Prayer to St. Frances of Rome
(Can be said as a Novena
for 9 Consecutive Days)
Bright jewel of the Order of Saint Benedict, illustrious Saint Frances of Rome, thou who wast led by divine Providence through various stations in life, that thou mightest be a pattern of every virtue, to maidens, to matrons and to widows, pray for us to our divine Savior that we may be detached from the vanities of the world and may be able, under the guiding hand of our Guardian Angel, to grow daily in the love of God, of His Church and of our neighbor, and finally to be made partakers in heaven of the Felicity. Amen.
An Indulgence of 300 days
Saint Frances of Rome, Widow
from the Liturgical Year, 1870
The period intervening between the Purification of our Blessed Lady and Ash-Wednesday (when it occurs at its latest date), gives us thirty-six days; and these offer us a Feast of every order of Saint. The Apostles have given us St. Matthias, and St. Peter's Chair at Antioch; the Martyrs have sent us, from their countless choir, Simeon, Blase, Valentine, Faustinus and Jovita, Perpetua and Felicitas, and the Forty Soldiers of Sebaste, whose Feast is kept tomorrow; the holy Pontiffs have been represented by Andrew Corsini, and Peter Damian, who, together with Thomas of Aquin, is one of the Doctors of the Church; the Confessors have produced Romuald of Camaldoli, John of Matha, John of God, and the angelic prince Casimir; the Virgins have gladdened us with the presence of Agatha, Dorothy, Apollonia, and Scholastica, three wreathed with the red roses of martyrdom, and the fourth with her fair lilies of the enclosed garden (Cant. iv. 12) of her Spouse; and lastly, we have had a Penitent-Saint, Margarite of Cortona. The state of Christian marriage is the only one that has not yet deputed a Saint during this season which is the least rich in Feasts of the whole year. The deficiency is supplied today, by the admirable Frances of Rome.
Having, for forty years, led a most saintly life in the married state, upon which she entered when but twelve years of age, Frances retired from the world, where she had endured every sort of tribulation. But she had given her heart to her God long before she withdrew to the Cloister. Her whole life had been spent in the exercise of the highest Christian perfection, and she had ever received from our Lord the sublimest spiritual favours. Her amiable disposition had won for her the love and admiration of her husband and children: the rich venerated her as their model, the poor respected her as their devoted benefactress and mother.
God recompensed her angelic virtues, by these two special graces: the almost uninterrupted sight of her Guardian Angel, and the receiving most sublime revelations. But there is one trait of her life, which is particularly striking, and reminds us forcibly of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, and of St. Jane Frances Chantal:--her austere practices of penance. Such an innocent, and yet such a mortified life, is full of instruction for us. How can we think of murmuring against the obligation of mortification, when we find a saint like this practising it during her whole life? True, we are not bound to imitate her in the manner of her penance; but penance we must do, if we would confidently approach that God, who readily pardons the sinner when he repents, but whose justice requires atonement and satisfaction.
The Church thus describes the life, virtues, and miracles of St. Frances.
Frances, a noble lady of Rome, led a most virtuous life, even in her earliest years. She despised all childish amusements, and worldly pleasures, her only delight being solitude and prayer. When eleven years old, she resolved on consecrating her virginity to God, and seeking admission into a Monastery. But she humbly yielded to the wishes of her parents, and married a young and rich nobleman, by name Lorenzo Ponziani. As far as it was possible, she observed, in the married state, the austerities of the more perfect life to which she had aspired. She carefully shunned theatrical entertainments, banquets, and other such amusements. Her dress was of serge, and extremely plain. Whatever time remained after she had fulfilled her domestic duties, was spent in prayer and works of charity. But her zeal was mainly exercised in endeavouring to persuade the ladies of Rome to shun the world, and vanity in dress. It was with a view to this, that she founded, during her husband's life, the House of Oblates of the Congregation of Monte-Oliveto, under the Rule of St. Benedict. She bore her husband's banishment, the loss of all her goods, and the trouble which befel her whole family, not only with heroic patience, but was frequently heard to give thanks, saying with holy Job: "The Lord hath given, and the Lord hath taken away: blessed be the name of the Lord!"
