pradonuevo.es 28 de Marzo de 2010 El pasado 7 de febrero, el cardenal y arzobispo de Madrid Antonio María Rouco Varela dio una autorización para que los sacerdotes, religiosos y monjas acudiesen con plena libertad para participar en la procesión y en el rezo del rosario en Prado Nuevo, la finca campestre de El Escorial en que la vidente Amparo Cuevas afirma que se le apareció la Virgen. Dicho gesto del arzobispado refuerza el respaldo que ya recibieran los fieles de Prado Nuevo hace exactamente un año, cuando se autorizó la celebración de la misa los primeros sábados de cada mes. Muchos interpretan ese respaldo de la Iglesia como un importantísimo primer paso para reconocer en el futuro a Prado Nuevo como uno de los grandes centros de devoción mariana del mundo. Treinta Minutos se ha hecho eco de la decisión histórica del Arzobispado y ha sido testigo de cómo viven su fe los fieles devotos de la Virgen de los Dolores; un equipo del programa ha convivido con las personas consagradas, sacerdotes y laicos que han recogido el testigo de la obra que iniciara hace más de tres décadas Amparo Cuevas. El reportaje "Prado Nuevo: devoción Mariana" es la crónica de esa semana de convivencia dentro de las diversas comunidades religiosas que han surgido desde entonces. Todo comenzó un domingo 14 de junio de 1981, cuando Amparo Cuevas, una sencilla mujer madre de siete hijos de la localidad madrileña de El Escorial, asegura que vio a la Virgen María sobre un fresno en la finca de Prado Nuevo. Desde entonces, este enclave se ha convertido en un importantísimo centro de devoción mariana. Hoy día, acuden a Prado Nuevo cada primer sábado (día en que Amparo Cuevas recibió los supuestos mensajes de la Virgen desde 1981 hasta 2002) miles de peregrinos de todas partes del mundo. ¿Qué sucede alrededor de ese humilde prado para que se hayan producido tantas conversiones de personas sin fe que han vuelto a reconciliarse con Dios y con la Iglesia? "Prado Nuevo: devoción Mariana" refleja el trabajo de la comunidad de Hermanas Reparadoras, 80 religiosas que han consagrado sus vidas a la atención de los ancianos y enfermos que viven en varias de las residencias que han surgido dentro de la Obra. Muchas de estas religiosas explican que antes de visitar el prado eran personas que estaban completamente alejadas de la fe; reconocen que su contacto con otros fieles cambió sus vidas y que ese encuentro les ha hecho encontrar su camino. Similares testimonios han sido ofrecidos por los sacerdotes que han sido ordenados en el marco del seminario que hay en El Escorial, surgido a partir de las indicaciones de Amparo Cuevas, trasmisora de los mensajes de la Virgen. Además, Treinta Minutos ha asistido a una de las celebraciones del primer sábado, donde peregrinos procedentes de todas partes de España, Portugal, Francia y Latinoamérica acuden para demostrarle su fervor y su cariño a su Virgen de los Dolores. pradonuevo.es

