Sacrament, He smiles upon them. They come with that simplicity which
pleases Him so much.”
O Saint of the Eucharist, may your example enkindle in our Priests a deeper
love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. By your prayers, never let them
doubt Christ’s Real Presence, but obtain for them a firm faith rooted in the
Eucharist. Help them not to be afraid to defend or preach Christ’s Real
Presence in the Blessed Sacrament. Obtain for them the grace to approach
our Lord with simplicity of heart as he lays his soul’s innermost thoughts
before Jesus’ Sacred Heart. Keep our Priests under your continual protection,
that they may be supported by your example and assistance and be
faithfully devoted to Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. May their lives reflect
the belief of our Lord’s abiding presence with us. O St. John Vianney, by the
power of your intercession, give us Priests devoted to the holy Sacrament of
the Altar.
Recite the Novena Prayer.
Fourth Day - July 30
St. John Vianney, Greatly Devoted to Our Blessed Mother
O holy Priest of Ars, your life was consecrated to the Blessed Mother. You
prayed earnestly to her, entrusting your Priesthood to her care. You begged
all the faithful to pray the rosary, the favorite prayer of Mary, our Mother.
You summed up the reason for your great love of our Lady by saying: “We
have only to turn to the Blessed Mother to be heard. Her heart is all love.”
O great John Vianney, I ask you with all my heart through the merits of
Jesus and the intercession of Mary, the Virgin Mother to make our Priests
lives’ patterned after that of our heavenly Mother, full of love for God and his
neighbor. Obtain for them a deeper love for our Lady and a filial confidence
in her. She is the person to whom they can turn in times of distress when
lonely or upset or in times of temptation. Inspire each Priest to consecrate
his life to his Mother in heaven. May they know the powerful protection of
Mary’s mantle all the days of their lives.
Recite the Novena Prayer.
Fifth Day - July 31
St. John Vianney, Lover of Sinners
O holy Priest of Ars, you spent many long hours daily in the confessional.
People came to you for forgiveness of their sins from far-off places. Although
you despised sin, you always received the sinner with much love and
forgiveness.
O holy confessor of the Lord, St. John Vianney, awaken in each Priest a
sense of his sinfulness before the eyes of God. By your Priestly example,
grant them a love of the reception of the Sacrament of Penance. Obtain for
them the understanding that it is in confessing one’s sins that God’s mercy is
poured out upon him and he draws closer to Christ. Obtain for them a deep
hatred of sin and the grace to resist temptation. Teach them the value of
frequent confession, where we meet Jesus, our Savior, the source of all
mercy and consolation. Contrite and forgiven may all those with whom they
comes in contact act with that same mercy. Pray that our Priests always love
the Sacrament of Penance. Pray that they may call sinners to repentance
with their good examples and live in complete service to our Lord.
Recite the Novena Prayer.
Sixth Day - Aug 1
St. John Vianney, Model of Purity
O holy Priest of Ars, your life was a model of purity. Your life of chastity was
a source of edification to all. You said that when a soul is pure all the court
of heaven looks upon it with great joy. Today we are experiencing a great
disregard for the virtue of purity; it is looked upon with ridicule by worldly
standards.
O great St. John Vianney, more than ever before, we need your prayers and
help in avoiding sins of impurity. I ask you to help keep our Priests pure in
mind and in body and give good example in their speech, conduct and faith.
Obtain for them the strength necessary to combat temptations against the
virtue of purity, which could lead them away from God. Unite your prayers
with those of Mary Immaculate to implore God that our Priests be pure in
mind and heart and preserve them from those sins which are so displeasing
to God.
Recite the Novena Prayer.
Seventh Day - Aug 2
St. John Vianney, Humble in all Things
O holy Priest of Ars, your life was filled with humility. You wore an old
cassock. You ate meager meals. You realized that before the throne of God,
you were one of His creatures made to glorify God and praise Him in all
things. You said that the “first virtue is humility; the second, humility; and
the third, humility.” You counseled people to remain humble, remain simple
and the more one is so, the more good he will do. Your simplicity of soul and
your uncluttered way of life led you to sanctity.
O humble St. John Vianney, when our Priests forget they are totally
dependent on God for everything, intercede for them with Almighty God, to
allow them to see that without His Creator nothing is possible and that they
must rely on God for everything. He is their Creator, who keeps them in
existence at every moment. Obtain for each Priest the grace of humility. May
their lives exemplify your humility and simplicity, a life uncluttered, a life
totally dependent on God.
Recite the Novena Prayer.
Eighth Day - Aug 3
St. John Vianney, Lover of Penance and Mortification
O holy Priest of Ars, you led a life of detachment from worldly pleasures.
Your meals consisted of a boiled potato each day; you slept a few hours each
night. But you did all of this so that you would be able to serve God to the
best of your ability. Your life was portrayed by the saying: “We complain
when we suffer. We have much more reason to complain when we do not
suffer, since nothing likens us to our Lord as the bearing of His cross.”
O great St. John Vianney, in these days when we are surrounded by so many
comforts and pleasures, it can be so difficult for us to do penance for our
sins and live a life of detachment. I resolve to offer some sacrifice today for
the expiation of our Priests sins and the sins of all mankind. Assist Priests in
accepting the cross God chooses to send him. May they embrace the life of
sacrifice to which Priests are called. May they willingly offer their whole lives
to God! Obtain for each Priest the grace to imitate the life of Christ by the
bearing of His cross.
Recite the Novena Prayer.
Ninth Day - Aug 4 (Plenary Indulgence Day**)
St. John Vianney, Good and Holy Priest
O holy Priest of Ars, you lived in an age of much upheaval, in a time when
men turned their backs on God. Your bishop told of a parish to which he
wished to send you where there was no love. He assigned you to Ars and
said that you would be the Priest who would enable the people to know the
love of God. Not only did you draw these people back to God, but your
saintly reputation soon spread and many people were converted to a life of
holiness. You said that a good Priest, a Priest after Christ’s own heart is the
greatest treasure that God can give a parish. Give us such Priests!
O great St. John Vianney, once again we are living in day of upheaval. There
is much evil in the word. Obtain for our Priests the grace to persevere in
faith and never to despair. May they walk with the Lord and trust in Him all
the days of their lives. Obtain through your heavenly intercession, for each
Priest the grace of modeling his life after that of Jesus Christ, that his people
will know the love of God. More than ever the people need them to be able
to bring the world to Christ. O great Priest of Ars, on this, your Feast Day,
please pray for our Priests!
Recite the Novena Prayer.
* The Partial Indulgence is granted to all the faithful every time they devoutly recite five
Our Fathers, Hail Marys and Glorias, or another expressly approved prayer, in honour
of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to obtain that priests be preserved in purity and holiness
of life.
**The Plenary Indulgence is granted to all the faithful who are truly repentant who, in
church or in chapel, devoutly attend the divine Sacrifice of Mass and o
Jesus Christ the Eternal High Priest, for the priests of the Church, and any other good
work which they have done on that day, so that he may sanctify them and form them in
accordance with His Heart, as long as they have made expiation for their sins through
sacramental confession and prayed in accordance with the Supreme Ponti
intentions: on the days in which the Year for Priests begins and ends, on the day of the
150th anniversary of the pious passing of St John Mary Vianney, on the first Thursday
of the month or on any other day established by the local Ordinaries for the benefit of
the faithful.
(Given in Rome, at the O
Mark the Evangelist, in the year of the Incarnation of our Lord 2009.)
ffer prayers toff'sffices of the Apostolic Penitentiary on 25 April, the Feast of St