A bit of a grim week.

In the world at large the worst news this week has to be the occurrence of further natural disasters in Indonesia and Benin. However, most of the current bad news for the Church is the result of human action. Within the Church, orthodox Catholic bloggers are under attack from their heterodox brethren for being too orthodox. I dislike and resist politically tinged words like liberal and conservative. Maybe it is too simplistic of me to sort people out by how obedient they are to the magisterium of the Church, how loyal they are to the Pope, and if they are critical of him, how well informed they are as to his teaching. But honestly to apply these yardsticks is just about the only way for me to stay sane. The only other safeguard of my mental and spiritual health is the very reason why 51 years ago I converted from Low Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism. And that was the discovery of belief that the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord is truly present in the Blessed Sacrament. There were other issues of course, such as authority and obedience, but after the shock of Transubstantiation, these were not problematic. It was more a question of learning, of discovery. And of course a clear understanding of authority meant that I was not attracted to Anglo-Catholicism. In any case at the age of 16, I knew nothing about the Oxford Movement.

It seemed that no sooner had I become Catholic, that the Church began to dismantle herself. It wasn't so bad for many years, mainly because I found myself in traditional parishes and never experienced liturgical abuses in a parish setting. I was not exposed to such things until 1979 at a catechetical course I attended in London at what used to be a Catholic Teacher Training college.The opening Mass was celebrated 'in the round' in the college assembly hall, (even though there was a perfectly good chapel). The Gospel reading was the text about the man who built his house upon sand. Two religious sisters in truncated habits and veils 'performed' a dance drama in front of the priest as he read the Gospel . The priest was young and had been billed as not long ordained.

He preached a homily about Cardinal Mercier, who as a lapsed teenage boy and been dared by a friend to go into a church, kneel before the Blessed Sacrament and say the words 'You are Christ and I don't give a d***' Mercier agreed, got as far as kneeling down and then found he just couldn't say the agreed words, and was immediately converted. Not a bad story, but later when this priest reached the minor elevation of the Host, he said, 'You are Christ and we DO give a d***' (The word on both occasions was spoken in full. If the priest, as I understood it, believed in the Real Presence, how could he think that he was treating the Lord with due reverence and awe?) I began to wonder how much longer I could or should stay. Not much longer. When it came to Communion the priest just handed a bowl of hosts to the person immediately to his left and this began to be passed from hand to hand round the circle. By the time it reached the place where I had been standing I was walking up towards High St. Kensington with tears streaming down my face.

But I was sheltered in my parish; I thought such abuses were isolated rarities. I know better now of course. Thirty years later there are Catholics 'in full communion' who are not only pro-choice, pro-same-sex 'marriage', pro- female 'ordination', but who do not believe in the Real Presence, and who still receive Communion. Speaking out on the latter issue isn't so common as on the first three; it's something a person can keep to himself, something he won't feel if necessary to tell his priest. But I know of individuals who fall into that category and have read on the Internet, from some priests as well, that such belief is a medieval superstition, and that to hold it shows that one is not 'grown up'. Thank God there were so many 'un-grownup' people with the Holy Father at the Hyde Park Vigil.

To be continued.

Three good things; at least one bad thing

1. A new seminary for Washington DC

2. Archbishops Burke and Piacenza to be made cardinals at the Consistory on November 20

3. The Holy Father's letter to seminarians, not just because of its content but because of the fact that it was written.

I will only mention one bad thing. At the Angelus today one of the unseen people behind the Pope (Monsignor Ganswein?) sounded to have a very bad cold. Please pray that he recovers, but more importantly that the Holy Father doesn't catch it.

Some things that have made me very happy this week

1. The rescue of the Chilean miners.

2.. Archbishop Burke's address to Human LifeInternational Gathering.
Full text here

3. The Rosary Crusade of Reparation in London this weekend stopped the traffic! Judging from the YouTube video many more followed the procession than has been usual in my experience - all singing Credo III and Latin hymns without anyone upfront waving their arms about and making an unnecessary exhibition of themselves.

