To Know is to Love. To Love is to Follow. But Prayer above All

 The soul . . . lifted by a very great and yearning desire for the honor of God and the salvation of souls begins by exercising herself . . . in the ordinary virtues, remaining in the cell of self-knowledge in order to know better the goodness of God towards her. This she does because knowledge must precede love. (A)nd only when she has attained love can she strive to follow (the truth) and clothe herself with (it). But in no way does the creature receive such a taste of the truth or so brilliant a light therefrom as by means of humble and continuous prayer . . . 

-St. Catherine of Siena

Dialogue of St. Catherine of Siena (p. 1)

Pope St. Pius V Contemplates the Cross

 . . . Pope Pius tells us that he faced the difficulties of his world through prayer . . . It was prayer, he taught, that conquered the sufferings of this vale of tears. Indeed so confident was he in the power of prayer that after the Battle of Lepanto, when the vastly outnumbered Catholic fleet overcame invading Turkish forces, Pius proclaimed that the miraculous victory belonged to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and all those who had joined him in unceasingly praying the rosary for victory as the battle ensued.

-Brother Jordan Scott, O.P.

"Great Dominicans: St. Pope Pius V"

DogzGodz: The Blog of the Dominican student brothers (Blackfriars, Oxford)

John 14:2-6

"In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may also be. Where I am going you know the way."

Thomas said to him, "Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?"

Jesus said to him, "I am the Way and Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Good Counsel - Closing Prayer

 The Feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel

On the Feast of St. Mark, April 25, 1467, at the close of a festival in Genazzano, Italy, a cloud descended upon an ancient 5th-century deteriorated church, dedicated to Our Lady of Good Counsel. When the cloud disappeared, the festive crowd found a small, fragile image of the Blessed Virgin and Child on a thin sheet of plaster. The painting is said to have hung in mid-air, suspended without support, floating, on a small ledge. This particular fresco is said to date to the time of the Apostles. It had long been venerated in Albania’s capital city, Scutari.

The Image of Our Lady of Good Counsel 
(Genazzano, Italy)

Much of the church of Our Lady of Good Counsel was destroyed in World War II, but the image remained intact and in place. The miraculous image is still there today after more than 500 years. Countless miracles have been attributed to the prayerful intercession of Our Lady of Good Counsel.

Many pilgrims visit the church in Genazzano, and take part in the annual spring celebration, observed on April 25. Elsewhere in the world, the feast is celebrated on April 26.

"Our Lady of Good Counsel"

Catholic News Agency

As quoted in Abundant Life (Parish Bulletin)

April 25, 2021

Our Lady of Good Counsel (Plymouth, MI)
April 25, 2021 (World Day of Prayer for Vocations)

Prayer to Our Lady of Good Counsel

"Mother of Good Counsel" (Fresco)
Our Lady of Good Counsel (Plymouth, MI)

O Holy Virgin, to whose feet we are led by our anxious uncertainty in our search for and attainment of what is true and good, invoking you by the sweet title of Mother of Good Counsel, we beseech you to come to our assistance, when, along the road of this life, the darkness of error and of evil conspires towards our ruin by leading our minds and our hearts astray. 

O Seat of Wisdom and Star of the Sea, enlighten the doubtful and the erring, that they be not seduced by the false appearances of good; render them steadfast in the face of the hostile and corrupting influences of passion and of sin. 

O Mother of Good Counsel, obtain for us from your Divine Son a great love of virtue, and, in the hour of uncertainty and trial, the strength to embrace the way that leads to our salvation. If your hand sustains us, we shall walk unmolested along the path indicated to us by the life and words of Jesus, our Redeemer; and having followed freely and securely, even in the midst of this world's strife, the Sun of Truth and Justice under your maternal Star, we shall come to the enjoyment of full and eternal peace with you in the haven of salvation. 

Amen.

Pope Pius XII

(Pontiff from 1939 - 1958)

Be Thou my vision, Oh Lord of my heart;

Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.

Thou my best Thought by day or by night,

Waking or sleeping--Thy presence, my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;

I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord!

Thou my great Father--Thy child I shall be;

Thou in me dwelling, and I one with Thee.

