St. John Vianney

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  • Home
  • Sacraments
    • Baptism
      • Preparation | Infants – 6 Years Old
      • Preparation | Children
      • Preparation | Adults
    • Marriage
      • Marriage Convalidations
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      • First Reconciliation Preparation
    • Holy Orders | Vocations
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      • First Eucharist Preparation
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      • Preparation | Adults
      • Preparation | Youth
    • Anointing of the Sick
  • Ministries
    • Liturgical Ministers
      • Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion
      • Altar Servers
      • Lectors
      • Ushers
      • Greeters
    • Music Ministry
      • Adult Choirs
      • Youth Choirs
      • Music Staff
      • Fall Music Events
      • Wedding Music
      • Funeral Music
      • SJV Instruments
        • The Bells of St. John Vianney
        • Austin Organ
        • Visser-Rowland Organ
    • Pastoral Care & Spiritual Life
      • Retreats
        • ACTS
      • Ministry to the Sick
      • Funeral & Bereavement Support
      • Prayer & Devotional Groups
      • Enrichment & Support Groups
    • Parish Life
      • Groups
      • Lenten Meals
      • Summer Camp
      • Fall Bazaar
      • Dinners For Eight
      • Young Adults
    • Social Services
      • Service Opportunities
      • Respect Life
      • Programs That Nourish The Hungry
      • Service Missions
      • Disaster Relief Ministry
      • Habitat for Humanity
      • Monthly Newsletter
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      • Get to Know Us
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    • Father Troy’s Weekly Letter
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15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Between the last line of last week’s Gospel and the first of this week’s, but not included in either proclamation within Mass, is the passage: “And he went about among the villages teaching.” The comment provides a transition from the rejection by Jesus’ family and hometown (last week) to a preaching tour of the surrounding area (this week).

This is the first stage of Jesus passing on his power and mission to the Church.  The use of the word “summoned”, in the opening line of this week’s Gospel, recalls the initial “calling” of the Twelve.  The commissioning, of which we hear about this week, enlarges their role.

The instructions for the journey – what to take and not to take; say, do – are not simply traveling directives but are also preparation for the demands of discipleship.  The instructions demand utter simplicity and trust in both God and neighbor.

Mark’s allowance of sandals recalls the Israelites preparing to eat the Passover meal prior to their departure from Egypt; they were to eat the meal, with “your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand” (Exodus 12:11).  Some regard this as a prelude to the miraculous feeding of the five thousand recorded in v. 32 of this same chapter.

These first missionaries brought not only the message of the Lord and the call to repentance and conversion, they also brought mercy and healing. They brought not only a hand to lift from moral wreckage but a hand to lift from physical pain and suffering.

The enduring significance of this passage is its reminder to the Church – us – to never forget our origin as a community of missionaries.  The Church’s self-identity is as a community that is “sent”; it is to “travel light” and to proclaim the word with conviction and fearlessness.

As we travel the road of discipleship let us be guided by the original GPS (Global Positioning System) – the word of God!

Click here for the Sunday Liturgy of the Word, Scripture readings, reflections, activities, and more!

Yvonne Gill
Director of Adult Formation

Filed Under: Developing News, Sunday Reflections

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

In this Sunday’s Gospel we hear of Jesus returning to his hometown.  He arrives accompanied by his disciples that is, he comes as a Rabbi.  It was the custom of Rabbis to move about the country accompanied by their circle of disciples, and so it was as a teacher, with his disciples, that Jesus arrived in Nazareth.

When he teaches in the synagogue Jesus is greeted not with wonder but with contempt.  “And they took offense at him.” Familiarity had bred contempt.  “Is he not the carpenter?” Yes, Jesus was a working man.  A man of the people.  For us that is his glory; God, in his incarnation, claimed no exemptions.  He took upon himself the common life with all its common tasks.

Also notable in the passage is the query, “Is this not Mary’s son?  The fact that they called Jesus Mary’s son may indicate that by this time Joseph had died.  The people of Nazareth despised Jesus because they knew his mother; his family.  Sometimes we are too near or familiar with people to see and appreciate their greatness. 

When it comes to Jesus, we can either open the door wide to him – or slam it in his face as did the people of Nazareth.

Be open to him; open to his word!

Click here for this Sunday’s Liturgy of the Word

Yvonne Gill
Director of Adult Formation

Filed Under: Developing News, Sunday Reflections

12th Sunday in Ordinary Time

In this Sunday’s Gospel proclamation Jesus tells the disciples to “cross to the other side.” During Ordinary Time we journey with Jesus, crossing from where we are to where he leads.