At the death of her husband, she fled to the aforesaid House of Oblates, and there, barefooted, with a rope tied round her neck, and prostrate on the ground, she humbly, and with many tears, begged admission. Her petition being granted, she, though mother of the whole community, gloried in calling herself everyone's servant, and a worthless woman, and a vessel of dishonour. She evinced the contempt she had for herself by her conduct, as well as by her expressions. Thus, when returning from a vineyard in the suburbs, she would go through the city, sometimes carrying faggots on her head, sometimes driving an ass laden with them. She looked after, and bestowed abundant alms upon the poor. She visited the sick in the hospitals, and consoled them, not only with corporal food, but with spiritual advice. She was untiring in her endeavours to bring her body into subjection, by watchings, fasting, wearing a hair-shirt and an iron girdle, and by frequent disciplines. Her food, which she took but once in the day, consisted of herbs and pulse, and her only drink was water. But she would somewhat relent in these corporal austerities, as often as she was requested to do so by her confessor, whom she obeyed with the utmost exactitude.
Her contemplation of the divine mysteries, and especially of the Passion, was made with such intense fervour and abundance of tears, that she seemed as though she would die with grief. Frequently, too, when she was praying, and above all after Holy Communion, she would remain motionless, with her soul fixed on God, and rapt in heavenly contemplation. The enemy of mankind seeing this, endeavoured to frighten her out of so holy a life, by insults and blows; but she feared him not, invariably baffled his attempts, and, by the assistance of her Angel Guardian, whose visible presence was granted to her, she gained a glorious victory. God favoured her with the gift of healing the sick, as also with that of prophecy, whereby she foretold future events, and could read the secrets of hearts. More than once, when she was intent on prayer, either in the bed of a torrent, or during a storm of rain, she was not touched by the water. On one occasion, when all the bread they had was scarcely enough to provide a meal for three of the sisters, she besought our Lord, and he multiplied the bread; so that after fifteen persons had eaten as much as they needed, there was sufficient left to fill a basket. At another time, when the sisters were gathering wood outside the City walls, in the month of January, she amply quenched their thirst by offering them bunches of fresh grapes, which she plucked from a vine, and which she had miraculously obtained. Her virtues and miracles procured for her the greatest veneration from all. Our Lord called her to himself in the fifty-sixth year of her age, and she was canonised by Pope Paul the Fifth.
Prayer
O Frances! sublime model of every virtue! thou wast the glory of Christian Rome, and the ornament of thy sex. How insignificant are the pagan heroines of old compared with thee! Thy fidelity to the duties of thy state, and all thy saintly actions, had God for their one single end and motive. The world looked on thee with amazement, as though heaven had lent one of its Angels to this earth. Humility and penance put such energy into thy soul, that every trial was met and mastered. Thy love for those whom God Himself had given thee, thy calm resignation and interior joy under tribulation, thy simple and generous charity, to every neighbour,--all was evidence of God's dwelling within thy soul. Thy seeing and conversing with thy Angel Guardian, and the wonderful revelations granted thee of the secrets of the other world,--how much these favours tell us of thy merits? Nature suspended her laws at thy bidding; she was subservient to thee, as to one that was already face to face with the Sovereign Master, and had the power to command. We admire these privileges and gifts granted thee by our Lord; and now beseech thee to have pity on us, who are so far from being in that path, in which thou didst so perseveringly walk.
Pray for us, that we may be Christians, practically and earnestly; that we may cease to love the world and its vanities; that we may courageously take up the yoke of our Lord, and do penance; that we may give up our pride; that we may be patient and firm under temptation. Such was thy influence with our Heavenly Father, that thou hadst but to pray, and a vine produced the richest clusters of fruit, even in the midst of winter. Our Jesus calls Himself the True Vine; ask Him to give us of the wine of His divine love, which His Cross has so richly prepared for us. When we remember how frequently thou didst ask Him to let thee suffer, and accept thy sufferings for poor sinners, we feel encouraged to ask thee to offer thy merits to Him for us. Pray, too, for Rome, thy native city, that her people may be staunch to the faith, edifying by holiness of life, and loyal to the Church. May thy powerful intercession bring blessings on the Faithful throughout the world, add to their number, and make them fervent as were our fathers of old.