4. The history of the Tau (T shaped) Cross on the church at Mother Angelica's Monastery and Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament, Hanceville, Alabama. (Story courtesy of EWTN)
As the building of the Monastery and shrine was nearing completion, one night there was a terrible storm and the conventional cross which had already been erected on the roof of the monastery church was struck by lightning and the top part of it came crashing to earth. Mother was terribly upset when she was told. But after praying about it, she realised that what they now had was a Tau (Franciscan) Cross - 'Franciscan' because of St. Francis' attachment to it. He painted it on walls and doors where he stayed and once demonstrated that the Franciscan habit made that shape when spread out. His brothers would be walking crucifixes. The cross at Hanceville was left exactly as it was after the storm and remains so to this day.

5. During WW1 Pope Benedict XV had put the title of Our Lady Queen of Peace into the Litany of Loreto. On May 5th 1917 he asked the world to begin a Novena for peace. As we know that war ended within a year, but more importantly I think, Our Lady of the Rosary appeared at Fatima for the first time on the 8th day of that Novena. When one now reads about that Benedict's anti-war efforts one would imagine that he failed. I think not.

Until next weekend
In Christo pro Papa

Decisions and Regrets

Our recent decision to sell our house and buy a smaller one is going to demand a great deal of hard work and time. And so for the next few months at least, I must severely curtail my blogging activities and will only post here once a week, usually on either Saturday or Sunday.

Please pray for us.

God bless all here,
In Christo pro Papa

Novena to Blessed John Henry Newman: Day 9

Thanksgiving to the Most Holy Trinity, as on all days of this Novena

Reading:
From the Holy Father's interview, given on the in-coming flight to the UK
"I must admit that I am not worried, because when I went to France, it was said that it was the most anti-clerical country, ................. and with very few believers; when I went to the Czech Republic it was said that it was the most irreligious country in Europe and the most anti-clerical also. Yes, all Western countries have, each one in its own way strong anti-clerical and anti-Catholic opinions, but they also have a strong presence of faith. I have seen in France and in the Czech Republic a warm reception from the Catholic community, great attention from agnostics who are still seeking, who wish to know and find the values that assist the progress of humanity and they were attentive, hoping maybe to hear from me something in in this vein. As regards tolerance and respect from anti-Catholics, naturally Great Britain has had its own history of anti-Catholicism. This is obvious; but it is also a country with a great history of tolerance. And so I am sure that there will be a positive welcome from Catholics and believers in general, attention from those who are seeking how to move forward in our time, and respect and tolerance where there is anti-Catholicism. I am going in good spirits and with joy."

Petition:
Blessed John Henry Newman, we beseech your intercession for our Holy Father Pope Benedict, that he may continue to lead us by precept and example and with his great courage, wisdom, humility, gentleness and kindness. We ask your prayers that he may continue to receive from God, the comfort, strength, health and energy which he needs in the exercise of his ministry as Successor of St Peter, and that he may be kept safe from his enemies.

For ourselves, we beg your intercession that we should come together under his leadership as Vicar of Christ on earth. Heeding him, may we pray with you: 'O that God would grant the clergy to feel their weakness as sinful men, and the people to sympathise with them and love them and pray for their increase in all good gifts of grace'. Pray for us that we may increasingly become, 'not arrogant, not rash in speech, not disputatious, but men who know their religion, who enter into it, who know just where they stand, who know what they hold and what they do not, who know their creed so well that they can give an account of it, who know so much of history that they can defend it.'

Dear Blessed John Henry, we pray with our Holy Father 'that through (your) intercession and example, all who are engaged in the task of teaching and catechesis will be inspired to greater effort by the vision (you) so clearly set before us.'

On, this your first Feast Day, we honour you with joyful reverence, love and gratitude. Amen

(Quotes from the Holy Father and from Cardinal Newman's Sermons as they appear in the homily at Cofton Park and the Address to the Bishops)

Please make your personal petition here.

