The Christ Child Crucified on Mount Pichincha

Dear Child Jesus of Pichincha, I humbly kneel before Thee, worn and disillusioned by the world and all its empty pleasures and promises. I have left the warmth and joy of Thy house to eat husks with the swine.

I beseech Thee to purify my heart and restore my innocence. I humbly beseech Thy Loving and Gracious Heart to forgive, and even forget, my past and to grant me the grace to begin anew. I beg not only for my restoration, but for that of the world, and above all, for that of our beloved Holy Catholic Church, which is so beleaguered and persecuted.

Through the infinite merits of Thy Holy Childhood, I feel confident that my prayer will be answered.


Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be...

In 1628 Our Lady of Good Success, carrying the Christ Child, appeared to a nun in Quito, Ecuador and said: "Lift up your eyes now and look at Pichinicha Mountain where you will see this Divine Infant Whom I carry in my arms crucified."

The Christ Child approached the Cross, placed the crown of thorns on His Head, extended His arms on the Cross and said: "I can do no more to show my love for you. Ungrateful souls repay the great love and attentions of My Heart with contempt, sacrileges and blasphemies."

To learn more about Our Lady of Good Success or order more holy cards visit our website www.TraditionInAction.org or contact us at
TIA, PO Box 23135, Los Angeles, CA 90023 (Phone 323-725-0219)

A Prayer for Purity:

Jesus, Lover of chastity, Mary, Mother most pure, and Joseph, chaste guardian of the Virgin, to you I come at this hour, begging you to plead with God for me. I earnestly wish to be pure in thought, word and deed in imitation of your own holy purity.Obtain for me, then, a deep sense of modesty which will be reflected in my external conduct. Protect my eyes, the windows of my soul, from anything that might dim the luster of a heart that must mirror only Christlike purity.And when the "Bread of Angels becomes the Bread of me" in my heart at Holy Communion, seal it forever against the suggestions of sinful pleasures. Heart of Jesus, Fount of all purity, have mercy on us.


Source: http://misalvador777.tripod.com/catholictreasurechest/

A Nurse's Prayer

O my God, teach me to receive the sick in Thy Name. Give to my efforts success for the glory of Thy holy Name.
It is Thy work: without Thee, I cannot succeed.
Grant That the sick Thou hast placed in my care may be abundantly blessed, and not one of them be lost because of any neglect on my part.
Help me to overcome every temporal weakness, and strengthen in me whatever may enable me to bring joy to the lives of those I serve.
Give me grace, for the sake of Thy sick ones and of those lives that will be influenced by them.
Amen.

Lord, Thy Will Be Done

After Teresa's death, the following lines were found in her writing book:

Father of all, we fain would say, as did Thy only Son,
In every hour of every day, Oh let Thy Will be done.
In thought, in word, in deed, in death, things finished or begun,
Let every transitory breath whisper: Thy Will be done.
In daily cares to thousands known, or known perchance to none,
Let this request be heard above: Oh! Lord, Thy Will be done.
In sickness though some stroke unseen may oft the senses stun,
Let grace suggestive intervene to feel Thy Will be done.
In health, when in its full career the race of man is run,
Let joy be taught by holy fear to pray: Thy Will be done.
Amid the rocks and shoals of life which few can ever shun,
Let peace compose each spark of strife and cry: Thy Will be done.
And when the bow of hope shall blend all colours into one,
Time with eternity shall end with: LORD, THY WILL BE DONE.