GOOD EXAMPLE
"And himself believed, and his whole house."--St. John 4:53.
by the Priests of the Congregation of St. Paul, 1893
I wish to say a few words this morning, dear brethren, on the force of example. St. Paul tells us in the Epistle to the Romans that "none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself''; and, again, that we are "members one of another." That is to say, we all influence the conduct of others and determine the course of their lives far more than we perhaps imagine. This is especially true in regard to parents and children. Bad parents, as a rule, have bad children, and good parents good children. How striking an example of the former is the inherited tendency to drink so often seen in those whose fathers and mothers were drunkards before them! Such children may have lost their parents very young and been brought up away from all temptation, but the tendency is there; there is in them a secret yearning after stimulants, and the first occasion awakes this sleeping appetite, and they end in the great majority of cases by becoming in their turn the abject slaves of strong drink.
You remember how, in the fable, the father-crab was so worried that his children would not walk straight along the sands, but persisted in scuttling along sideways. When he reproved them for so doing, they replied: "Well, father, show us how to walk straight yourself and we will all dutifully follow."
So, my brethren, if you wish your children to walk in the straight path of piety and virtue, first see to it that your footsteps are directed in that path. Lead the way yourselves, and then there will be little doubt that your children will follow you. Do you, Christian father, wish your sons to turn out well, to keep away from the saloons, to avoid oaths and foul language? Then set the example by avoiding those things yourself.
Do you, Christian mother, wish your daughters to be gentle, modest, sweet, self-respecting girls? Then set the example! Do not be a gossip and a gadabout yourself.
Do you, Christian parents, wish your children to reverence God's sanctuary, to be devout attendants at Holy Mass on Sundays, to be scrupulous in their fulfilment of every religious duty? Then set the example.
Do you want your boys and girls to set a guard on their tongues, refrain from wrangling and snapping and scolding and quarreling with each other? Then set the example. Lead the way, that they may follow. Guard your tongues; be gentle and forbearing, husbands and wives, with
each other; and your children will be quick to see and profit by and imitate such a beautiful model.
We hear a good deal nowadays about "heredity." Well, there is heredity in religion as well as in other things. If parents are good, devout, reverent Catholics, attentive to their duties, peaceable and considerate of one another at home, regular in their reception of the Sacraments, punctual and unfailing in their presence at Mass and the other services in church, living in charity and good-will with their neighbors, never forgetting to commend themselves and their households to God in morning and evening prayer--then their children will grow up like them, just, upright, God-fearing, dutiful, and pure. This is the sort of "hereditary religion" that we want; the goodness and piety of every family in this parish descending to their children and to their children's children; broadening and deepening like a fertilizing river, bringing blessing and prosperity to everything it touches. What an encouragement to all parents to lead good lives! In this way your example never dies; it goes on and on, and is reproduced in your descendants. When the ruler in to-day's Gospel believed, it brought belief to his whole house. So it was in the case of Zacchseus. May your faith and good works bring blessing and salvation to yourselves and your children from generation to generation!
Consecration of a Family to the Mother of God
(by St. Alphonsus)
O Blessed Virgin, Immaculate Queen of Heaven, Mother of
Sorrows, refuge and comfort of all the afflicted! Kneeling before your
throne with all my family, I choose you as our Mistress, Mother, and
Advocate with God. I consecrate myself and all belonging to me forever
to your service, and I implore you, O Mother of God, to number us
among your servants. Take us under your protection, assist us during life
and especially at the hour of death. Mother of Mercy, I choose you as
the Lady and Mistress of my entire household: my parents, my spouse,
my children, my cares, and my duties. Disdain not to take charge
of them, and direct everything as seems good to you. Bless us all, and
permit not that anyone of us should ever offend your Son. Protect us in
temptation, preserve us in danger, help us in trouble, counsel us in
doubt, assist us in sickness, and especially at the hour of death. Permit
not the evil one to boast that anyone of us now consecrated to you
has ever fallen into his net. Obtain for us the crown of eternal happiness,
that we may thank you while praising and loving Jesus Christ,
our Redeemer, for all eternity. Amen.