"Be Thou My Vision"

Hymns for Eventide

Salt of the Sound

 

Good Counsel Day 9

 In 1933, you counseled Mariette Beco in Belgium, saying, “I am the Virgin of the Poor . . . Believe in me and I will believe in you.”

 . . . For guidance for all those who pray this novena, pray for us.

For counsel to seek your Son every day of our lives, pray for us.

Novena to Our Lady of Good Counsel, Day 9 

 

A Young Mariette Beco

. . . (Mariette's father) Julian Beco couldn't care less that his eldest daughter had given up her religious training.  His attitude infected the household.  There was nothing in the house of a religious nature.  His wife, Louise, followed his lead.  God had no place in their home. She wasn't very devout before her experience with Our Lady. Nevertheless, she had a small image of Our Lady on her nightstand, she kept a rosary she had found and occasionally prayed it before going to sleep. 

. . . As she opened the curtain to look out, she saw a Lady standing in their front yard, surrounded by a bright light.  The Lady was short, about five feet tall, and exceptionally beautiful. . . . (She) was not dressed like any of the ladies from the village.  She wore a long white gown with a blue sash . . . She was barefoot, with just a gold rose in between her toes.  In this kind of weather, she should be freezing.  Mariette noticed that she stood just above the ground, sort of on a cloud.  She didn't seem to be cold at all.

. . . The child noticed that the Our Lady of Banneux had a Rosary, hanging from the blue sash.

. . . (T)hat one visit had a deep effect on Mariette's spirituality.  She returned to her Catechism class on Wednesday, embracing the material with a renewed enthusiasm.  She knew her lesson perfectly.  This amazed Fr. Jamin, because Mariette had always been the worst student in the class.  After class, Father asked her why she had run away on Monday without telling him what she had seen.  By this time, the child had reflected on what had happened.  She was not frightened anymore.  She spoke very calmly, telling the priest exactly what she had seen.  He, for his part, did not treat her as a child, or belittle what she claimed.   He only told her to pray to Our Lady for guidance.

"The Becco Family" and "The First Apparition" (of Eight)

Our Lady of the Poor: Apparition in Banneux, Belgium

Our Lady of the Poor, Third Apparition

Mary Virgin of the Poor, 

You lead us to Jesus, source of grace, and you come to alleviate our suffering.

We implore you with confidence: Help us to follow your Son with generosity and to belong to Him unreservedly.

Help us to welcome the Holy Spirit Who guides and sanctifies us. Obtain us the grace to look like Jesus every day more, so that our life will glorify the Father and contribute to the salvation of all.

Amen.

Longing for peace,

Our world is troubled;

Longing for hope,

Many despair.

Your Word alone

Has pow'r to save us--

Make us your living voice!

Good Counsel Day 8

 In 1917 in Fatima, Portugal, you counseled three shepherd children, saying, “My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God.” 

. . . For guidance for ourselves, pray for us.

For counsel for how to love those who I find difficult to love, pray for us.

Três Pastorinhos

It was May 13, 1917. The US had just joined the allies in WWI, and three children – 10-year-old Lucia dos Santos and her cousins Jacinta Marto, 7, and Francisco Marto, 8 – were tending their family’s sheep. The Três Pastorinhos (three little shepherds) saw a bright light in a place called Cova da Iria. Then, beside a small oak tree, a woman shining brighter than the sun revealed herself.

Only Lucia could speak with her. She identified herself as the Lady of the Rosary and told Lucia she would appear there on the 13th for the next six months. Each month, the children returned to the spot and saw her, although she was invisible to others. Lucia requested a miracle to persuade people to believe in their visions.

On the Virgin’s sixth appearance in October 2017, a crowd (estimated from 30,000 to 70,000) witnessed the promised miracle.

The Miracle of the Sun Persuades the People

The massive crowd assembled near the oak tree. Soaked by cold rains, they awaited their miracle on muddy fields. Our Lady of Fátima appeared to the children, telling Lucia a chapel should be built there in her honor and predicting the end of the war, which resolved about a year later, on November 11, 1918.

When Our Lady ascended, the wet cloudy skies suddenly cleared and the sun danced. For about ten minutes, witnesses watched the sun twirl and blaze, scatter a rainbow of colors, plunge to the earth and zigzag back into place. The crowd found themselves suddenly dry, despite the hours of soaking rains. Contemporaneous newspaper articles reported on the phenomenon.

