Solemnity of the Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ into Heaven

May 25, 2017

Abba Father,

In the Name of Jesus,

in the Unity, Power and Love of the Holy Spirit,

Under the Mantle of the Blessed Virgin Mary,

with All the Angels and Saints,

through the Intercession

of the little daughter of the Divine Will

Luisa Piccarreta,

on the Solemnity of the Ascension,

Lord Jesus, with the Insignia of a New Innocent Adam, You Ascended into Heaven, Impetrating with Your Death the Kingdom of the Divine Will. You Who Prayed for two thousand years, Let the Light of the Divine Will Vivify and Heal all human wills and Transform them. Cast the Root of Your Divine Will into all hearts, Laying the Kingdom of Heaven upon earth, in the midst of the human generations. (V26-5.12.29)

Blessed Mother, Mother and Queen of the Divine Will, being Present in Heaven at the Great Feast of the Ascension of Your Divine Son, Jesus, may you enclose in us the Operating Life of the Divine Will that Luisa possesses. Jesus, Our Savior and Our King, Make us Ascend in the Divine Will, One with Luisa. (Day Twenty-nine – The Queen of Heaven in the Kingdom of the Divine Will)

One with Luisa and the Blessed Mother, may we accompany You Lord Jesus in Your Ascension into Heaven. May we say, ‘How Beautiful You are – All Majesty, Clothed with Most Refulgent Light.’ May we be the first children of the Kingdom of Your Divine Will and receive the Grace to lay down our lives in order call everyone to Live in this Kingdom, so Holy. May the Beauty, the Enchantment, the Peace of the Divine Fiat be given to everyone, through Luisa, whereby Fulfilling the Mission of Our Lord Jesus Christ and Our Lady, Mother and Queen of the Divine Will. May we become like the New Adam and New Eve, possessing the Inheritance of Jesus and Mary through Union with the little daughter of the Divine Will Luisa Piccarreta. (V34–5.20.36)

Echoing Luisa’s prayer, we pray: ‘I leave and I stay.  I leave for Heaven to Beatify It, to reach my Home and to make Known to everyone my Dear Jesus, whom I have enclosed in my act. May everyone Enjoy Jesus and Love Jesus. I also remain on earth, as my Life, as well as my Support and Defense for All my brothers and sisters.’ (V35-1.24.38)

Please accept this humble prayer

and make it Your Command.

May the Coming of the Kingdom

and the Fulfillment of the prayer to You,

Our Heavenly Father,

“May Your Will be done on earth as It is in Heaven”

be all Accomplished and Completed

in Your Most Holy Divine Will.

WE BELIEVE, WE RECEIVE!

Fiat! Amen!

Feast of St. Rita of Cascia

Saint Rita of Cascia (Born Margherita Lotti 1381 – 22 May 1457) was an Italian widow and Augustinian nun venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. Rita was married at an early age. The marriage lasted for eighteen years, during which she is remembered for her Christian values as a model wife and mother who made efforts to convert her husband from his abusive behavior. Upon the murder of her husband by another feuding family, she sought to dissuade her sons from revenge.

She subsequently joined an Augustinian community of religious sisters, where she was known both for practicing mortification of the flesh^[1] and for the efficacy of her prayers. Various miracles are attributed to her intercession, and she is often portrayed with a bleeding wound on her forehead, which is understood to indicate a partial stigmata.

Pope Leo XIII canonized Rita on 24 May 1900. Her feast day is celebrated on May 22. At her canonization ceremony she was bestowed the title of Patroness of Impossible Causes, while in many Catholic countries, Rita came to be known to be as the patroness of abused wives and heartbroken women.

Sanctuary of Saint Rita at Roccaporena, Italy.

Basilica of Saint Rita at Cascia.

Early life

Saint Rita (Margherita Lotti) was born in 1381 in the city of Roccaporena (near Spoleto, Umbria, Italy)^[2] where various sites connected with her are the focus of pilgrimages. Her parents, Antonio and Amata Ferri Lotti, were known to be noble, charitable persons, who gained the epithet Conciliatore di Cristo (English: Peacemakers of Christ).^[1] According to pious accounts, Rita was originally pursued by a notary named Gubbio but she resisted his offer. She was married at age twelve to a nobleman named Paolo Mancini. Her parents arranged her marriage, a common practice at the time, despite her repeated requests to be allowed to enter a convent of religious sisters. Her husband, Paolo Mancini, was known to be a rich, quick-tempered, immoral man, who had many enemies in the region of Cascia. Rita had her first child at the age of twelve.