Litany for a Christian Mother
Lord, have mercy on me!
Christ, have mercy on me!
Lord, have mercy on me!
Christ, have mercy on me!
Christ, graciously hear me!
God, the Father of heaven,
have mercy on me! *
Thou great Father, from whom all parental relation proceedeth, *
O God, thou heavenly father of my children, *
Thou who lovest my children more than I, their mother, can love them. *
Thou who desirest that they may be forever happy with Thee, *
Thou who hast delivered up Thy only Son for them also, *
Thou who hast sent Thy angels to guard them, *
Thou who hast confided them to my love and care, *
Thou who requirest of me to keep and educate them for Thee, *
Thou who art willing to assist and help me in this my work. *
Thou who wilt call me one day to give a strict account of the
manner in which I have fulfilled my duties to my children, *
Thou who wilt reward in an unspeakable manner the faithful fulfilment
of a mother's duties, *
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, *
Thou who hast become man for us, *
O Jesus, who hast sanctified the tender age of childhood by having
become a child Thyself, *
O Jesus, Thou most lovely of children, *
O Jesus, Thou most loving and faithful Son of Thy holy Mother and fosterfather, *
O Jesus, Thou friend of children, *
Thou who hast pronounced condemnation upon all those who shall be
guilty of scandal to their children, *
Thou who regardest as done to Thyself whatsoever is done to children. *
Thou who dost love my children, and hast offered Thyself up for them, *
Thou who hast also for their sake enriched Thy holy Church with graces, *
Thou who by the sacrament of penance hast consecrated and enabled me,
with Thy grace, to fulfil the duties of a mother, *
Thou who hast prepared in Thy holy Church so many graces for this vocation, *
God the Holy Ghost, *
Thou who, through the workings of Thy grace in holy baptism, hast
changed my children into children of God, *
Thou by whose grace alone I can successfully fulfil my duties toward my children, *
Thou by whose grace my children can become holy and remain so, *
Thou Spirit of Wisdom and understanding, *
Thou Spirit of Counsel and fortitude, *
Thou Spirit of Piety and of the fear of God, *
Thou Spirit of Knowledge and all graces, *
Thou who hast often worked in children wonderful changes through the power of Thy grace. *
Holy Trinity one God, *
Holy Mary,
pray for us. **
Holy mother of God, **
Mother of Christ, **
Mother most pure, **
Mother most chaste, **
Mother most amiable, **
Mother most admirable, **
Thou who didst offer up Thy divine Son in the Temple, **
Thou who didst flee with Him into Egypt, **
Thou who didst seek Him for three days with sorrow, **
Thou who didst recommend the newly married people of Cana to Him, **
Thou who didst see Him suffer and die on the Cross, **
Thou who didst hold Him in Thy arms after He had died, **
Thou who didst offer Him up willingly to the Father, **
Thou who because of His Resurrection and Ascension into heaven wast filled
with holy joy, **
Thou who art now glorified with Him in heaven, **
St. Joseph, **
Thou to whom God did confide what He esteemed most precious, His divine Son, **
Thou who didst most carefully protect and cherish Thy divine foster-son, **
Thou who didst have the blessing and consolation of working with Him so many years, **
Thou who didst breathe out Thy last breath in His arms, **
Ye holy guardian angels and friends of my children, who behold
always the face of the heavenly Father, **
Ye who are sent by God for the protection of my children, **
Ye who, full of love for my children, are always intent upon guarding and
defending them, **
O blessed Anna, happy mother of the most blessed Virgin, **
Thou who by a life of holy endurance, patience, and prayer didst obtain the honor
of such a motherhood, **
Thou whom God didst bless with a child of all that ever were born the richest in grace. **
Thou who didst instruct Thy holy daughter in the practice of all kinds of virtues
and perfection, **
Thou who didst go before her with the example of a most holy life, **
Thou Patroness of Christian wives and mothers, **
St. Joachim, Thou pious Consort of St. Anne, **
O blessed Anne, Thou favored mother of Samuel, **
Thou who didst obtain this child of benediction by Thy persevering prayer, **
Thou who didst consecrate it to the service of the Tabernacle, **
Holy mother of the Maccabees, thou martyr of the Old Testament, **
Thou heroine and model of true motherly love, **
Thou who didst deliver up Thy seven sons to death with unshaken
