Blessing of Pilgrims, Rucksacks and Emblems

BLESSING OF PILGRIMS

In accord with ancient ecclesiastical discipline, pilgrims who are to visit the holy shrines should obtain a letter of recommendation from their Ordinary or pastor before they set out. Having put their affairs in order, they prepare themselves with sacramental confession, assist at Mass and receive holy communion. In this Mass the Collect for pilgrims (pro re gravi) is said. After Mass they kneel before the priest who says the following (for the music see the music supplement):

Antiphon: May the almighty and merciful Lord lead you in the way of peace and prosperity. May the Angel Raphael be your companion on the journey and bring you back to your homes in peace, health, and happiness.

P: "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel! * He has visited His people and brought about its redemption.

All: He has raised for us a stronghold of salvation * in the house of David His servant,

P: And redeemed the promise He had made * through the mouth of His holy prophets of old--

All: To grant salvation from our foes * and from the hand of all that hate us;

P: To deal in mercy with our fathers * and be mindful of His holy covenant,

All: Of the oath he had sworn to our father Abraham, * that He would enable us--

P: Rescued from the clutches of our foes--* to worship Him without fear,

All: In holiness and observance of the Law, * in His presence, all our days.

P: And you, my little one, will be hailed 'Prophet of the Most High'; * for the Lord's precursor you will be to prepare His ways;

All: You are to impart to His people knowledge of salvation * through forgiveness of their sins.

P: Thanks be to the merciful heart of our God! * a dawning Light from on high will visit us

All: To shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadowland of death, * and guide our feet into the path of peace."

P: Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

All: As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Antiphon: May the almighty and merciful Lord lead you in the way of peace and prosperity. May the Angel Raphael be your companion on the journey and bring you back to your homes in peace, health, and happiness.

Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Our Father (the rest inaudibly until:)

P: And lead us not into temptation.

All: But deliver us from evil.

P: Save your servants.

All: Who trust in Thee, my God.

P: Lord, send them aid from Thy holy place.

All: And watch over them from Sion.

P: Let them find in Thee, Lord, a fortified tower.

All: In the face of the enemy.

P: Let the enemy have no power over them.

All: And the son of iniquity be powerless to harm them.

P: May the Lord be praised at all times.

All: May God, our helper, grant us a happy journey.

P: Lord, show us Thy ways.

All: And lead us along Thy paths.

P: Oh, that our life be bent.

All: On keeping Thy precepts.

P: For the crooked ways will be made straight.

All: And the rough places plain.

P: God has given His angels charge over you.

All: To guard you in all your undertakings.

P: Lord, hear my prayer.

All: And let my come unto Thee.

P: The Lord be with you.

All: And with thy Spirit.

Let us pray.

BLESSING OF RUCKSACKS AND EMBLEMS

O Lord whose word makes all things holy, bless, we beseech Thee, this emblem and rucksack to be used on pilgrimage. May he who carries them arrive safely at the Monastery of Golgotha and the Holy City of Rome, the objectives of his journey. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

R: Amen

They are sprinkled with Holy Water.

In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, (it is handed over) shoulder this rucksack which will help you during your pilgrimage. May the fatigue of carrying it be expiation for your sins, so that when you have been forgiven you may reach your destination full of courage, and when your pilgrimage is over, return home full of joy. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

R: Amen

Receive this shell, as a sign of your pilgrimage. With God’s grace may you behave as a true pilgrim throughout your entire journey and be able to reach your destination and gain indulgences. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

R: Amen

Let us Pray.

O God, who led the children of Israel dry-shod through the sea, and showed the way to the three Magi by the guidance of a star; grant this pilgrim, we pray, a happy journey and peaceful days, so that, with Thy holy angel as a guide, he may safely reach his destination and finally come to the haven of everlasting salvation.

O God, who led Thy servant, Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldeans, and kept him safe in all his wanderings; may it please Thee, we pray, also to watch over this servant of Thine. Be to him, O Lord, a help in his preparations, comfort on his way, shade in the heat, shelter in the rain and cold, a carriage in tiredness, a shield in adversity, a staff in insecurity, a haven in shipwreck; so that under your guidance he may happily reach his destination, and finally return safe to his home.

Lord, we beg Thee to hear our request that you guide the steps of Thy servant along the path of well-being that comes from Thee, and that in the midst of this fickle world he may always live under Thy protection.

Grant, we pray, O almighty God, that Thy pilgrim finds a safe route; and heeding the admonitions of blessed John, the precursor, come finally to Him whom John foretold, Thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Hear, O Lord, our prayers, and kindly accompany Thy servant on his journey; and as Thou art present everywhere lend him Thy aid at all times, so that with Thee as his shield he will be defended from all dangers and pay Thee his homage of gratitude; through Christ our Lord.

All: Amen.

May the peace and blessing of almighty God, Father, Son,  and Holy Spirit, come upon you and remain with you forever.

All: Amen.

They are sprinkled with holy water.