"The Story of the Shrine of Fátima in Portugal"

Grand European Travel

Mr. Blue Sky,

Please tell us why

You had to hide away for so long

(So long)

Where did we go wrong?

. . . 

Hey there, Mr. Blue,

We're so pleased to be with you.

Look around, 

See what you do . . .

. . . and today

Is the day we've waited for.

Good Counsel Day 7

  In 1858, you counseled Bernadette Soubirous in France, telling her where to dig in the ground to bring forth a spring where a great multitude of people would be healed of illnesses and infirmities for decades to come. . . 

For guidance for our families, pray for us.

For counsel for families who are torn, pray for us.

Novena to Our Lady of Good Counsel, Day 7 

 

Acts 4: 8 - 10

Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said, "Leaders of the people and elders: If we are being examined today about a good deed done to a cripple, namely, by what means he was saved, then all of you and all the people of Israel should know that it was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead; in His name this man stands before you healed. 

I will 

Send out an army

To find you

In the middle of the darkest

Night, it's true -- 

I will rescue you.

I will

Never stop marching

To reach you 

In the middle of the hardest

Fight, it's true --

I will rescue you.

Good Counsel Day 6

 In 1830, you counseled Catherine Laboure in Paris, instructing her on the design for the Miraculous Medal and saying, “All who wear this medal will receive great graces.”

. . . For guidance for our extended families, pray for us.

For counsel for extended families who are estranged, pray for us.

 Novena To Our Lady of Good Counsel, Day 6

The Blessed Virgin Appears to St. Catherine Laboure

. . . The Angel said, “Come to chapel; the Blessed Virgin is waiting for you.”

In following the Angel to the Chapel, Catherine was surprised to find that all the lights were lit as if it were for Midnight Mass on Christmas. She was led toward the sanctuary and knelt by the chair that the Director used when giving conferences to the Sisters. Suddenly she heard the rustle of silk and saw a most beautiful Lady walking toward her. The Lady was dressed in an ivory-colored dress with a blue mantle and a white veil covering her head and draping down over her shoulders. She sat down on the Director’s chair next to Catherine. The Angel told Catherine, “This is the Blessed Virgin.” Catherine leaned her hands on the Lady’s lap and looked into her Mother’s eyes.

Preparing Catherine for the Mission

The Lady spoke, “My child, the good God wishes to entrust to you a mission.” She told Catherine that she would have to endure trials in carrying out the mission, but she would have consolation in knowing that she was working for the glory of God. The Lord would be with her and would guide her. “Have confidence. Do not be afraid.”

-Robert J. Billet, CMF

"St. Catherine Labouré and the Miraculous Medal"

The Vincentian Formation Network

Jeremiah 8:18 - 23

My joy is gone, 

grief is upon me,

my heart is sick.

Listen! the cry of the daughter of my people,

far and wide in the land!

"Is the Lord no longer in Zion, is her King no longer in her midst?"

Why do they provide me with their idols,

with their foreign nonentities?

"The harvest is over, the summer ended,

but we have not yet been saved!"

I am broken by the injury of the daughter of my people.

I am in mourning; horror has seized me.

Is there no balm in Gilead, no healer here?

Why does new flesh not grow over the wound of the daughter of my people?

Oh, that my head were a spring of water,

my eyes a fountain of tears,

That I might weep day and night over the slain from the daughter of my people!

 

"So put your hope in God alone;

Take courage in His power to save--

Completely and forever won,

By Christ emerging from the grave."

 

Good Counsel Day 5

 In the 16th century in Mexico, you counseled Juan Diego, saying, “Do not be troubled or weighed down with grief. Do not fear any illness or vexation, anxiety or pain. Am I not here, who am your Mother? Is there anything else you need?” . . . 

For guidance for our friends, pray for us.

For counsel for those who are lonely, pray for us.

Novena to Our Lady of Good Counsel, Day 5

Juan Diego y La Virgen Guadalupe

. . . So the virgin appeared once more, and on the second occasion told Juan Diego to collect flowers from the top of the hill.  Being December, Juan did not expect to find any but upon his arrival there, he found the hill covered with beautiful flowers.  As instructed, he collected some and, using his overcoat to carry them, returned to see the Bishop.

