SACRED ART: "Disputation of the Sacrament" by Raphael
(Left-click once or twice on the picture to get a closer view)
PRAYER: Litany of the Holy Saints ***REQUIRED***
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us.
Saint Michael, pray for us.
Holy angels of God, pray for us.
St. John the Baptist, pray for us.
St. Joseph, pray for us.
St. Peter and St. Paul, pray for us.
St. Andrew, pray for us.
St. John, pray for us.
St. Mary Magdalene, pray for us.
St. Stephen, pray for us.
St. Ignatius of Antioch, pray for us.
St. Lawrence, pray for us.
St. Perpetua and St. Felicity, pray for us.
St. Agnes, pray for us.
St. Gregory, pray for us.
St. Augustine, pray for us.
St. Athanasius, pray for us.
St. Basil, pray for us.
St. Martin, pray for us.
St. Benedict, pray for us.
St. Francis and St. Dominic, pray for us.
St. Francis Xavier, pray for us.
St. John Vianney, pray for us.
St. Catherine, pray for us.
St. Teresa of Jesus, pray for us.
All holy men and women, pray for us.
Lord, be merciful. Lord, deliver us, we pray.
From all evil. Lord, deliver us, we pray.
From every sin. Lord, deliver us, we pray.
From everlasting death. Lord, deliver us, we pray.
By your coming as man. Lord, deliver us, we pray.
By your death and rising to new life. Lord, deliver us, we pray.
By your gift of the Holy Spirit. Lord, deliver us, we pray.
Be merciful to us sinners. Lord, we ask you, hear our prayer.
Guide and protect your holy Church. Lord, we ask you, hear our prayer.
Keep the pope and all the clergy in faithful service to your Church. Lord, we ask you, hear our prayer.
Bring all peoples together in trust and peace. Lord, we ask you, hear our prayer.
Strengthen us in your service. Lord, we ask you, hear our prayer.
Jesus, Son of the living God. Lord, we ask you, hear our prayer.
Christ, hear us. Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
Let us pray.
God of our ancestors who set their hearts on you,
Of those who fell asleep in peace,
And of those who won the martyrs violent crown:
We are surrounded by these witnesses
As by clouds of fragrant incense.
In this age we would be counted
In this communion of all the saints;
Keep us always in their good and blessed company.
In their midst we make every prayer
Through Christ who is our Lord forever and ever.
Amen.
SACRED ART: "The Baptism of Christ" by Antoine Coypel
(Left-click the white slider bar in the mini picture, then drag the white slider bar left or right to find your preferred size — you might have to play with it because it’s a little tricky)
PRAYER: Invocation of the Holy Spirit ***REQUIRED***
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful,
And enkindle in them the fire of your love.
Lord, send forth your Spirit,
And you will renew the face of the earth.
O God,
Who instructs the hearts of your faithful
With the light of your Holy Spirit,
Make us responsive to his inspirations
So that we may be truly wise and
Ever rejoice in his consolations,
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
SACRED ART: “Gethsemane" by Carl Bloch
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Gethsemane_Carl_Bloch.jpg
(Left-click once on the picture to get a closer view)
SCRIPTURE: Romans 6: 3-11 ***REQUIRED***
Or are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life. For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his, we shall also be united with him in the resurrection. We know that our old self was crucified with him, so that our sinful body might be done away with, that we might no longer be in slavery to sin. For a dead person has been absolved from sin. If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has power over him. As to his death, he died to sin once and for all; as to his life, he lives for God. Consequently, you too must think of yourselves as [being] dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus.
SACRED ART: "Founder Statue of St. Louis de Montfort" by Giacomo Parsini
(Left-click once or twice on the picture to get a closer view)
REFLECTION BY ST. LOUIS DE MONTFORT: True Devotion to Mary (#127) ***REQUIRED***
“Men,” says St. Thomas, “vow in baptism to renounce the devil and all his seductions.” “This vow,” says St. Augustine, “is the greatest and the most indispensable of all vows.” Canon law experts say the same thing: “The vow we make at baptism is the most important of all vows.” But does anyone keep this great vow? Does anyone fulfill the promises of baptism faithfully? Is it not true that nearly all Christians prove unfaithful to the promises made to Jesus in baptism? Where does this universal failure come from, if not from man’s habitual forgetfulness of the promises and responsibilities of baptism and from the fact that scarcely anyone makes a personal ratification of the contract made with God through his sponsors?
QUESTION ***REQUIRED***
What is the vow we make at baptism? Are you conscious in your daily living of the importance of keeping this great promise? In your life, do you have difficulty in being faithful to your commitments or in keeping the promises you make? Does making and keeping a permanent commitment frighten you?
SACRED ART: "The Visitation" by Raphael and Giulio Romano or Giovanni Francesco Penni
(Either leave the picture as it is, or you may left-click on the minus sign once or twice in order to get a farther view)
PRAYER: Jesus Living in Mary ***REQUIRED***
O Jesus living in Mary,
Come and live in your servant,
In the Spirit of your holiness,
In the fullness of your gifts,
In the perfection of your ways,
In the truth of your virtues,
In the communion of your mysteries.
Subdue within me
The power of flesh and demon
By your Holy Spirit,
For the glory of God the father.
Amen.
SACRED ART: "Madonna of the Magnificat" by Sandro Botticelli
https://www.wikiart.org/en/sandro-botticelli/madonna-of-the-magnificat-1481
(Left-click twice on the picture to get a closer view)
PRAYER: Memorare, O Piissima Virgo Maria ***REQUIRED***
Remember,
O most gracious Virgin Mary,
That never was it known
That anyone who fled to thy protection,
Implored thy help,
Or sought thine intercession
Was left unaided.
Inspired by this confidence,
I fly unto thee,
O Virgin of virgins,
My mother;
To thee do I come,
Before thee I stand,
Sinful and sorrowful.
O Mother of the Word Incarnate,
Despise not my petitions,
But in thy mercy
Hear and answer me.
Amen.