Teresa's Prayer To Mary

O Mary, I implore Thee by all the love and homage Thou hast bestowed on this Seat of Divine Wisdom before which the Cherubim and Seraphim lie prostrate in awe and trembling, fear and love, by this Sacred Head which Thou hast so often pressed on Thy Immaculate Heart and pillowed on Thy bosom. Oh Mary and Joseph, oh ye Choirs of Angels and glorious Assembly of Saints, raise now your minds, your hearts, and your hands to the adorable Trinity and beg the holy of Holies to look upon these warm vermilion drops of priceless worth, The Precious Blood of Jesus that have obeyed to the orders of His Divine Wisdom, ask Him through His obedience unto death, through the Wisdom and Love He has displayed towards His creatures, to arise and spread this light over the whole face of the earth. Where should we all be if it were not for His Infinite Wisdom and Love? In the Nothingness out of which He called all things. Then let all creatures acknowledge, praise, bless and love this Wisdom, let them adore the Sacred Head of Jesus as its Seat. Not my will but Thine be done. I mean that I am ready to await Thy good pleasure, but Oh Lord, Thou knowest how this fire burns within me, Thou knowest all things. My love and my desires are not hidden from Thee. Amen.

From the booklet: Teresa Helena Higginson and the devotion to The Sacred Head of Christ, Seat of Divine Wisdom

Prayer to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament

O DIVINE Jesus, lonely to-night in so many Tabernacles, without visitor or worshipper, I offer Thee my lonely heart, and may its beatings be a prayer of love to Thee. Thou art ever watching under Sacramental veils; in Thy Love Thou never sleepest, and art never weary in Thy vigil for sinners. O Loving Jesus, O Lovely Jesus, may my heart be a lamp, the light of which shall burn for Thee alone. Watch Sacramental Sentinel, watch for the weary world, for the erring soul and for Thy poor lonely child. Amen.
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, that I could water with my tears those places where the marks of Thy Love have been received only with contempt and indifference. In reparation for such injuries, I offer Thee the love of all just souls, the ardour of the angels, and above all, the tender sentiments of Thine Immaculate Mother. Permit me to unite with that offering the affections of my heart. Amen.

Complaints of the Soul of Our Blessed Lord

MY Soul is not known. My Soul is not loved. Night and day I see living lamps burning before My Altar. My Sacrament of love finds worshippers and victims; but My Soul does not meet with sympathising souls. Every day I give Myself to My creatures, and, swallowed up in this union, they praise everything in Me but My Soul and My Sacred Head crowned with thorns, the Seat of divine Wisdom... Each day My Cross is bathed with tears, and the daughters of Zion cannot be comforted, because they see me without brightness and beauty, but few there are who compassionate the anguish of My Soul, sorrowful unto death. My Heart has found thousands of hearts, but My Soul remains solitary, and My Thorn crowned Brow unhonoured. My Face besmeared, and My Eyes and Mouth filled with congealing Blood, and no one is there to wipe It away and refresh My parched Lips and swollen tongue.
"My Soul is Sorrowful even unto death, and I have looked for some one to comport Me and there is none."

From: Devotions to the Sacred Head of Our Blessed Lord; Imprimatur: Jacobus Canonicus Carr, Pro Episcopo Liverpolitano.

Memorare to the Divine Soul

REMEMBER, O most Holy Soul of my Jesus, all Thou hast done  and suffered for my soul, and let it not perish. I beseech Thee, through the anguish that forced Thy very Hearts Blood from Thy Sacred Veins, and I conjure Thee to bathe mine, and all poor sinners in that precious Stream, which ran down in ruby drops upon the ground. Remember the deep and boundless love Thou hast shown to it, and drive not away from Thee, fainting under the weight of its miseries and sorrows. O deign to feel for its weakness; behold the dangers which encompass it on all sides, the evils which cause it to sigh and groan.
Full of trust and love, it comes to Thee, O most tender and compassionate of all Souls; receive it in Thy Mercy and Goodness; cause it to feel the effects of Thy most plentiful Redemption, and the excess of Thy burning love. Show Thyself its advocate with Thy Heavenly Father, in the name of all Thy merits, Thy humiliations, and sufferings, and grant its strength in all its struggles and grace to love and  console Thee in time, that it may possess, praise, and thank Thee for all eternity. Amen.
Soul of Jesus, sorrowful unto death, would that I could console Thee in Thy bitter anguish and grief.