Saints and mystics have described the difficulties of the spiritual life using metaphors such as “a rocky road”, “an arid desert”, and “dark night of the soul”. These, and the image of “storm”, mentioned in the First Reading and Gospel, remind us that even steadfast faith will not spare us from difficulty and challenges in following Jesus.

Be anchored in his Word!

Click here for this Sunday’s Liturgy of the Word

Yvonne Gill
Director of Adult Formation

Filed Under: Developing News, Sunday Reflections

11th Sunday in Ordinary Time

This Sunday we return to Ordinary Time and, as we are in Cycle B, most often our Gospel proclamations will be drawn from Mark.

In the chapter we hear from, chapter 4, there are two parables of seeds; both are about the Kingdom but the metaphors are decidedly mixed.

The parable of the mustard seed, proclaimed this Sunday, is unique to Mark; it is not found in any of the other Gospels. It encourages us to persevere in sharing Christ with others even when we do not see results. The kingdom of God does not always grow the way we think it should nor at the rate we would prefer.

The first thing we learn from this parable is that if we want to see God’s kingdom grow – we must plant seeds. This is the most basic step when it comes to gardening. If we leave out this step, no matter what else we do, we will never harvest a crop!

So how does God’s kingdom grow? It begins with planting seeds. From the first parable found in this same chapter (4:3-20) we see that planting seeds means sharing God’s word with others; no seeds, no plants, no growth!

The passage goes on to make another equally important point. God will make the seeds grow. So even though it may look like nothing is happening it may be because we can’t see what is going on beneath the soil. Paul knew this: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth”. (1 Corinthians 3:6)

As faithful disciples we persevere in sharing the truth of the Good News and trust that the Holy Spirit will transform truth into growth and eventual fruit!

Be rooted in the Word!

Yvonne Gill
Director of Adult Formation

Filed Under: Developing News, Sunday Reflections

Sunday Commentary | Corpus Christi

This Sunday is the last solemn celebration in the wake of Easter.  Not that we are still in the Easter season- it ended on Pentecost but this Sunday, the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Jesus, is the capstone of all the liturgical celebrations since Holy Week. 

If the Ascension were the end of the story we would have only memories. Pentecost told us otherwise; Jesus is staying with us as he promised. Today’s Solemnity reminds us and celebrates that he does indeed remain with us and in a radical manner: our Lord’s Body becomes one with ours in the Holy Eucharist.  He didn’t merely give up his life; he gave his life; gives his life to us.

He continues to nourish us with his Body and his Words.

Be nourished by his word: View/Download this Sunday’s Liturgy of the Word

Filed Under: Developing News

Sunday Commentary | The Most Holy Trinity

It is fitting that on the Sunday following Pentecost (last Sunday)- the sending of the Holy Spirit – that we have the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity (this Sunday). It honors not an event but a truth revealed by Jesus. It is the most important truth of all. The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that “the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life. …It is the most fundamental and essential teaching in the ‘hierarchy of the truths of faith.’…it is the mystery of God in himself.” (CCC 234)

From its beginning the Church has worshipped God as a Trinity of divine persons in undivided unity. Many of the prayers of the ancient Church include repeated doxologies to the Trinity.

When we make the sign of the cross, we pray, “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” When we baptize we do so with the same Trinitarian formula. Two of our most well-known prayers are the “little doxology” (Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit…) and the “great doxology” (Glory to God in the highest…).

In a baptismal sermon, St. Gregory Nazianzen said:

Above all guard this great deposit of faith for which I live and fight…I mean the profession of faith in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. I entrust it to you today. By it I am going to plunge you into water and raise you up from it. I give it to you as the companion and patron of your whole life…I give you but one divinity and power, existing one in three and containing the three in a distinct way…

It is through the incarnation that God revealed himself to be an eternal communion of persons. God’s self-revelation in Jesus, the Eternal Word, is not simply a disclosure of information; it is a sharing of life – his life. Through baptism we come to share the life of Jesus and in living in God’s eternal Son, we share in the life of the Blessed Trinity. 

View/Download this week’s Liturgy of the Word Celebration.

Be enlivened by his word!

Filed Under: Developing News

Sunday Commentary | Pentecost

This Sunday the Church celebrates Pentecost, one of the most important feast days of the year and that which concludes the Easter season.   

