
OUR LADY OF LOURDES
February 11
Dear Mama Mary, today we celebrate the feast of your appearances to Saint Bernadette at Lourdes, France. We give honor to you and to the grace of your Immaculate Conception. The waters of Lourdes are blessed with the healing mercy of your Son, Jesus, our Lord. I, Among the many believers and pilgrim-goers who went to your grotto, was very blessed to be healed. Months after I bathed in that miraculous waters, diagnostic tests revealed the disappearance of cysts/formations in my system. You truly are our source of healing both spiritual and corporal. My gratitude is forever yours my Dearest Mother. Please continue to pray for us. Amen
❤️

Tag: Catholic
Prayer to Jesus of Nazareth
I’m sharing this prayer in time for the feast day of the Black Nazarene – January 9.
BELOVED LORD JESUS OF NAZARETH, I COME TO YOU TO HELP ME.
LIFE IS A CONSTANT STRUGGLE, AND I NOW FEEL THE PAIN OF MY JOURNEY.
BLESS ME JESUS AND TEACH ME TO LISTEN, TO ALL THE EVENTS OF MY LIFE,
KNOWING THAT NOTHING HAPPENS BY CHANCE. EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS HAS A REASON.
WHEN I FEEL THE PAIN OF SICKNESS, TEACH ME TO COPE WITH LOVING SURRENDER
AND TO BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF HEALING.
WHEN I EXPERIENCE EMOTIONAL, FINANCIAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL BROKENNESS,
HELP ME TO RISE UP WITH BELIEF THAT WITH GOD, NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE.
I COME TO YOU TODAY, TO PRAY FOR HEALING. PLEASE HEAR MY PETITION (SAY PETITIONS…)
I PRAY TO YOU AND MY MOTHER MARY TO ANSWER MY PRAYERS AMEN.JESUS, I PUT MY TRUST IN YOU!
*little history of this iconic image of Jesus,
A life-sized statue from Mexico and came here in the Philippines last 400 years ago, when Spanish colonization has just began. The feast day is celebrated every January 9, and during this day it is accustomed for devotees to do the “pahalik” or to kiss or touch the image as a sign of respect and honor to our scourged Savior. It is also a tradition to walk barefooted which depicts humility just like the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
Our Lady of Guadalupe – 9 day Novena
9 Day Novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe
(adopted from Catholic liturgies and prayers)
Our Lady of Guadalupe,
According to your message in Mexico
I venerate you as “the Virgin Mother
Of the true God for whom we live,
The Creator of all the world,
Maker of heaven and earth.”
In spirit I kneel before your most holy Image
Which you miraculously imprinted
Upon the cloak of the Indian Juan Diego,
And with the faith
Of the countless numbers of pilgrims
Who visit your shrine,
I beg you for this favor:
To be a generous, self-sacrificing,
Faithful Marian Catechist all the days of my life.
Remember, O Immaculate Virgin,
The words you spoke to your devout client,
“I am a merciful Mother to you
And to all your people
Who love me and trust in me And invoke my help.
I listen to their lamentations and solace
All their sorrows and their sufferings.”
I beg you to be a merciful Mother to me,
Because I sincerely love you and trust in you
And invoke your help.
I entreat you, Our Lady of Guadalupe,
To grant my request,
If this should be the Will of God,
In order that I may
“Bear witness to your love, your compassion,
Your help and protection.”
Do not forsake me in my needs. Amen.
Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us.
DAY ONE
Dearest Lady of Guadalupe,
fruitful Mother of holiness,
teach me your ways of gentleness and strength.
Hear my humble prayer offered with heartfelt confidence
to beg this favor…
State your request here…
pray –
Our Father…
Hail Mary…
Glory Be…
DAY TWO
O Mary, conceived without sin,
I come to your throne of grace
to share the fervent devotion
of your faithful Mexican children
who call to you under the glorious Aztec title of Guadalupe.
Obtain for me a lively faith to do your Son’s holy will always:
May His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
State your request here…
pray –
Our Father…
Hail Mary…
Glory Be…
DAY THREE
O Mary, whose Immaculate Heart was pierced
by seven swords of grief,
help me to walk valiantly
amid the sharp thorns strewn across my pathway.
Obtain for me the strength to be a true imitator of you.
This I ask you, my dear Mother.
State your request here…
pray –
Our Father…
Hail Mary…
Glory Be…
DAY FOUR
Dearest Mother of Guadalupe,
I beg you for a fortified will
to imitate your divine Son’s charity,
to always seek the good of others in need.
Grant me this, I humbly ask of you.
State your request here…
pray –
Our Father…
Hail Mary…
Glory Be…
DAY FIVE
O most holy Mother,
I beg you to obtain for me pardon of all my sins,
abundant graces to serve your Son more faithfully from now on,
and lastly, the grace to praise Him with you forever in heaven.
State your request here…
pray –
Our Father…
Hail Mary…
Glory Be…
DAY SIX
Mary, Mother of vocations,
multiply priestly vocations
and fill the earth with religious houses
which will be light and warmth for the world,
safety in stormy nights.
Beg your Son to send us many priests and religious.
This we ask of you, O Mother.
