His Goose is Cooked! /// 'Do the Satan Stomp!'

Eat a Goose...today is Michalmas!

“Eat a goose on Michaelmas Day,

Want not for money all the year”.

Geese were, at

least at one time, plentiful during this time of year, so roast goose dinners are traditional (eating them on this day is said to protect against financial hardship, according to Irish and English folk belief). It was also the time (at least in Ireland) when the fishing season ended, the hunting season began, and apples were harvested, so eating apples today with that goose would be a nice touch.

For those that know Cornelius the Goose slayer...nothing more need be said. :D

Also, Satan's butt was kicked, his goose cooked, today...sorry

anyways

Happy Michaelmas!!!!!!!! - I love this day

Today is the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel my patron. There is a vast tradition behind the feast and the devotion to St. Michael. He is mentioned on more than one occasion in Scripture and is described as the 'Prince of the Angelic Bodies.'

So what does one do on a Feast like this. Well, this Feast actually was very fundamental in the Middle Ages across Europe. It was lined up with the Autumnal Equinox and you still see terms in universities that start with Michaelmas.

There are traditionally four “quarter days” in a year (Lady Day (25th March), Midsummer (24th June), Michaelmas (29th Spetember) and Christmas (25th December)). They are spaced three months apart, onreligious festivals, usually close to the solstices or equinoxes. They were the four dates on which servants were hired, rents due or leases begun. These four days of equinoxes and solstices receive 4 important feasts to dictate the rhythm of solemnity (outside the solemnities of solemnities, Easter): The Christmas (Christ), The Annunciation (Mary), The Nativity of St. John the Baptist (The forerunner and, in the Eastern Churches especially, always depicted third, after Our Lord and Our Lady) and finally, Michaelmas (St. Michael). Thus, it seems that St. Michael carries great importance for the Church, receiving one of the four privileged solar days. These days were mentioned in a 1575 poem by George Gascoigne:

And when the tenants come to pay their quarter’s rent,

They bring some fowl at Midsummer, a dish of fish in Lent,

At Christmas a capon, at Michaelmas a goose,

And somewhat else at New Year’s tide, for fear their lease fly loose.

It used to be said that harvest had to be completed by Michaelmas, almost like the marking of the end of the productive season and the beginning of the new cycle of farming. St Michael is one of the principal angelic warriors, protector against the dark of the night and the Archangel who fought against Satan and his evil angels. As Michaelmas is the time that the darker nights and colder days begin - the edge into winter - the celebration of Michaelmas is associated with encouraging protection during these dark months. It was believed that negative forces were stronger in darkness and so families would require stronger defenses during the later months of the year.

In British folklore, Old Michaelmas Day, 10th October, is the last day that blackberries should be picked. It is said that on this day, when Lucifer was expelled from Heaven, he fell from the skies, straight onto a blackberry bush. He then cursed the fruit, scorched them with his fiery breath, spat and stamped on them and made them unfit for consumption! And so the Irish proverb goes:

“On Michaelmas Day the devil puts his foot on blackberries”.

In Scotland, St Michael’s Bannock, or Struan Micheil (a large scone-like cake) is made.

This used to be made from cereals grown on the family’s land during the year, representing the fruits of the fields, and is cooked on a lamb skin, representing the fruit of the flocks. The

cereals are also moistened with sheeps milk, as sheep are deemed the most sacred of animals. As the Struan is created by the eldest daughter of the family, the following is said:

“Progeny and prosperity of family, Mystery of Michael, Protection of the Trinity”

find the recipe here...feel free to make it for me.

Finally, there is the Michaelmas Daisy. The Michaelmas Daisy, which flowers late in the growing season between late August and early October,

provides color and warmth to gardens at a time when the majority of flowers are dead or dying. The daisy is probably associated with this celebration because, as mentioned previously, St Michael is celebrated as a protector from darkness and evil, just as the daisy fights against the advancing gloom of Autumn and Winter.

