A Novena to St. Jane de Chantal

St. Jane de Chantal

Earlier this morning I came across this holy card of St. Jane de Chantal. And, since it’s her feast day according to the old, 1962 Ordo, decided to post it along with the novena which is on the back page.

Novena

O Glorious saint, blessed Jane Frances, who by the fervent prayer, attention to the Divine Presence, and purity of intention in they actions attainedst on earth an intimate union with God, be now our advocate, our mother, our guide in the path of virtue and perfection.  Plead our cause near Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, to whom thou wast so tenderly devoted, and whose holy virtues thou didst so closely imitate.  Obtain for us, O amiable and compassionate saint, the virtues thou seest most necessary for us; an ardent love of Jesus in the most holy Sacrament, a tender and filial confidence in His Blessed Mother, and, like thee, a constant remembrance of His sacred Passion and death.  Obtain also, we pray thee, that our particular intention in this Novena may be fulfilled.

V. Pray for us, O holy St. Jane Frances.

R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:

O almighty and Merciful God, Who didst grant blessed St. Jane Frances, so inflamed with the love of Thee, a wonderful degree of fortitude through all the paths of life, and wast pleased through her to adorn Thy Church with a new religious Order, grant, by her merits and prayers, that we, who sensible of our weakness confide in Thy Strength, may overcome all adversities with the help of Thy heavenly Grace, through Christ our Lord.  Amen

"The Bread of Life"

the bread of lifeIt’s easy to sense the growing exasperation in the Gospel as Jesus tries to teach the crowds about the Bread of life.

The crowds were exasperated by the mere thought of Jesus giving us his flesh and blood for food. Jesus is probably exasperated with their lack of understanding. however, being the model of patience and virtue that he understandably is, he continues on with his instruction, all the while knowing the rejection and confusion that will ensue.

Indeed, how many people alive today still reject Jesus’ teaching on the Eucharist? Studies show that around 57% of Catholics actually believe in the real presnce of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.

While it’s understandable that belief in the real presence occasions a struggle within the intellect, we eventually come to the point where we either believe Jesus Christ, or we do not. Is he Lord? Or is he not Lord? Is he really and truly present? Or did he lie?

The earliest testimonies that exist, from the Scriptures themselves, to the accounts of the first Christian communities, down through time to us, all attest to a lively faith in the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.

Ancient Bread of Life Mosaic

As St. Iraneus of Lyons wrote: “[Christ] has declared the cup, a part of creation, to be his own Blood, from which he causes our blood to flow; and the bread, a part of creation, he has established as his own Body, from which he gives increase to our bodies.”

Times have changed and the modern world is closer knit; but ancient wisdoms do not change. And God remains the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Jesus speaks to our hearts in today’s Gospel, his words finding purchase in Faith filled souls.

“Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat of the flesh of the son of Man and drink of his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.”

Installation

Although this happened several weeks ago, on June 22 to be exact, I haven’t been able to get around to doing anything about pictures for a very simple reason.

I updated my MacBook.

Installation

And now it’s taking forever to do anything, let alone do a simple edit on a photo. (And it’s a bad edit at that, sorry.)

It’s also given me some time to reflect on this photo, which was taken by a friend. The grey curtain and the a/c vents are sort of an unbecoming backdrop during Mass. And it looks like St Michael is about to hit Fr. Bourg with his lance.

Then, one has to wonder why there is a wall lamp to the right, and why it does not work. And the Infant of Prague is practically hidden back there.

Mass is always about the mysteries you know. But maybe we can clear up a few of these minor mysteries as time goes on.

As for being Pastor, it’s wonderful in many regards. The challenges are not where I would have considered them to be, and that does require a lot of prayer. But of course, that goes with the territory.

I’m looking forward to getting my laptop back up to snuff. We have photos to post! Stories to tell! Places to see!

And evidently, longer albs to buy… pounds to lose… Oh my.

Ciao.

The Rev. Kenneth Allen