Hello Novena pray-ers of the St Faustina Shrine/Society to the month of Feb 2025.
The Catholic Theme for January is The Holy Family.
The Feast of the Holy Family reminds us that every family, despite its imperfections, is called to holiness. By looking to Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, we can strive to build families rooted in faith, love, and service, becoming a beacon of hope and light in the world.
We have a lot to give thanks for and to pray for, to add to our spiritual storehouse for souls which God has blessed us with.
1. Let us begin with a Novena to our Lady of Lourdes from Monday Feb 2- 10 with the Feast Day on Feb 11. Let us pray for the success of our World Day of the Sick Mass with anointing Feb 8 10:30am at St Marys in Jackson Tn.
Send your prayer requests: https://divinemercyshrine.site/prayer-requests receive the graces.
Prayer TO OUR LADY OF LOURDES and St Bernadette
Be blessed, O most pure Virgin, for having vouchsafed to manifest your shining with life, sweetness and beauty, in the Grotto of Lourdes, saying to the child, St. Bernadette: "I am the Immaculate Conception." A thousand times we congratulate you upon your Immaculate Conception.
And now, O ever Immaculate Virgin, Mother of mercy, Health of the sick, Refuge of sinners, Comforter of the afflicted, you know our wants, our troubles, our sufferings deign to cast upon us a look of mercy.By appearing in the Grotto of Lourdes, you were pleased to make it a privileged sanctuary, whence you dispense your favors, and already many have obtained the cure of their infirmities, both spiritual and physical.
We come, therefore, with the most unbounded confidence to implore your maternal intercession. Obtain for us, O loving Mother, the granting of our request. (State request)
Through gratitude for your favors, we will endeavor to imitate your virtues, that we may one day share your glory.Our Lady of Lourdes, Mother of Christ, you had influence with your divine son while upon earth. You have the same influence now in Heaven. Pray for us; obtain for us from your Divine Son our special requests if it be the Divine Will. Amen.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
Saint Bernadette, pray for us.
2. Feb 13 Thursday Remember Fatima Prayers will be sent before this day.
3. Novena to St Polycarp Feb 14 -22 with his feast Day on Feb 23.
Prayer:
Saint Polycarp, sometimes Christ seems so far away from us. Centuries have passed since he and the apostles walk the earth. Help us to see that he is close to us always and that we can keep him near by imitating his life as you did. Amen
4. Saturday Feb 15 is the Day for Bl Fr Michael Sopocko (St Faustina’s Spiritual Director) We will have a special 3pm Holy Hour at the Shrine see below Meditations on him and from his writings. **See meditations at the end of this posting. Pray with The Chaplet and the Rosary.
Canonization Prayer: Dear Jesus the Divine Mercy, You yourself chose this priest, Bl. Fr Michael Sopocko to bring your message of Divine Mercy to the attention of the Church and the world. He did this and everything you asked of him, not seeking any credit for himself. I ask you now to give him credit for all his work and ask the Father to bring him to the honours of the altars, where he may intercede for all of us asking the Father once again to show His unending Mercy in our difficulties and despair, that we may find the answer to our problems and find peace in our lives. Amen
5. Feb 22 Feast of The Chair of St Peter the Apostle.
Almighty Father, who inspired Simon Peter, first among the apostles, to confess Jesus as Messiah and Son of the Living God: Keep your Church steadfast upon the rock of this faith, that in unity and peace we may proclaim the one truth and follow the one Lord, our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, God, now and forever. Amen.
