Christ Has Risen - In Romanian

Let me start with a caveat: this isn't really a prayer card, but I beg your indulgence dear reader.

I received this card from a friend in Romania some years ago now. What a difference between this and the slushy cards (if any!) to be found in most homes.

"Christ is Risen" the card proclaims as the clouds part, a golden glow is atop Our Lord's head and the Risen Christ is shown in His Glory. Redemption is delivered via The Passion of Christ and now the Prince of Peace has Risen from the grave.

What a powerful message.

Prayer Card: St Therese

I love this card not only because of the iconic image of St Therese, surely instantly recognisable to all Catholics, but because of its background.

Let me explain.

On the rear of the card are initials that look like DJL (from a group of cards I got from a charity shop, belonging to a Daphne Lewington) and the date 31st October 1942.

When one considers the fateful events happening in 1942 (surely the turning point of WW2) that, like the Russian revolution, Our Lady forewarned of at Fatima in 1917, it reminds me of how important our Faith is in times of distress, sacrifice and loss.

Just the other day I was moving some books and came across an old favourite, Abbe Trochu's large tome on the Cure D'Ars (published by TAN books). We sometimes think that Saints are so unlike us, free of our weaknesses, doubts, cares, worries, stress etc. but the truth is quite, quite different.

On seeing the Cure D'Ars book I immediately thought of that great saint (patron of parish priests) who was forced into the Napoleonic French Army, went AWOL (and so was a "criminal") and struggled to be accepted into the seminary (struggled being an understatement).

A prayer card of a beloved saint can bring such comfort, induce some beautiful, prayerful moments. I can only imagine this was the case of this lovely card just prior to the Battle of Stalingrad at the height of WW2.

Prayer Card: St Beatrice and the Cross

This prayer card is beautiful in its simplicity.

It shows the wonderful St Beatrice praying to Our Lord (with His Cross).

In the background we see a Church.

The prayer on the reverse reminds us of what made St Beatrice a great saint and how we can follow in her footsteps. The central theme of the card is embracing the Cross.

I think this card must be pre-WW2 German as the imprint of Breslau (formerly in Silesia, Eastern Germany) is now in Poland and known as Wroclaw. I suppose this should remind us that through war and peace, as empires rise and fall, the Catholic Church and its Communion of Saints stands eternal.

Prayer Card: Our Lady at Pentecost

I love this mass card, not only because it is printed in Germany (and I for one often think of Germany as a cold, protestant country when I should remember that about half of it is Catholic), but also because of the central role of Our Lady at Pentecost.

Of course at Pentecost we remember the Holy Ghost, and His Gifts, and we remember the foundation of the Church with St Peter as the first Pope (yes, these people were Papists!), but we should also remember the central role of the Mother of God, Mary most chaste, now of course the Queen of Heaven.

When I was younger I often wondered why some protestants were so extreme in their hatred of Mary. Surely the human being chosen above all others to be the New Ark of the Covenant, to bring the Son of God into the world is due, deserves our honour and recognition; if only because in so doing we honour the glory of God the Father whose plan of Redemption this was, and Jesus Christ the Son of God whose Redemptive Life came into being through the Blessed Virgin.

It is said that one of the reasons Satan rebelled was that the idea that a mortal woman would be made the Queen of Heaven was anathema to him, his pride in his angelic form rather than submission to the Will of God made him rebel against God Himself.

The hatred, rebellion and iconoclasm of the protestants against the Virgin Mary is surely a human shadow of the hatred and pride of Satan. And we should do well to remember that it is Mary, the Virgin Mother of God, who will 'crush the head of the serpent' and who has been chosen as the Messenger of Heaven to warn mankind to return to God (at Fatima).

So for us Catholics and for anyone with an ounce of sense, the central role of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Christian history is absolute.