From: Devotions to the Sacred Head of Our Blessed Lord; Imprimatur: Jacobus Canonicus Carr, Pro Episcopo Liverpolitano.

Prayer to the Soul of Jesus Sorrowful unto Death

REMEMBER, O most sorrowful Soul of my Jesus, the fearful agony that Thou didst endure, when plunged into the depths of Thy Father's Justice and Wrath, Thou didst cry out, "My Father, if it be possible, let this bitter Chalice pass from me, nevertheless not My Will but Thine be done"; and when overwhelmed in deepest woe, Thou didst complain that "Thy Soul was sorrowful, even unto death"; and when agonising, dying, and deserted by all, even by Thine eternal Father, these words of wondrous mystery were wrung from Thee, "My God! My God! why hast Thou forsaken Me!"
Remember the sighs, the groans, the anguish of soul, the agony of mind, and the breaking of Thy Loving Heart. Remember the many stripes, the blows, the insults, the blasphemies, the thorns, the Blood, the Tears, the stripping of Thy garments, the shame, the prayers, the separation of Thy Holy Soul from Thine adorable Body.
Remember the Wisdom of Thy Sacred Head that contrived so much suffering, and would thus prove the Love of Thy Sacred Heart, for the souls of Thy children. Remember, too, what Mary suffered. Remember the price I have cost Thee, and when Thou beholdest all these fearful tortures, have mercy and pity on my soul, and forgive me through Thy Precious Blood. Why O my crucified, loving Jesus, are so many souls in darkness and sin? Art Thou not the Almighty God? the God of Wisdom, of Knowledge, of Light? Art Thou not our Creator, our Redeemer, our Sanctification, our holy and strong God? Why then is our enemy and Thine so bold? O Lord, for the love Thou hast for souls, for the price we have cost Thee, for the glory of Thy name, arise and show that Thou art the Living God. Lighten up every darkness by the Light of Thy Divine Wisdom; expel all heresies by spreading the Truth of Thy doctrines, and the beauty of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Faith throughout all nations. Consume all hearts with the burning Fire of Thy Love. Draw all souls to Thy Soul, that we may console and comfort Thee here, by weeping over sin, which is the cause of Thine intense sorrow. Hide us, dear Jesus, in Thy Wounds, bathe our souls in Thy most precious Blood. Stamp Thy sacred Head and Face deeply in our hearts and souls, that we may never forget Thee, nor the sorrow we have caused Thee. Remember us, Lord in Thy Kingdom. Grant us Pardon and peace here, and eternal happiness in the world to come. Let us keep near Thee, Jesus, in Thy Sorrow, that we may be found worthy to dwell for ever with Thee, the Father, and the Holy Spirit, One God in Three distinct Persons, in the world without end.
Amen. Jesus, Mary, Joseph. Amen.

From: Devotions to the Sacred Head of Our Blessed Lord. Imprimatur: Jacobus Canonicus Carr, Pro Episcopo Liverpolitano.

