Category Archives: Prayer

More on the “Sacred Heart Prayer Book” by “Brother James”

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This Sacred Heart Friday post is an update about something from earlier this year.

In “Mother Angelica and the Sacred Heart” I mentioned her using the ‘Sacred Heart Prayer Book.’

Something about the book intrigued me and I made some inquiries. I contacted SS Peter and Paul Parish parish in San Francisco where Brother James was when the book was published and asked if they knew anything about him or the book. The only thing they were able to tell me was that Br. James had left the Salesians quite some time ago. My contact (and I can’t tell from the name they are male or female, the first name sounds like a surname) has been with the parish since 2000 and had thought Brother James left around 1990. The person also told me that they get an inquiry about the book every 3-5 years! The contact suggested I try the Salesians provincial office for that region. And so I did! I got a reply within a few hours! Salesians are really on the ball in responding to inquiries right away! I’m impressed!  

Brother James’ real name is James Marolus, and I was told that he left the Salesians ‘a number of years ago.’ The Sacred Heart Prayer Book was self-published; which explains why the publisher’s name no longer comes up anywhere: if it had been a regular publisher there would have been a bigger ‘paper trail’ on the Internet. Anyway, after leaving the Salesians, Br. Marolus ‘found a benevolent Bishop’ who ordained him a priest. Father Marolis ended up in Florida, where he exercised his priestly ministry for a number of years. The Salesians person who wrote to me admitted not knowing much beyond that, except that Fr. Marolis became sick and died.

I ran his name through Google search, DuckDuckGo, and StartPage. Much of what I learned confirmed everything I was told. He is not listed on any obituary site that I ran his name through. If he is still alive, 

then he’d be 94 or 95. (This does not mean that the Salesian was incorrect about him being dead. He did admit to not knowing much and perhaps they assumed he’s dead?) And these ‘name lookup’ sites are notoriously incorrect: some of them list my sister as being alive despite her dying in 1988.

I have made further inquiries through people I know with contacts with the Salesians, but so far nothing’s turned up. If anything changes, I’ll update this post.

The book is no longer in print, and its availability online varies.  (You will have to do a search for “Sacred Heart Prayer Book Brother James” or variations on that to distinguish it from the thousands of books with similar titles.) 

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

The St. Andrew’s Christmas Novena begins Nov 30th!

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Annual post: The St. Andrew’s Christmas Novena begins November 30th. It is piously believed that if you say this prayer fifteen times a day from November 30th (The Feast Day of St. Andrew, the Apostle) until December 24th, you will obtain what you prayed for. I think that the usual conditions apply: that it be in accordance with God’s will, that it not be detrimental to your salvation, and if it requires some effort on your part, that you do that (i.e. job hunting, finding a spouse, etc.) It is believed to have originated in Ireland in the late 19th Century.

You might think that fifteen times a day is difficult. I break it up: five times with my Morning Prayers, five times with my Evening Prayers, and perhaps five times during the 3 PM Hour of Mercy or at bedtime. Another schedule is 5 times at breakfast, 5 times at lunch, and 5 times at dinnertime.

Here it is:

St. Andrew Christmas Novena
Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee, O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His blessed Mother. Amen.

[Pray this prayer 15 times daily from November 30-December 24 for your special intention]

I just remembered that I blogged about it before.

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Immaculate Queen of Peace

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I was looking around for what to write about for today’s Immaculate Heart Saturday post (because I still haven’t been taking heed of the numerous reminders I set during the week to plan ahead and maybe get these and the Sacred Heart Friday posts out a few hours earlier) when I found this Prayer for the Immaculate Queen of Peace.

Most holy and immaculate Virgin, Mother of Jesus and our loving Mother, being his Mother, you shared in his universal kingship. The prophets and angels proclaimed him King of peace. With loving fervor in our hearts, we salute and honor you as Queen of Peace.

We pray that your intercession may protect us and all people from hatred and discord, and direct our hearts into the ways of peace and justice which your Son taught and exemplified. We ask your maternal care for our Holy Father who works to reconcile the nations in peace. We seek your guidance for our President and other leaders as they strive for world peace.

Glorious Queen of peace, grant us peace in our hearts, harmony in our families, and concord throughout the world. Immaculate Mother, as patroness of our beloved country, watch over us and protect us with your motherly love. Amen.

Courtesy: Catholic Online

Since today is November 11, the date the Armistice was signed ending World War I (the “War to End All Wars”) I thought it was appropriate to share this, especially with the world getting deeper and deeper into armed conflict and the words ‘World War 3” are coming up more often.

This is connected to the Immaculate Heart of Mary; she predicted the end of  WWI when she appeared to the three Portuguese peasant shepherd children at Fatima in 1917. However, she also predicted a worse one would break out if certain warnings weren’t heeded. They weren’t and WWII did. But, she also promised that “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will Triumph.”

So, it looks like we have more suffering before there’s peace. 

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

The Sacred Heart and the Mystical Body of Christ

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For this Sacred Heart Friday, I’m writing a short piece on the Sacred Heart and the Mystical Body of Christ.

