ETERNAL WISDOM: Excerpt from the Jubilee Door Opening Mass
GIFT IDEAS FOR HOLY SOULS
GAIN FOR THEM PLENARY INDULGENCE DURING THE JUBILEE YEAR
BY PRAYING FOR A HOLY SOUL THE CHAPLET TO THE DIVINE MERCY AT 3:00 IF POSSIBLE OR AFTER RECEIVING A SECOND HOLY COMMUNION ON THE SAME DAY DURING THE JUBILEE ORDINARY
BY PRAYING BEFORE THE TABERNACLE AND OFFERING 30 MINUTES OF COMMUNAL PRAYER or INDIVIDUAL PRAYER: THIS CAN INCLUDE 5 DECADES OF THE HOLY ROSARY FOCUSED ON MEDITATING ON HOLY SCRIPTURE BEFORE OR AFTER THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS.
BY OFFERING 30 MINUTES OF PRAYERFUL READING OF THE HOLY BIBLE TO GAIN A PLENARY INDULGENCE THAT CAN BE OFFERED TODAY & EVERY DAY THIS YEAR AS A GIFT FOR A HOLY SOUL
BY OFFERING THE MIRACLE OF PRAYER TO OTHERS BY TEACHING THEM TO PRAY, OR BY SHARING THIS PARTICULAR PRAYER (ATTRIBUTED TO ST. GERTRUDE) AS RECOMMENDED BY FR. LANCTON FOR HOLY SOULS:1
DR. BLYTHE KAUFMAN INVITES YOU TO CONSIDER CREATING A BEAUTIFUL SIGN FOR YOUR WINDOW / FRONT DOOR THAT ANNOUNCES:
“CHRIST IS BORN” OR “Hodie Christus Natus Est”.
THE ROSARY HOUR PODCAST NEWSLETTER | 24 DECEMBER 2024
In today’s 4-minute video post (1st Edition):
Amelia asks Fr. Thaddaeus how-to-pray for Holy Souls.
Fr. Elias prays the Hail Mary which can be offered after today’s Holy Mass and the words “Sacred Heart of Jesus, Have Mercy On Us”.
Fr. Nuno answers the question, “Does Jesus want me to be happy?” from the book, The Secret of Joy.
Fr. Anthony finishes talking about his favorite Christmas traditions
Tomorrow:
Next post, Fr. Elias Mary Mills talks about the Act of Consecration.2
See below some helpful links.
JUBILEE 2024 RESOURCES
Click below to download the Calendar for pilgrims planning to go to Rome in 2025:
24 DECEMBER 2024 — THE VATICAN (PORTA SANTA)
Link to the DECEMBER 24 Celebration Booklet with English translation here:
https://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/libretti/2024/20241224-libretto-natale-notte.pdf
Bookmark the Major Events page to follow with your family here:
THE ROSARY HOUR PODCAST NEWSLETTER | PORTA SANTA
Yesterday, 23 December 2024, Fr. Elias Mary Mills, FI returned to the Rosary Hour Podcast to explain the Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
In this segment, he provided advice to those who wish to Consecrate themselves after Midnight Mass or after tomorrow’s daytime Mass or on January 1 at the end of the Christmas Octave to the Immaculate Heart of Mary after journeying with the Rosary Hour Podcast’s second annual Consecration. We thank Fr. Elias for his support to us and his Spiritual Direction.
Readers of the RHP newsletter can read the partial transcript from that conversation which will be posted in the next 24 hours as Day 33/34 of the Consecration Journey via rosary365.substack.com.
Today, we pray the Joyful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary and begin the challenge to all readers to encourage others to Pray the Rosary every day.
If you wish to teach children or family to pray the Rosary, share this video and related transcripts:
THE FIRST DECADE: “THE NATIVITY” (VIDEO LESSON)
MY FIRST “SECOND DECADE” - “THE PRESENTATION” (VIDEO LED BY FR. THAD / FR. ELIAS & THE RHP SPIRITUAL DIRECTORS)
WHAT ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO DO ON CONSECRATION DAY?
AMELIA: Father Elias, what are you supposed to do on a consecration day? And what is a person doing when reciting the Act of Consecration to Our Lady?
FR. ELIAS MARY MILLS: Well, when you say, “what are you supposed to do on your consecration day?”, well, the main thing is you'll be making the Act of Consecration.