Her reaction to the Archangel in being told she was to be the Mother of God -- something we recall every time we say the Hail Mary ("Hail, full of Grace, the Lord is with thee") -- is a lesson for us all:


My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.
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


And in Latin:

Magníficat ánima mea Dóminum,
et exsultávit spíritus meus
in Deo salvatóre meo,
quia respéxit humilitátem
ancíllæ suæ.
Ecce enim ex hoc beátam
me dicent omnes generatiónes,
quia fecit mihi magna,
qui potens est,
et sanctum nomen eius,
et misericórdia eius in progénies
et progénies timéntibus eum.
Fecit poténtiam in bráchio suo,
dispérsit supérbos mente cordis sui;
depósuit poténtes de sede
et exaltávit húmiles.
Esuriéntes implévit bonis
et dívites dimísit inánes.
Suscépit Ísrael púerum suum,
recordátus misericórdiæ,
sicut locútus est ad patres nostros,
Ábraham et sémini eius in sæcula.
Glória Patri et Fílio
et Spirítui Sancto.
Sicut erat in princípio,
et nunc et semper,
et in sæcula sæculórum.
Amen.

Prayer Card: Holy Family (with toddler Jesus)

I love this prayer card (printed in Switzerland) as it shows a toddler Jesus, the Blessed Virgin and Saint Joseph.

It reminds us of the daily life of the Holy Family.

Yet it also shows us an angel - perhaps Our Lord's Guardian Angel? or an Archangel? - watching over the Child Jesus, reminding us of His Salvific, Redemptive being, thus bringing to mind not only the joy of the Nativity but also the sadness of The Passion, and also the joy of the Resurrection.

All this in a prayer card that could just as easily be adored and appreciated by a small child for its simplicity.

I find the pose of St Joseph particularly endearing. As well as being responsible for Our Lord, he is clearly also reverential. What a role for mortal man!

Our Lady, of course, takes Our Lord by the hand and is His protection and - in a word! - mother; as doting and loving as any mother could be.

Prayer Card: Little Nellie of Holy God

I came across the charming little card by chance.

I believe it dates from the 1950s - or earlier.

When I saw it my heart leaped as Eleanor (a derivation of Ellen) is a traditional name in our family (through the in-laws) and some years back at a family wedding I met a very old lady that everyone referred to as "Nellie" from my wife's maternal family (who I know have their roots in Redcar and are Catholic).

With a quote from St Pius X on the back promoting 'Little Nellie' as a means to advocate frequent Communion, what could be a better commendation? St Pius X was the greatest Pope of the 20th century and through his Syllabus confronted the kind of burrowing, secretive and insidious errors that would later flourish especially in the 1970s.

And with her connections to Cork, the homeland of my own grandfather, there seems to be so many reasons for me to start a devotion to this bravest and most devout of souls in preparation and thanksgiving for Mass.

When the Real Presence of Our Lord in the Eucharist is under attack from so many quarters, it would do us all well to recall the simple devotion of the suffering child Little Nellie of Holy God.


Link:
Little Nellie of Holy God

Prayer Card #1: Going to Mass

First off apologies for not posting regularly. Nothing exciting - just the whole family life, work commitments etc. left me with little spare time.

Now this post if part of what I hope will be an ongoing series.

I have collected many prayer cards over the years (better than football stickers!) including old ones I have found in books I've bought, or bundles of them in charity shops - and so on.

Of course I have my favourites that I use (when I don't forget them) at Mass, but just the other day I took out the leather folder I keep the prayer cards in. It's good to have a switch around every now and then.

Some of them are so beautiful and moving, I thought "why not put some online, perhaps as they are, maybe with a bit of blurb, but all so that my fellow "men of goodwill" can see these little reminders of Saintliness and Godliness as well as me.

So here we go. Here's the first one.

It really speaks for itself, and whereas many prayer cards tend to be a big pic with a little writing, or a prayer on the back, this one-sided gem is not so much a prayer but a reminder of what Mass is, how it helps us, and why we should attend in the correct manner and mindset.

In this age of chattering pews and people-centred gatherings, it does all of us well to remember the Sacrificial essence of the Mass, of exactly Whose Presence we are in, and exatcly What is being enacted on the Altar of God before us.

So please read this little card. By all means take copies and put them on your blog, web site, or other online page. Let's make good Catholics into excellent Catholics, bad Catholics into good Catholics, weak Catholics into strengthened Catholics, evil Catholics into repentant Catholics, and lapsed Catholics into Mass-going Catholics.

I will try and post more prayer cards when I can.