St. Paul wrote that all Christians as members of Christ, so that with Him, they form one Mystical Body. (1 Corinthians 12:12-31) When one suffers, all suffer. When one rejoices, all rejoice. The Sacred Heart burns with love for all the members of the Mystical Body. Our acts of reparation for the sins of others help heal it.

I read somewhere that all sin is public; you may think your sin is a private matter but in reality, it causes harm to the Mystical Body. This is why we have to go to Confession. Even though we confess in private to the priest, it is considered public. And this is why when we make reparation for the sins of others, as is the key part of devotion to the Sacred Heart, then the Mystical Body can be healed.

Lift one another in prayer. “Iron sharpens iron,” (Proverbs 27:17.) We strengthen each other. Return the love of the Sacred Heart through acts of reparation. 

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Tha Sacred Heart and the Holy Souls in Purgatory

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Since November is dedicated to the Holy Souls in Purgatory, I am commending this Sacred Heart Friday post to them. Since, as you must know by now, the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is partly about our making reparations for the sins of others, what better population to make reparations for than the Holy Souls in Purgatory? 

First of all, they will know about your efforts to aid them. It has been written many times in various books about them that their Guardian Angels inform them as to whom in Time is praying for them. Secondly, they will be grateful for your efforts and will return the favor when they are finally liberated and enter Heaven. Thirdly, in my opinion, combining the Sacred Heart devotion with a devotion to the Holy Souls renders the fruits of each more efficacious.

There is an old prayer from the Raccolta that goes like this:

Prayer to the Sacred Heart 

O MOST Sacred Heart of Jesus, pour down thy blessings abundantly upon thy Church, upon the Supreme Pontiff, and upon all the clergy; give perseverance to the just, convert sinners, enlighten unbelievers, bless our parents, friends, and benefactors, help the dying, free the souls in Purgatory, and extend over all hearts the sweet empire of thy love. Amen.

So, offer your prayers and sacrifices this month for the Holy Souls. The benefits of having grateful friends in high places can be very rewarding. 

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Feast of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

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Today is the feast day of St. Margaret Mary Alaocoque, the Apostle of the Sacred Heart.

I found a few prayers that are relevant to this blog and some of the topics I’ve been writing about. In this article by Anne Costa, (whom I’ve reviewed her before, please check out: “A review of two books on the Sacred Heart” and “Praying for Those with Addictions”) are two prayers. One is by St. Margaret Mary and another is a Sacred Heart prayer for the addicted.

First up is a prayer that is well-known to those who pray the daily “Efficacious Novena to the Sacred Heart” It concludes each part, but it can be said on its own:

Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, for whom it is impossible not to have compassion on the afflicted, have pity on us miserable sinners and grant us the grace which we ask of you, through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, your tender mother and ours.

Say the “Hail, Holy Queen” and add: “Saint Joseph, foster father of Jesus, pray for us.”

—St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

And now the prayer for the addicted:

Prayer to the Sacred Heart for Someone Who Is Addicted

Lord, my heart is filled with concern for____________, who is addicted. You know and see the disorder and chaos that the addiction is causing, and your heart grieves over the distortion of personality and danger to the soul that results when someone is in the throes of addiction.

I pray that you will please give me the wisdom and spiritual fortitude to detach with love and trust in your tender mercies and that you will give _______________ the humility and strength to seek recovery. I ask this through the saving grace of your Sacred Heart.
 Amen.

 Courtesy: Prayers to the Sacred Heart | Franciscan Media

by Anne Costa of REVIVE Hope and Healing Ministries, Inc.

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Queen of Heaven and Earth

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Due to a variety of circumstances within my control, I haven’t come up with anything substantive for this week’s Immaculate Heart Saturday.

So, here are two images, the first is a pretty one of Mom as the Immaculate Heart.

Immaculate heart of mary

The next is one of Mom being crowned Queeen of Heaven and Earth. In these days of war, and most likely World War, it is important to know who is in charge (God) and any problems regarding the stewardship of Earth and its society and environment are related to sin (our turning away from God’s will and preferring our own) and our penchant for wanting to dominate other people and nature. Mary, as Our Queen, is our mediatrix between us and Jesus (yes, there is only one Mediator – Jesus; but Mary aids us in going to Him.)

So, you may want to start praying extra rosaries. This does give me ideas for next week’s IHS!

20200827110856 5f478411c2bf74d8ccdccd10jpeg

Fra Angelico, “The Crowning of Mary”, ca. 1435 (photo: Public Domain)

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

October 13th: the Alliance of the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary! Part 12

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Today is October 13th, the day we recall the “Miracle of the Sun” event at Fatima in 1917. This was intended to be a warning. Our Lady said at Fatima, ‘War is punishment for sin.” World War I was raging at the time and among her warnings was that a worse war would take place if her warnings went unheeded. They were and it did. What were her warnings? One was that the Pope and all the bishops in union with him would consecrate Russia to her Immaculate Heart. Although consecrations did take place, they were either too late or improperly done. The consecration request finally was done properly in 1984 with Pope (now Saint) John Paul II. There were other warnings, such as the increasingly offensive fashion styles (conservative and almost modest by today’s standards) and about sexual sin being the chief cause of why souls go to Hell.

