“Come to Mass! Come, children, come to Mass, and bring your merry hearts with you. Come, you that are young and pray, and rejoice before the Lord. Come, you that are old and weary, and tell your loneliness to God. Come, you that are sorely tempted, and ask the help of heaven. Come, you that have sinned, and weep between the porch and the altar. Come, you that are bereaved, and pour out here your tears. Come, you that are sick, or anxious, or unhappy, and complain to god. Come, you that are prosperous and successful, and give thanks. Christ[…]

“Praying the Psalms” is an introductory chapter that comes from Angelus Press books: Divine Office, Vespers and Compline, available from the Virgo Sacrata shop. Parallel Latin-English Psalter (free!) is also available on the Virgo Sacrata where you can listen and learn how to pray the Psalms in Latin language. It is a wonderful opportunity for the Catholic Clergy, Religious and Laity to learn the Divine Office — or the Liturgy of the Hours — in Latin as well as the more familiar English. But how are the psalms to be prayed? It will be interesting to examine the history of[…]

Saint Joseph has two feast days on the liturgical calendar. March 19, the Feast of St. Joseph is in Western Christianity the principal feast day of Saint Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He is the foster-father of Jesus Christ.  At the same time, Pope Pius XII established an additional Feast of “St. Joseph the Worker”, to be celebrated on 1 May, in order to coincide with the celebration of International Workers’ Day (May Day) in many countries.  ST. JOSEPH of the royal blood of David, was a mechanic [carpenter] in Nazareth of Galilee, where he was espoused to[…]

In the Name of Jesus Christ, and by the power of His Blood and His Cross, I take authority, and I bind all evil spirits in the air and the fire, in the water and the ground, in the underground and in the netherworld. I bind all satanic forces and powers in nature. I bind all curses, hexes and spells, witchcraft and occult activity. I bind the interaction and interplay of all evil spirits. In your Name, Jesus Christ, I bind all demonic forces that have come against us and our families and I seal all of us in the protection[…]

Let us pray the most powerful celestial protector, SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL, for special protection against the diabolical forces of pure evil attacking our Holy Mother the Church in the weeks and months ahead.  The Feast of the Dedication of St. Michael the Archangel: September 29. This feast commemorates the dedication to St. Michael of an ancient church at Rome at a date earlier than the sixth century. St. Michael the Archangel is honored as the supreme guardian spirit of the universal Church. In heaven Michael led the good angels against Lucifer and his rebel angels. The fallen angels pursue[…]

Saint Patrick made this hymn; in the time of Loegaire macNeill it was made, and the cause of its composition was for the protection of himself and his monks against the deadly enemies that lay in ambush for the clerics. And it is a lorica of faith for the protection of body and soul against demons and men and vices : when any person shall recite it daily with pious meditation on God, demons shall not dare to face him, it shall be a protection to him against all poison and envy; it shall be a guard to him against[…]

The use of ashes, especially the sprinkling of ashes on the head as a sign of humiliation and sorrow, dates back to the cradle of the human race. Numerous references are made to it in the Old Testament. David, the model of penitents, says: “I did eat ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping.” The Ninivites, at the preaching of Jonas, “proclaimed a fast, and pat on sackcloth from the greatest to the least, and sat in ashes.” Judith put ashes on her head when she prayed for strength to overcome Holofernes, the leader of the enemies of[…]