Rita endured his insults, physical abuse, and infidelities for many years. According to popular tales, through humility, kindness, and patience, Rita was able to convert her husband into a better person, more specifically renouncing a family feud known at the time as La Vendetta. Rita eventually bore two sons, Giangiacomo (Giovanni) Antonio, and Paulo Maria, and brought them up in the Christian faith. As time went by and the family feud between the Chiqui and Mancini families became more intense, Paolo Mancini became congenial, but his allies betrayed him and he was violently stabbed to death^[2] by Guido Chiqui, a member of the feuding family.

Rita gave a public pardon at Paolo’s funeral to her husband’s murderers.^[2] Paolo Mancini’s brother, Bernardo, was said to have continued the blood family feud and hoped to convince Rita’s sons to seek revenge. Bernardo convinced Rita’s sons to leave their manor and live at the Mancini villa ancestral home. As her sons grew, their characters began to change as Bernardo became their tutor. Rita’s sons wished to revenge their father’s murder. Rita, fearing that her sons would lose their souls, tried to persuade them from retaliating, but to no avail. Accordingly, she petitioned God to take her sons rather than submit them to possible mortal sin and murder. Her sons died of dysentery a year later, which pious Catholics believe claim was God’s answer to take her prayer, taking them by natural death rather than risk them committing a mortal sin punishable by Hell.

After the deaths of her husband and sons, Rita desired to enter the monastery of Saint Mary Magdalene in Cascia but was turned away. Although the convent acknowledged Rita’s good character and piety, the nuns were afraid of being associated with her due to the scandal of her husband’s violent death. However, she persisted in her cause and was given a condition before the convent could accept her: the task of reconciling her family with her husband’s murderers. She implored her three patron saints (John the Baptist, Augustine of Hippo, and Nicholas of Tolentino) to assist her, and she set about the task of establishing peace between the hostile parties of Cascia.^[3] Popular religious tales recall that the bubonic plague, which ravaged Italy at the time, infected Bernardo Mancini, causing him to relinquish his desire to feud any longer with the Chiqui family. She was able to resolve the conflicts between the families and, at the age of thirty-six, was allowed to enter the monastery.^[4]

Pious Catholic legends later recount that she was transported into the monastery of Saint Magdalene via levitation at night into the garden courtyard by her three patron saints. She remained at the monastery, living by the Augustinian Rule, until her death from tuberculosis on 22 May 1457.^[5]

From  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rita_of_Cascia

NOVENA TO ST JOAN OF ARC 

Preparatory Prayer
Almighty and eternal God! With lively faith and reverently worshiping Thy divine Majesty, I prostrate myself before Thee and invoke with filial trust Thy supreme bounty and mercy. Illumine the darkness of my intellect with a ray of Thy heavenly light and inflame my heart with the fire of Thy divine love, that I may contemplate the great virtues and merits of Saint Joan in whose honor I make this novena, and following her example imitate, like her, the life of Thy divine Son.

Moreover, I beseech Thee to grant graciously, through the merits and intercession of this powerful Helper, the petition which through her I humbly place before Thee, devoutly saving, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. Vouchsafe graciously to hear it, if it redounds to Thy greater glory and to the salvation of my soul. Amen.

Prayer in Honor of St. Joan of Arc
O God, who didst grant to Saint Joan strength and constancy in the various torments which she sustained for our holy faith; we beseech Thee to preserve, through her intercession, our faith from wavering and doubt, so that we may serve Thee with a sincere heart faithfully unto death. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Invocation of St. Joan of Arc
Faithful servant of God and invincible martyr, Saint Joan; favored by God with the gift of faith, and inflamed with an ardent love of Christ, thou didst fight valiantly against the darkness of pride, falsehood, and deceit. Neither pain nor torture, flames nor death could part thee from the love of Christ. I fervently implore thee for the sake of this love to help me by thy intercession to overcome the temptations that surround me, and to bear bravely the trials that oppress me, so that I may patiently carry the cross which is placed upon me; and let neither distress nor difficulties separate me from the love of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Valiant champion of the Faith, assist me in the combat against evil, that I may win the crown promised to them that persevere unto the end.