(from The Roman Missal)
6. Next from Feb 24-March 4 Prayer to prepare for Lent Ash Wed is March 5
BEHOLD, O good and sweetest Jesus,
I cast myself upon my knees in Thy sight,
and with the most fervent desire of my soul
I pray and beseech Thee
to impress upon my heart
lively sentiments of faith,
hope and charity,
with true repentance for my sins
and a most firm desire of amendment:
whilst with deep affection and grief of soul
I consider within myself
and mentally contemplate Thy five most precious Wounds,
having before mine eyes that which David, the prophet,
long ago spoke in Thine own person concerning Thee,
my Jesus: “They have pierced My hands and My feet,
they have numbered all My bones.”+++Thank you for praying. Let us pray for all the requests sent to us and in our Divine Mercy Prayer Journals. For all the sick, dying and poor sinners. For you and your own special intentions. For all the prayers sent to us from around the world and all those prayer requests in our Divine Mercy Prayer Journals. For Peace in the world and for our countries. And for the poor souls in purgatory.
All let us pray for love of God and Neighbor.
And let us give thanks!! God is good all the time, and all the time God is good. We praise and glorify His goodness and mercy.
Jesus I trust in You. Have a good and fruitful lent.
Jay Hastings www.divinemercyshrine.site
sfshrine@msn.com St Faustina Shrine/Society
PS Send your prayer requests
Meditation to pray before the decades of the Chaplet and the Rosary as we will be doing during our Holy Hour at St Faustina Shrine. 3-4pm central time.
Bl. Fr. Michael Sopocko: God's Mercy in his life
1. The Importance of Fr. Michael Sopocko in Jesus’ plan for Divine Mercy revelations can not be overestimated. Jesus said to St. Faustina: "He will be My visible help for you on earth. He will help you to carry out My will” (Diary 53)."His thoughts are closely united to Mine, so be at peace about what concerns My work. I will not let him make a mistake, and you should do nothing without his permission" (Diary 1408). It was Fr. Sopocko, as her confessor and spiritual director, that persuaded St. Faustina to write everything down again so that he could clearly discern if it was God’s will as she completed each copy book she gave it to Fr.Sopocko.
2. These writings, recorded in six copy books, became known as the "Diary of Saint Faustina" (Divine Mercy in My Soul), which is now regarded as an extraordinarily valuable document of Catholic mysticism. It was Fr. Sopocko who chose, organized and paid the artist to paint the original painting of the Image of Divine Mercy. In fact, it was Fr. Sopocko who dressed and posed for the painting the way St. Faustina described the apparition and attended with St. Faustina all the meetings she had with the artist.
3. It was Fr. Michael Sopocko who first celebrated the Feast of Mercy and it was his efforts that established the feast day as a solemn feast day in Poland and Lithuania. It was he who got the prayers that Jesus gave to Faustina printed for the first time and made them known to the world.
4. It was Fr. Sopocko who proclaimed to the world for the first time, the message of Divine Mercy. This was on the first Sunday after Easter, Mercy Sunday, at the Shrine of Our Lady, Mother of Mercy in 1934 in Vilnius.
5. It was Fr. Sopocko who first exposed the Divine Mercy Image publicly, at the Shrine of Our Lady of Mercy in Vilnius. It was he who founded the new congregation of religious sisters that Our Lord asked for. This in fact took place in his own home in Vilnius, Lithuania in 1942. *NOTE: FR.SOPOCKO’S SURNAME IS PRONOUNCED: SO POTCH CO
Rosary:
Before the Rosary: Fr. Michael Sopocko was a priest of the Vilnius Diocese and Blessed George Matulaitis, MIC, (the Marian Bishop of Vilnius during World War I from 1918-1925) called Fr. Sopocko back to Vilnius because he needed priests. This was fortuitous since as a result of this action, he eventually became St. Faustina's spiritual director. He also gave the Divine Mercy messages to Fr. Joseph Jarzebowksi, MIC, another Marian priest. Fr. Joseph was able to miraculously escape from Poland in the midst of World War II. He was able to bring the messages to the Marian Fathers in the United States and the Divine Mercy messages were then spread all over the world.
1. St. Faustina had great difficulty finding confessors and spiritual directors who understood what God was doing in her life. She finally found two good ones in Fr. Joseph Andrasz, S.J., and in Fr. Michael Sopocko. Our Lord said to St. Faustina regarding Fr. Sopocko: "This is the visible help for you on earth. He will help you carry out My will on earth" (Diary 53).