“The Michaelmas Daisies, among dede weeds,

Bloom for St Michael's valorous deeds.

And seems the last of flowers that stood,

Till the feast of St. Simon and St. Jude.”

Now who is this awesome Archangel? As always, lets start with the name. Michael, in Hebrew is מִיכָאֵל‎, in Greek is Μιχαήλ and in Latin is Míchaël. He is an Archangel and is viewed as the field commander of the Army of God. His name in In Hebrew means "who is like God." The way I see it, there can be two interpretations.

First, it can be seen as a rhetorical question, who is like God...the obvious answer being nobody. Thus, this would allow St. Michael to act as a symbol of humility before God. Which seems right since their primary function is to adore and serve God. As St. Thomas notes in the Summa, "Only God is home for the love of the angels, just as he is for us. The angels must make their way home, for love's fire is the Divine Flame, or there is no warmth." And St. Augustine, in the City of God, notes in Book X that the good angels wish God alone, whom they themselves serve, to receive that divine honor which is rendered by sacrifice, and which is called latreia. They are, by there nature, servants. For this reason, they are usually depicted in dalmatics, the vestment of the servant or Deacon.

Second, it could be seen as a statement of his magnanimity. He is the prince and commander of the angelic army. In late medieval Christianity, Michael, together with Saint George, became the patron saint of chivalry. Jean Molinet was one who glorified the primordial feat of arms of the archangel as "the first deed of knighthood and chivalrous prowess that was ever achieved." Thus Michael was the natural patron of the first chivalric order of France, the Order of Saint Michael of 1469. In the British honours system, a chivalric order founded in 1818 is also named for these two saints, the Order of St Michael and St George. And I'll avoid a tangent but there are interesting statements of magnanimity in the classics, Aristotle and Homer for example, regarding the magnanimous as a soldier (or a philosopher).

So where does he appear.

In Daniel 12 we see: "In tempore autem illo consurget Michaël princeps magnus, qui stat pro filiis populi tui : et veniet tempus quale non fuit ab eo ex quo gentes esse cœperunt usque ad tempus illud. Et in tempore illo salvabitur populus tuus, omnis qui inventus fuerit scriptus in libro." - "But at that time shall Michael rise up, the great prince, who stands for the children of your people: and a time shall come, such as never was from the time that nations began, even until that time. And at that time shall your people be saved, every one that shall be found written in the book."

Already we see references to his role and note the role he plays with the people of Israel.

In Daniel 10:13 we see "et ecce Michaël, unus de principibus primis, venit in adjutorium meum, et ego remansi ibi juxta regem Persarum." - "and behold Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, and I remained there by the king of the Persians."

In Jude 1 we see "Cum Michaël Archangelus cum diabolo disputans altercaretur de Moysi corpore, non est ausus judicium inferre blasphemiæ : sed dixit : Imperet tibi Dominus. 10 Hi autem quæcumque quidem ignorant, blasphemant : quæcumque autem naturaliter, tamquam muta animalia, norunt, in his corrumpuntur. 11 Væ illis, quia in via Cain abierunt, et errore Balaam mercede effusi sunt, et in contradictione Core perierunt!" - "When Michael the archangel, disputing with the devil, contended about the body of Moses, he dared not bring against him the judgment of railing speech, but said: The Lord command you. 10 But these men blaspheme whatever things they know not: and what things soever they naturally know, like dumb beasts, in these they are corrupted. 11 Woe unto them! For they have gone in the way of Cain: and after the error of Balaam they have for reward poured out themselves and have perished in the contradiction of Core."

Finally in Apoc. 12 we see "Et factum est prælium magnum in cælo : Michaël et angeli ejus præliabantur cum dracone, et draco pugnabat, et angeli ejus: 8 et non valuerunt, neque locus inventus est eorum amplius in cælo. 9 Et projectus est draco ille magnus, serpens antiquus, qui vocatur diabolus, et Satanas, qui seducit universum orbem : et projectus est in terram, et angeli ejus cum illo missi sunt." - "And there was a great battle in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon fought, and his angels. 8 And they prevailed not: neither was their place found any more in heaven. 9 And that great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, who seduces the whole world. And he was cast unto the earth: and his angels were thrown down with him."