SAINT CHARBEL MAKHLOUF
Maronite Priest and Hermit
(1828-1898)
Saint Charbel Makhlouf, the modest monk of Lebanon whose perfectly conserved mortal remains exude a miraculous sanguinolent liquid, has become known to many in the past half century, because of the extraordinary miracles which have drawn thousands to visit his tomb.
Youssef Makhlouf was born in 1828 in Bika’Kafra, the highest village of Lebanon, near the grove of the still-conserved famous cedars of Lebanon. The youngest of five children, he became a little shepherd. Their pious mother lived almost as a religious in her family home. She would pray with outstretched arms, telling her family to allow no one to see her at those moments. The children’s father also possessed the genuine piety which recommends a Christian to his brethren, but the little Youssef never knew him, for he died when the youngest son was only two years old. An uncle took upon himself the support of the family, which was thereby maintained intact. The child was profoundly affected by the example of two other maternal uncles, who were monks of the Maronite Lebanese Order, living in a hermitage only three miles away, and whom he often visited, at first with his mother, later on his own. They would say to him: “All here below is nothing, the world is vanity, life is short. The true beauty is God, near Him there is true happiness. Wisdom is to not find oneself with empty hands at the supreme hour.”
By the time he was sixteen, he had completed his basic schooling under an oak in the village churchyard, where he was taught by the priest with the other village boys. The Christian spirit of the entire village was remarkable; the men regarded it as a great privilege to ring the church bells for Sunday Mass. Youssef during his days on the hillside with his little flock, often retired to a grotto to pray, for solitude was his joy, and prayer the breath of his soul. He was serving Mass every morning, and in that function he discovered the true purpose of his existence: to be, like his Saviour, a victim to be offered, with Christ, to His Father.
At the age of twenty-three he left home silently one morning, and made his way to a monastery a day’s journey away. Only one thing mattered to him — to obey the voice of the One who summons: Come, follow Me. When his uncle and tutor, Tanios, tried to persuade him to return, he could not succeed; and his mother, who had accompanied her brother, taking his hand in hers, and shaking it energetically, said to him: “Well then, if you should not become a good religious, return with me to the house!” He received the habit one week after entering the monastery, and chose the name of Charbel, a martyr of the Antioch church in the year 107.
There followed two years of a severe novitiate, completed in the monastery of Annaya, which on its mountaintop seemed to breathe the stars, then the young monk was sent to prepare for the priesthood farther away, at Saint Cyprian of Kfifan, where he was ordained six years later at the age of 31. He returned to Annaya afterwards, where for sixteen years he was in every way a model of perfection, until in 1875, at forty-seven years of age, he retired to its nearby hermitage, where he would remain until his death. He was offering Mass a week before Christmas, when paralysis struck him as he elevated the host. His sorrowing companion, during a week’s time, heard him repeating as long as he had voice, the prayers of his uncompleted Mass: “O Father of truth, behold Your Son, victim to please You; condescend to approve [this offering], because for me He endured death, to give me life...” Saint Charbel died quietly on the 24th of December, attended by three monks.
The events of his life are not often extraordinary save by their heroic virtue, which indeed exceeds description. He endured the extreme cold of his hermitage each winter, without ever adding additional garments to his ordinary very simple ones; this alone sufficed to astonish all who knew of it. The monks who trembled with cold during the night when they kept vigil at his coffin before his funeral, said: “See how we find ourselves unable to endure for a single night, the rude cold of this chapel! How could this priest live here for twenty-three years, on his knees, like a statue before the altar, every night from midnight until eleven in the morning, when he rose to say his Mass? Blessed is he, for he undoubtedly receives at present his reward with God!” We can nonetheless relate with the biographer whom we cite here, that one day he completely cured a dangerously violent insane man, whom several others had difficulty to make enter the monastery, but who went to its chapel when the Saint commanded him to do so; and there, when Saint Charbel placed a Gospel on his head and prayed, he became calm and silent, remaining thereafter entirely cured. On another occasion, while the monks were outdoors working to harvest their grapes, a huge venomous serpent emerged from beneath a bush, in a threatening attitude. Saint Charbel told the others who had already armed themselves not to touch it, and commanded it to depart, which it did in peace.
After his death a great many miracles occurred. Sick and infirm people of all kinds have been healed: deaf, dumb, blind, paralytic, those with cancer, mental illness, etc. They are also of every religion and every country. God worked these wonders either when people touched the body of His servant of were anointed with the oily liquid that sweated miraculously from his precious remains, or when they touched cloths either impregnated with this liquid or which had belonged to him.
The divine power that strengthens and heals does not limit itself to the needs of the body. It especially cures wounds of the soul in every form — sin, indifference, unbelief, error. Indeed, it is the healing of souls that occurs most often amid the cures that take place at Annaya. Since the death of Saint Charbel, thousands of cases of miraculous healings have been recorded.
Saint Charbel was one of those souls which, in a life of silence, mortification, deprivation and total gift of self, was able to detach itself from everything except the adorable Face of the Lord. Nothing mattered more for him than the redemption and salvation of souls, for whom he wanted to give his life in union with Christ on the cross. He applied these words of Saint Paul in their totality: “I fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the Passion of Christ for His body, which is the Church.” (Colossians 1:24)
Sources: Charbel Makhlouf, by P. Daher (Éditions Spes: Paris, 1953); One of the greatest Saints of Our Time, Saint Charbel Makhlouf (Magnificat: St. Jovite, 1998); Magnificat magazine (Magnificat: St. Jovite, 1998), Vol. XXXIII, No. 1, January 1998. -- See Saint Charbel Makhlouf website
www.infinitelove.ca/cal/engl/12-24.htm

Tradicional Mexicana Los versos se alternan entre los que se encuentran afuera y los que se encuentran adentro del lugar donde se pide posada. AFUERA 1. En el nombre del cielo, os pido posada, pues no puede andar mi esposa amada. 2. Venimos rendidos desde Nazaret; yo soy carpintero de nombre José. 3. Posada te pide, amado casero, por solo una noche, la Reina del Cielo. 4. Mi esposa es María, es Reina del Cielo y Madre va a ser del Divino Verbo. 5. Dios pague Señores, su gran caridad y los colme el cielo de felicidad. ADENTRO 1. Aquí no es mesón sigan adelante yo no puedo abrir no sea algún tunante. 2. No me importa el nombre déjenme dormir pues ya les he dicho que no voy a abrir. 3. Pues si es una reina quien lo solicita ¿cómo es que de noche anda tan solita? 4. ¿Eres tú, José? ¿ Tu esposa es María? Entren peregrinos, no los conocía. 5. Dichosa la casa que alberga este día a la Virgen Pura la hermosa María. Al terminar este diálogo se recibe a los santos con esta canción: TODOS Entren Santos peregrinos,peregrinos, reciban este rincón. Aunque es pobre la morada, la morada, se las doy de corazón. www.enciclopediacecilia.org/wiki/Para_pedir_posada

Mary Immaculate, Our Lady of Guadalupe
By Archbishop Raymond L. Burke
Written during his time as Archbishop of St. Louis

Immaculate Conception

In appearing to Saint Juan Diego, she identified herself as “the Perfect Ever Virgin Holy Mary, Mother of the Most True God” (Nican Mopohua, n. 26).By the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, God the Father prepared Mary to be the Mother of His only-begotten Son Whom He was sending into the world as our Savior. Mary, daughter of Joachim and Ann, was preserved, from her first moment of life, from all stain of Original Sin. Her womb was the all-pure vessel in which the conception of God the Son could take place through the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit. This is the meaning of the words of Our Lady of Guadalupe who identified herself as the “Perfect Ever Virgin Holy Mother.”