You'll be saying the prayer, and in this case, the Act of Consecration of St. Maximilian Kolbe.
ACT OF CONSECRATION BY ST. MAXIMILIAN LINK HERE
https://militiaoftheimmaculata.com/act-of-consecration-to-mary/#:~:text=O%20IMMACULATA%2C%20Queen%20of%20Heaven,as%20your%20possession%20and%20property.
Solemn Act of Consecration - According to St. Maximilian Kolbe
O Immaculate, Queen of heaven and earth, Refuge of sinners and our most loving Mother, God has willed to entrust the entire order of mercy to You, I __________________________, an unworthy sinner, cast myself at Your feet, humbly imploring You to take me with all that I am and have, wholly to Yourself as Your possession and property. Please make of me, of all my powers of soul and body, of my whole life, death, and eternity, whatever pleases You. If it pleases You, use all that I am and have without reserve, wholly to accomplish what has been said of You: “She will crush your head”, and “You alone have destroyed all heresies in the whole world.” Let me be a fit instrument in Your immaculate and most merciful hands for introducing and increasing Your glory to the maximum in all the many strayed and indifferent souls, and thus help extend as far as possible the blessed Kingdom of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. For, wherever You enter, You obtain the grace of conversion and sanctification, since it is through Your hands that all graces come to us from the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
V.Allow me to praise You, O most holy Virgin.
R. Give me strength against Your enemies.
Official Act of Consecration to Mary in Latin
Actus Consecrationis BMV Immaculatae (cf. KW 37)
O IMMACULATA, coeli et terrae Regina, refugium peccatorum et Mater nostra amorosissima, Tu cui Deus totum ordinem misericordiae committi voluit, ego N.N. indignus peccator, ad pedes Tuos me provolvo suppliciter petens, ut me totum et totaliter tamquam rem et proprietatem Tuam assumere et de me, de omnibus potentiis animae et corporis, de tota vita, morte et aeternitate mea, quidquid Tibi magis placet facere digneris. Utaris etiam, si hoc Tibi placet, me toto et totaliter ad hoc quod de Te dictum est: “Ipsa conteret caput tuum [Gen 3,15] et “Cunctas haereses sola interemisti in universo mundo” [officium BVM] exequendum, ut in Tua immaculata et misericordiosissima manu aptum sim instrumentum ad gloriam Tuam in tot deviatis ac tepidis animis introducendam et quam maxime augmentandam et ita dulcissimum Regnum S[acratissi]mi Cordis Iesu quam maxime extendendum, ubi enim Tu intras ibi et gratiam conversionis et sanctificationis impetras, per Tuas enim manus omnes ad nos gratiae ex Corde Sacratissimo Iesu perveniunt.
V. Dignare me laudare Te, Virgo Sacrata.
R. Da mihi virtutem contra hostes Tuos.
SAMPLE: DOWNLOAD OF THE RITE OF CONSECRATION PDF HERE
ADVICE TO THOSE MAKING AN ACT OF CONSECRATION
SPIRITUAL DIRECTION BY FR. ELIAS MARY MILLS, FI
FR. ELIAS MARY MILLS: “One of the things I would encourage the person to do is before they make the Act of Consecration is that they look at the commentary that St. Maximilian Kolbe wrote, meaning he explained it line-by-line what it means.”
“So that if you know what you're saying and what it means behind the words he wrote, how he understood the act of consecration, that will make it very beneficial and helpful for you then when you make your Act of Consecration on the day that you do it.”
Commentary by St. Maximilian Kolbe
This act of consecration consists of three parts:
An invocation,
A petition that she deign us to accept us as property,
An entreaty that she may want to use us in order to win other souls over to herself.
1 – An Invocation
In the invocation, we say first of all:
O Immaculate.