Those are just the direct mentions of his name. In Joshua 5 we see "Cum autem esset Josue in agro urbis Jericho, levavit oculos, et vidit virum stantem contra se, evaginatum tenentem gladium : perrexitque ad eum, et ait : Noster es, an adversariorum? 14 Qui respondit : Nequaquam : sed sum princeps exercitus Domini, et nunc venio. 15 Cecidit Josue pronus in terram, et adorans ait : Quid dominus meus loquitur ad servum suum? 16 Solve, inquit, calceamentum tuum de pedibus tuis : locus enim, in quo stas, sanctus est. Fecitque Josue ut sibi fuerat imperatum." - "And when Joshua was in the field of the city of Jericho, he lifted up his eyes, and saw a man standing over against him, holding a drawn sword, and he went to him, and said: Are you one of ours, or of our adversaries? 14 And he answered: No: but I am prince of the host of the Lord, and now I have come. 15 Joshua fell on his face to the ground. And worshipping, said: What says my lord to his servant? 16 Loose, says he, your shoes from off your feet: for the place whereon you stand is holy. And Joshua did as was commanded him."

Yet, we know this to refer to Michael for he is called prince of the people of Israel (Daniel 10:21).

That is just the Canonical Scriptural references. There is the Book of Enoch to which I will link the wikipedia outline as it is quite good.

In the Roman Catholic Church, Saint Michael has four main roles or offices.[31] He is the Christian angel of death, carrying the souls of all the deceased to heaven, where they are weighed in his perfectly balanced scales (hence Michael is often depicted holding scales). At the hour of death, Michael descends and gives each soul the chance to redeem itself before passing, thus consternating the devil and his minions. St Michael is the special patron of the Chosen People in the Old Testament and is guardian of the Church; it was thus not unusual for the angel to be revered by the military orders of knights during the Middle Ages. Last, he is the supreme enemy of Satan and the fallen angels. The great Archangel is not only protector of the Christians on earth but of those in purgatory as well. He assists the dying, accompanies the souls to their private judgment, brings them to purgatory, and afterward presents them to God at their entrance into Heaven. Thus he is the actual patron of the holy souls. As Satan is "ruler" in hell so Michael is the "governor" of Heaven (Praepositus Paradisi) according to ancient books. The Church expresses this patronage in her liturgy. In the Offertory prayer of the Requiem Masses she prays:

Sed signifer sanctus Michael repraesentet eas in lucem sanctam, quam olim Abrahae promisisti et semini eius.

Saint Michael, the banner bearer, may conduct them into the holy light which Thou hast promised to Abraham and his seed.

You see this in the image of him typically linked to the Dies Irae.

He is also the Defender and Protector of the Eucharist. I share with you too prayers, the Leonine one (the long one) and the Act of Consecration, both of which show his role of protecting the Eucharist, caring for the people, and kicking Satan's butt.

Note prayer is taken from the Rite of Exorcism...He apparently, so I am told, always appears:

