By
a letter published and dated of today, the Pontifical Commission
Ecclesia Dei granted to all priests of the Latin Rite (secular or
religious) the possibility of celebrating on the centenary of the first
main apparition (May 13, 2017) the Mass of Our Lady of Fatima -- it is a
Votive Mass of the II Class, using the exact same texts and prayers of
the Votive Mass of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary
(August 22nd in the Traditional Calendar). - See more at:
http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2017/04/ecclesia-dei-letter-mass-of-our-lady-of.html#sthash.BhbB3P3D.dpuf
By
a letter published and dated of today, the Pontifical Commission
Ecclesia Dei granted to all priests of the Latin Rite (secular or
religious) the possibility of celebrating on the centenary of the first
main apparition (May 13, 2017) the Mass of Our Lady of Fatima -- it is a
Votive Mass of the II Class, using the exact same texts and prayers of
the Votive Mass of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary
(August 22nd in the Traditional Calendar). - See more at:
http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2017/04/ecclesia-dei-letter-mass-of-our-lady-of.html#sthash.BhbB3P3D.dpuf
By
a letter published and dated 4/5/2017, the Pontifical Commission
Ecclesia Dei granted to all priests of the Latin Rite (secular or
religious) the possibility of celebrating on the centenary of the first
main apparition (May 13, 2017) the Mass of Our Lady of Fatima -- it is a
Votive Mass of the II Class, using the exact same texts and prayers of
the Votive Mass of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary
(August 22nd in the Traditional Calendar). - See more at: http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2017/04/ecclesia-dei-letter-mass-of-our-lady-of.html#sthash.BhbB3P3D.dpuf
By
a letter published and dated of today, the Pontifical Commission
Ecclesia Dei granted to all priests of the Latin Rite (secular or
religious) the possibility of celebrating on the centenary of the first
main apparition (May 13, 2017) the Mass of Our Lady of Fatima -- it is a
Votive Mass of the II Class, using the exact same texts and prayers of
the Votive Mass of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary
(August 22nd in the Traditional Calendar). - See more at:
http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2017/04/ecclesia-dei-letter-mass-of-our-lady-of.html#sthash.BhbB3P3D.dpuf
THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY
Fatima
owes its present popularity in the Church very largely to the interest
and encouragement of Pope Pius XII. Although the bishops of Portugal had
authorized the cultus of Our Lady of Fatima in 1930, and Pius XI made
an implicit reference to the "extra-ordinary benefits with which the
Blessed Virgin recently favored" Portugal, it was Pius XII among the
Popes who first explicitly referred to Fatima in a formal papal
document. Pleading for more vocations to the missions, he wrote in 1940,
"Let the faithful, when reciting the Rosary so strongly recommended by
Our Lady of Fatima, not omit to address an invocation to the Blessed
Virgin in favor of missionary vocations" (L’Osservatore, June 29, 1940).
This was so significant that the Portuguese Hierarchy in 1942 were able
to say, "We are happy to see the Supreme Authority of the Vicar of
Jesus Christ evoke thus the testimony of Fatima, and proclaim Urbi et
orbi the name of Our Lady of Fatima in an Apostolic Letter addressed to
the Portuguese Bishops, but published for the whole world" (Da Cruz,
Fatima, 1949, 99).
On October 31, 1942, the Holy Father
associated himself with the closing celebrations of the Jubilee of
Fatima, by consecrating the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary as Our
Lady of Fatima had requested. And in the same year he extended the
Office and Mass of the Immaculate Heart to the Universal Church,
appointing the 22nd of August
as the feast day. More recently Pope Pius XII sent, for the second
time, an official delegate to Fatima, to represent, as he said, "Our own
person at the shrine of the Virgin of Fatima, to act in Our own name,
and to preside with Our authority" (A.A.S., 43, 781). Cardinal
Tedeschini, archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica, was the papal legate who
assisted at the Fatima celebration on October 13, 1951, when more than a
million pilgrims came to the Portuguese shrine.
In his own radio
message to the pilgrims, the Holy Father emphasized one practical
aspect of the message of Fatima which deserves to be better known: the
Family Rosary. "The Virgin Mother's insistence on the recitation of the
family Rosary," he said, "was meant to teach us that the secret of peace
in family life lies in imitating the virtues of the Holy Family"
(A.A.S., 43, 801). via Fr. Hardon S.J.
[Commemoration]
SAINT ROBERT BELLARMINE
Bishop and Doctor of the Church
DOUBLE, SECOND CLASS / WHITE
The
apparitions of Mary at Fatima in 1917 were not the first supernatural
events reported there – two years before Mary appeared to the three
shepherd children – Lucia dos Santos and her cousins, Jacinta and
Francisco Marto – they saw a strange sight while praying the rosary in
the field, according to the memoirs of Sister Lucia, who had become a
Carmelite nun.
“We had hardly begun when, there before our eyes,
we saw a figure poised in the air above the trees; it looked like a
statue made of snow, rendered almost transparent by the rays of the
sun,” she wrote, describing what they saw in 1915.