One Our Father; one Hail Mary; one Glory be to the Father.

Our Lady, Mother of the Church, pray for us,

Blessed John Henry Newman, pray for us. Amen

Novena to Blessed John Henry Newman: Day 8

Thanksgiving to the Most Holy Trinity, as on everyday of this Novena

Reading:

From the Holy Father's address to th the Bishops of England, Wales and Scotland

"In the course of my visit it has become clear to me how deep a thirst there is among the British people for the Good New of Jesus Christ. You have been chosen by God to offer them the living water of the Gospel, encouraging them to place thir hopes, not in the vain enticements of this world, but in the firm assurance of the next. As you proclaim the coming of the kingdom, with its promise of hope for the poor and the needy, the sick and the elderly, the unborn and the neglected, be sure to present in its fulness, the life-giving message of the Gospel, including those elements which call into question the widespread assumptions of today's culture."

Petition:
Blessed John Henry, the address of the Holy Father to our bishops shows us what an awesome responsibility they bear. We beseech you. pray for them, and for us, that we may support them with love and with our own prayer and penance.

Please make your personal petition to Blessed John Henry Newman, particularly for your own bishop.

1 Our Father; One Hail Mary; One Glory be to the Father

Saint Denis, Bishop, and your companion Martyrs, pray for us, and for our bishops.
Blessed John Henry Newman, pray for them and for us..
Amen

Novena to Blessed John Henry Newman: Day 7

Thanksgiving prayer to the Most Holy Trinity, as on each day of this Novena


Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.

Reading:
From the Holy Father's homily at the Mass with Beatification of the Venerable Cardinal John Henry Newman.
"While it is John Henry Newman's intellectual legacy that has understandably received most attention in the vast literature devoted to his life and work, I prefer on this occasion to conclude with a brief recollection of his life as a priest, a pastor of souls. The warmth and humanity underlying his appreciation of the pastoral ministry is beautifully expressed in another of his famous sermons: ' Had Angels been your priests, my brethren, they could not have condoled with you, sympathised with you, have had compassion on you, felt tenderly for you, and made allowances for you, as we can; they could not have been your patterns and guides, and have led you on from your old selves into a new life, as they can who come from the midst of You' (Men not Angels: the Priests of the Gospel', Discourses to Mixed Congregations, 3) He lived out that profoundly human vision of priestly ministry in his devoted care for the people of Birmingham during the years that he spent at the Oratory he founded, visiting the sick and the poor, comforting the bereaved, caring for those in prison. No wonder that on his death so many thousands of people lined the local streets as his body was taken to its place of burial not half a mile from here. One hundred and twenty years later, great crowds have assemble once again, to rejoice in the Church's solemn recognition of the outstanding holiness of this much-loved father of souls."

Petition:

Blessed John Henry, we implore your intercession for all our priests, and that we may support them in this "time of pensane, humility, and renewed sincerity" with our own penance and sacrifices; that we may offer these for the victims of erring priests in the past, who have done so much harm to the ones they abused, but also to the majority of good priests who have done nothing wrong, but who are vowed to continue their mission, whilst their name is tarnished by their culpable brothers. Whilst promising to do what we can in our own lives, we beg your prayers that this whole sorry and evil business may be cleansed and healed.
We ask you to support our prayer with yours, that as graces of God, ressulting from your Beatification, and from the Holy Father's visit to your native land, many Britons will come forward to be "good and holy priests, men who are willing to lay down their lives for the sheep."

Blessed John Henry, intercede for our young men who are in the process of discerning their vocation, but also for those, still in the Church of England but who are considering the Ordinariate, or are preparing to join it. You trod this same path yourself and we know how dear these men must be to your heart. We humbly join with your prayers for them. Amen
(Quotes from the Holy father's interview on the in-coming flight and from the Prayer Vigil at Hyde Park)

Make your personal petition here.


1 Our Father; 1 Hail Mary; 1 Glory be to the Father



Our Lady of the Rosary pray for us.