PRINCEPS gloriosissime caelestis militiae, sancte Michael Archangele, defende nos in proelio et colluctatione, quae nobis adversus principes et potestates, adversus mundi rectores tenebrarum harum, contra spiritualia nequitiae, in caelestibus. Veni in auxilium hominum, quos Deus creavit inexterminabiles, et ad imaginem similitudinis suae fecit, et a tyrannide diaboli emit pretio magno. Proeliare hodie cum beatorum Angelorum exercitu proelia Domini, sicut pugnasti contra ducem superbiae luciferum, et angelos eius apostaticos: et non valuerunt, neque locus inventus est eorum amplius in caelo. Sed proiectus est draco ille magnus, serpens antiquus, qui vocatur diabolus et satanas, qui seducit universum orbem; et proiectus est in terram, et angeli eius cum illo missi sunt.	O GLORIOUS Prince of the heavenly host, Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in the battle and fearful warfare that we are waging against the principalities and powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, against the evil spirits. Come thou to the assistance of men, whom Almighty God created immortal, making them in His own image and likeness and redeeming them at a great price from the tyranny of Satan. Fight this day the battle of the Lord with thy legions of holy Angels, even as of old thou didst fight against Lucifer, the leader of the proud spirits and all his rebel angels, who were powerless to stand against thee, neither was their place found any more in heaven. And that great dragon was cast forth, the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and satan, who seduces the whole world; and he was cast forth upon Earth, and his angels were sent with him.
En antiquus inimicus et homicida vehementer erectus est. Transfiguratus in angelum lucis, cum tota malignorum spirituum caterva late circuit et invadit terram, ut in ea deleat nomen Dei et Christi eius, animasque ad aeternae gloriae coronam destinatas furetur, mactet ac perdat in sempiternum interitum. Virus nequitiae suae, tamquam flumen immundissimum, draco maleficus transfundit in homines depravatos mente et corruptos corde; spiritum mendacii, impietatis et blasphemiae; halitumque mortiferum luxuriae, vitiorum omnium et iniquitatum.	But behold! the ancient enemy of mankind and a murderer from the beginning has been fiercely aroused. Changing himself into an angel of light, he goes about with the whole multitude of the wicked spirits to invade the earth and blot out the Name of God and of His Christ, to plunder, to slay, and to consign to eternal damnation the souls that have been destined for a crown of everlasting life. This wicked serpent, like an unclean torrent, pours into men of depraved minds and corrupt hearts the poison of his malice, the spirit of lying, impiety and blasphemy, and the deadly breath of impurity and every form of vice and iniquity.
Ecclesiam, Agni immaculati sponsam, vaferrimi hostes repleverunt amaritudinibus, inebriarunt absinthio; ad omnia desiderabilia eius impias miserunt manus. Ubi sedes beatissimi Petri et Cathedra veritatis ad lucem gentium constituta est, ibi thronum posuerunt abominationis et impietatis suae; ut percusso Pastore, et gregem disperdere valeant.	Be favorable to Thy Church, the Bride of the Lamb without spot, whose enemies have filled to overflowing with gall and inebriated with wormwood. They have laid profane hands upon Her most sacred treasures. Where the See of the most blessed Peter and the Chair of Truth has been constituted as a light to the nations, there they have placed a throne of their abomination and impiety; so that with the Pastor struck, they may prevail to disperse the flock.
Adesto itaque, Dux invictissime, populo Dei contra irrumpentes spirituales nequitias, et fac victoriam. Te custodem et patronum sancta veneratur Ecclesia; te gloriatur defensore adversus terrestrium et infernorum nefarias potestates; tibi tradidit Dominus animas redemptorum in superna felicitate locandas. Deprecare Deum pacis, ut conterat satanam sub pedibus nostris, ne ultra valeat captivos tenere homines, et Ecclesiae nocere. Offer nostras preces in conspectu Altissimi, ut cito anticipent nos misericordiae Domini, et apprehendas draconem, serpentem antiquum, qui est diabolus et satanas, ac ligatum mittas in abyssum, ut non seducat amplius gentes. Hinc tuo confisi praesidio ac tutela, sacri ministerii nostri auctoritate [si fuerit laicus, vel clericus qui ordinem exorcistatus nondum suscepit, dicat: sacra sanctae Matris Ecclesiae auctoritate], ad infestationes diabolicae fraudis repellendas in nomine Iesu Christi Dei et Domini nostri fidentes et securi aggredimur.	Therefore, most invincible Leader, be with the people of God against this spiritual wickedness and bring about victory. Thou art venerated by Holy Church as Her guard and patron; Thou art glorified as our defender against the impious powers of earth and of hell. Unto thee the Lord hath handed over the souls of the redeemed to be placed in happiness above. Entreat the God of peace, to obliterate satan beneath our feet, lest he prevail further to hold men captive, and to injure the Church. Offer our prayers in the sight of the Most High, so that the mercy of the Lord may swiftly overtake us, and apprehend the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and satan, and send him bound into the abyss, so that he may seduce the nations no more. Henceforth having been confided to thy escort and protection, we sacred ministers by our authority [if recited by a layman, or cleric who has not yet taken up the order of exorcist, say instead, "by the authority of Holy Mother Church ], do undertake to repel the infestations of diabolical deceit in the Name of Jesus Christ, Our God and Lord.
V. Ecce Crucem Domini, fugite partes adversae.	V. Behold the Cross of the Lord, depart from us, our adversaries.
R. Vicit Leo de tribu Iuda, radix David.	R. The Lion of the tribe of Juda, root of David, has conquered.
V. Fiat misericordia tua, Domine, super nos.	V. Let Thy mercy be upon us Lord.
R. Quemadmodum speravimus in te.	R. As much as we hope in Thee.
V. Domine, exaudi orationem meam.	V. O Lord, hear my prayer.
R. Et clamor meus ad te veniat.	R. And let my cry come unto Thee.
Si fuerit saltem diaconus subiungat	If recited by at least a deacon add the following
V. Dominus vobiscum.	V. The Lord be with you all.
R. Et cum spiritu tuo.	R. And with thy spirit.
Oremus Deus, et Pater Domini nostri Iesu Christi, invocamus nomen sanctum tuum, et clementiam tuam supplices exposcimus ut, per intercessionem immaculatae semper Virginis Dei Genetricis Mariae, beati Michaelis Archangeli, beati Ioseph eiusdem beatae Virginis Sponsi, beatorum Apostolorum Petri et Pauli et omnium Sanctorum, adversus satanam, omnesque alios immundos spiritus, qui ad nocendum humano generi animasque perdendas pervagantur in mundo, nobis auxilium praestare digneris. Per eundem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.	Let us pray O God, and Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ, we invoke Thy Holy Name, and we humbly implore Thy clemency so that, through the intercession of Mary, the Immaculate ever-Virgin Mother of God, of blessed Michael the Archangel, of blessed Joseph, the Spouse of the same blessed Virgin, of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and of all the Saints, Thou may deign to offer us aid against satan, and all the other unclean spirits, who wander through the world to injure the human race and to destroy souls. We ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Then the Consecration:

Saint Michael the Archangel, invincible prince of the angelic hosts and glorious protector of the universal Church, I greet you and praise you for that splendor with which God has adorned you so richly. I thank God for the great graces he has bestowed upon you, especially to remain faithful when Lucifer and his followers rebelled, and to battle victoriously for the honor of God and the divinity of the Son of Man.

Saint Michael, I consecrate to you my soul and body. I choose you as my patron and protector and entrust the salvation of my soul to your care. Be the guardian of my obligation as a child of God and of the Catholic Church as again I renounce Satan, his works and pomps. Assist me by your powerful intercession in the fulfillment of these sacred promises, so that imitating your courage and loyalty to God, and trusting in your kind help and protection, I may be victorious over the enemies of my soul and be united with God in heaven forever. Amen.

Continue with the Chaplet of St. Michael

Here is a link to a few more great prayers!

Phew...this is taking longer than I thought. But that is ok, he is my patron and I am not writing the near-book that my buddy, a PhD student at ND, Tommy C wrote on just devotion to the good archangel.

I am running out of steam so here is a link to a brief description of his apparitions.

Alas! I hate sharing. I do not like the mixed Feast even if that was traditionally how they were commemorated...St. Michael and the other angels. As the great Professor Michael Loux uttered at ND, "when the Church mixed the Feast...that was just ontologically confusing." This was said in a metaphysics class in which, following traditional Aristotelean/Thomist metaphysics, angelic bodies, lacking matter/bodies and being of pure forms/souls, exhaust their own species. Literally, every angel is its own species since it is matter that differentiates and individualizes forms of a particular species.