Mary’s Immaculate Conception

In Mary’s Immaculate Conception, Christ’s work of the Redemption was anticipated, that is, Mary, from the first moment of her life, was freed from all sin and filled with the Holy Spirit. The gift of her Immaculate Conception is the fruit of the Passion and Death of God the Son Who was conceived in her womb. The Immaculate Conception is a wonderful manifestation of God’s immeasurable love of us, expressed in its fullness by His coming to dwell with us (Catechism of the Catholic Church, nos. 490-493).
The Immaculate Conception is also a striking manifestation of our call to holiness of life. We are called to imitate the perfect cooperation with the grace of the Holy Spirit, which we see in the Virgin Mary. We are called to treasure the grace of Redemption, which we see in her Immaculate Conception, and so grow in the likeness of Christ. The Immaculate Conception inspires us to seek the purification of all sin in our lives and to give an ever fuller cooperation to the Holy Spirit dwelling within us.

Patroness of Our Nation

Given the unimaginable situation of our State of Missouri, at present, with the passing of the amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees the right to human cloning and the destruction of embryonic human life, let us place ourselves once again under the protection of our Blessed Mother, trusting that she will lead us to Christ Who alone makes us free from sin and free to serve the good of all our brothers and sisters. As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, I ask you to continue the Rosary Crusade for the Safeguarding of Embryonic Human Life. We need the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary now more than ever.

Mother of America

The Rosary Crusade for the Safeguarding of Embryonic Human Life on our continent is under the patronage of the Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of America and Star of the New Evangelization. In the challenges which we face daily to safeguard and promote the common good, let us invoke the intercession of the Mother of God. In carrying out our daily responsibilities, let us imitate the faith, hope and love of Saint Juan Diego, her faithful messenger.

Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary, have mercy on us.

On December 2, 2003, Bishop Burke was named Archbishop of St. Louis, succeeding Justin Cardinal Rigali. Archbishop Burke was installed in St. Louis on January 26, 2004, the fifth anniversary of Pope John Paul II's historic pastoral visit to the archdiocese. Pope John Paul II invested Archbishop Burke with the pallium on June 29, 2004, at the Basilica of St. Peter, in Rome. On June 27, 2008 Pope Benedict XVI appointed him to Rome where he now serves as Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura and President of the Commission for Advocates.
www.piercedhearts.org/…/immaculate_guad…
The Mother of God has shown her particular affection for the entire continent of America by her appearances to Saint Juan Diego in 1531. The Blessed Virgin Mary came to our continent to show us her loving care in all of our needs and sufferings, and to bring us to her Divine Son, the Mercy of God Incarnate for us. After her apparitions and through her intercession, in a truly miraculous way, literally millions of Native Americans received the grace of faith and Baptism, and the horrible practice of the human sacrifice of hundreds of thousands was ended. What is more, the Native Americans and the Europeans who were on the brink of a deadly conflict, were brought together in unity to form a new people and culture, the mestiza culture which has its identity in the Virgin of Guadalupe, affectionately called La Morenita. Let us entrust our continent to the prayers of Our Lady of Guadalupe, so that the faith may be brought to all and the inviolable dignity of the life of each brother and sister may be fully respected.The Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title of her Immaculate Conception, is the patroness of our nation. The Basilica of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., is a magnificent tribute of our affection for the Mother of God, who has interceded so faithfully for the intentions of our nation. The patronage of Mary Immaculate also inspires in us a renewed dedication to the common good of all the citizens of our nation. The mystery of the Immaculate Conception leads us to reflect, in a particular way, on how human life, from its beginning, is to be treasured and fostered. It also leads us to restore the respect for all human life in our state and nation. Conscious of the grave evils of procured abortion, the destruction of embryonic human life and human cloning, let us, with Mary Immaculate, pray to God our Father for the end of these evils which are the deadly fruit of our human pride.Quite frequently the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is confused with the Virginal Conception of our Lord Jesus Christ. The two events of our salvation are closely related to one another. God the Father ordered the Immaculate Conception of Mary to the Virginal Conception of Jesus in her all pure womb by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit. But it is spiritually important to understand the distinct event of Mary’s Immaculate Conception, in order to appreciate fully the great mystery of the Incarnation in the Virginal Conception of Jesus in the immaculate womb of the Virgin Mary.Two important liturgical celebrations in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary fittingly occur during the Season of Advent. They are the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception on December 8th, a holy day of obligation, and the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12th. The two celebrations are closely related to each other, for Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared for the first time to Saint Juan Diego on December 9, 1531, which, at that time in the Spanish Empire, was the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.