Fr. Sopocko became St. Faustina's confessor during her stay in Vilnius from 1933-1936. He became a great help for her and put her soul at ease. He also ordered her to write things down in a diary since he was teaching at the seminary and did not have time for long confessions. At one time, the evil one fooled St. Faustina into burning her diary. Fr. Sopocko ordered her to rewrite it as a penance.
2. Our Lord also said of Fr. Michael: "He is a priest after My own Heart; Through him it pleased Me to proclaim the worship of My mercy" (Diary 1256). Elsewhere, "His thought is closely united to Mine, so be at peace about what concerns My work. I will not let him make a mistake, and you should do nothing without his permission" (Diary 1408).
Fr. Sopocko was involved in getting the Image of the Divine Mercy painted and in its public display at the Shrine of the Mother of Mercy. He was also involved in the spreading of the Chaplet to the Divine Mercy. The beginnings of the efforts to establish the Feast of Divine Mercy and the founding of a new Congregation were also thanks to his efforts in Vilnius. Like St. Faustina, he suffered a great deal to help bring about God's will with regard to the Divine Mercy.
3. St. Faustina once wrote of him: "Seeing Fr. Sopocko's sacrifice and efforts for this work, I admired his patience and humility. This all cost a great deal, not only in terms of toil and various troubles, but also of money; and Father Sopocko was taking care of all the expenses. I can see that Divine Providence had prepared him to carry out this work of mercy before I had asked God for this. Oh, how strange are Your ways, O God! And how happy are the souls that follow the call of divine grace!" (Diary 422).
Fr. Michael Sopocko was born on All Saint's Day November 1, 1888 in Nowosady, near Vilnius (Lithuania). After ordination, he became a chaplain in the Polish Army, a seminary professor and spiritual director, a confessor to sisters, a writer, and eventually the founder of a religious community based on the proposals of St. Faustina - the Sisters of the Merciful Heart of Jesus. He wrote the constitutions of the new community and continued to promote the Divine Mercy until he died on February 15, 1975 - St. Faustina's name day.
4. He was a deeply spiritual priest who possessed a beautiful personality as well. In her Diary, St. Faustina wrote of him: "O my Jesus, You see how very grateful I am to Father Sopocko, who has advanced Your work so much. That soul, so humble, has had to endure all the storms. He has not allowed himself to become discouraged by adversities, but has faithfully responded to the call of God" (Diary 1586).
Jesus said to St. Faustina about Fr. Sopocko: "...by day and by night My gaze is fixed upon him, and I permit these adversities in order to increase his merit. I do not reward for good results but for the patience and hardship undergone for My sake" (Diary 86). Elsewhere, He said, "There will be as many crowns to form his crown as there will be souls saved by this work" (Diary 90).
5. (Then Pope Benedict) Holy Father's Words on Sopocko
Following his Angelus message from Castel Gandolfo, in Italy, the Holy Father turned His thoughts to the faithful gathered in Bialystok, Poland, for the beatification of Father Michael Sopocko. There he said:
In a special way I extend my greetings to the Bialystok, Poland, participants of the beatification of the Servant of God, Fr. Michael Sopocko, the confessor and spiritual guide of St. Faustina Kowalska. At his suggestion, [Sister Faustina] described her mystical experiences and apparitions of merciful Jesus in her well known Diary. And also thanks to his efforts, the image with the words 'Jesus, I trust in you,' was painted and transmitted to the world. This Servant of God became known as a zealous priest, teacher and promoter of the Divine Mercy devotion. ...
I unite myself with joy with the Archdioceses of Bialystok and Vilnius and with all the faithful throughout the world to whom this message of merciful Jesus is dear. My beloved predecessor the Servant of God, John Paul II, most certainly rejoices in this beatification in Father's house. He is the one who entrusted the world to Divine Mercy. That is why I repeat his wish: May the God who is rich in mercy bless all of you.
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