Our Lady Mother and Queen of Clergy, pray for our priests.



Blessed Dominic Barberi, pray for us.

Blessed John Henry Newman, pray for us. Amen

Novena to Blessed John Henry Newman: Day 6

Prayer of thanksgiving to the Most Holy Trinity as every day of this Novena

Readings:
1. From the Holy Father's Homily in Westminster Cathedral
" Dear friends, let us return to the contemplation of the great crucifix which rises above us. Our Lord's hands extended on the Cross also invite us to contemplate our participation in His eternal priesthood and thus our responsibility, as members of His body, to bring the reconciling power of His sacrifice to the world in which we live. The Second Vatican Council spoke eloquently of the indispensable role of the laity in carrying forward the Church's mission through their efforts to serve as a leaven of the Gospel in society and to work for the advancement of God's kingdom in the world (cf. Lumen Gentium, 31Apostolicum Actuositatem, 7) The Council's appeal to the lay faithful to take up their baptismal sharing of Christ's mission echoed the insights of John Henry Newman."

Petition
Blessed John Henry Newman, intercede for us that we may increasingly conform our "every thought, word and action to Christ, and.. work strenuously to defend those unchanging moral truths which taken up, illuminated and confirmed by the Gospel, stand at the foundation of a truly humane, just and free society." Pray for us that we may each within our varied states of life, answer our calling, to work for the advancement of God's kingdom " by imbuing temporal life with the values of the Gospel; and that we may thus be 'witnesses of the beauty of holiness, witnesses of the splendour of truth, witnesses of the joy and freedom born of a living relationship with Christ." We beg your prayers that we may become ever more conscious of our "dignity as a priestly people, called to consecrate the world to God through lives of faith and holiness." Help us to pray for vocations to the ordained priesthood, "for the more the lay apostolate grows, the more urgently the need for priests is felt, and the more the laity's own sense of vocation is deepened, the more what is proper to the priest stands out."
Blessed John Henry, we implore your intercession that many young men in the British Isles "will find the strength to answer the Master's call................thus building up His people in unity and fidelity to the Gospel, especially through the celebration of the Eucharistic sacrifice." Amen
(Quotes from the Homily at Westminster Cathedral)

Please make your private petition here.

1 Our Father; 1 Hail Mary; 1 Glory be to the Father

St. Bruno, pray for us
Blessed John Henry Newman, pray for us, Amen

(Please note, this entry is incomplete. For one thing, I want there to be another reading. Composition and concentration time has been severely affected today by the fact that I have a streaming cold, and also had to prioritize attendance and spiritual solidarity at a two hour funeral this afternoon. Please, of your charity, pray for the soul of Jean Francis Terracol. who died from leukaemia on Sunday night aged 65. DV, will make additions here tomorrow after doing the next post, for Day 7.)

Novena to Blessed John Henry Newman: Day 5

Prayer of thanksgiving to the Most Holy Trinity, as on Day 1 and everyday of this Novena

Readings:
1. From the address of the Holy Father during his visit toArchbishop Rowan Williams at Lambeth Palace
"On the one hand, the surrounding culture is growing ever more distant from its Christian roots, despite a deep and widespread hunger for spiritual nourishment. On the other hand, the increasingly multicultural dimension of society...........brings with it the opportunity to encounter other religions. For us Chrisitians this opens up the possibility of exploring, together with members of other religious traditions, ways of bearing witness to the transcendant dimension of the human person and the universal call to holiness, leading to the practice of virtue in our personal and social lives. Ecumenical cooperation in this task remains essential, and it will surely bear fruit in promoting peace and harmony in a world that so often seems at risk of fragmentation.
"At the same time, we Christians must never hesitate to proclaim our faith in the uniqueness of the salvation won for us by Christ, and to explore together a deeper understanding of the means He has placed at our disposal for attaining that salvation. God wants 'all to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth' (1Tim 2:4), and that truth is nothing other than Jesus Christ, eternal Son of the Father, who has reconciled all things in Himself by the power of His cross. In fidelity to the Lord's will, as expressed in that passage from Saint Paul............, we recognise that the Church is called to be inclusive, yet never at the expense of Christian truth. Herein lies the dilemma facing all who are genuinely committed to the ecumenical journey."

