Feast of Christ the King

Christ should reign first and foremost in our soul. But how would we reply if he asked us: “How do you go about letting me reign in you?” I would reply that I need lots of his grace. Only that way can my every heartbeat and breath, my least intense look, my most ordinary word, my most basic feeling be transformed into a hosanna to Christ my king.
Jose Maria Escriva' - Christ is Passing By, 181 

Liturgical Readings

Ezekiel 34, 11-12. 15-17; Psalm 23; 1 Corinthians 15, 20-26. 28; Matthew 25, 31-46

 

Act of Consecration of the Human Race

Most sweet Jesus, Redeemer of the human race, look down upon us humbly prostrate before Your altar. We are Yours, and Yours we wish to be; but to be more surely united with You, behold each one of us freely consecrates himself today to Your most Sacred Heart. Many indeed have never known You; many too, despising Your precepts, have rejected You. Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus, and draw them to Your Sacred Heart. Be King, O Lord, not only of the faithful who have never forsaken You, but also of the prodigal children who have abandoned You; grant that they may quickly return to their Father's house lest they die of wretchedness and hunger. Be King of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions, or whom discord keeps aloof, and call them back to the harbor of truth and unity of faith, so that soon there may be but one flock and one Shepherd. Be King of all those who are still involved in the darkness of idolatry, and refuse not to to draw them all into the light and kingdom of God. Turn Your eyes of mercy towards all your children; may Your blood now descend upon them, a laver of redemption and of life. Grant, O Lord, to Your Church assurance of freedom and immunity from harm; give peace and order to all nations, and make the earth resound from pole to pole with one cry: "Praise be to the Divine Heart that wrought our salvation; to It be glory and honor for ever." Amen.

The Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the World, have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, formed in the womb of the Virgin Mother by the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, united substantially with the word of God, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, of infinite majesty, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, holy temple of God, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, tabernacle of the Most High, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, house of God and gate of heaven, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, glowing furnace of charity, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, vessel of justice and love, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, king and center of all hearts, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, in whom dwelleth all the fullness of the Divinity, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, in whom the Father is well pleased, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, of whose fullness we have all received, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting hills, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, patient and rich in mercy, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, rich to all who invoke Thee, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, fount of life and holiness, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, propitiation for our sins, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, saturated with revilings, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, crushed for our iniquities, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, made obedient unto death, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, our peace and reconciliation, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, victim for our sins, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who hope in Thee, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in Thee, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, delight of all saints, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord,
Lamb of God who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.

V. Jesus, meek and humble of Heart.
R. Make our hearts like unto Thine.

Let us pray
Almighty and everlasting God, look upon the Heart of Thy well-beloved Son and upon the acts of praise and satisfaction which He renders unto Thee in the name of sinners; and do Thou, in Thy great goodness, grant pardon to them who seek Thy mercy, in the name of the same Thy Son, Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee, world without end.

01st November - All Saints Day

All Saints Day is a celebration of the communion of saints in heaven and on earth. It is a feast against solitude and isolation which hurt the human heart so much: if we did not believe in the "communion of saints", as we declare each time we profess our faith by reciting the creed, we would be closed in a desperate solitude. On this day we renew our Paschal chant since whilst at Easter we contemplate the risen Christ who is forever at the right hand of the Father, today thanks of the energy of resurrection, we contemplate all those who are forever living with Christ at the right hand of the Father: the saints. Today we contemplate those who have died for Christ, with Christ and in Christ and are now forever living with Him, and since we are all members of the same body of Christ and they are glorious members of the glorious body of Christ, we are in communion together, pilgrim church with heavenly church, forming one unique body of God.

In Christ, there is  a certain intimacy between us and the saints, which supercedes all our other relationships here on earth: they pray for us, intercede for us, they are close to us like friends who never disappoint us. And their closeness is able to produce wonders since their will is now the same as God's will made manifest in Christ: it is no longer they who live but Christ in them, since they have reached the goal of each Christian vocation, that of assuming Christ's will: "Not my will but yours be done Father" (Lk 22, 42). Sustained by those who have walked this pilgrimage before us, we discover saints who still operate on earth since the seed of the saints is not close to extinction: having fallen to the ground it is producing fruit up until today. "Look, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?" Is 43, 19

Unfortunately, today this memory of saints is being made seem empty by the celebration of Halloween: which is another sign of how are society is slipping insensibly from what is real into what is virtual. From an invisible world, which is however authentic and real, the world of the communion of saints is being substituted by a world which is invisible but imaginary, a fiction made up by us humans for our consolation. No, the communion of saints can be experimented, lived: we are not alone here on earth because in the resurrected Christ we are "communicantes in unum"!   

(thoughts taken from: Dare senso al tempo by Enzo Bianchi) 

BIBLICAL READINGS

Rev 7, 2-4. 9-14;  1 John 3, 1-3;    Mt 5, 1-12

Prayer

Father, All-Powerful and ever-living God,
today we rejoice in the holy men and women
of every time and place.
May their prayers bring us your forgiveness and love
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Liturgy of the Hours