Prayer (Say this prayer to open each day.)
My Lord and my God! I offer up to Thee my petition in union with the bitter passion and death of Jesus Christ, Thy Son, together with the merits of His immaculate and blessed Mother, Mary ever virgin, and of all the saints, particularly with those of the holy Helper in whose honor I make this novena.

Look down upon me, merciful Lord! Grant me Thy grace and Thy love, and graciously hear my prayer. Amen.

Day One:

Saint Joan of Arc, patron of France, my patron saint, I ask you now to fight this battle with me by prayer, just as you led your troops to victory in battle.  You, who were filled with the Holy Spirit and chosen by God, help me this day with the favor I ask [here say your intention]. Grant me by your divine and powerful intercession, the courage and strength I need to endure this constant fight.  Oh St. Joan, help me to be victorious in the tasks God presents to me.

I thank you and ask you for your continuing protection of God’s people.

Saint Joan Pious daughter of the church; Pray for me.
Say one Our Father, 3 Hail Mary, One Glory be:

Day Two:

Sweet Saint Joan, plead for me before the throne of almighty God that I may be deemed worthy to be granted the request I have asked.  Help me, Saint Joan, to be more like you in the attempt to love the Lord with all my heart, soul, and mind.  Through your guidance and prayer help me to be a truly devout and loving Christian, that I may both know and see the will of God.  Help me now St. Joan, in my time of need. I ask that you may always be near me guiding me closer each day to Jesus.  Thank you Saint Joan for having heard my prayer.

Saint Joan Sent by God; Pray for me.
Say One Our Father, 3 Hail Mary, One Glory Be:

Day Three:

Beloved Saint Joan you faced three trials in your life. The first a man claimed you were betrothed to him, the second at Poitiers, and the third at Rouen. In each trial you waited on God’s spirit to place on your tongue the right things to say in your defense. The first you defended your betrothal to your Lord jesus Christ. The second you confirmed your purity with elequence that amazed your questioners. The third you baffled the learned councillors sent to try you and gave further proof of your purity with prophetic utterance. I pray to be that pure of heart that each of my words are those placed there by the Holy Spirit.

Saint Joan Compliant to the call of God; pray for me.
Say One Our Father, 3 Hail Mary, One Glory be:

Day Four:

In the face of your enemies, in the face of harassment, ridicule, and doubt, you held firm in your faith. Even in your abandonment, alone and without friends, you held firm in your faith. Even as you faced your own mortality, you held firm in your faith. I pray that I may be as bold in my beliefs as you, St. Joan. I ask that you ride alongside me in my own battles. Help me be mindful that what is worthwhile can be won when I persist. Help me hold firm in my faith. Help me believe in my ability to act well and wisely. Amen

Saint Joan One with God in action; Pray for me.
Say One Our Father, 3 Hail Mary, One Glory be:

Day Five:

St. Joan, in following God’s commands, served her countrymen who had been oppressed by the English. Her cause lead her into battle where she continued to honor God by encouraging purity and morality from her fellow soldiers. St. Joan fulfilled God’s mission through justice–the moral virtue that consists in the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbor; establishing harmony that promotes equity with regard to persons and to the common good. She, by honoring God’s commandments, fulfills his foremost law: love.
Saint Joan Your example both by word and life; LET GOD BE FIRST SERVED,
we pray that in my own life this will also be the example of my life in service to God.

Saint Joan Patriot in the service to your God and country; Pray for me.
Say One Our Father, 3 Hail Mary, One Glory be:

Day Six:

Inspire me from this hour forth to accept God’s will unquestioningly, just as you did when obeying the saintly voices of His messengers in the fields of Domremy.”St. Joan heard and listened to the Voice of God through Saints Catherine, Marguerite, and Michael. She has said that she first heard the voices while a child in her birthplace, Domremy. St. Joan had complete faith in her messengers’ commands and brought them to fruition, despite great opposition. Pray for me to be compassionate, serving God by serving those who are down trodden and poor in spirit. Obtain for me the strength and courage to defend God’s mission of love and justice and to lead by the example of piety, truth, forgiveness, and faith unwavering.