The timing of this feast is where the devotion of praying a Novena – nine days of prayer -derives.  The word “novena”  comes from the Latin for “nine; ” (novem/noveni).   

After Jesus’ Ascension into heaven, the Apostles, the Blessed Virgin, and some of Christ’s other followers all “joined in continuous prayer” (Acts 1:14)  until the dramatic coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.  We know it was nine days, because the Ascension happened forty days after the Resurrection (Acts 1:3), and Pentecost is celebrated fifty days after the Passover.  The Resurrection happened the day following Passover, so we can do the math: 50-40-1=9.  This period in which the fledgling Church “joined in continuous prayer” in anticipation of the promised coming of the Holy Spirit is the first “novena.”

There is a parallel Jewish holiday, Shavu’ot, which falls 50 days after Passover.  Shavu’ot is sometimes called The Festival of Weeks referring to the seven weeks since Passover.  Originally a harvest feast, Shavu’ot now commemorates the sealing of the Old Covenant on Mount Sinai, when God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai. (“All that the Lord has spoken, we will do.” Ex 19:8)  Every year, the Jewish people renew their acceptance of the gift of the Law on this feast.  Read more about this in the reflections included in this week’s Liturgy of the Word celebration. 

Typically, on Pentecost, our clergy wear red vestments, symbolic of the burning fire of God’s love and the tongues of fire that descended on Mary and the apostles.  An Italian Pentecost tradition is to release rose petals from the ceiling of the church to recall the descent of the fiery tongues; thus Pentecost is called Pascha Rosatum (Easter roses).  In France, it is tradition to blow trumpets at some point during Mass to recall the sound of the driving wind of the Holy Spirit.

Also on this Solemnity adults, who have been going through the RCIA, ritually conclude their Initiation process. They now transition from disciples to apostles—people sent out into the world with a mission!  Our newly baptized and received, who have been gathering for the 11am Mass, will do so for the last time, as a group, this Sunday; pray for them.

Filed Under: Developing News

New Auxiliary Bishop

New Auxiliary Bishop named in Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston

Father Italo Dell’Oro, C.R.S., was named Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston by Pope Francis on May 18.

Bishop-elect Dell’Oro has served as a priest for almost 40 years, 30 of those in the local Archdiocese. Since 2015, he has served as Vicar for Clergy and the Secretariat Director for Clergy Formation and Chaplaincy Services. He was named Vicar General in 2021.

When Bishop-elect Dell’Oro first arrived in Galveston-Houston in 1992, his initial assignment was as pastor of Assumption Church in Houston. Growing up in Valmadrera, Italy, the Somascan priest was an avid rock-climber and mountaineer during his teen years on the pristine countryside of Lake Como.

In 2001, he served as Director of Vocations for the Somascan Fathers in Houston before taking on the role of Formation Director in 2014. From 2005 to 2012, he also worked as Director of the Ministry to Priests for Galveston-Houston.
View the press conference: 

Filed Under: Developing News, SJV News

The Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God

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Sometimes the years seem to hurtle by. There are days when we may wonder: How do I let it all get away so fast? How can I hold on to it better? How can I see the sacredness of each day better?

To some degree the numbering of years helps and, like birthdays and the change of seasons, the marking of a New Year invites us to remembrance and recollection.

The celebration on January 1, of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, who “treasured all these things and reflected on them in her heart,” starts our new year. The Gospel reading for the Liturgy of this Solemnity tells us of shepherds who took time to approach the mystery and wondrously saw Mary and Joseph and the child. Once they saw, they understood and glorified and praised God.

The Gospel Reading also tells us that Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.

What are the things Mary reflected on “in her heart”? Both marvelous events such as the angelic message relayed by the shepherds, and the painful circumstance such as a birth in a stable.

Mary grappled with both sides of the mystery of Jesus’ birth: the miraculous and the everyday; the joyous and the painful; what was already unfolding and what was yet to be revealed.

In all this she was pondering the mystery of God’s presence and thus sublimely models how we too can recognize the Word being made flesh and dwelling among us.

Mary reflected “in her heart” on the mystery unfolding within and around her. This same mystery is revealed when God pours “the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,” making us children of God.

The ancient feast of Epiphany (this Sunday) also celebrates our “seeing”, our witnessing of the mystery that God could take our very flesh and bones. In the light of the Incarnation – Christmas-, with the “showing” of God in Jesus, all is changed, all human ordinariness transformed, all of the commonplace transfigured, elevated, and blessed.

