by-grace-of-god
“I do not care very much what men say of me, provided that God approves of me.” ~ St. Thomas More
Art: Paul Newton
The Month of Mary “No one will ever be the servant of the Son Without serving the mother. St. Ildephonsus
Saint Dominic Savio 1842 - 1857 Feast Day: May 6 (formally March 9) Patronage: choirboys, falsely accused people, juvenile delinquents, choral singing
Dominic Savio was an Italian adolescent student of Saint John Bosco. He was studying to be a priest when he became ill and died at the age of 14. His teacher, John Bosco, had very high regard for Savio and wrote a biography of his young student, The Life of Dominic Savio. This volume, along with other accounts of him, were critical factors in his cause for sainthood. He is the only saint of his age group, who was declared to be a saint not on the basis of his having been a martyr, but on the basis of having lived what was seen as a holy life. He is the youngest non-martyr to be canonized in the Catholic Church.
Prints, plaques & holy cards available for purchase here: (website)
Saint Gianna Beretta Molla 1922-1962 Feast Day: April 28 Patronage: mothers, physicians, preborn children
Gianna was an Italian pediatrician, wife, and mother who is best known for refusing both an abortion and a hysterectomy when she was pregnant with her fourth child, despite knowing that continuing with the pregnancy could result in her death. Gianna died a week after giving birth to her child, who was present at her mother’s canonization in 2004.
Prints, plaques & holy cards available for purchase here: (website)
by-grace-of-god
“Of all the people I have known with a true devotion and particular veneration for St. Joseph, not one has failed to advance in virtue; he helps those who turn to him to make real progress. For several years now, I believe, I have always made some request to him on his feast day, and it was always been granted; and when my request is not quite what it ought to be, he puts it right for my greater benefit.“— St. Teresa of Avila
Art: C. Bosseron Chambers
Lent 2023
“Lenten Practices of giving up pleasures are good reminders the purpose of life is not pleasure.” Bishop Sheen {website}
Happy Feast Day Blessed Carlo Acutis 1991-2006 Feast Day: October 12
Carlo Acutis was an extraordinary youth who went to daily Mass, Eucharistic Adoration and prayed the rosary from the time he had received his first Holy Communion at seven years old. He was a genius at computer technology and used the media to evangelize. He cataloged all of the Catholic Church’s Eucharistic miracles into an exhibit, which today travels around the world. Carlo had a devotion to the poor and children. He was diagnosed with leukemia days before he died and offered his sufferings for the Pope and the Church. {website}
“Christianity is incredibly practical. It is a beautifully human invitation to experience the divine. For a Christian, everything is a prayer. Eating is a prayer. Sleeping is a prayer. Exercising is a prayer. Waiting is a prayer. Traveling is a prayer. Making love is a prayer. Working is a prayer. Resting is a prayer.
God loves ordinary things.”
Matthew Kelly “Amazing Possibilities” October 9
Happy Feast Day
Our Lady of the Rosary Feast Day: October 7
“If you say the Rosary faithfully until death, I do assure you that, in spite of the gravity of your sins ‘you shall receive a never-fading crown of glory.’ Even if you are on the brink of damnation, even if you have one foot in hell, even if you have sold your soul to the devil as sorcerers do who practice black magic, and even if you are a heretic as obstinate as a devil, sooner or later you will be converted and will amend your life and will save your soul, if– and mark well what I say– if you say the Holy Rosary devoutly every day until death for the purpose of knowing the truth and obtaining contrition and pardon for your sins.” -St. Louis de Montfort from The Secret of the Rosary
“Remember this, and you will no longer judge: Judas was an apostle, and the thief crucified at Christ’s right hand was a murderer. What a transformation in an instant!”
~St. John Climacus
(art via web)
Prayer to Mary for Liberation (St. Pius X)
August Queen of Heaven, sovereign Queen of Angels, you who at the beginning received from God the power and the mission to crush the head of Satan, we humbly beseech you, send your heavenly legions so that on your orders and by your powers they will track down demons, fight them everywhere, curb their audacity, and plunge them into the abyss. O divine Mother, send us your angels and archangels to defend us, to watch over us. Holy angels and archangels, defend us, protect us. Amen.
A Cristero Prayer
Oh merciful Jesus! My sins outnumber the drops of blood that You shed for me. I do not deserve to belong to the army that defends the rights of your Church and that fights for You. I wish I had never sinned so that my life was a pleasing offering in your eyes. Wash me from my iniquities and cleanse me from my sins. For your holy Cross, for my Most Holy Mother of Guadalupe, forgive me, I have not been able to do penance for my sins; that’s why I want to receive death as a punishment deserved by them. I don’t want to fight, or live, or die, but for You and for your Church. Holy Mother of Guadalupe! Accompany this poor sinner in his agony. Grant me that my last cry on earth and my first song in Heaven is:¡Viva Cristo Rey! Amen
In the picture, a Mexican peasant praying before the door of a church, closed in response to the anti-catholic laws of the Mexican government.
¡Jesús Misericordioso! Mis pecados son más que las gotas de sangre que derramaste por mí. No merezco pertenecer al ejército que defiende los derechos de Tu Iglesia y que lucha por ti. Quisiera nunca haber pecado para que mi vida fuera una ofrenda agradable a tus ojos. Lávame de mis iniquidades y límpiame de mis pecados. Por tu santa Cruz, por mi Madre Santísima de Guadalupe, perdóname, no he sabido hacer penitencia de mis pecados; por eso quiero recibir la muerte como un castigo merecido por ellos. No quiero pelear, ni vivir, ni morir, sino por ti y por tu Iglesia. ¡Madre Santa de Guadalupe!, acompaña en su agonía a este pobre pecador. Concédeme que mi último grito en la tierra y mi primer cántico en el cielo sea ¡Viva Cristo Rey! Amén
Roper Whitney angle iron notcher and bender. Very handy tool when you need it!
by-grace-of-god
Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist - June 24
“Ordinarily the day of a saint’s death is usually celebrated as his or her feast day, because that day marks their entrance into heaven. There are two notable exceptions: the birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary and that of St. John the Baptist. Mary, already in the first moment of her existence, was free from original sin (Immaculate Conception), while John was cleansed of original sin in the womb of his mother. St. Augustine mentioned this belief as a general tradition in the ancient Church. He was “filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb” (Luke 1:15) and, therefore, born without original sin.” (+)
“For all these the final day of their lives, the day on which they completed their earthly service is honored. But for John the day of his birth, the day on which he began this mortal life is likewise sacred. The reason for this is, of course, that the Lord willed to announce to men His own coming through the Baptist, lest if He appeared suddenly, they would fail to recognize Him. John represented the Old Covenant and the Law. Therefore he preceded the Redeemer, even as the Law preceded and heralded the new dispensation of grace.
In other words, today’s feast anticipates the feast of Christmas. (+)