We address her with this title, because she herself in Lourdes chose to state her name thus: “Immaculate Conception.” God and each of the three divine Persons are immaculate, yet God is not conceived. The angels are immaculate, but even in them there is not conception. Our first parents were immaculate before their sin, yet even they were not conceived. Jesus was immaculate and conceived, but He was not a conception, because, being God, He existed before time, and the words that revealed to Moses the name of God referred to Him: “I am Who am” [Ex 3:14], that is, the One who always exists and has no beginning. All other people are a conception; yet, a conception stained by sin. Only she is not merely conceived, but Conception, and, what is more, Immaculate Conception. That name contains many other mysteries that will be revealed in time. For it marks the fact that Immaculate Conception belongs in some way to the very essence of the Immaculate. That name must be dear to her, for it indicates the first grace she received in the first instant of her existence, and the first gift is always the most welcome. This name, then, was fulfilled throughout her life, because she was always without sin. So she was also full of grace and God was with her (cf. Lk 1:28) always and with her to the point that she became the Mother of the Son of God.
Queen of Heaven and earth.
In a family, the parents who love their children strive, to the best of their ability, to fulfill the wishes of their children, as long as such desires are not to their detriment. All the more so God, the Creator and Prototype of earthly parents, wants to fulfill the will of His creatures, as long as that does not cause them harm; that is, provided that this will is in accordance with His Will.
Never and in anything did the Immaculate move away from God’s will. In everything she loved God’s Will, she loved God, so she is aptly named “Suppliant Omnipotence”; she exerts her influence on God Himself, on the whole universe: she is the Queen of Heaven and earth. In Heaven, all recognize the sovereignty of her love. Instead, that part of the first angels who would not recognize her queenship, lost their place in Heaven.
She is also the Queen of the earth, for the fact that she is the Mother of God. Yet she desires—and is entitled to such desire—to be recognized spontaneously by every heart, to be loved as Queen of all hearts, so that such heart may be purified ever more through her, become immaculate, like her Heart and ever more worthy of union with God, with the love of God, with the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Refuge of sinners.
God is merciful, infinitely merciful, but He is also just, infinitely just, so that He cannot tolerate even the smallest sin and must demand its complete reparation. The Dispenser of the most precious Blood of Jesus, which has infinite value and that washes away such sins, is God’s mercy embodied in the Immaculate. With good reason, therefore, we invoke her as “Refuge of sinners,” of all sinners; even if their sins were most serious and most numerous, even if those sinners had the impression they no longer deserved any mercy. Indeed, any purification of the soul is for her a new confirmation of her title of “Immaculate Conception,” and the more a soul is plunged in sin, the more the power of her immaculateness, which makes a soul as pure as snow, is made manifest.
Our most loving Mother.
The Immaculate is the Mother of all our supernatural life, for she is the Mediatrix of all graces, indeed the Mother of divine grace, so she is our Mother in the sphere of grace, in the supernatural sphere. Also, she is a most loving Mother, for there is no such loving, such affectionate, such God-filled Mother as the Immaculate, who is all divine.
God has willed to entrust the entire order of mercy to you.
At times, in a family, the father rejoices when the mother, by her own intervention, holds his hand, which would punish the child, because in that case justice is met and mercy manifested. It is not without reason, in fact, that justice is suspended. In the same way God, not to punish us, gives us a spiritual mother, to whose intercession He is never opposed. That is why the saints have said that Jesus reserved the order of justice to himself, entrusting the entire order of mercy to the Immaculate.
2 – A Petition
In the second part of the act of consecration, we say:
I, an unworthy sinner.
At that point, we recognize that we are not immaculate as she is, but sinners. Especially since none of us could possibly claim to have lived up to the present day without committing a sin, but feels guilty of many infidelities. We also say “unworthy” because, in truth, between an unsullied Being and one disfigured by sin there is, in a certain way, an unfathomable difference. Therefore, in all truth we recognize ourselves unworthy to turn to her, to appeal to her, to fall at her feet and entreat her not to let us become similar to proud Lucifer. For that reason, we also say:
I cast myself at your feet, humbly imploring you to take me with all that I am and have, wholly to yourself as your possession and property.
With these words we pray, implore the Immaculate that she deign to welcome us, and we give ourselves up to her completely and in all respects as her children, her slaves of love, her servants, her instruments, in every respect, under any name that any person at any time could possibly still devise. And all that as a possession and property at her full disposal, that she may make use of us and exploit us until we are fully consumed.
Please make of me, of all my powers of soul and of my body, of my whole life, death and eternity, whatever most pleases you.
