MercyHour.org

Inspirations for the Jubilee Year of Mercy

December 12th – I am your merciful Mother

By

Our Lady of Guadalupe said to Juan Diego:

Know for certain that I am the perfect and perpetual Virgin Mary, Mother of the True God … here I will show and offer all my love, my compassion and protection to the people.  I am your merciful Mother, the Mother of all who love me, of those who cry to me, of those who have confidence in me.  Here I will hear their weeping and their sorrows … their necessities and misfortunes.  Listen and let it penetrate your heart.

“Do not be troubled or weighed down with grief. Do not fear any illness or vexation, anxiety or pain. Am I not here who am your Mother?  Are you not under my shadow and my protection?  Am I not your fountain of life?  Are you not in the fold of my mantle?  In the crossing of my arms?  Is there anything else you need?

A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. Revelation 12:1

PHOTO-guadalupe-fullicon

December 11th – St. Francis of Assisi

By

Saint Francis of Assisi

10. I do not want to write this Encyclical without turning to that attractive and compelling figure, whose name I took as my guide and inspiration when I was elected Bishop of Rome.  I believe that Saint Francis is the example par excellence of care for the vulnerable and of an integral ecology lived out joyfully and authentically.  He is the patron saint of all who study and work in the area of ecology, and he is also much loved by non-Christians.  He was particularly concerned for God’s creation and for the poor and outcast. He loved, and was deeply loved for his joy, his generous self-giving, his openheartedness.  He was a mystic and a pilgrim who lived in simplicity and in wonderful harmony with God, with others, with nature and with himself.  He shows us just how inseparable the bond is between concern for nature, justice for the poor, commitment to society, and interior peace.  Pope Francis in Laudato Si’

photo - Catholic News Service

photo – Catholic News Service

 

December 10th – A Fellowship of Mercy

By

“A fellowship of mercy”

The dimension of fraternity also belongs in an essential way to Gospel witness. In the early Church, Christians lived fraternal communion to the extent of establishing an eloquent and attractive sign of unity and charity. The people were astonished to see Christians so united in love, so willing to give and to forgive one another, in such a fellowship of mercy, of benevolence, of reciprocal aid, unanimous in sharing the joys, sufferings and experiences of life. Your religious family is called to express this concrete fraternity, by restoring mutual trust — and I emphasize this: restoring mutual trust — in interpersonal relationships, so the world may see and believe, recognizing that Jesus’ love heals wounds and renders all as one.

Pope Francis to THE GENERAL CHAPTER OF THE ORDER OF FRIARS MINOR 26 May 2015

MercyFeet

December 9th – “I am a nobody”

By

MercyHeader270x80a

December 9th – Feast of St. Juan Diego

“I am a nobody, I am a small rope, a tiny ladder, the tail end, a leaf” said Juan Diego to the Blessed Mother.

Without humility, how can we show true mercy?

Beloved brothers and sisters of every ethnic background of Mexico and America, today, in praising the Indian Juan Diego, I want to express to all of you the closeness of the Church and the Pope, embracing you with love and encouraging you to overcome with hope the difficult times you are going through.

Pope John Paul II’s Homily during Juan Diego’s Canonization

St_Juan_Diego

December 8, 2015 – Mother of Mercy

By

Saint Bernadette Soubirous (1844-1879)

“I must also pray, she said, for the conversion of sinners. I asked her many times what she meant by that, but she only smiled. Finally with outstretched arms and eyes looking up to heaven she told me she was the Immaculate Conception.” St. Bernadette Soubirous (1844-1879)

murillo-esquilache-immaculate-conception-detail-featured-w740x493

Immaculate Conception by Bartolomé Esteban Perez Murillo

MercyHeader270x80a

December 8th – Feast of the Immaculate Conception

“I must also pray, she said, for the conversion of sinners. I asked her many times what she meant by that, but she only smiled. Finally with outstretched arms and eyes looking up to heaven she told me she was the Immaculate Conception.” St. Bernadette
On this Feast of the Immaculate Conception, the Patronal Feast of the Americas, the first day of the Year of Mercy, let us pray without ceasing to the “Mother of Mercy” (Hail Holy Queen), ”Virgin Most Merciful” (Litany of Loreto):
Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy,
our life, our sweetness, and our hope.
To Thee do we cry,
poor banished children of Eve.
To Thee do we send up our sighs
mourning and weeping in this vale of tears.
Turn then, most gracious advocate,
Thine eyes of mercy toward us,
and after this exile
show us the blessed fruit of Thy womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving,
O sweet Virgin Mary.
V. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray. Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord God, that we thy servants may enjoy perpetual health of mind, heart, body and spirit, and by the glorious intercession of blessed Mary, ever Virgin, may we be freed from present sin and sorrow, and rejoice in eternal happiness. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Litany of Loreto
V. Lord, have mercy.
R. Christ have mercy.
V. Lord have mercy. Christ hear us.
R. Christ graciously hear us.
God the Father of heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, pray for us.
Holy Mother of God, pray for us.
Holy Virgin of Virgins,
Mother of Christ,
Mother of the Church,
Mother of divine grace,
Mother most pure,
Mother most chaste,
Mother inviolate,
Mother undefiled,
Mother most amiable,
Mother most admirable,
Mother of good Counsel,
Mother of Consolation,
Mother of our Creator,
Mother of our Savior,
Mother of Sorrows,
Virgin most prudent,
Virgin most humble,
Virgin most venerable,
Virgin most renowned,
Virgin most powerful,
Virgin most merciful,
Virgin most faithful,
Virgin full of tears,
Mirror of justice,
Seat of wisdom,
Cause of our joy,
Spiritual vessel,
Vessel of honor,
Singular vessel of devotion,
Mystical rose,
Tower of David,
Tower of ivory,
House of gold,
Ark of the covenant,
Gate of heaven,
Morning star,
Star of Evangelization,
Health of the sick,
Refuge of sinners,
Comforter of the afflicted,
Help of Christians,
Queen of Angels,
Queen of Patriarchs,
Queen of Prophets,
Queen of Apostles,
Queen of Martyrs,
Queen of Confessors,
Queen of Virgins,
Queen of Deacons,
Queen of all Saints,
Queen conceived without original sin,
Queen assumed into heaven,
Queen of the Immaculate Medal,
Queen of the most holy Rosary,
Queen of families,
Queen of peace,
Queen of the Franciscan Order, pray for us.
V. Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world,
R. Spare us, O Lord.
V. Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world,
R. Graciously hear us, O Lord.
V. Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us.
V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray. Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord God, that we thy servants may enjoy perpetual health of mind, heart, body and spirit, and by the glorious intercession of blessed Mary, ever Virgin, may we be freed from present sin and sorrow, and rejoice in eternal happiness. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.