A sense of how God “shows” himself each day; how his grace is manifest in every numbered year, allows us to take possession of our moments gently as time flashes by. We develop a richer taste for life itself, and our thanksgiving reaches deeper into our being.

If we fully enter into the revelation of the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God , if we truly savor it and thereby savor the lives we’ve been gifted with, we may find ourselves joining the long march of witnesses, sent to all times and nations, to share the blessing of God that the Book of Numbers (First Reading) gives to us:

“The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord’s face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord look kindly upon you and give you peace.”

Once we are beyond the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, and the Christmas season, we may tend to forget about the importance of the incarnation for our daily living. Mary teaches us that continued active reflection on this mystery is how we are drawn more deeply into its fullness and able more perfectly to live in the grace of being children and heirs of God.

We begin our new year by remembering and honoring Mary, chosen by God to bear and birth the savior of the world. May this remembrance urge us to give birth to Christ renewed in our lives; our decisions, our relationships.

Happy, peaceful, New Year!

Filed Under: Developing News

Te Deum

Download Printable PDF Version

“You are God; we praise you. You are the Lord; we acclaim you. You are the eternal Father; all creation worships you.”

December 31 is a day of thanksgiving for the blessings of the Old Year that is passing (yes, we can find bless-ings; perhaps “mixed blessing”). Traditionally the Te Deum is sung in St Peter’s Basilica in Rome on this day (formerly it was sung at the Church of the Gesù).

This traditional practice of praying or singing the Te Deum on December 31 offers us a day to thank God for all the days, a moment to bless all the moments of mind and heart, breath and sight. A time to “see” and savor.
This ancient and beautiful hymn of praise, formerly attributed both to St Augustine and St Ambrose and now more reliably ascribed to Nicetas of Remesiana (ca. 333/5-414), is so old that its provenance is uncertain (the lines extolling the apostles, prophets and martyrs echo some similar lines in a work of St Cyprian, but this seems to be coincidence. More recently it has been proposed that the Te Deum is part of an ancient Easter Vigil hymn.

The Te Deum (whose name is simply the first two words of the prayer itself, not unlike the title of a papal document) is unique in that it is a part of the Divine Office: it is prayed at the end of Matins/Vigils/Office of Readings after the final reading and before the closing prayer on Sundays and Holy Days. (According to the 1962 rubrics it is said every single day, outside of the penitential seasons of Lent and Advent.) The Divine Office may be a private prayer — and the Office of Readings may be recited at any hour of the day per the Vati-can II rubrics — but for consecrated religious it is generally prayed in common in the middle of the night. So night owls who visit a monastery or abbey may hear it intoned—beautifully—together.

Another unique aspect of the Te Deum—the entire prayer is reprinted below—is that part of it is prayed during Mass (namely during the Sanctus):

Holy, holy, holy, Lord, God of power and might
Heaven and earth are full of your glory

And the final part of the Te Deum is a nod (or better, a kneel) to the Credo in that the lines are supposed to be said on your knees:

V: Save your people, Lord, and bless your inheritance.
R: Govern and uphold them now and always
V: Day by day we bless you.
R: We praise your name forever.
V: Keep us today, Lord, from all sin.
R: Have mercy on us, Lord have Mercy
V: Lord, show us your Love and Mercy
R: For we put our trust in you.
V: In you, Lord, is our hope:
R: And we shall never hope in vain.

Here we see an obvious invocation of the Kyrie from the Mass in the line, “Lord Have Mercy”, above.

Thus, the Te Deum is a prayer steeped in the Mass, and includes the only intact Hebrew word (“Sabaoth”) kept in the Latin version. The whole is a prayer of praise.

Technically, the Te Deum may be said or sung at the end of Mass or at the canonization of saint, or in a public procession of a saint’s relics.

The Te Deum is, in essence, a very ancient liturgical poem, and like many poems it has been put to music very effectively by some of the greatest composers, from Mozart and Verdi to Dvorak and Benjamin Britten.

And while Te Deum may be inextricably tied to the Divine Office, there’s no rule that says you can’t (or shouldn’t) pray or learn the prayer as a stand-alone oration.

The concluding line, “And we shall never hope in vain.” is an especially uplifting reminder to us individually and collectively.


