Thank you Holy Father for this clarity. The plumb line of truth revealed by heaven and incarnate in Jesus Christ is the standard we must always seek. God bless you as you take on the enormous task of righting the Barque of Peter according to the Deposit of Faith.
The Sacred Heart and Holy Viaticum
1. The infinite love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus accompanies us through life. Our Lord loved us so much that He gave His life for us; there could not possibly be any greater love than this. “Greater love than this no one has, that one lay down his life for his friends. “ (John 15, 13) The Heart of Jesus beats for us continually and His gaze follows us everywhere, especially when we are in danger or in temptation.
Since Jesus loved us so much that He died for us, it is incredible that He would ever abandon us. Even though He is now happy and beyond suffering in Heaven, He still loves us dearly. But if the Sacred Hart enfolds us now in a close embrace of love, He will certainly protect us in a very special manner at the moment of death, that moment on which depends an eternity of joy or of suffering.
Let us reflect on what happened when Jesus was hanging upon the Cross. He gave us all His love and all His Precious Blood, and with His dying breath He gave us the last treasure He possessed, His Blessed Mother. Omnipotent though He was, He could not give us anything more. He had exhausted His infinite love, giving us merely all that He possessed, but giving us Himself also.
One of the thieves who was being crucified along with Him turned towards Him a look of repentance and of supplication. His Heart was filled with love and mercy and He said to the penitent thief: “This day thou shalt be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23, 43) These are comforting words. Some day we also shall be in agony and shall turn to Jesus in our final hour. Then Jesus in the Blessed Eucharist will come to us for the last time. Let us pray earnestly that Viaticum may bring us the same consolation which the words of Jesus gave to the good thief: “This day thou shalt be with me in paradise!”
2. We should particularly ask the Sacred Heart of Jesus for the grace to die a good death, strengthened by Holy Viaticum. Let us picture ourselves in this final hour. The world is fading away and nothing remains of the honours, successes, and pleasures of our past life. There will remain only two things – on one side, the merits which we have obtained by our prayers, penances and good works; on the other side, the sum total of our sins and ingratitude to God. May Jesus come at this moment into our poor hearts, trembling for our sins and lacking in virtue. May Holy Viaticum come to strengthen us. May the white Host bear with it forgiveness, hope, and the purifying flame of love.
Then the infinite love of the Heart of Jesus will be mingled with the weak limited love of our hearts. It will waft us into a state of everlasting happiness, where to love is to possess the boundless joy of God.
3. From a sudden and unprovided death, O Lord, deliver us. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I give you my heart and my soul. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, assist me now and in my last agony. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, may I breathe forth my soul in peace with you. Amen.—Antonio Cardinal Bacci
Hail, Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst women
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Pray for us! 🙏 🌹
Shared from Jerome Castaneda on Facebook
The devil appeared to three monks and said to them: If I gave you the power to change something in the past, what would you change?
The first of them, with great apostolic fervor, answered: "I would prevent you from causing Adam and Eve to fall into sin, so that mankind would not be separated from God."
The second, a man full of mercy, said to him: “I would keep you from turning away from God and condemning yourself forever.”
The third of them was the simplest and instead of answering the temptor, he knelt down, made the Sign of the Cross and prayed, saying, "Lord, deliver me from the temptation of what could have been and wasn't."
The demon, yelling loud and trembling in pain, be gone.
The other two, surprised, said to him, “Brother, why did you react like that?” ”
He answered them:
“First: We should NEVER dialogue with the enemy.
Second: NOBODY in the world has the power to change the past.
Third: Satan's INTEREST was not to prove our virtue, but to hold us in the past, so that we neglect the present, the only time God gives us His grace and we can cooperate with it to do His will.
Of all the devils, the one that most detains men and prevents them from being happy is "what could have been and wasn't". The past is left to the Mercy of God and the future to His Providence. But the present is in His love. Live today loving God with all the strength of your heart and those God has given you.