Saint Joan Chosen by God at Domremy, France ; Pray for me.
Say One Our Father, 3 Hail Mary, One Glory be:

Day Seven:

St. Joan exhibited the virtue of chastity during her life. She vowed virginity for as long as it would please God. In being chaste, a virtue that let her love with an upright and undivided heart, she also achieved purity of intention seeking to fulfill God’s will in everything, purity of vision refusing complicity in impure thoughts that turn us aside from God’s path, and purity of heart “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God”.

Saint Joan Virgin warrior; Pray for me.
Say One Our Father, 3 Hail Mary, One Glory be:

Day Eight:

The trial judges when asked if she was in God’s grace. Joan’s response was: “If I am not, may it please God to put me in it; if I am, may it please God to keep me there.” Her reply adhered to Catholic doctrine that grace escapes our experience and cannot be known except by faith, that we cannot rely on our feelings or our works to conclude that we are justified and saved. (Catechism 2005). There is also a reference to her response to her examiners in Poitiers when questioned about the need for soldiers in fulfilling God’s will to deliver France : “In God’s name! The soldiers will fight, and God will give the victory!” Each of us can view ourselves as soldiers in a lifelong battle to fulfill God’s Will, to overcome the evils of this world. It is our duty as His children to devote our lives to the glory of His Kingdom.
Saint Joan Your example both by word and life; LET GOD BE FIRST SERVED.

I pray that in my own life this will also be the example of my life in service to God.
Saint Joan Heroic and valiant before your judges; Pray for me.
Say One Our father, 3 Hail Mary, One Glory Be:

Day Nine:

Valiant St. Joan, Maid of Orleans,to you I offer this prayer in hope that you may guide me in the virtues of courage, patience, leadership, and trust in God’s will. Inspire me from this hour forth to accept God’s will unquestioningly, just as you did when obeying the saintly voices of His messengers in the fields of Domremy.

Pray for me to be compassionate, serving God by serving those who are downtrodden and poor in spirit. Obtain for me the strength and courage to defend God’s mission of love and justice and to lead by the example of piety, truth, forgiveness, and faith unwavering.
Come to my aid as I pray ardently for God’s mercy, remembering to forgive others, even in times of persecution.Dauntless Warrior Saint, beseech Our Heavenly Father, in honor of His Holy Passion, to grant me the courage to speak truth in the face of adversity and the initiative to step forth in spiritual battle for Him.
O chaste and steadfast Maid, galvanize my spirit that I may strive in each moment to be placed in God’s grace. And may I recall that, like you in battle, I am to be a soldier for the Lord in this life, for it is He who shall give victory.

Saint Joan; Apostle of God; Pray for me that I may become worthy of
the promises of our Savior Jesus Christ.
Say One Our Father, 3 Hail Mary, One Glory Be:

Concluding Prayers:

Beloved Saint Joan you whose faith was so steadfast and lover of the Eucharist. Apostle and Prophet of God armed only with your faith went forth and changed hearts and by your own example inspired others to faith and saved a country and remote generations from ruin. I pray that you will petition God to grant the intention of this Novena if it be his Holy Will for me. I pray that he also grant that through your patronage and his Grace I may grow in Faith to emulate your life in all I do. You who died a Martyrs death exclaiming the name of your savior Jesus Christ to the last. It is my heartfelt prayer that I wil do the same no matter what the circumstance of my final hour may be. Amen

O dearest Saint, whom I have truly come to admire, love and respect; please help me and anyone saying this Novena from this day forth to grow daily in grace and in the practice of genuine Christian virtue. In imitation of thee, pray and intercede for us therefore that we may live a pure and chaste life, while living in this world, and grow more deeply in the Faith as well as increase the knowledge of it so as to never lose the sincere appreciation of “this pearl of great price.” Pray for us too that our hope for the attainment of heaven – our true home – as well as the desire for the pursuit of personal holiness – which is the key to it – may never wane during our pilgrimage in this valley of tears. Amen

Prayer to Saint Michael:

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into Hell Satan and all evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world; Have mercy on me.

Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world; Have mercy on me.

Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world; Grant me peace.

Amen