Those are also being ignored. You wonder how much longer Heaven will tolerate being ignored. 

As we’ve already seen with several of these “Alliance of the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary” posts, the Immaculate Heart of Mary is intimately united with the Sacred Heart of Jesus. On this Sacred Heart Friday, I would like to remind readers of this duality and how it can be used to at the personal level, increase your spiritual growth, and at a larger level, help combat evil in the world.

The personal level: recall the Fatima Message of prayer, penance, and especially reparation for sins. Now, combine that with the Sacred Heart devotion which essentially calls for the same thing. We return God’s love for us with prayer and acts of sacrifice in reparation for our and others’ sins. This increases the flow of grace into our souls, helps us beat back the attacks of the Devil and its minions, and sensitizes us to the sufferings of others (a natural side effect of concern for others sinning and the Hellish consequences of that.) We begin to become more aware of the humanity of other people; even those who do us harm. We see them as sick and broken. The wounded harm others when their wounds are not dressed.

The larger level: essentially an extension of the first. We become the change we wish to see in others and in reforming our own lives we can serve as examples for others. They want what we have. There is also the transformation at the spiritual level: our acts of prayer and repentance in some manner affect change in others. It calls grace down from Heaven and Mary distributes it to whom she wills.

So, I suppose one benefit of these “Alliance of the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary” posts is the reminder to remember the Message of Fatima and the need to live it.

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

St. Michael the Archangel and the Reign of the Sacred Heart

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Today is the feast day of St. Michael the Archangel (technically, it’s for all three Archangels, Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, but since I just completed a Novena to St. Michael, this post is focused on him. I promised Gabriel and Raphael that they’ll get their own post someday. Incidentally, this was originally just St. Michael’s Day, “Michaelmas,” in the pre-Vatican II liturgical calendar. Gabriel and Raphael had their own days before 1962.)  

In coming up with today’s Sacred Heart Friday post, I ran across this prayer:

For the Reign of the Sacred Heart

O Mary Immaculate, great Queen of Heaven and earth and our gentle advocate, we beg Thee to intercede for us. Pray God to send St. Michael and the holy Angels to ward off all the obstacles contrary to the reign of the Sacred Heart in our souls, our families, our country and in the whole world.

And thou, O holy Michael, Prince of the Heavenly hosts, from our hearts we beg thee to come to our aid.

Defend us against the rage of Satan. Through the Divine power bestowed on thee by God, after securing victory for the Church here below, guide our souls to our eternal home. Amen.

St. Michael, first champion of the Kingship of Christ, pray for us!

Source: Catholic Tradition

It beautifully combined devotion to St. Michael with fighting for the reign of the Sacred Heart in the souls of everyone. It is a prayer very pertinent to what’s going on today.

 

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

The Angel of Peace at Fatima: the Alliance of the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary! Part 9

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For today’s Immaculate Heart Saturday post, I will bring up something from the Apparitions of the Angel of Peace to the young shepherd children of Fatima in the Spring of 1916.

In the first apparition of the Angel, he taught them what was to be the first of the “Fatima Prayers:” “My God, I believe, adore, hope and love You! I ask pardon of You for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love You.”

They were told to recite it three times. 

The Angel then said, “Pray thus. The Hearts of Jesus and Mary are attentive to the voice of your supplications.” (Emphasis mine.)

This means that the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary are united in listening to your prayer requests, but especially in regards to practicing the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity of which this first prayer recalls. 

Ponder that. “The Hearts of Jesus and Mary are attentive…” They are united (‘allied’ as per the title of this series) in their attentiveness to our prayers. This brings me tremendous comfort. Which brings up another point I thought of after Confession earlier this week.

“The Power of the Hail Mary in the Alliance of the Two Hearts” 

When you pray the Hail Mary; it seems to me that you’re not just asking for Our Lady’s help. Because Mary is the Spouse of the Holy Spirit, and remains so for all eternity, the Holy Spirit is also the recipient of the prayer. And then when you add the whole Hypostatic Union of the Trinity, meaning where one member is the other two are present, the entire Trinity is listening in on the prayer. 

Now, keeping that in mind, take another look at the “Hail Mary:”

Hail Mary, Full of Grace, the Lord is with you. 

Blessed are you among women,

and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus,

 

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, 

Now, and at the hour or our death,

AMEN

The first section of the Hail Mary closely links Mary with Jesus. She is referred to twice in relation to her Son in words that strongly imply that Jesus is the cause of her blessedness and grace-filledness. Or rather, her union (‘alliance’) with Jesus! So, when you pray the Hail Mary, you’re praying to Jesus, too. (Just recall the Hypostatic Union reference a few paragraphs up. You’re essentially praying  to the entire Trinity, and not just our Blessed Mother.)

On the next two lines in the prayer, I wrote these a few years ago: On the meaning and impact of prayers (re: ‘Pray for us sinners) and   Now and at the hour of our death, amen, both posts highlight the importance of a prayer that because of its frequent repetition by faithful, its significance may be surprisingly overlooked.

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)