B16 Castel Gandolfo Angelus

Pope Benedict XVI waves as he leads his Angelus prayer at his summer residence in Castelgandolfo, south of Rome, July 11, 2010. (Daylife Reuters)

Pictures courtesy of Daylife

St. Benedict of Nursia:



Full Angelus:



Blessed Parents of St. Therese of Lisieux:



Related Links:

Vatican posts financial loss for third year in a row

Chinese Christianity has grown at a meteoric rate in recent decades, swelling from around four million faithful in 1949 to over fifty million today

Irish Catholic youths rioted in Belfast before Monday's mass parades by Protestant brotherhood the Orange Order, leaving more than two dozen police officers injured

Sts. Nabor and Felix

San Benedetto è il "grande patrono del mio pontificato", ha ricordato papa Ratzinger nella preghiera dell'Angelus

Sts. John Jones and John Wall

Prince Charles snubbed as 'too busy' Pope refuses to meet him

Major renovations, infrastructure upgrades and a sluggish global economy left the Vatican City State budget in the red; however, donations to the pope were up from recent years

The Brussels public prosecutor's office confirmed Friday that Cardinal Godfried Danneels, retired archbishop of the city, did not download pornography to his computer

Here is the letter Benedict XVI sent to Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal of Jerusalem after the Pope's apostolic visit to Cyprus

The Church in Cuba announced Saturday that 12 more political prisoners will be leaving for Spain, accounting now for a total of 17 out of 52 prisoners expected to be released

Anglicans Vote to Ordain Women Bishops. Canterbury Trail Leading to Rome?

"The imposition of a socialist state inspired by the Cuban communist regime that has been enforced through laws and facts that ignore the popular will and the Constitution is absolutely unacceptable.” Venezuelan Bishops to tyrant Hugo Chavez

In Memoriam-Sen. Edward M. Kennedy

Song of Mary

"Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be [done] to me according to Thy word"

The Magnificat - The Canticle of Mary:

My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For He has regarded the low estate of His handmaiden,
For behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name.
And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm:
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and exalted those of low degree.
He has filled the hungry with good things;
and the rich He has sent empty away.

He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy;
As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to His posterity forever.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen

Scripture text: Revised Standard Version - Catholic Edition

Source: Women for Faith & Family

Magnificat:

The Magnificat is the hymn chanted by the Blessed Virgin in thanksgiving for the privilege of becoming the Mother of God and for God's goodness in redeeming mankind. To understand this prayer more perfectly, it would help if we visualized ourselves present at the great hour in which it was first uttered. Mary had received the message from an angel that she was to be the Mother of the Son of God.

She cannot fully understand that great grace and has no one to whom she can pour out her bursting heart. She goes into the hill country of Judea to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who was favored with a somewhat similar blessing. Divinely enlightened, Elizabeth greeted and received Mary as the Mother of her God. Now Mary can no longer restrain the lofty emotions within her soul; she gives vent to a heart overflowing with gratitude.

She prays the Magnificat. She thanks God for the great dignity that has come to her and for the redemption that it brings to men.

The Magnifcat very early found its place in the liturgy; already in the fourth century it formed part of the Office, and one tradition credits St. Benedict for having introduced it into Vespers:

My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For He has regarded the low estate of His handmaiden,
For behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name.
And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm:

He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree.
He has filled the hungry with good things;
and the rich He has sent empty away.

He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy;
As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to His posterity forever.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end.
Amen

Scripture text: Revised Standard Version - Catholic Edition

Magnificat anima mea Dominum; Et exultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo, Quia respexit humilitatem ancillae suae; ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes generationes. Quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est, et sanctum nomen ejus, Et misericordia ejus a progenie in progenies timentibus eum. Fecit potentiam brachio suo; Dispersit superbos mente cordis sui. Deposuit potentes de sede, et exaltavit humiles. Esurientes implevit bonis, et divites dimisit inanes. Sucepit Israel, puerum suum, recordatus misericordiae suae, Sicut locutus est ad patres nostros, Abraham et semeni ejus in saecula.

Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

Magnificat Prayer Card:

My soul doth magnify the Lord:
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my
Saviour.
Because He hath regarded the lowliness of
His handmaid.

For, behold, from henceforth all generations
shall call me blessed.
For He that is mighty, hath done great
things to me, and holy is His Name.
And his mercy is from generation unto
generations, to them that fear Him.

He hath showed might with His arm.
He hath scattered the proud in the
conceit of their heart.
He hath put down the mighty from
their seat, and hath exalted the lowly.

He hath filled the hungry with good things;
and the rich he hath sent away empty.
He hath received Israel His servant,
being mindful of His mercy:

As He spoke to our fathers, to
Abraham and to his seed forever.

To pay your respects to Senator Edward Moore Kennedy, on his tribute site, click here.

Pope Honors St. Benedict & Polish WW2 Veterans

In but another move towards Russian-Roman unity:

Another concrete manifestation of the improving relations between the Vatican and the Russian Orthodox Church occurred yesterday in Rome.

Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, attended a three-hour ceremony to dedicate the Orthodox Church of the Great Martyr Saint Catherine on the grounds of the Russian Embassy,The New York Times reported.

The May 24 dedication took place on the Orthodox feast day for St. Cyril and St. Methodius, who are known as Apostles of the Slavs.

Also attending the dedication were Svetlana Medvedev, wife of the Russian president, and Yuri Luzhkov, the mayor of Moscow. The ceremony was led by Metropolitan Valentin of Orenburg and Buzuluk.

“We are happy that the Russian Orthodox community has a new church in the center of Rome, Cardinal Kasper said, the Times reported. “It is a sign that we are nearer to each other.”

Lastly, Father Barron is working on an amazing project which details and defends the history of the Roman Catholic Church. The site and corresponding trailer can be found here.