"I answer that, Some have said that all spiritual substances, even souls, are of the one species. Others, again, that all the angels are of the one species, but not souls; while others allege that all the angels of one hierarchy, or even of one order, are of the one species.

But this is impossible. For such things as agree in species but differ in number, agree in form, but are distinguished materially. If, therefore, the angels be not composed of matter and form, as was said above (Article 2), it follows that it is impossible for two angels to be of one species; just as it would be impossible for there to be several whitenesses apart, or several humanities, since whitenesses are not several, except in so far as they are in several substances. And if the angels had matter, not even then could there be several angels of one species. For it would be necessary for matter to be the principle of distinction of one from the other, not, indeed, according to the division of quantity, since they are incorporeal, but according to the diversity of their powers; and such diversity of matter causes diversity not merely of species, but of genus."

~St Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, Ia, L, a.4, corpus.

His feast, originally combined with the remembrance of all angels, had been celebrated in Rome from the early centuries on September 29. The Synod of Mainz (813) introduced it into all the countries of the Carolingian Empire and prescribed its celebration as a public holiday. All through medieval times Saint Michael’s Day was kept as a great religious feast (in France even up to the last century) and one of the annual holiday seasons as well. The churches of the Greek Rite keep the feast on November 8, and a second festival on September 6. In France the apparition of the Archangel at Mont-Saint-Michel is commemorated on October 16. Another apparition, on Mount Gargano in Apulia, Italy, is honored by a memorial feast in the whole Western Church on May 8.

Here is the offertory for today

OK...I AM DONE! Except, he is the full image of Memling's Triptych that I have been using:

or a much bigger picture here

¡Viva Mexico!

Bienvenidos mis amigos y ¡ Feliz 16 de Septiembre!

¡Hoy es el día de la independencia de México!

Today is Mexico's Independence Day and nothing quite says Mexico than Vicente Fernandez singing "El Rey." In fact, this video may just encompass the full essence of México:

My high school team used to sing that song all the way home after a big win in playoffs... I also need a hat like that...and no, not for the biretta.

Now you may be thinking...what about Cinco de Mayo? As Gerardi so eloquently put it, it seems as though "You Mexicans will just take any excuse to drink a crapload of tequila." And while I do not deny that by any means (it is kinda true), 16 de Septiembre is the actual independence day. Cinco de Mayo just commemorates a huge, and unlikely, victory in Puebla over some Frenchies.

Anywho. In the early hours of September 16th, 1810, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a priest in the small town of Dolores, Guanajuato, rang the church bell to gather the townspeople. He called for the people of Mexico to rise up against the Spanish Crown, thus initiating Mexico's War of Independence. The country did not achieve independence until 1821, but it is this event, known as the Grito de Dolores which is commemorated every year in town squares across Mexico. So there you are, a priest made Mexico. This event is still commemorated every year

On the 15th, at 11 pm el Presidente goes out onto the central balcony of the Palacio Nacional, rings the bell (the same bell Hidalgo rang in 1810, brought to Mexico City in 1886) and cries to the people gathered in the square below, who respond "¡Viva!"

Like here:

or here:

So there we are...Mexico. My hometown. I love and hate. ¡Viva la independencia!, ¡Viva la América!, ¡Muera el mal gobierno! Let us pray to Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas, to intercede on behalf of this violently secular (Catholicism was illegal in the twenties in a violent revolution against the Church) nation that its politicians may, idk, do something. Also, let us pray to Blessed Miguel Pro...

He is one of my favorite saints. As the tidal wave of anti-catholicism came crashing down on Mexico, he, remaining a priest, privately said Masses in homes. He would come in the middle of the night dressed as a beggar to baptize infants, bless marriages and celebrate Mass. He would appear in jail dressed as a police officer to bring Holy Viaticum to condemned Catholics. When going to fashionable neighboorhoods to procure for the poor, he would show up at the doorstep dressed as a fashionable businessmam with a fresh flower on his lapel.

