Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like yours!

12 Promises of the Sacred Heart

Author: St. Margaret Mary

The Promises of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to St. Margaret Mary

(1) “I will give them all the graces necessary in their state of life.

(2) I will establish peace in their homes.

(3) I will comfort them in all their afflictions.

(4) I will be their secure refuge during life, and above all, in death.

(5) I will bestow abundant blessings upon all their undertakings.

(6) Sinners will find in my Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.

(7) Lukewarm souls shall become fervent.

(8) Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection.

(9) I will bless every place in which an image of my Heart is exposed and honored.

10) I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.

(11) Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names written in my Heart.

(12) I promise you in the excessive mercy of my Heart that my all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on the First Fridays in nine consecutive months the grace of final perseverance; they shall not die in my disgrace, nor without receiving their sacraments. My divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.”

Copyright (c) 1996 EWTN

O Christ, by your ascension you ended your stay on earth, completed your plan of salvation and returned to the Father to prepare a place for us, so that we may be where you are. You taught us the way to the place where you were going and told us to follow you.

When Thomas asked you: “We do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” You answered: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Now, O Christ our Savior, we ask you, with the fragrance of our prayers, to walk with us on the way that leads to the Father. Turn our eyes toward him, strengthen our desire to be with him, and guide our steps that we may reach the Father through you and with you. We praise you, your Father, and your Holy Spirit, for ever.

Amen.

~ Sedro, Prayer of Forgiveness, from the Maronite Divine Liturgy for the feast of the Ascension of Our Lord.

Lord Jesus, make us worthy, in the abundance of your grace and mercy, to glorify your resurrection with pure hearts, to celebrate your victory with holy hymns, and to proclaim your might with pure tongues. We thank you for your love and worship you, crying out: “Christ is risen! He is truly risen!” To you be glory, to your Father, and to your Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen.

~ Opening Prayer from the Maronite Sunday Divine Liturgy on the Feast of the Glorious Resurrection

Stunned and stricken, Mary, Mother,

In your arms was placed our Brother,

Full of Grace now filled with grief.

Mary, Mother of our Savior,

May we share in your Son’s passion,

Leading us from death to life.

~ 13th Station of the Cross

Blessed feast of the Annunciation!

O holy Virgin Mary, O Beautiful Lily and Fragrant Rose, the fragrance of your holiness has filled the whole universe. Pray for us that we may become the sweet fragrance of Christ that spreads throughout the world. We offer [our prayers] for the living, that they remain strong in faith, and for the dead, that they be granted salvation, and may we enjoy eternal happiness and praise the Most Holy Trinity, for ever.

Amen.

~ Etro prayer from the Maronite Divine Liturgy, Wednesday of the Season of the Glorious Pentecost

In the Maronite Church we not only pray the Stations of the Cross on Fridays during the Season of Great Lent, but we also have prayers of Benediction of the Cross! Attached is a document with both of those prayers for those who may wish to pray them in their home, or in a nearby Church!

The hymns we sing are quite beautiful, so if you are musically inclined, perhaps you can learn these songs to our Lord and Blessed Mother.

Wishing everyone a fruitful Season of Great Lent ~ may each of you grow in your relationship with Our Lord!

In this Season of Great Lent we are called to increase our prayer ~ spend more time being with and getting to know Our Lord! When people think of the monastic life, this is normally the first aspect they think of, imagining monks and nuns spending their time in prayer! It is important to recognize the end to prayer is intimacy and union with God. Prayer encompasses the vocal prayer, especially with the Divine Liturgy, Divine Office, the Rosary, etc., but we are also called to engage in meditation and aim for the heights of contemplation! Our Monastic Prayer soap is fragranced with Frankincense and Myrrh essential oils in the hopes that using the soap will be a reminder to lift one’s heart and mind to the Lord! Yes, even while washing your hands, or in the shower! Bring the Lord with you wherever you are or with whatever you are doing!

The Catholic Church has designated this year as the “Year of St. Joseph.” St. Joseph, spouse of the Virgin Mary, and foster father of Our Lord, is deeply loved and revered in the Maronite Church. Numerous churches and monasteries in Lebanon have St. Joseph as their patron, and in the United States there are also several churches named for St. Joseph.

The first Maronite Church in Manhattan began in 1890 under the patronage of St. Joseph. Here is an excerpt from the website of Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Cathedral in Brooklyn, New York, regarding the history of the Maronite Community in New York City:

In parallel to Our Lady of Lebanon, Saint Joseph’s continued its mission among the Manhattan Maronites, purchasing property at 57–59 Washington Street in 1910. However, as early as 1902, the Maronite population of Manhattan was decreasing as the immigrants prospered and their children grew up and moved out of lower Manhattan. By the late 1930s, Saint Joseph’s had a very small congregation of Maronites in the immediate neighborhood of the church. On February 5, 1946, the City of New York acquired title to the 57 Washington Street property in connection with the construction of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel. Saint Joseph’s Church moved to 157 Cedar Street, which, after extensive remodeling, was in use by May 1949.

In December 1966, the Archbishop of New York suggested that Saint Joseph’s Church be suppressed as a Maronite parish so as to promote the founding of a new Latin parish in the area to meet the needs of the predominantly Latin Catholics who would work in the World Trade Center, then in the final planning stages. After several years of consultation, the Saint Joseph’s Church property was sold to the Archdiocese in April 1969, after being assured that the Maronite Liturgy could always be celebrated at Saint Joseph’s Church. However, soon thereafter, the property was taken again by eminent domain, this time for construction of the World Trade Center. The church was relocated for the third time, and continues today as Saint Joseph Chapel, one block to the West of the Cedar Street location, at 385 South End Avenue (the church entrance is on Liberty Street) and is administered as part of Saint Peter’s Catholic Church on Barclay Street.

Along with the numerous Churches named for St. Joseph, several of our prominent Maronite saints were also given the name of Joseph (Youssef in Arabic) at birth. These saints include the beloved St. Charbel Makhlouf, St. Nimatullah al-Hardini, and Blessed Estephan Nehme.

With regards to these significant aspects of the great Saint Joseph in our Maronite Church, we wished to also honor him with one of our “Patron” soaps in the line of Maronite Monasticism Soaps. May his prayers be with us and may he watch over our families, our Churches & Monasteries, and our nations.

St. Joseph, pray for us!

What better way to learn more about the life of Saint Maron and the Church that bears his name than by purchasing a copy of “Saint Maron & the Maronite People.” Order your copy today!

We are excited to share with you that our artist, Katherine Evey Johnson, has completed the final illustration for our next book! Our new book is a children’s illustrated Maronite Book of Offering, created to help Maronite children follow along with the Divine Liturgy. Now that the illustrations are complete, we will move on to the next step with scanning the images and doing the layout of the book!

Each page will have the words of the Divine Liturgy on the left hand side, with an illustration on the right page showing both what is taking place in the Church as well as the spiritual reality that occurs during the Divine Liturgy. We hope this book will help our Maronite Children connect to our Divine Liturgy in a more fulfilling, fruitful and prayer way!

Stay tuned and look for updates on the progress of the book!