Prayer in Honour of the Sacred Head as The Seat of Divine Wisdom

MY Lord and my God, humbly prostrate before Thee, I adore Thy Sacred Head as the seat of Divine Wisdom, the Shrine of the Powers of Thy most holy Soul and Intellectual Faculties, and the centre of five Senses of Thine adorable Body.
When I gaze into the depths of this fathomless abyss of Goodness, Power, and Wisdom, which has contrived and instituted such unheard of ways and means of proving Thine infinite Love, and lavishing Thy choicest gifts upon me, Thy poor child, I am lost in astonishment and admiration.
O Light of lights, in whose glorious rays I see fresh mines of Wealth in the Sacred Heart; O Sun of Justice, in whose intense heat I feel the burning Love that consumes the Sacred Heart:
O Will, which was always in meek subjection to Thy heavenly Father's, control me in all things, as Thou didst govern all the affections and motions of the Sacred Heart of the God made Man.
O Understanding, which knows all things, ever guide me with Thy Light.
O Memory, in which past, present, and future are at once reflected, which is ever mindful of me, and always seems studying some new means of giving fresh favours, force me to love Thee more and more.
Oh! by the bright shining light of Thine Eyes, teach me to see Thee in all things; and by Thine Ears, which are ever open to the prayers of the needy, grant that I may ever hear the voice of Thy Church, and listen to Thy holy inspirations. Oh, give me always a love and a relish for what is right and just. Let me taste how sweet Thou art. Let me be drawn by the odour of Thy Virtues, and feel forever the intense joy of seeing, loving, praising, blessing and glorifying Thee for all eternity. O Flood of Light! Mine of Wealth! Ocean of Goodness! Sea of Mercy! Fountain of Living Waters! Fire of Love! Source of all Good! to Thee I consecrate myself with that I am or have. O Sacred Head, Seat of Divine Wisdom, Tabernacle of God with man; in Thee I behold at once a celestial and terrestrial Paradise, a new heaven, and a new Earth; the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven prepared and adorned as a bride glowing with light and glory, in whose sparkling crystals I behold all the attributes of the Godhead reflected as a sea of glass. O Rainbow of Peace! O Burning Bush! O Peerless Pearl! Storehouse of the Treasures of God! O Lamp, ever burning! Brightness unfading! Sun for ever shining! O Tree of Life! Life and Light of those who are Thine! O Seal of the Elect.
O Wisdom without beginning or end! Boundless knowledge! Love so great that we cannot understand it! To Thee I raise my prayer of love, reparation and thanksgiving from the centre of the Sacred Heart, where I safely hide; and I beg of Thee to accept, O my Jesus, all the treasures of this infinite mystery of love and riches, in atonement for my coldness, misery, and poverty. O Jesus, my beloved Jesus, I love Thee far more than I can tell; Jesus, my Spouse, and my treasure, I grieve that Thou art so little known and so much offended. Jesus, my Life and my Light, may all minds know Thee, all hearts love Thee, and all tongues praise Thee, now and for ever more, Amen. Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! O Seat of Divine Wisdom, have mercy on me, O Sacred Head and loving Heart, guide me with Thy Light, and consume me with Thy fire. Amen.

From: Devotions to the Sacred Head of Our Blessed Lord, Imprimatur: Jacobus Canonicus Carr, Pro Episcopo Liverpolitano.

Prayer to the Sacred Head

O WISDOM of the Sacred Head, guide me in all my ways. Love of the Sacred Heart, consume me with thy fire.
Three Glorias, in honour of the Divine Will, Memory and Understanding.
O Seat of Divine Wisdom, and guiding Power, which governs all the motions and love of the Sacred Heart, may all minds know Thee, all hearts Love Thee, and all tongues praise Thee, now and for ever more.

Let Us Pray

DEAREST Jesus, teach me to be generous, teach me to serve Thee as Thou deservest, to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to labour and not to ask for any reward, except to know that I do Thy Will, O my God.

From: Devotions to the Sacred Head of Our Blessed Lord - Imprimatur: Jacobus Canonicus Carr, Pro Episcopo Liverpolitano.

How Great Thou Art - With Carrie Underwood & Paul O. Schenker

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!


When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.


Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!