With these words, we surrender to her our whole being, all the faculties of the soul, namely the intellect, memory and will, all the faculties of the body, all the senses, and each individually, our strengths, health or infirmity. We give to her our entire life with all its features, be they pleasant, sad, or indifferent. To her we offer our death, at any time, in any place, and in any way it shall befall us. We even surrender to her all of our eternity. Indeed, we have the firm hope that only in Heaven shall we belong to her in an incomparably more perfect fashion. Thus, we voice the wish and prayer that she grant that we will become more and more perfectly hers in every aspect.
3 – An Entreaty
In the third part of the act of consecration, we beseech her:
If it pleases you, use all that I am and have without reserve, wholly to accomplish what was said of you: “She will crush your head” (Gen 3:15), and, “You alone have destroyed all heresies in the whole world” (Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary).
In statues and paintings of the Immaculate, we always see at her feet a serpent that wraps the globe between its coils and whose head she, with her foot, is about to crush.
He, Satan, stained with sin, strives to sully all the souls on earth with it. He hates her, who has always been unsullied. He lies in wait for her children at her heel, but in the fight with her, she always crushes his head in every soul that has recourse to her. We implore her to deign to use us, if she wills, as an instrument to crush the proud head of the serpent inside unhappy souls.
Continuing the verse already cited, the Scriptures add: “And thou shalt lie in wait for her heel,” and in fact the spirit of evil undermines in a special way those who are consecrated to the Immaculate, because he wants to offend her at least through them. However, his attempts against souls faithfully consecrated always end up in even more ignominious defeat. Therefore, his impotent rage becomes even more violent.
The words “You alone have destroyed all heresies in the whole world” are taken from the divine Office which the Church requires priests to recite with regard to her. The Church speaks of “heresies,” not “heretics,” because she, Mary, loves them and on account of this love wants to free them from the error of heresy. It also reads: “all,” without exception. “You alone,” because she suffices. God, in fact, belongs to her, with all the treasures of grace, graces of conversion, and of sanctification of souls. “In the whole world”: no corner of the earth here is excluded. In this section of the act of consecration, we implore her to make use of us to destroy the whole body of the serpent, that is to say the most diverse heresies that hold the world captive.
Let me be a fit instrument in your immaculate and merciful hands for introducing and increasing your glory to the maximum in all the many strayed and indifferent souls.
On earth, we see so many unhappy, misguided souls who do not even know the purpose of their life, who love many short-lived goods instead of the only good, God. Many of them are even indifferent to the most sublime love. We want to introduce and increase to the maximum the glory of the Immaculate in these souls and we beseech her to make us useful tools in her immaculate and merciful hands, not to let us hamper her; to drive us even by force in case we were to refuse to obey her.
Extend as far as possible the blessed kingdom of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is the love of God toward mankind. His Kingdom is the domain of this love in the hearts of men, the love that Jesus manifested in the manger, throughout His life, on the Cross, in the Eucharist, and in giving us His own Mother as our Mother; and He wants to kindle this love in the hearts of men. To infuse and to enhance the glory of the Immaculate, to conquer souls over to her, means to win souls over to the Mother of Jesus, who introduces the Kingdom of Jesus into them.
Wherever you enter you obtain the grace of conversion and growth in holiness, since it is through your hands that all graces come to us from the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The Immaculate is “Suppliant Omnipotence.” Each conversion and each sanctification is the work of grace, and she is the Mediatrix of all graces. So she alone is enough to beseech and to distribute all the graces, whatever grace. During the manifestation of the Miraculous Medal, Blessed Catherine Labouré saw the rays that shone forth from the precious rings that the Immaculate wore on her fingers. Such rays symbolize the graces that the Immaculate generously bestows upon all those who want them. Even Ratisbonne, in the vision he had, speaks of the rays of graces.
Allow me to praise you, O Sacred Virgin. Give me strength against your enemies.
Tradition has it that the Franciscan Duns Scotus, while on his way to the debate during which he was expected to defend, at the University of the Sorbonne, in Paris, the privilege of the Immaculate Conception, passed a statue of the Blessed Mother and addressed to her the aforementioned invocation. The Most Holy Mother bowed her head in approval.
In the first part of that prayer, Duns Scotus addresses the Mother of God humbly and asks for the grace to be able to praise her, for he acknowledges that he is greatly unworthy of so noble a task as the glorification of the Most Holy Mother. He also recognizes that such grace depends on her and that she needs just to grant it to him for his efforts to be successful.