fortitude for the law of the Lord, **
St. Joachim, Thou father of the blessed Virgin Mary, **
Ye holy mothers of the Apostles, who gave up your sons to our
divine Saviour, and consecrated them to His service, **
St. Felicitas, thou who, like the mother of the Maccabees, didst deliver
up Thy seven sons for Jesus unto death and martyrdom. **
All ye holy mothers who have preferred to see your children die in the pains of
martyrdom rather than to see them deny their faith, **
St. Paula, Thou model of the love of a mother, **
St. Monica, Thou who by Thy persevering prayers and entreaties didst win
Thy son Augustine for God, **
St. Elizabeth, Thou who didst educate Thy child with so great care, **
All ye holy and chosen mothers, **
Ye who through prayers and pious works have obtained the favor of motherhood, **
Ye who have taken so great pains to educate, by word and example, the children whom the Lord confided to you, to true holiness of life, **
Ye who, through the faithful fulfilment of your duties as mothers, have also arrived yourselves at sanctity, and at the possession of the highest happiness in heaven, **
All ye holy Angels, **
All ye holy Patriarchs and Prophets, **
All ye holy Apostles and Martyrs, **
All ye holy Bishops, Priests and Confessors, **
All ye holy Virgins and Widows, **
All ye holy and innocent children, **
Be merciful to me, spare me, O Lord!
Be merciful to me, hear me, O Lord!
From all evil,
deliver me, O Lord! ***
From indifference to my vocation, ***
From the neglect of my duties as a mother, ***
From the disregard of the salvation of my children, ***
From imprudent love and indulgence, ***
From anger, and from a passionate manner of speaking and acting, ***
From all kinds of bad example, ***
From the spirit of uncleanness, ***
Through the merits of Thy life, suffering, and death,
I beseech Thee to hear me! ****
Through Thy love for children, ****
Through the great care which Thou didst manifest for children, ****
Through the great reward which Thou hast promised to those who
for Thy sake receive children under their care. ****
Through the mercies of Thy divine Heart, ****
Through the intercession of Thy holy Mother, ****
Through the intercession of all mothers now happy in heaven, ****
I, a sinner, beseech Thee to hear me! ****
That Thou wouldst grant me the grace to understand
fully the greatness and sublimity of my vocation, ****
That Thou wouldst assist me to arrive at a true knowledge
of the importance of my duties towards my children, ****
That Thou wouldst give me, in the difficult work of education,
understanding, judgment, and wisdom, ****
That Thou wouldst fill my heart with true love for my children, ****
That Thou wouldst give me fervor in prayer for my children, ****
That Thou wouldst bless my instructions and admonitions, ****
That Thou wouldst give me the grace to go before my children in
all things, and always with the light of good example, ****
That Thou wouldst graciously take my children under Thy Almighty protection, ****
That Thou wouldst guard them against all levity, and against the misfortune of mortal sin, ****
That Thou wouldst give them the grace of becoming well founded in the
fear of God and piety, and of persevering therein, ****
That Thou wouldst increase in them Thy holy love, ****
That Thou wouldst preserve in them the treasure of unblemished innocence, ****
That Thou wouldst repel all the wicked attacks of hell, ****
That Thou wouldst guard them against all the bad influences of the world, ****
That Thou wouldst give Thy blessing to the endeavors of priests and teachers
in their behalf, ****
That Thou wouldst preserve them in Thy grace, ****
That Thou wouldst lead them to eternal life, ****
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
spare me, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
graciously hear me, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
have mercy on me, O Lord.
Christ hear me! Christ graciously hear me!
Lord have mercy on me!
Christ have mercy on me!
Lord have mercy on me!
Our Father. Hail Mary.
Prayer
O God, whose mercy is without measure, and whose goodness is without limit, I render thanks to Thee for the graces and favors which Thou hast so freely bestowed upon me and upon my children; and since Thou dost listen willingly to those who address Thee, I pray most earnestly that Thou wilt never abandon me and my children, but that Thou wouldst lead us to an eternal reward in heaven. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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