by Fr Richard Heilman | October 2, 2019 12:03 AM
Surveys by Gallup, the National Opinion Research Center, and the Pew Organization conclude that spiritually committed people are twice as likely to report being “very happy” than the least religiously committed people. Secular analysts seem to be doing back flips trying to explain away the simple reality that there is no other authentic and fulfilling way to live other than a supernatural life.
St. Paul writes, “The unspiritual man does not receive the gifts of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor 2:14). This is the person who acts only by using his or her human faculties (intelligence and will) and who therefore can be wise only in the things of the world. He remains superficial and worldly. This is a heart that has hardened to the presence of God. The prophet Jeremiah writes “Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings, who seeks his strength in flesh, whose heart turns away from the Lord. He is like a barren bush in the desert that enjoys no change of season, but stands in a lava waste, a salt land and empty earth” (Jer 17:5-6).
However, throughout the Bible (e.g., Ps 1, Jer 17, Rev 22) we are told that the blessed ones are those who trust God and his ordinances; they are like trees planted beside streams of water. These trees are full of life (their leaves stay green) and they fulfill their purpose (produce fruit) even in the face of life’s challenges. The commentary on 1 Corinthians in the Navarre Bible states, “The spiritual man is the Christian reborn by the grace of God; grace elevates his faculties to enable him to perform actions which have a supernatural value — acts of faith, hope, and charity. A person who is in the state of grace is able to perceive the things of God, because he carries with him the Spirit in his soul in grace, and he has Christ’s mind, Christ’s attitude. ‘We have no alternative,’ St. Josemaria Escriva teaches, ‘there are only two possible ways of living on this earth: either we live a supernatural life, or we live an animal life. And you and I can only live the life of God, a supernatural life’ (Friends of God).” (Excerpt from my book, Church Militant Field Manual[1]).
Choose either:
PRAYERS FOR TRADITIONAL 54 DAY NOVENA
THE JOYFUL MYSTERIES OF THE HOLY ROSARY
Prayer before the recitation: Sign of the cross. Hail Mary.
In petition (first 27 days): Hail, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, my Mother Mary, hail! At thy feet I humbly kneel to offer thee a Crown of Roses, snow white buds to remind thee of thy joys, each bud recalling to thee a holy mystery, each 10 bound together with my petition for a particular grace. O Holy Queen, dispenser of God’s graces, and Mother of all who invoke thee, thou canst not look upon my gift and fail to see its binding. As thou receivest my gift, so wilt thou receive my petition; from thy bounty thou wilt give me the favor I so earnestly and trustingly seek. I despair of nothing that I ask of thee. Show thyself my Mother!
In thanksgiving (last 27 days): Hail, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, my Mother Mary, hail! At thy feet I gratefully kneel to offer thee a Crown of Roses snow white buds to remind thee of thy joys, each bud recalling to thee a holy mystery; each 10 bound together with my petition for a particular grace. O Holy Queen, Dispenser of God’s graces. and Mother of all who invoke thee! Thou canst not look upon my gift and fail to see its binding. As thou receivest my gift, so wilt thou receive my thanksgiving; from thy bounty thou hast given me the favor I so earnestly and trustingly sought. I despaired not of what I asked of thee, and thou hast truly shown thyself my Mother.
Say: The Apostles’ Creed, Our Father, 3 Hail Marys, Glory Be.
The Annunciation – Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, Glory Be.
Concluding Prayer: I bind these snow-white buds with a petition for the virtue of humility and humbly lay this bouquet at thy feet.
The Visitation – Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, Glory Be.
Concluding Prayer: I bind these snow-white buds with a petition for the virtue of charity and humbly lay this bouquet at thy feet.
The Nativity – Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, Glory Be.
Concluding Prayer: I bind these snow-white buds with a petition for the virtue of detachment from the world and humbly lay this bouquet at thy feet.
The Presentation – Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, Glory Be.
Concluding Prayer: I bind these snow-white buds with a petition for the virtue of purity and humbly lay this bouquet at thy feet.
Finding the Child Jesus in the Temple – Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, Glory Be.
Concluding Prayer: I bind these snow-white buds with a petition for the virtue of obedience to the will of God and humbly lay this bouquet at thy feet.
Say: The Hail Holy Queen. St. Michael Prayer … against the “Swamp” in our nation & Church.
In petition (first 27 days): Sweet Mother Mary, I offer thee this spiritual communion to bind my bouquets in a wreath to place upon thy brow. O my Mother! Look with favor upon my gift, and in thy love obtain for me (specify request, see below). Hail Mary …
In thanksgiving (last 27 days): Sweet Mother Mary, I offer thee this Spiritual Communion to bind my bouquets in a wreath to place upon thy brow in thanksgiving for (specify request, see below) which thou in thy love hast obtained for me. Hail, Mary, etc.
PETITIONS: Restoration of the faith in the United States. The universal Church – Specifically: (See Cardinal Burke and Bishop Schneider’s intentions below). Your personal intentions (name them). The personal intentions of all praying the 54 Day Novena for Our Nation & Our Church.
CHAPLET OF ST. MICHAEL – SEPTEMBER 29 TO OCTOBER 7
September 29 is the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel. I am asking everyone to pray the Chaplet of St. Michael from September 29 to October 7 (Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary). This amazing Chaplet of St. Michael is a powerful way to call upon St. Michael the Archangel along with the Nine Choirs of Angels, especially in your acts of spiritual warfare.
These nine days lead up to the opening of the Amazon Synod (Oct. 6-27). Let’s ask St. Michael and the Nine Choirs of Angels to join us in prayer for the month of October.
ST. MICHAEL CHAPLET PRAYERS: HERE[2]
40 Days for the Amazon Synod: Cardinal Raymond Burke and Bishop Athanasius Schneider have asked that clergy and laity “pray daily at least one decade of the Holy Rosary and to fast once a week” over a 40 day (Sept. 17 to Oct. 26) with the intentions: (see below) Learn more and see the GRACE FORCE “40 Day Plan” HERE[3].
Cardinal Burke and Bishop Schneider’s intentions: 1) that the theological errors and heresies inserted in the Instrumentum Laboris may not be approved during the synodal assembly; 2) that particularly Pope Francis, in the exercise of the Petrine ministry, may confirm his brethren in the faith by an unambiguous rejection of the errors of the Instrumentum Laboris and that he may not consent to the abolition of priestly celibacy in the Latin Church by introducing the praxis of the ordination of married men, the so-called “viri probati”, to the Holy Priesthood.
[4]
Novena prayers and reflections are posted daily at usgraceforce.com[5]
Spanish language Novena prayers and reflections are available at https://rosarycoasttocoast.com/nfon-espanol/[6].
Find everything you need for the United States Grace Force at RomanCatholicGear.com[7]
Source URL: https://usgraceforce.com/day-49-novena-for-our-nation-our-church-living-a-supernatural-life/
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