2. From the Holy Father's address at the end of Evening Prayer in Westminster Abbey
"Our commitment to Christian unity is born of nothing less than our faith in Christ, in THIS Christ, risen from the dead and seated at the right hand of the Father, who will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. It is the REALITY of Christ's person, his saving work and above all the historical fact of His resurrection , which is the content of the apostolic kerygma.................beginning in the New Testament itself, which hase guaranteed the integtity of its trnsmission. The Church's unity,.............can never be other than a unity in the apostloic faith, ..........It is this faith which unites us to the Lord, makes us share in the Holy spirit, and thus even now, sharers in the life of the Blessed Trinity, the model of the Church's koinonia here below."

Petition:
Blessed John Henry Newman, We remember "the challenges, the blessings, the disappointments and the signs of hope which have marked our ecumenicl journey." Pray for us, that we may "entrust all of these to the Lord, confident in His providence and the power of His grace." We beg your intercession that we will be given " strength and direction as we persevere on our common journey." Pray for us that we may "recognise the challenges which confront us, not only along the path of Christian unity, but also in our task of proclaiming Christ in our day." Intercede for us that we may grow in "fidelity to the word of God, precisely because it is a TRUE word, (and) demands an obedience which leads us together into a deeper understanding of the Lord's will, an obedience free of intellectual conformism or facile accommodation to the spirit of the age. " Pray for our Holy Father who with all his heart has sought to encourage us, demonstrating that obedience in his fidelity to his own mininsty as Successor of Peter, "charged with a particular care for the unity of Christ's flock".

Blessed John Henry in you we honour one "whose vision was nurtured by your Anglican background and matured during many years of ordained ministry in the Church of England." Teach us "the virtues that ecumensism demands: on the one hand, (you) were moved to follow (your) conscience, even at great personal cost; and on the other hand, the warmth of (your) continued friendship with former colleagues, led (you) to explore with them, in a truly eirenical spirit, the questions on which (you) differed, driven by a deep longing for unity in faith. Watch over us and intercede for us that we may in the same spirit "renew our determination to pursue the goal of unity in faith, hope, and love, in accordance with the will of our one Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ". Amen
(Quotes within the Petition from the Holy father's addresses at lembeth Palace and Westminster Abbey)

Please make you personal petition

1 Our Father; 1 Hail Mary; 1 Glory be to the Father

Blessed Bartolo Longo, pray for us (See Vultus Christi in bloglist sidebar here)
Blessed John Henry Newman, pray for us. Amen

Authentic Love is the True Masterpiece of Man

Novena interlude.

Novena to Blessed John Henry Newman: Day 4

Thangsgiving prayer to the Most Holy Trinity as on previous days of the Novena

Reading:
From the Holy Father's homily at the Mass and Beatification of Cardinal Newman
Blessed John Henry "is worthy to take his place in a long line of saints and scholars from these islands, Saint Bede, Saint Hilda, Saint Aelred. Blessed Duns Scotus, to name but a few. In Blessed John Henry, that tradition of gentle scholarship, deep human wisdom and profound love for the Lord has borne rich fruit, as a sign of the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit deep within the heart of God's people, bringing forth abundant gifts of holiness...................................................
The definite service to which Blessed John Henry was called involved applying his keen intellect and prolific pen to many of the most pressing 'subjects of the day'. His insights into.......the need for a broadly-based and wide-ranging approach to education,.were not only of profound importance for Victorian England, but continue today to inspire and enlighten many all over the world."