State your request here…
pray –
Our Father…
Hail Mary…
Glory Be…
DAY SEVEN
O Lady of Guadalupe,
we beg you that parents live a holy life
and educate their children in a Christian manner;
that children obey and follow the directions of their parents;
that all members of the family pray and worship together.
This we ask of you, O Mother.
State your request here…
pray –
Our Father…
Hail Mary…
Glory Be…
DAY EIGHT
With my heart full of the most sincere veneration,
I prostrate myself before you, O Mother,
to ask you to obtain for me the grace
to fulfill the duties of my state in life with faithfulness and constancy.
State your request here…
pray –
Our Father…
Hail Mary…
Glory Be…
DAY NINE
O God, You have been pleased
to bestow upon us unceasing favors
by having placed us under the special protection
of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary.
Grant us, your humble servants,
who rejoice in honoring her today upon earth,
the happiness of seeing her face to face in heaven.
State your request here…
pray –
Our Father…
Hail Mary…
Glory Be…
Our Lady of Guadalupe,
Pray for us,
Amen.
feast day – December 12
life goals
I attended a funeral mass recently of our dear tita Ester, reminding me once again how vague and short life is. It was solemn and poignant.There were about 12 priests who celebrated the mass including Bishop Palma. And so family members, one by one said their eulogies, and as expected tears were flowing incessantly especially from an emotional one like me. I was inspired by her stories, she lived a life of servitude. Somehow, I saw myself at her, being a devotee of Mama Mary and rosary crusader. I thought, in this lifetime I should be doing everything I can to please God because we are given only one opportunity to use all that He has gifted us.
This is something to keep in mind…
“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, there is neither working nor planning, nor knowledge nor wisdom.”
Ecclesiastes 9:10
Our Lady of Lourdes, France (2)
You’ll see this cross as you enter the sanctuary. It’s considered to be the holiest site in Lourdes, France.
Before, we thought of owning an apartment here. Though one helpful and local tour guide told us not to, because of taxes and high maintenance fees.
Lourdes has become a favorite place of mine, last year we stayed for 4 days and I went to the chapel daily. Prayed and drank in the sacred spring that welled up for the first time during the apparition of Mama Mary to St. Bernadette. The water was cold but it didn’t feel uncomfortably cold and chilly. Going back to the church, it was designed by Myroslav Nimciv, while its Byzantine interior polychrome decorations were executed by artist Jerzy Nowosielski. A beautiful statue of Mama Mary is standing right in the middle & facing the main basilica.
Her blue sash seemed to be swaying gracefully with the wind. And an intricate crown of gold-embroidered her head and perpetual face. The sanctuary is about 50 hectares with 22 places of worships, includes the sacred grotto, two main basilicas (photo of entrance seen below), and an assortment of chapels for the sick and pilgrim goers like me.
Roman Catholic faith is flourishing in Lourdes, I remember hearing Holy Masses in different languages like English, Spanish and Italian. One morning when I went alone to pray, I was mistaken to be an Italian and asked me to take photos of her group with the church as their background. Delighted and out of courtesy, I agreed and then went on to pray in the grotto.
The rest of the places in Lourdes will be featured on my next posts, and hopefully I’ll have time to post more pictures as well. Much said about this quaint town, I heard it is second to Paris in terms of tourism and number of hotels. Most of my happy memories were also from this place, I was solely raised by my grandmother with strict values and traditions and visiting Lourdes is very sacred to me. I’m planning to bring her here someday, if she is able to travel, God willing.
Year 2011 when I was diagnosed with severe endometriosis and ovarian cysts, a condition that made it crucial for me to conceive again. I had Laparoscopic procedures both for diagnosis and removal, but endometriosis in my uterus remain intact upto this day, this is one of the many difficult struggles we have to face. But it has made my faith deeper, so when we went to visit Lourdes last May I was more emotional than our previous pilgrims. I looked at the other hopefuls, some were more ill than I am, and in their stretchers and/or wheelchairs. I know we’re all present to experience the miracle, that one day we will be healed with our faith.
Tearful yet happy, the joy this place brings, never fails to remind me of God’s wonderful grace and love.
❤
Our Lady of Lourdes, France
I have been to Europe a couple of times. Mainly as pilgrims particularly to this holy place in Lourdes, France. It is a small town in Pyrenees in southwest France. And the biggest pilgrimage destination in France and one of the most popular sanctuaries in the world. Pilgrims come here and drink or bath in the miraculous water that sprung during the apparition of the Virgin Mary to Saint Bernadette. Photo above shows the grotto and the exact location where Mama Mary was seen by the young visionary St. Bernadette. The last time I visited which was just last year, I was able to bathed in the healing waters, priorities are given to the sick and elderly. Courteous and helpful nuns are there to assist you. 
I wish i have more photos to show but at that moment I was filled with joy. Besides, cameras are not allowed inside the cubicles. Everything is very organized, surpisingly the line wasn’t long. Then I entered one of the cubicles while draped in blankets provided by the assisting nuns. I wept as I was overwhelmed with gladness, I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit. And Mama Mary’s sacred image was there in the foot of the pool and kissed her after plunging in the water. I knew right then I was healed instantly… 
mypanoplies 