Falsely accused in the bombing attempt on a former Mexican president, Miguel became a wanted man. Betrayed to the police, he was sentenced to death without the benefit of any legal process. On the day of his execution, Fr. Pro forgave his executtioners, prayed, bravely refused the blindfold and died proclaiming, "Viva Cristo Rey", "Long live Christ the King!" with his hands outstretched in a Cruciform with a Rosary in one hand and a Bible in the other.

Let us pray for his canonization and always ask for his intercession in these times when the Catholic Church is under a dreadful assault.

Blessed Miguel Pro, pray for us and always intercede for all of us to Jesus for us to have the courage and steadfastness to defend the Church in these very troubling times. You've said at your martyrdom: "Vivo Cristo Rey!!!" (Long live Christ the King!!!). Christ the King, save us!

So there we are.

And I conclude with an attempt to instill some culture in all my gringo amigos out there: (also, feel free to look up the anthem and ALL its lyrics...they are pretty neat)

Here is an example of some great Mariachi and Ballet Folclórico:

and

Stabat mater dolorosa

CONSECRATION TO

OUR LADY OF SORROWS

Most holy Virgin and Queen of Martyrs,

Mary, would that I could be in Heaven,

there to contemplate the honours rendered to thee

by the Most Holy Trinity

and by the whole Heavenly Court!

But since I am still a pilgrim in this vale of tears,

receive from me, thy unworthy servant and a poor sinner,

the most sincere homage

and the most perfect act of vassalage

a human creature can offer thee.

In thy Immaculate Heart,

pierced with so many swords of sorrow,

I place today my poor soul forever;

receive me as a partaker in thy dolors,

and never suffer that I should depart from that Cross

on which thy only begotten Son expired for me.

With thee, O Mary,

I will endure all the sufferings,

contradictions, infirmities,

with which it will please thy Divine Son

to visit me in this life.

All of them I offer to thee,

in memory of the Dolors

which thou didst suffer during thy life,

that every thought of my mind,

every beating of my heart

may henceforward be an act of compassion to thy Sorrows,

and of complacency for the glory

thou now enjoyest in Heaven.

Since then, O Dear Mother,

I now compassionate thy Dolors,

and rejoice in seeing thee glorified,

do thou also have compassion on me,

and reconcile me to thy Son Jesus,

that I may become thy true and loyal son (daughter);

come on my last day and assist me in my last agony,

even as thou wert present at the Agony of thy Divine Son Jesus,

that from this painful exile I may go to Heaven,

there to be made partaker of thy glory.

Amen.

Now for a picture of one of my favorite altars dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows in Santa Maria dei Servi, Siena, Italy:

We owe a debt of gratitude to the Servites who, only five years after their founding in 1238, took up the sorrows of Mary, standing under the Cross, as the principal devotion of their order. Then, at a provincial synod of Cologne in 1413, the Feast of Commemoratio angustiae et doloris B. M. V. was established and was set on the Friday after the third Sunday after Easter. It was established as a response to the iconoclasm of the Hussites, the followers of Jan Hus. Alive during the late 14th century, he is actually credited as the first actual Church reformer due to his significant role as a a key predecessor to the thoughts of Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli during the Protestant movement of the sixteenth century. He is famed for having been burned at the stake for heresy...now that is a thought...nevermind :)

The object of these feats is the spiritual martyrdom of the Mother of God. ‎"Attend O ye who pass by the way, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow"...yeah didn't think so. Without suffering death, Our Lady, staying close to the Cross (good example for us), won the martyr's crown. May we learn to attach ourselves to the sufferings of Our Lady and Our Lord on that glorious day when she gave her son to the torment of His crucifiers so that we might be saved!

Cor Jesu Sacratissimum, Miserere Nobis!

Cor Immaculatum Mariae, ora pro nobis!