Petition for Catholic Schools, Colleges and Educators

Blessed John Henry, following the example of our Holy Father, we pay grateful tribute to your 'vision for education which has done so much to shape the ethos that is the driving force behind Catholic schools and colleges today.' May that force continue to be 'firmly opposed to any reductive or utilitarian approach', may we follow you in seeking to 'achieve an educational environment in which intellectual training, moral discipline and religious commitment (may) come together. We thank God for your series of discourses "'The Idea of a University" from which all those engaged in academic formation will continue to learn
We implore your intercession that our Catholic schools and colleges may be places where the Catholic ethos ......... may extend 'far beyond the self-evident requirement that the content of the teaching should always be in conformity with Church doctrine' and that the life of may be 'the driving force behind every activity in the school, so that the Church's mission may be served effectively, and the young people may discover the joy of entering into Christ's "being for others" (Spes Salvi 28).
We beg your prayers that over and above providing a rounded eduction for the whole person our schools and colleges may help all their students 'to become saints'.
(Quotes in the above petition from the Holy Father's beatification homily and his speeches at Twickenham.)

Please make your personal petition about education here.

1 Our Father; 1 Hail Mary; 1 Glory be to the Father

Saint Francis pray for us
Saint Bede, Saint Hilda, Saint Aelred and all scholar saints of the British Isles pray for us
Saint Faustina pray for us

Blessed Duns Scotus pray for us

Blessed John Henry Newman pray for us. Amen

Novena to Blessed John Henry Newman: Day 3

Prayer of thanksgiving to the Most Holy Trinity as on Day 1



Readings:

1. From the Holy Father's homily at Westminster Cathedral

"Faithful to Christ's command to 'do this in memory of me', the Church in everytime and place celebrates the Eucharist until the Lord returns in glory, rejoicing in His sacramental presence and drawing upon the power of His saving sacrifice for the redemption of the world. The reality of the Eucharistic sacricice has always been at the heart of Catholic faith; .................The Eucharistic sacrifice of the Body and blood of Christ embraces in turn the mystery of our Lord's continuing passion in the members of his Mystical Body, the Church in every age."



2. From the Holy Father's address at the Hyde Park Vigil.

"Newman reminds us that, as men and women made in the image and likeness of God, we were created to know the truth, to find in that truth our ultimate freedom and the fulfilment of our deepest human aspirations. In a word , we are meant to know Christ, who is Himself 'the way, the truth, and the life'................

............and now dear friends, let us continue..........by preparing to encounter Christ, present among us in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. Together in the silence of our common adoration, let us open our minds and heart to His presence, His love, and the convincing power of His truth. In a special way, let us thank Him for the enduring witness to that truth offered by Cardinal John Henry Newman. Trusting in his prayers, let us ask the Lord to illumine our path ..............wuth the kindly light of His truth, His love and His peace. Amen"



Today is set aside for your own personal petition to Blessee John Henry Newman.
Today's Novena then concludes:

1 Our Father 1 Hail Mary 1 Glory be to the Father

Blessed Columba Marmion, pray for us

Blessed John Nenry Newman, pray for us, Amen



Focus for remaining days of this Novena

Day 4 For Catholic Education

Day 5 For Ecumenical efforts

Day 6 For the Laity

Day 7 For Priests

Day 8 For Bishops

Day 9 For Pope Benedict XVI

Novena to Blessed John Henry Newman Day 2

Prayer of thanksgiving to the Most Holy Trinity - as Day 1


Either 'Lead Kindly Light' or 'Firmly I believe and Truly' may be sung or recited here.


Readings :

1. From Pope Benedict's homily during Mass with Beatification of Cardinal Newman at Cofton Park.

"Cardinal Newman's motto, Cor ad cor loquitur,......gives us an insight into his understanding of the Christian life as a call to holiness, experienced as the profound desire of the human heart to enter into intimate communion with the Heart of God. He reminds us that faithfulness to prayer gradually transforms us into the divine likeness. As he wrote in one of his many fine sermons, 'a habit of prayer, the practice of turning to God and the unseen world in every season, in every place, in every emergency - prayer, I say, has what may be called a natural effect in spiritualising and elevating the soul. A man is no longer what he was before; gradually ...he has imbibed a new set of ideas, and become imbued with fresh principles' (Parochial and Plain Sermons, iv, 230-231) Today's Gospel tells us that no one can be the servant of two masters (Luke 16:13), and that Blessed John Henry's teaching on prayer explains how the faithful Christian is definitively taken into the service of the one true Master, who alone has a claim to our unconditional devotion (Matt 23:10). "