The Bishop, seeing the unseasonable flowers, also saw an image of the Virgin Guadalupe imprinted onto to the coat.  Convinced it was a miracle, he ordered the building of the church on the hill of Tepeyac—at the precise location where the current-day basilica is situated in Mexico City.

Today, Catholic Mexicans bring gifts and offerings to the virgin, petitioning her for help and good providence; for example, when a family member is ill, when there is conflict in their life, or when they are to embark upon some personal or business endeavor.

"The Virgin Guadalupe and Juan Diego:

Dia de Guadalupe--One of Mexico’s Most Important Religious Holidays"

-Mexperience

Job 12:7-10 (Job's Third Reply)

"But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or the plants of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In His hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind."

Beneath the shadows of His wings I will rejoice;

To find a dwelling place secure. . .

I need not shrink before the terrors of the night,

Nor stand alone beneath the light of day. . .

Blessed be the Lord! (Blessed be the Lord)

Blessed be the Lord! (Blessed be the Lord)

The God of Mercy,

The God Who saves. 

"Blest Be the Lord"

by Dan Schutte

Performed by The St. Louis Jesuits

Good Counsel Day 4

At the Cross, Jesus gave you to the disciple St. John, saying “Behold, your mother” to him and to all of us who follow after him . . . For guidance for our home parish, pray for us. For counsel for those who do not pray, pray for us.

Day 4, Novena to Our Lady of Good Counsel

Today, you can stand beside Mary, your mother, at the foot of the cross, and embracing her, take her into your heart. You can pray with her, contemplate her son’s passion with her, share her sorrow,console her, and be consoled by her. Ask her to share her sentiments with you, to feel what she felt. As a child imitates his mother, let her show you how to love and follow Jesus.

Take Mary into your home, that is, your heart, as a beloved disciple of Jesus. From this day forward keep her at your side, and you will never be far from Christ.

Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Mother of the Church, and My Mother, I want to love Jesus Christ as you did. Let me see what you saw at the foot of the cross, hear what you heard, and feel what you felt.

Lord, thank you for the gift of Mary, my Mother. Now, when I am close to her, I am also closer to you. I accept her into my docile home, and will always follow your will in everything, as she teaches me by her humble example to love, honor, and serve you for the rest of my life.

"Behold Your Mother"

Biltrix

"Thought that I would self-destruct,

But I'm still here.

Even in the years to come,

I'm still gon' be here."

-Survivor by 2 WEI 

 

Good Counsel Day 3

 Your counsel to us extends back to your earthly life when you spoke of your Son, commanding us: “Do whatever He tells you.” 

. . . For an increase in love, trust, and devotion to your Immaculate Heart that leads us to Jesus, pray for us.

Day 3, Novena to Our Lady of Good Counsel

Courtesy of the La Salle Brothers

She is indeed a star (that) enlightens, guides, and leads us to a harbor in the stormy sea of this world. She is this clear and brilliant star rising above this great and spacious sea, shining by her merits and enlightening by her example.

You have without a doubt a need for light in this life, where you are always as if upon a stormy sea, at the risk of your salvation.  Have recourse to Mary.  She will enlighten you and help you know God's will for you because she shares in the light of Jesus Christ her Son. She herself is a light shining in the darkness.

John Baptist de la Salle

Meditation 164: Meditation on the Holy Name of Mary

Meditations

If we could lift the veil, and if we were attentive and watchful God would continually reveal Himself to us, and we should see His divine action in everything that happened to us, and rejoice in it. At each successive occurrence, we should exclaim: 'It is the Lord', and we should accept every fresh circumstance as a gift of God. 

Fr. Jean-Pierre de Caussade

Abandonment to Divine Providence

Good Counsel Day 2 (On Heroic Patience)

 True devotion to Our Lady is holy; that is to say, it leads the soul to avoid sin and to imitate the virtues of the Blessed Virgin, particularly her:

1.  Profound humility 
2.  Lively faith
3.  Blind obedience 
4.  Continual prayer
5.  Universal mortification
6.  Divine purity
7.  Ardent charity 
8.  Heroic patience
9.  Angelic sweetness and 
10.  Divine wisdom. 