When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"


Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

Prayer of Teresa Higginson for the spread of devotion to the Sacred Head of Our Lord

O infinite Wisdom, boundless Love, how unsearchable are Thy ways! Make known, O Lord, Thy desire to have Thy Sacred Head honoured as the Seat of divine Wisdom, and to have Thy holy Soul, sorrowful unto death, comforted. Arise and show that Thou art the Almighty God. Make known the burning desire of Thy Sacred Heart. Make haste, O Lord, for Thy own dear sake.
Do not delay; I conjure Thee through Thy most Precious Blood, and for Thy bitter Passion's sake.
I ask Thee, O ever Blessed Trinity, in the holy name of Jesus, in honour of this same Seat of Divine Wisdom, and through the burning love of His Sacred Heart; I ask Thee in the name of Mary and Joseph, and for the salvation of souls, that Thou  wilt make known and spread this Devotion.
O Lord Thou knowest the desire with which I desire to satisfy Thee; yet how weak and helpless I am; and how little is yet done.
Speak, Lord, and say what Thou wouldst have us do.
Amen.

Imprimatur: Liverpolii die 13 Sep. 1931, + Ricardus Archiepiscopus Liverpolitanus.

The Shrine of Our Lady of Trois-Epis, Alsace - France

We welcome you, pilgrim and visitor, to this place where, in the person of Mary, God has visited Alsatian soil. In a natural setting, amidst lakes, vineyards and castles, "Our Lady of the Three Ears of Corn" invites you to meditation and prayer.

Here, on May 3, 1491, Mary appeared to Thierry Schoeré, a blacksmith on his way from Orbey to the market in Niedermorschwihr to buy some corn.
She was holding an icicle in one hand, a portentous symbol of sorrow and desolation; in the other, she held three beautiful ears of corn on a single stalk, bringing promise of abundance and blessings. She told the blacksmith:
"Fear not, make haste and go as quickly as you can to Niedermorschwihr. Tell the inhabitants that they should mend their ways and journey to this mountain in procession".
But Thierry Schoeré was afraid, he told no-one a word of what had happened... it required a sign, a sack of wheat that it was impossible to lift from the ground, symbolising all the fears that paralyse us... Only then did he dare to deliver the message of life Mary had given him.

As early as 1491, a modest wooden chapel was erected on the site of the apparition, then replaced in 1493 by a stone building. A priest, assisted by a hermit, ministered to the shrine until the Thirty Years War (1618-1648).
The chapel was burnt down in 1636, but rose from its ashes with the arrival of a religious community. Several communities followed one after the other until the Revolution, when the shrine was closed. It was restored to worship in 1804.
The Redemptorists settled in Trois-Epis on July 11, 1912 and have continued to spread Mary's message ever since then.

The chapel of the apparition
A historic site, but above all a place dedicated to prayer and meditation... On entering the chapel, pilgrims are welcomed by a statue of Mary dating from 1950, which calls to mind the two symbols of the apparition.
As you move towards the choir, two discoveries await you above the high altar: a pietà dating from the late XVth century, "le petit vieux image miraculeux" and a painting representing the Visitation, for it is to this episode of the life of the Virgin Mary that the chapel is dedicated. In the choir, two paintings depict the Apparition of 1491.
On the left-hand altar, a statue of Saint Antony the Hermit is a vivid reminder that he Antonines spent more than a century at Trois-Epis. On the right-hand altar, another statue, carved in wood, represents Saint Antony of Liguori, the founder of the Redemptorist congregation. The numerous thanksgiving plaques covering the walls of the chapel are a tribute to Mary for the many graces received through her intercession. At the far end of the chapel, visitors can admire another statue of Mary which was rescued from the fire of 1636.
Before finally leaving, you will see a stone lodged between the choir and the nave, bearing the date of 1693, indicating the year the chapel was built.

Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Before the Mariensäule in Munich

Holy Mother of the Lord!
Our ancestors, at a time of trouble, set up your statue here, in the very heart of Munich, and entrusted the city and country to your care. They wanted to meet you again and again along the paths of their daily life, and to learn from you the right way to live, to find God and to live in harmony. They gave you a crown and a sceptre, which at that time were symbols of dominion over the country, because they knew that power and dominion would then be in good hands - in the hands of a Mother.
Your Son, just before his farewell to his disciples, said to them: "Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all" (Mk 10:43-44). At the decisive hour in your own life, you said: "Here I am, the servant of the Lord" (Lk 1:38). You lived your whole life as service. And you continue to do so throughout history. At Cana, you silently and discreetly interceded for the spouses, and so you continue to do. You take upon yourself people's needs and concerns, and you bring them before the Lord, before your Son. Your power is goodness. Your power is service.
Teach us - great and small alike - to carry out our responsibilities in the same way. Help us to find the strength to offer reconciliation and forgiveness. Help us to become patient and humble, but also free and courageous, just as you were at the hour of the Cross. In your arms you hold Jesus, the Child who blesses, the Child who is also the Lord of the world. By holding the Child who blesses, you have yourself become a blessing. Bless us, this city and this country! Show us Jesus, the blessed fruit of your womb! Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen!

Apostolic Journey of His Holiness Benedict XVI to München, Altötting and Regensburg (September 9-14, 2006), Marienplatz, München, Saturday, 9 September 2006

© Copyright 2006 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Hail Holy Queen - Salve Regina - Video (1)

Mary, Co-Redemptrix

Our Holy Lady Mary

The "Sweet Mother" of Birnau

Since 1790 the statue of the Mother of God, especially highlighted as a focal point of the shrine and as the mediatrix of all grace, has been shining like a pearl in an oyster at the center of this classical monument which is the high altar. According to experts and admirers this image of Our Lady of Birnau, which is part of the group of "beautiful Madonnas", merits the title of "most beautiful enthroned statue of Mary in upper southern Bavaria". The great fresco overhanging the church nave is also devoted to this image. Angels can be seen introducing the miraculous statue into the new sanctuary in order to heighten its prestige and perpetuate the tradition of Marian devotion in Old-Birnau.
The sculpture measures roughly one meter in height. The soft drape of the clothing and the deep folds between the feet indicate a Gothic work of about 1430. According to the research of Jurgen Michler the Birnau statue is comparable to statues which came into being in Ulm during the years 1420-1436. Crafted and decorative stone sculptures of the façade of the cathedral of Ulm help to establish stylistic kinships (both in terms of decorative technique and plastic beauty) between the Virgin of Birnau and the Ulm school, especially the "master of the Dornstadt altar". Since, furthermore, a written source from 1430 testifies to the activity in Uberlingen of a "master of Ulm", it is not difficult to situate the style of our statue in the same period of the history of art. What, on the other hand, remains obscure is the reason why a new statue of the Virgin was made around 1430 for the pilgrimage of Old-Birnau. What had happened to the first miraculous statue? It seems that, if the "mellow style" of the present work bears without a doubt the mark of Gothic art, the sculptor was probably inspired by a seated model of a Romanesque Madonna. One naturally thinks of the previous statue from Birnau. In addition, the typological features of the old miraculous statue from the hermitage, often imitated, show through in the Gothic Birnau copy. What was new in the region around Lake Constance around 1430 was the use of the crescent moon motif at the feet of sculptures representing the Virgin (cf. the Madonna of Eriskirch, 1410). This half moon fitted around the face of the woman of the Apocalypse has to be seen in parallel with the radiating nimbus placed behind the seated figure, which has now disappeared (cf. the representation of the miraculous statue by Christopher Lienhard, 1708). The rays of sunlight (light and warmth of God) and the moon help us to recognize in Mary this woman of the Apocalypse who has existed from time immemorial in the plan of salvation of God as mother of the Savior and mediatrix of all grace (Ap 12:1-5). In the footsteps of Christian Antiquity the Middle Ages readily used the sun and the crescent moon as symbols of the royalty of Christ. In the Baroque era this allegory was also applied to Mary, due to the fact that the moon reflects the light of the sun.
In 1746 the miraculous statue of Old-Birnau was transferred, with a subterfuge, to the abbey of Salem, whence in 1750 it reached its place in the new sanctuary beside the lake. "Our Lady" holds her son, the Word of God made man, majestically on her knees. She presents her son for the salvation of the world. Around 1900 two restoration artists from Uberlingen, the Mezger brothers, replaced the hands and the lost attributes of the two figures and gave them a new coloring. Similarly the gestural symbols were added at the beginning of the 20th century according to ancient models: the bitten apple as an allusion to the original sin as well as the little cross of the child Jesus represent the symbols of the salvation wrought by Christ.