Te Deum

You are God, we praise you:
You are the Lord: we acclaim you;
You are the eternal Father:
All creation worships you.
To you all angels, all the powers of heaven,
Cherubim and Seraphim, sing in endless praise:
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of power and might,
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
The glorious company of apostles praise you.
The noble fellowship of prophets praise you.
The white-robed army of martyrs praise you.
Throughout the world, the holy Church acclaims you:
Father of majesty unbounded,
Your true and only Son, worthy of all worship,
And the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.
You, Christ, are the King of Glory
The eternal Son of the Father.
When you became man to set us free,
You did not spurn the Virgin’s womb.
You overcame the sting of death,
And opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
You are seated at God’s right hand in glory.
We believe that you will come and be our judge.
Come then, Lord, and help your people,
Bought with the price of your own blood,
And bring us with your saints to glory everlasting.
Save your people, Lord, and bless your inheritance.
Govern and uphold them now and always
Day by day we bless you.
We praise your name forever.
Keep us today, Lord, from all sin.
Have mercy on us, Lord have Mercy
Lord, show us your Love and Mercy
for we put our trust in you.
In you, Lord, is our hope:
and we shall never hope in vain. 

Amen.

Filed Under: Developing News

October, Month of the Rosary

The month of October each year is dedicated to the Rosary. The Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary was introduced by Pope St. Pius V (1504-1572) in the year 1571 to commemorate the miraculous victory of the Christian forces in the Battle of Lepanto on October 7, 1571. The Pope attributed more to the “arms” of the Rosary than to the power of cannons and the valor of the soldiers who fought there.

It all started in 1571 when the Catholic League entered into battle against the Ottoman Empire to protect Italy from invasion. The Turks were on a warpath to overthrow all of Europe, killing millions of people and forcing Islamic conversion on survivors. They had conquered the Middle East and Mediterranean islands of Cyrus and Crete; Italy was next.

As the impending battle loomed, Pope Pius V called on various religious communities throughout Europe to join him in praying the Rosary, including public recitations, to defeat the Islamic threat. Heading into battle, every man in the Catholic League’s forces carried a Rosary. Their fleet was no match for the competition; they were vastly outnumbered.

Miraculously, the Catholic League returned victorious after a daylong battle known as the Battle of Lepanto that took place off the coast of Greece. In thanksgiving for Mary’s intercession and protection, Pope Pius V declared the day — October 7 — as a feast day for Our Lady of the Rosary. To celebrate, a Rosary procession was held in Saint Peter’s Square.

After the feast day was established, the entire month of October was dedicated to the Rosary in 1884 by Pope Leo XIII in his encyclical Superiore Anno:

“Last year, as each of you is aware, we decreed by an Encyclical Letter that, to win the help of Heaven for the Church in her trials, the great Mother of God should be honored by the means of the most holy Rosary during the whole of the month of October. In this we followed both our own impulse and the example of our predecessors, who in times of difficulty were wont to have recourse with increased fervor to the Blessed Virgin, and to seek her aid with special prayers.”

Although the commitment to the Rosary was formalized in 1571, it was an established prayer long before then. The Rosary was first given to Saint Dominic by the Virgin Mary during an apparition in 1214 in Prouilhe of southern France. She presented it as a source of strength to aid him in the conflicts with Albigensian heretics. The image of Our Lady of the Rosary reflects this apparition, with Mary holding the child Jesus in one hand and the other hand extending to give the Rosary beads to Saint Dominic. Pope Benedict explained the meaning behind the image in a 2007 Angelus homily:

“This important iconography shows that the Rosary is a means given by the Virgin to contemplate Jesus and, in meditating on his life, to love him and follow him ever more faithfully. It is this message that Our Lady has also bequeathed to us in her various apparitions.”

Saint Dominic went on to establish the Order of Preachers, known as the Dominicans. This spurred the Dominican Order to make the Apostolate of the Rosary their special concern. The Dominican Pope, St. Pius V, did much to further the spread of the Rosary and it thereafter became one of the most popular devotions in Christendom. It was the same Pope St. Pius V, who in 1569 officially approved the Rosary in its present form with the Papal Bull, Consueverunt Romani Pontifices. It had been completed by the addition of the second half of the “Hail Mary” and the “Glory be to the Father” at the conclusion of each mystery.

It was in the Middle Ages that the Rosary came to be used in various monasteries as a substitute for praying the Divine Office for the lay monks and devout lay persons who did not know how to read. Instead of the 150 Psalms, they would pray 150 “Our Fathers” counting them on a ring of beads known as the crown or “corona.” With the growth of popularity of Marian devotion in the twelfth century, the “Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary” developed now substituting 150 “Hail Mary’s” in place of the “Our Father’s.”

