Thank you, Fatima, for the prayers and the advice. And you are right that we have so many ways to practice our faith. In Albuquerque there is St. Bernadette Church which is also the Shrine of St. Bernadette. At the grotto there is a stream of holy water that continuously flows. Water from Lourdes is always mixed into it and I have a bottle of that most wonderful holy water here at home. I realize now that I'm more blessed than I thought when I first panicked at the news. May God abundantly bless you and all here.
AED, you are absolutely right. I remember as a very young child there was the polio epidemic going around. There wasn't a vaccine until I was around 8 or 9 years old, but the churches were packed every single Sunday anyway. I'm sure my parents were frightened for us children, but it didn't keep us away from Mass. It has taken years to change the way our Holy Church responds and those in the hierarchy have taken it away from us all. God have mercy.
French Catholic Begin Novena As Lourdes Closes For First Time In History LOURDES, France — The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes has closed for the first time in its history following new restrictions in France to slow the spread of the coronavirus. “For the first time in its history, the sanctuary will close its doors for a while. Pray with us the novena to the Immaculate,” Mgr. Olivier Ribadeau Dumas, rector of the Lourdes sanctuary announced March 17. No public Masses will be offered in the sanctuary due to national measures announced by French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron on the evening of March 16. France is the third European country to enact a mandatory national quarantine in response to the growing number of cases of COVID-19. Italy and Spain have both imposed nationwide lockdowns, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis have also announced bans on all religious services in their countries. The French government restrictions include limiting citizens’ movement outside of their homes for the next 15 days to grocery shopping and essential movement, as well as the closure of all schools, restaurants, cafes, and most businesses. Following the closure of Lourdes, French Auxiliary Bishop Antoine Hérouard of Lille called on Catholics to participate in a novena to Our Lady of Lourdes from March 17-25 to pray for the sick who have been infected with the coronavirus. “The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes is a privileged place of prayer for and with the sick,” Bishop Hérouard said in his introduction to the novena published on March 17. The French bishop is asking everyone to commit to praying the rosary for nine consecutive days, concluding on March 25, the feast of the Annunciation. March 25 is also the anniversary of the Virgin Mary’s 16th apparition at Lourdes in which Our Lady declared to St. Bernadette Soubirous “I am the Immaculate Conception.” The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in southern France is built upon the site where the young Bernadette Soubirous witnessed Marian apparitions, beginning on Feb. 11, 1858. The shrine also holds a spring of water which is said to have miraculous healing properties. While there have been more than 7,000 miraculous recoveries attributed to the intercession of Our Lady of Lourdes at the French shrine, only 70 cases have been officially recognized by the Catholic Church. A miraculous recovery must generally be a complete, spontaneous, and immediate healing from a documented medical condition. The last official miracle attributed to the intercession of Our Lady of Lourdes was declared in 2018. “In these troubled times, where many … because of the coronavirus, look to the future with concern, let us ask the Lord through the intercession of Our Lady of Lourdes, to renew us in confidence, hope and peace of heart,” states the opening prayer of the Lourdes coronavirus novena. “Mary, because you are the smile of God, the reflection of the light of Christ, the abode of the Holy Spirit, because you chose Bernadette in her poverty, you are the morning star, the gate to heaven and the first resurrected creature, we pray to you and entrust our lives to you at a time when so many men and of women fear for their health. Assist the sick and caregivers, welcome those who are dead, and be comfort for families,” the prayer concludes. https://www.ncregister.com/daily-ne...a-as-lourdes-closes-for-first-time-in-history MORE from Nat. Cath. Reg.: https://www.ncregister.com/daily-ne...e-world?utm_source=NCR&utm_medium=DistroScale
How the Black Plague changed the “Hail Mary” prayer Christians added “pray for us now and at the hour of our death” in the midst of the Black Plague. The “Hail Mary” prayer that Christians have been praying for centuries is composed of two main parts. The first part of the prayer is derived from the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel greeted Mary by saying, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!” (Luke 1:28) The next part of the prayer is taken from the Visitation, when Elizabeth greeted Mary with the words, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” (Luke 1:42) At first the prayer was known as the “Salutation of the Blessed Virgin,” and only consisted of the two verses joined together. However, during the Black Plague (also known as the “Black Death”) the prayer was further developed and a second part was added to it. This second part (“Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death”) is believed by many to have been added during the plague to ask for the Blessed Mother’s protection from the fatal disease. Venerable Fulton J. Sheen explains this origin in his book The World’s First Love. Since it seizes upon the two decisive moments of life: “now” and “at the hour of our death,” it suggests the spontaneous outcry of people in a great calamity. The Black Death, which ravaged all Europe and wiped out one-third of its population, prompted the faithful to cry out to the Mother of Our Lord to protect them at a time when the present moment and death were almost one. An expert in Marian devotion, Fr. Donald H. Calloway, confirms this conclusion in his book Champions of the Rosary and explains how, “After the Black Death, the second half of the Hail Mary began to appear in the breviaries of religious communities, especially those of the Mercedarians, Camaldolese, and Franciscans … the people of the 14th century greatly needed the ‘hope-filled’ dimension of the second half of the Hail Mary prayer.” The prayer took various forms during this bleak period in Europe, but was officially recognized after the publication of the Catechism of the Council of Trent and the full prayer was then included in the Roman Breviary of 1568. During times of great suffering, Christians have always turned to God and those saints closest to him, in hopes that he will bring relief to his people. https://aleteia.org/2020/03/17/how-the-black-plague-changed-the-hail-mary-prayer/
Coronavirus outbreak in southern Italy linked to Neocatechumenate retreat https://cruxnow.com/church-in-europ...ern-italy-linked-to-neocatechumenate-retreat/
Etoa, Thank you for letting us know. I will include this in my intentions. Our Lady of Lourdes shrine is truly heavenly imo.
Medjugorje Powerful words from Sister Emmanuel from Medjugorje: Who launched the coronavirus? It’s Satan! Who closed churches to the faithful? It’s Satan! March 18, 2020 stephen ryan69 Views 0 Comments Who does everything to make the Eucharist and the real Presence of Christ disappear among us? And he! Who sows a general panic among the people? And he! Who wants to wipe humanity from the face of the earth? It is Satan, the murderer who, “like a roaring lion, goes around looking for someone to devour” (1Pt 5,8)! Who wants to convince man that God has abandoned him? https://mysticpost.com/2020/03/powe...ho-closed-churches-to-the-faithful-its-satan/
Italy coronavirus deaths rise by record 475 in a day https://www.google.com.br/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-europe-51952712?espv=1
My dear MOG friends, my worst fear has become a reality. I am asking for prayers for my dad who was admitted to the hospital today for pneumonia, presumed to be a complication from COVID-19. He was fine yesterday and had no symptoms whatsoever; he became ill overnight. When we arrived at the hospital a nurse came out to our car and put him in a wheelchair. We were told to return home. It is heartbreaking to leave a loved one at the hospital under these circumstances. My dad's name is Robert.