2. From Pope Benedict's address to young people outside Westminster Cathedral

"I ask you to look into your heart each day to find the source of all true love. Jesus is always there, quietly waiting for us to be still with Him and to hear His voice. Deep within your heart, He is calling you to spend time with Him in prayer. But this kind of prayer, real prayer, requires discipline; it requires making time for moments of silence every day. Often it means waiting for the Lord to speak. Even amid the busy-ness and the stress of our daily lives, we need to make space for silemce, because it is in the silence that we find God, and in silence we discover our true self. And in discovering our true self, we discover the particular vocation which God has given us for the building up of His Church and the redemption of our world."


PETITION For the Church in our countries
2.For growth and deepening of the prayer life of all her members

Blessed John Henry Newman, we thank God that our Holy Father took the opportunity to lead us to your own teaching on prayer and to show how it is essential in the discernment of our individual vocation within the Church. Your own apostolic action whilst on earth was grounded in it and was its fruit. We beg your intercession that we may learn from your example, just as our Holy Father has exhorted us. Pray for us all in our search for the Heart of God, and that through prayer we will discover the 'defintite service' which our Lord commits uniquely to every single one of us, so that we will be able to say with you: "I have my mission, I am a link in a chain, a bond of connexion between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good, I shall do His work; I shall be and angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place....if I do but keep his commandments and serve him in my calling" (Meditations and Devotions, 301-2)

Add here a private petition as related to your own spiritual life and prayer.

1 Our Father; 1 Hail Mary; 1 Glory be to the Father

Holy Guardian Angels, pray for us.
Blessed John Henry Newman, pray for us. Amen

Lead Kindly Light : Wells Cathedral Choir

SOLEMN NOVENA TO BLESSED JOHN HENRY NEWMAN DAY I

Thanksgiving to the most Holy Trinity

We give joyful thanksgiving to the Holy and undivided Trinity for the day that saw you, Blessed John Henry Newman, formally raised to the altars and declared Blessed. We give glory and praise to God for your heroic virtue. We affirm our Faith in the words of your own hymn:

Firmly I believe and truly God is Three and God is One; and I next acknowledge duly man-hood taken by the Son.

And I trust and hope most fully in that manhood crucified; and each thought and deed unruly do to death, as he has died.

Simply in His grace and wholly light and life and strength belong; and I love supremely, solely, Him the holy, Him the strong.

And I hold in veneration, for the love of Him alone, Holy Church, as His creation, and her teachings, as His own.

Adoration aye be given, with and through the angelic host, to the God of earth and heaven, Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

(Optional Reading - Pope Benedict's Speech in Westminster Hall.)

PETITION For the Church in our countries -1 For the Church within Society at large.

Blessed John Henry, we remember with gratitude everything our Holy Father did and said during his recent visit to the UK, to help us stand firm in faith as a 'creative minority' in our secularised sociery. We beg your intercession that his recent powerful appeal to reason in Westminster Hall will have won the hearts and minds of our lawmakers, for whom we also ask your prayers; that following your example, and led by Christ's chief shepherd on earth, we may go forward with courage and determination in witnessing to our Faith and that our countries will be places where lawa are not made that conflict with Christian conscience. Help us to pray for those who do not know Christ and who would deny our right and duty to follow Him.

.(Make your own private petition here)

1 Our Father; 1 Hail Mary 1 Glory be to the Father

Saint Therese of Lisieux, pray for us

Blessed John Henry Newman, pray for us.

Amen

Blessed John Henry Newman Novena to begin with a hymn

See next post for 'Lead Kindly Light' and Day 1 of the Novena