The next year,
Francisco and Jacinta received permission to tend their family’s flocks
and Lucia decided to join her cousins in a field owned by their
families. It was 1916 when the mysterious figure appeared again, this
time approaching close enough “to distinguish its features.”
“Do not be afraid! I am the Angel of Peace. Pray with me,” Sister Lucia recalled the angel saying.
The
three told no one about the angel’s visit and received no more heavenly
visits until May 13, 1917. While the children tended their sheep and
played, they were startled by two flashes of lightning.
As they
made their way down a slope, the children saw a “lady all dressed in
white” standing on a small tree. It was the first of six apparitions of
Mary, who gave a particular message or revelation each time:
–
May 13, 1917. When asked by the children who she was and where she came
from, the lady said she was “from heaven” and that she would reveal her
identity later. She asked the children to come back to the Cova da Iria
on the 13th day of the month for the next six months, and she asked them
to pray the rosary every day “in order to obtain peace for the world”
and the end of World War I.
– June 13, 1917. The lady said she
would take Francisco and Jacinta to heaven soon while Lucia would remain
on earth for “some time longer” to establish devotion to the Immaculate
Heart.
– July 13, 1917. The lady said she would reveal her
identity in October and “perform a miracle for all to see and believe.”
After telling the children to make sacrifices for sinners, she revealed
three secrets; two of the secrets were not shared publicly until 1941
and the third secret, written down by Sister Lucia and sent to the
Vatican, was not released until 2000.
INTROIT Heb. 4:16
Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace in time of need.
Ps. 44:2. My heart overflows with good tidings; I sing my song to the king.
V. Glory be . . .
GLORIA
COLLECT
Almighty
and Eternal God, You prepared a worthy dwelling place for the Holy
Spirit in the heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. May all of us who
devoutly celebrate the feast of her Immaculate Heart be blessed to live
according to the wishes of Your own Heart. Through our Lord . . .
Commemoration of SAINT ROBERT BELLARMINE,
Bishop and Doctor of the Church When
the great Italian Jesuit, Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621), was made a
cardinal, Pope Clement VIII said of him: "We elect this man because he
has not his equal for learning in the Church of God." Untiring in his
powerful opposition to the Protestant enemies of the Church, St. Robert
wrote masterpieces of apologetic literature, as well as two famous
catechisms. He also won souls through his sermons and lectures, but
above all through his ardent prayer and the example of his holy life.
O
God, You fortified Your blessed bishop and doctor Robert with
remarkable learning and courage to expose the dangers of error and
defend the rights of the Holy See. May we grow in love of truth, and may
they who have been led astray by falsehood come back to the unity of
Your Church through the intercession of Your saint. Through Our Lord . .
.
LESSON Eccli. 24:23-31 [Sirach]
As
the vine I have brought forth a pleasant odour: and my flowers are the
fruit of honour and riches. I am the mother of fair love, and of fear,
and of knowledge, and of holy hope. In me is all grace of the way and
of the truth, in me is all hope of life and of virtue. Come over to me,
all ye that desire me, and be filled with my fruits. For my spirit is
sweet above honey, and my inheritance above honey and the honeycomb. My
memory is unto everlasting generations. They that eat me, shall yet
hunger: and they that drink me, shall yet thirst. He that hearkeneth to
me, shall not be confounded: and they that work by me, shall not sin.
They that explain me shall have life everlasting.
GRADUAL Ps. 12:6; 44:18
My
heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, who
has given me all good; I will sing to the name of the Lord, the Most
High.
V. They shall remember your name in every generation. Therefore peoples shall praise you forever.
Alleluia, alleluia! V. Luke 1:46
My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour. Alleluia!
GOSPEL John 19:25-27
At
that time, there stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother and his
mother's sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen. When Jesus
therefore had seen his mother and the disciple standing whom he loved,
he saith to his mother: "Woman, behold thy son." After that, he saith to the disciple: "Behold thy mother." And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own.
OFFERTORY ANTIPHON Luke 1:47, 49
My spirit rejoices in God my Saviour; because He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name.
SECRET
We
offer this perfect Lamb to your majesty, O Lord, and pray that our
hearts may be kindled by that divine fire which so wondrously inflamed
the Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Through the same Jesus Christ our
Lord . . .
Commemoration of SAINT ROBERT BELLARMINE
We
offer these gifts, O Lord, as a sweet fragrance before You. May the
teaching and example of blessed Robert lead us to obey Your commandments
with joyous hearts. Through Our Lord . . .
COMMUNION ANTIPHON John 19:26-27
Jesus
said to His Mother, "Woman, behold, thy son." Then He said to the
disciple, "Behold, thy mother." And from that hour the disciple took her
into his home.
POSTCOMMUNION
We
have been refreshed by Your Divine Gifts, O Lord. Free us from present
dangers and bestow upon us the joys of eternal life through the
intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose Immaculate Heart we honor
in this feast. Through our Lord . . .
Commemoration of SAINT ROBERT BELLARMINE
O
Lord Our God, may the Sacrament we have received fire us with the same
burning love that consumed blessed Robert and made him spend himself
ceaselessly in the service of Your Church. Through Our Lord . . .