The second part is strong, resolute and courageous. He asks the strength to defeat the serpent, to be an instrument in her hands.
But who is her enemy? All that is sullied by sin, which does not lead to God, which is not love; it is all that comes from the infernal serpent, who is a lie, and from him alone: all our faults, then, all our sins. We beseech her to give us strength against them. In fact, all devotions exist only for that; that is why there is prayer; for that there are the holy Sacraments: namely, to obtain the strength to overcome all obstacles in our path to God, in ever more ardent love, in becoming like God, uniting with God Himself.
Just as we came from God through creation, so too we return to God; all nature speaks to us of that, and wherever we turn our gaze, we see that an action has an equal and opposite reaction, as an echo of God’s activity, even of His activity in creation. On this return path of reaction, a creature endowed with free will runs into difficulties and adversities, which God allows in order to increase even more the impetus with which such creature tends toward Him. To obtain sufficient strength to achieve that goal, however, this creature must pray, implore such strength from the One who is the source of all energy and who looks to the efforts of His own creatures lovingly, wishing that they sincerely want to come to Him, sparing no assistance toward them. And even if such creatures, such dear children of His, happened to stumble along the way, to fall, to be sullied, to become dirty, this loving Father cannot possibly sit back before their misfortune. He sends His only begotten Son, who with His life and His teaching shows them a clear and safe way. With His Most Holy Blood, which has infinite value, He washes away the dirt and heals the wounds. And lest the soul lose hope because of fear, for violating divine justice, God sends the One who is the personification of His love, the Bride of the Spirit of motherly love, the Immaculate, all beautiful, without stain (even though she is the daughter of a human being), sister of human beings, and appoints her to distribute generously his mercy toward souls. He appoints her Mediatrix of the grace merited by His Son, Mother of grace, Mother of the souls that are reborn through grace, that are regenerated and unceasingly regenerate themselves in ever more perfect divinization.
— Writings of St. Maximilian, 1331FR. ELIAS MARY MILLS: Then you'll have a greater understanding because you'll you'll have a better understanding why you're saying what you're saying it's always good to know what is the meaning behind the words you're saying so that's what I would say first and foremost is to prepare for your day of consecration by reading his commentary.
GO TO MASS AND CONFESSION & PRAY THE ROSARY ON CONSECRATION DAY
FR. ELIAS MARY MILLS (FI): But you should also, I think, on your day that you consecrate yourself, if you're able to do so, go to confession, either the day before or maybe right before, and go to Mass on the day that you consecrate yourself, if it's possible for you to do that.
If not, then I would say it would be good to pray a Rosary before you make your Act of Consecration, if you can get to Mass and confession.
Well, if you can’t go to Mass and go to confession, then I would pray a Rosary either before or after you make your consecration.
But if you're not able to go to Mass and go to confession, I would pray the Rosary before making your Act of Consecration, because I think that'd be a beautiful way to ask Our Lady for the grace to be able to make your consecration and to receive all the graces that she wants to give to you.
Then, after you've done that, you want to make your Act of Consecration.
If the priest or your pastor will let you, do it at the end of Mass.
If not, then just go in front of the altar of Our Lady.
If you're not able to go to church or church is too far away, then go in front of an image of Our Lady in your home — a statue or a picture of Our Lady.
And if it's Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, Our Lady of Grace, that'd be even better because when you make your act of consecration, according to St. Maximilian Kolbe, you're making it under that title of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception.
And that's always the image of Our Lady with her hands down at her side, like Our Lady of Grace or Our Lady of Lourdes, and with her foot crushing the head of the serpent.
So do that in front of Our Lady's altar in your church.
TO BE CONTINUED
YOU ARE LISTENING TO THE ROSARY HOUR PODCAST
xoxo — HAVE A MOST BLESSED AND MERRY CHRISTMAS from everyone at the Rosary Hour Podcast.
FOOTNOTES
Those participating in the rosary365.subtack.com Christmas Countdown Journey to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary can explore the meaning behind Consecration as they decide on their Consecration Day (tonight, tomorrow, Dec. 29, January 1, January 6) we take 12 more days to better understand consecration, celebrate the 12 days of Christmas with St. Maximilian Kolbe’s notes on Our Lady.
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