Mary, star of the sea

"You who feel far from firm ground, carried off by the waves of this world amidst the storms and tempests, if you do not wish to founder, do not let your gaze waver from the light of this star. If the winds of temptation rise up, if you run into the rocks of tribulation, look at the star, invoke Mary. If you are shaken about by the waves of pride, ambition, betrayal or jealousy, look at the star, invoke Mary. If anger or avarice or impure desires toss about the little boat of your soul, look at Mary. If you are troubled by the enormity of your crimes, ashamed of the grubbiness of your conscience, frozen with terror at the thought of judgment, or if you begin to be engulfed by the abyss of sadness, by the depths of despair, think of Mary. In danger, in anguish, in doubt, think of Mary, invoke Mary."

(Extract of a sermon of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux)

Confession of the Integral Holy Catholic Faith

We, Priests of the Holy Catholic Church, truly convinced that the integrity of the Faith takes precedence over an opening up to the world or oecumenism, declare publicly our Faith, and we urge you, brethren, to keep yours intact, to live it completely and, if God gives you the grace, to profess it publicly, without arrogance, but with pride.

We believe and profess all the truths which the Church believes and teaches. In particular:
We believe in the existence of one God in three Persons equal and distinct, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
We believe that our Lord Jesus Christ, consubstantial with the Father, took a human nature exactly like ours, with the exception of sin, and that He possesses two natures in one person, the second Person of the Holy Trinity.
We believe in the Holy Ghost, Who is also God, and proceeds from the Father and the Son.
We believe in the birth in time of Christ, of a Mother always a Virgin and full of grace, Immaculate in her Conception and glorious in Heaven in her body and soul.
We believe that the triune God made everything which exists for man, but that He created man for Himself: so that man might know Him, love Him, serve Him and by this means merit the eternal happiness of Heaven.
We believe that the human race descended from a single couple: the first man and woman whom we call Adam and Eve.
We believe that Adam, the head of mankind committed a real sin which deprived him of God's friendship. This sin, "which is the death of the soul", is transmitted by generation to all the children of Adam who, because of this, the Blessed Virgin Mary excepted, are born in a state of sin, that is to say "spiritually dead." This is original sin.
We believe that little children, even though born of Christian parents, must be baptised to obtain Eternal Life, and that they should be baptised as soon as possible.
We believe in the sorrowful Passion, the Death and the bodily Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who ascended to the right hand of the Father, from whence He will come in glory to judge the living and the dead.
We believe that at the coming of the Glorious Christ, all men will rise from the dead with their bodies, and that each one will render an account of his own acts. Those who have done good will enter eternal Life and those who have done evil will go into eternal fire.
We believe in the existence of Angels and we believe that they watch over the Church and over every man. We believe also that the unfaithful angels, Satan and the demons, personal beings, prowl in the world and against the Church for the ruin of souls.
We believe in the existence of eternal Hell which was made for Satan and his angels, where those who die whilst not in a state of grace, are punished.
We believe that the evil in the world does not come from unexplained antagonisms but, in truth, from original sin and our own sins.
We believe that man possesses a spiritual and immortal soul which continues to exist after the destruction of the body and which, whilst awaiting the resurrection of the body, will go either to Heaven, Purgatory or Hell, according to what it has merited.
We believe all the truths contained in the Holy Scriptures and in Tradition, including the historical character of the accounts of the hidden life of Jesus (the Gospels recording His infancy) and of His miracles.
We believe that we must venerate the Saints and honour their images, and we believe in their intercession.
We believe in the reality of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, in which Jesus Christ, really and substantially present with His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, offers Himself to God the Father, as He did on the Cross, for our sins.
We believe that the term "transubstantiation" is so perfectly fitted to describe the transformation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, that there is no need to look for a new formula for this mystery of Faith. (Cf. Pope Paul's Encyclical Mysterium Fidei.)