These are the ten principal virtues of the most holy Virgin.

St. Louis de Montfort

True Devotion to Mary

You have provided counsel and comfort to those who needed you, even during your earthly life when you visited your cousin Elizabeth while she carried John the Baptist in her womb. Our Lady of Good Counsel, today, I ask for your intercession for a world in need of your guidance and for counsel in my own life . . . (especially) (f)or counsel for those who are exiled from their home countries, pray for us. 

Day 2

Our Lady of Good Counsel Novena

Master M S 
The Visitation (1506)
Hungarian National Art Gallery

And we are all exiles. Despite appearances to the contrary and our own feeble attempts at preservation, this world is passing away. We are but pilgrims stumbling on a path to our heavenly home country. There is "nothing new under the sun." 

And still we sing:

"This Earth will one day melt like snow,

The Sun refuse to shine.

Yet God Who sent me here below,

Will be forever mine.

He'll be forever mine."

Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)

BYU Noteworthy

Isaiah 40:31

They that hope in the Lord will renew their strength,

They will soar as with eagles' wings;

They will run and not grow weary,

Walk and not grow faint.

 

Good Counsel Day 1

Blessed Mary, Star of the Sea, guide us now as you have guided pilgrims in years past. Be our constant beacon, a blazing light in this dark night, and lead us home to dwell with your Son forever and ever.

Novena to Our Lady of Good Counsel

Mary, Star of the Sea (Anonymous, 19th-Century)

As the Scholastic Era developed, several important theologians supported this meaning of Mary’s name. St. Bonaventure says for instance, “This name is most fitting for Mary, who is to us a star above the sea. She guides to a landfall in Heaven those who navigate the sea of this world…Well do we compare Mary to a star of the sea, because of her shining purity, her brightness, all that she does for us.” St. Thomas Aquinas endorsed this understanding of Mary’s name, saying, “Thus the name ‘Mary,’ which is rendered ‘Star of the Sea,’ suits her, because just as sailors on the ocean are guided to a harbor by a star, so Christians are guided to glory by Mary.”

Bede

"The Virgin Mary as Star of the Sea"

Owlcation

How many more have been led to the practice of the highest virtue by interior trials! Who can measure the degree of heroic virtue saints like St. Ignatius, St. Teresa or St. Francis de Sales attained by this means? We must consider it the action of a Providence unceasingly attentive to the welfare of His children, who feigns to abandon them in order to rouse them from slumber or increase their humility, self-distrust and self-renouncement, their confidence in God, submission to His will and perseverance in prayer. Hence instead of allowing ourselves to become discouraged and fainthearted under trials which may seem to overwhelm us, let us act in the same way as we do when our bodies are sick, consult a good doctor—a good spiritual director—and applying the remedies he advises, patiently await the effects that it pleases God to give. Everything is meant for our good, and such trials ought to be counted as special graces from God.

Jean Baptiste Saint-Jure

Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence (p. 74)

 

Surrender

 You can have it all Lord . . . This heart that is not Yours. 

1 Chronicles 29:11-13 

(11)Thine, O Lord, is the greatness and the power, 

And the glory, and the victory, and the majesty; 

For all that is in the heavens and in the earth is thine; 

Thine is the kingdom, O Lord, 

And thou art exalted as head above all. 

(12) Both riches and honor come from thee, 

And thou rulest over all. 

In thy hand are power and might; 

And in thy hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. 

(13) And now we thank thee, our God, 

And praise thy glorious name.

 

A Knight's Vigil (John Pettie, 1884)

Holy Wednesday

 By not letting things creep into the garden out of fear (this was man’s first mistake, not eating the apple.) You shamar (or "guard" the garden God has given you) by bringing everything to light and not hiding anything from Him. Your identity is rooted in surrender to the Father, accepting that you can’t do life without Him. Your masculinity is determined by how well you listen to the Spirit. Your worth comes from the Cross.

from "Men: You Are Not Your Job . . ."

-Tanner Kalina

Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness.

-Mother Teresa of Calcutta

“A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love.”

-St. Basil

" . . . (O)ur neighbor’s spiritual need transcends every commandment. Everything else we do is a means to an end. But love is an end already, since God is love.”

-St. Edith Stein