(If there is only one pilgrim the prayers are said in the singular; but if the priest who bestows the blessing is a member of the pilgrimage they are said in the plural.)

September 2018: TLM training in Rehoboth Beach for priests and transitional deacons

Priests and transitional deacons in good standing are invited to take part in training to offer the low traditional Latin Mass in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, from September 16-23, 2018.  

The training will take place in accommodations on the ocean block. Meals in common optional with access to a full kitchen. Limit 13 priests or transitional deacons. Low Mass celebrated mornings daily followed by a period of training. $25 refundable fee to reserve a spot. Make check to "Saint Francis de Sales Church" and mail to SFDS, PO Box 306, Benedict, MD 20612. After receipt further information will be provided with specifics on location and schedule. Email Father Kevin M. Cusick for reservations or for more information at mcitl.blogspot.com@gmail.com.

Benefactors who wish to support by donations for meals or other needs of participants are most welcome. Please make your check out and send as above with a note in regard to your intentions.

Thanks for prayer support as well.

(In photo: Father Cusick offering the traditional Latin Mass at the main altar showing results of the ongoing parish sanctuary beautification project.)

Chicken broth on Good Friday?

"Abstinence laws consider that meat comes only from animals such as chickens, cows, sheep or pigs --- all of which live on land. Birds are also considered meat. Abstinence does not include meat juices and liquid foods made from meat.  Thus, such foods as chicken broth, consomme, soups cooked or flavored with meat, meat gravies or sauces, as well as seasonings or condiments made from animal fat are technically not forbidden.  However, moral theologians have traditionally taught that we should abstain from all animal-derived products (except foods such as gelatin, butter, cheese and eggs, which do not have any meat taste).  Fish are a different category of animal.  Salt and freshwater species of fish, amphibians, reptiles, (cold-blooded animals) and shellfish are permitted."

Source USCCB

Epiphany House Blessing: Christus Mansionem Benedicat

Mark the lintel with blessed chalk thus: 20 + C + M + B + 18 while saying:

The three Wise Men, Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar followed the star of God’s Son who became human two thousand and fifteen years ago. May Christ bless our home and remain with us throughout the new year. Amen.
Then offer the following prayer: "Visit, O blessed Lord, this home with the gladness of your presence. Bless all who live or visit here with the gift of your love; and grant that we may manifest your love to each other and to all whose lives we touch. May we grow in grace and in the knowledge and love of you; guide, comfort, and strengthen us in peace, O Jesus Christ, now and forever. Amen"

A Christmas prayer by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

Let Your goodness Lord appear to us, that we,
made in your image, conform ourselves to it.
In our own strength
we cannot imitate Your majesty, power, and wonder
nor is it fitting for us to try.
But Your mercy reaches from the heavens
through the clouds to the earth below.
You have come to us as a small child,
but you have brought us the greatest of all gifts,
the gift of eternal love
Caress us with Your tiny hands,
embrace us with Your tiny arms
and pierce our hearts with Your soft, sweet cries.

The Account of the Apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe from the Breviarium Romanum

"In Mexico, on the hill of Tepeyac, in the year 1531, the God-bearing Virgin Mary, as is piously handed down, appeared to the neophyte Juan Diego, and gave him a command for Bishop Juan de Zumarraga, which she urgently repeated, that a church was to be constructed in her name at that location. The bishop, however, requested a sign. Then, while he was seeking the sacraments for his dying uncle far from the place of the apparition, his loving Mother favored the neophyte with a third vision, assured him of his uncle's health, and after he had gathered roses into his cloak that had blossomed out of season, she ordered him to take them to the bishop. The roses having spilled out in the sight of the bishop, an image of Mary, impressed upon the cloak itself, according to the tradition, appeared to those present in a wondrous manner. At first kept in the bishop's chapel, then transferred to a shrine constructed on the hill of Tepeyac, it was finally moved to a magnificent temple, to which Mexicans increasingly began to gather in droves, for reasons of veneration and frequency of miracles. And therefore as an ever-present defense, the Mexican bishops, to the applause of the whole people, chose the blessed Virgin Mary of Guadalupe as the first Patroness of the Mexican people, which was duly confirmed by the apostolic authority of Benedict XIV. Leo XIII adorned the sacred image with a golden crown on Columbus Day, 1895, by the agency of the archbishop of Mexico. And St. Pius X declared the blessed Guadalupan Virgin as the Patroness of all Latin America."

- Breviarium Romanum

A Christmas Carol by GK Chesterton

A Christmas Carol

The Christ-child lay on Mary’s lap,
His hair was like a light.
(O weary, weary were the world,
But here is all aright.)

The Christ-child lay on Mary’s breast,
His hair was like a star.
(O stern and cunning are the kings,
But here the true hearts are.)

The Christ-child lay on Mary’s heart,
His hair was like a fire.
(O weary, weary is the world,
But here the world’s desire.)

The Christ-child stood on Mary’s knee,
His hair was like a crown,
And all the flowers looked up at Him,
And all the stars looked down.

G.K. Chesterton