We believe that the Real Corporal Presence of Jesus Christ remains in the Eucharist as long as the sacramental species remain after Communion, or in the Host reserved in the Tabernacle.
We believe that the Sacrament of Penance blots out our sins by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, provided that the required dispositions are present.
We believe in the reality of the divine action through the seven sacraments, the rites of which have been entrusted to the Church.
We believe that Jesus Christ, Our Lord, founded a Church which He called "My Church", to distinguish it from the churches which are not "His." It is "the House of God, the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the Truth." (Matt. XVI, 18; 1 Tim III, 15)
This Church God has provided with certain marks of her institution by which she can be recognized as the Guardian and Mistress of the Revealed Word. And we believe that the Roman Catholic Church alone possesses these wonderful marks which indicate her origin: unity, holiness, catholicity and apostolicity.
We believe that the Church of Christ is visible and hierarchical and that she teaches with God's authority, all that Jesus has revealed to us (see Matt. XXVIII, 20). At the summit of the hierarchy Christ has established Peter and his successors, Bishops of Rome, with direct jurisdiction over the whole universal Church, over all the Bishops, Priests, and faithful and over each one of them.
We believe that the unity of the Church is not something yet to be achieved: it has existed from the beginning and will never cease to exist. It is a mark which distinguishes her from other churches and is one of the Truths of our Credo. "Credo ... et UNAM Ecclesiam."
We believe that those who are separated from her, have objectively the obligation, in order to ensure their salvation, to come back into the sole Church of Jesus Christ, and that we have the duty to facilitate their return but without changing thereby the Catholic Faith.
We believe that the Church of Jesus Christ, although composed of sinners, is a HOLY Church. Holy in her Head, Jesus Christ, Holy in her doctrine, Holy in her Sacraments, Holy in her members: those in Heaven, those in Purgatory, and those on earth who are in a state of grace.
We believe that the Church of Jesus Christ is APOSTOLIC
because the Priesthood, and the jurisdiction of her Hierarchy comes from the Apostles by a direct and unbroken succession.
We believe that the Church of Jesus Christ was founded on Peter. She was entrusted to the care of Peter and to the Bishops united with him. This is the Roman Catholic Church, because only the Bishop of Rome is the successor of Peter.
We believe in the permanence of the traditional doctrine taught by the Church, in the objective meaning of the formulas which express her Dogmas, and in the Truth which she teaches.
We believe that the truths of Faith remain absolutely independent of the way men think or live, because Truth comes from God, by tradition through the Church, and not from the religious instinct of the masses.
We reject also that spirit of inquiry which, under the pretext of a better formulation of doctrine, ends by changing the Truths which we have believed until now.
With the Apostle we think that "If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but is sick about questions and strifes of words; from which arise envies, contentions, blasphemies, evil suspicions." (I Tim VI, 3 and 4)
There, Brethren, is what we believe and what we profess: EVERYTHING WHICH THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH BELIEVES AND TEACHES. And we believe it and hold it to be true because God has revealed it to us and He, and the Church which teaches us through her infallible Magisterium, can neither be deceived nor deceive.
We have been baptized in this Catholic Faith.
It is this Catholic Faith which we professed on the day of our Confirmation.
It is this Catholic Faith which the Church, our Mother, made us promise to preserve before imposing her hands on us.

May God preserve us from being perjurers. May Mary, Mother of the Church, and Mother of God, and all the Angels and Saints obtain for us the grace to live and die in and for the Catholic Faith. Amen.