The 150 “Hail Mary’s” were subsequently subdivided into fifteen decades by the young Dominican friar, Henry Kalkar (1328-1408), with each decade referring to an event in the life of Jesus and Mary. The Dominican, Alanus de Rupe (1428-1478), further divided the episodes in the history of salvation into the Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious mysteries.

Saint John Paul II expanded on the Rosary’s power in his 2002 apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, when he announced the Year of the Rosary and the addition of the Luminous Mysteries:

“With the Rosary, the Christian people sits at the school of Mary and are led to contemplate the beauty on the face of Christ and to experience the depths of his love. Through the Rosary the faithful receive abundant grace, as though from the very hands of the Mother of the Redeemer.”

John Paul II called the Rosary his favorite prayer, in which we meditate with Mary upon the mysteries which she as a mother meditated in her heart (Lk. 2:19) (Osservatore Romano, 44; 30 Oct. 1979).

Many other Popes have contributed to the increased devotion to the Rosary by their writings. Pope Paul VI ( papacy: 1963-1978) devoted the last section of his Apostolic Exhortation Marialis Cultus to the Angelus prayer and the Rosary (MC 40-55). In this document, he wrote that “the Rosary retains an unaltered value and intact freshness.” (MC, 41)

The Rosary is primarily a scriptural prayer. This was summarized by Pope Pius XII (papacy: 1939- 1958) who said that the Rosary is ” a compendium of the entire Gospel” (AAS 38 [1946] p. 419). The Rosary draws its mysteries from the New Testament and is centered on the great events of the Incarnation and Redemption.

In this month of October, let us consider the beautiful prayer of the Rosary as a means that we too can use to draw closer to God by meditating on the great mysteries of our salvation.

Sancta Maria, ora pro nobis!

Filed Under: Developing News

Archangels

The Catholic Church recognizes the existence of only three Archangels, or the three mentioned in the Scriptures: Michael (“Who is like God?”), Gabriel (“God’s Power”) and Raphael (“God’s Doctor”).

The Sacred Scripture then, attributes a particular mission to each Archangel.

Michael is the warrior who fights against Satan and his emissaries (Jn 9, Ap 12, 7, cf. Zec 13: 1-2), the defender of those who love God (Dn 10, 13.21), the protector of the people of God (Dn. 12, 1).

Gabriel is one of the spirits closest to God, before his heavenly throne (Lk 1, 19), the one who revealed to Daniel the secrets of God’s plan (Dn 8, 16; 9, 21-22), announced to Zechariah the birth of John the Baptist (Lk 1, 11-20) and to Mary that of Jesus (Lk 1, 26-38).

Raphael stands before the throne of God (Tb 12, 15, see Rev 8: 2), accompanied and protects Tobias in his perilous journey and healed his father from blindness and his future bride from the influence of evil.

In general, therefore, the task of the three Archangels, in addition to contemplation of God, is to communicate His Will to man in various ways, to be an inspiration for human beings, and the catalysts of divine grace for them.

In 2013, Pope Francis consecrated the Vatican City State to St. Joseph and St. Michael the Archangel, recognizing once again his role as defender of the Faith and of the Church.

Christian iconography depicts Gabriel as a young winged cherub, who often carries a lily in his hands, as a symbol of the Annunciation to Mary.

In ascending order, the choirs or classes are 1) Angels, 2) Archangels, 3) Principalities, 4) Powers, 5) Virtues, 6) Dominations, 7) Thrones, 8) Cherubim, and 9) Seraphim.

Below is a beautiful prayer to the Archangels that highlights the role each Archangel has been given by God and how that role can help us when we need them the most.

Heavenly King, You have given us archangels
to assist us during our pilgrimage on earth.

Saint Michael is our protector;
I ask him to come to my aid,
fight for all my loved ones,
and protect us from danger.

Saint Gabriel is a messenger of the Good News;
I ask him to help me clearly hear Your voice
and to teach me the truth.

Saint Raphael is the healing angel;
I ask him to take my need for healing
and that of everyone I know,
lift it up to Your throne of grace
and deliver back to us the gift of recovery.

Help us, O Lord, to realize more fully
the reality of the archangels
and their desire to serve us.

Holy angels, pray for us.
Amen.

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