The Philadelphia Oratory at Saint Francis Xavier Church

Today is the first day of class for this academic year at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. Br. Joseph begins Pre-Theology II and Br. Joshua begins Pre-Theology I. Please pray for our brothers!

Wishing you all a blessed and happy Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven! ________________________________________________ By her Assumption is meant that not only her soul, but her body also, was taken up to heaven upon her death, so that there was no long period of her sleeping in the grave, as is the case with others, even great Saints, who wait for the last day for the resurrection of their bodies. One reason for believing in our Lady's Assum...ption is that her Divine Son loved her too much to let her body remain in the grave. A second reasonthat now before usis this, that she was not only dear to the Lord as a mother is dear to a son, but also that she was so transcendently holy, so full, so overflowing with grace. Adam and Eve were created upright and sinless, and had a large measure of God's grace bestowed upon them; and, in consequence, their bodies would never have crumbled into dust, had they not sinned; upon which it was said to them, "Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return." If Eve, the beautiful daughter of God, never would have become dust and ashes unless she had sinned, shall we not say that Mary, having never sinned, retained the gift which Eve by sinning lost? What had Mary done to forfeit the privilege given to our first parents in the beginning? Was her comeliness to be turned into corruption, and her fine gold to become dim, without reason assigned? Impossible. Therefore we believe that, though she died for a short hour, as did our Lord Himself, yet, like Him, and by His Almighty power, she was raised again from the grave. St. John Henry Newman, Meditation and Devotions, Meditations on the Litany of Loreto, IV. The Assumption Pictured: Our Assumption window here at St. Francis Xavier

130 years ago today St. John Henry Newman entered into the calm light of everlasting life.

Wishing you all a blessed Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul! Sts. Peter and Paul, pray for us!

Blessed Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary! Please join us in praying this beautiful Litany to the Immaculate Heart composed by St. John Henry Newman in 1845, shortly after his conversion to the Catholic faith: ___________________________________ LITANY TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY... Lord, have mercy on us Christ have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us. Christ hear us. Christ graciously hear us. God the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us. God the Son, redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us. God the Holy Ghost, Have mercy on us. Holy Trinity, one God, Have mercy on us. Heart of Mary, Pray for us. Heart of Mary, according to the heart of God, Pray for us. Heart of Mary, united to the Heart of Jesus, Pray for us. Heart of Mary, organ of the Holy Ghost, Pray for us Heart of Mary, sanctuary of the Divine Trinity, Pray for us Heart of Mary, tabernacle of God Incarnate, Pray for us Heart of Mary, immaculate from thy creation, Pray for us Heart of Mary, full of grace, Pray for us Heart of Mary, blessed among all hearts, Pray for us Heart of Mary, Throne of glory, Pray for us Heart of Mary, most humble, Pray for us Heart of Mary, holocaust of Divine Love, Pray for us Heart of Mary, fastened to the Cross with Jesus Crucified, Pray for us Heart of Mary, comfort of the afflicted, Pray for us Heart of Mary, refuge of sinners, Pray for us Heart of Mary, hope of the agonizing, Pray for us Heart of Mary, seat of mercy, Pray for us Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord. Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord. Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us. Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us. Immaculate Mary, meek and humble of heart. Make our hearts according to the Heart of Jesus. LET US PRAY: O most merciful God, who for the salvation of sinners and the refuge of the miserable, wast pleased that the Most Pure Heart of Mary should be most like in charity and pity to the Divine Heart of Thy Son, Jesus Christ: grant that we who commemorate this sweet and loving Heart may, by the merits and intercession of the same Blessed Virgin, merit to be found according to the Heart of Jesus. Through the same Christ, Our Lord. Amen.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus. www.CatholicGentleman.net Rosaries: https://bitly.com/RR-CatGent

Blessed Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus! Let us entrust ourselves to that Heart which has so loved us. A prayer of St. John Henry Newman:... "O Sacred Heart of Jesus, living and quickening source of eternal life, infinite treasure of the Divinity, and burning furnace of divine love. You are my refuge and my sanctuary, O my amiable Saviour. Consume my heart with that burning fire with which Your Heart is ever inflamed. Pour down on my soul those graces which flow from Your love, and let my heart be so united with Yours, that our wills may be one; and mine in all things, be conformed to Yours. May Your divine will be equally the standard and rule of all my desires and of all my actions." See more

Public Masses will resume tomorrow. Please see below for details. Regular 8:00am Masses will also continue to be held Monday through Saturday, and Oratory prayer Monday through Friday at 5:00pm, as per our usual schedule. All safety precautions are in obedience to the directives given by the Archdiocese.

Fr. Jonathan Robinson, who has been in our prayers since last week following a bad fall, passed away this morning. We commend him to your prayers. Requiem aeternam.

Wishing you all a Blessed and Joyful Pentecost Sunday! A reflection on the day by St. John Henry Newman: _____________________________________________ It was the great promise of the Gospel, that the Lord of all, who had hitherto manifested himself externally to His servants, should take up His abode in their hearts. This, as you must recollect, is frequently the language of the Prophets; and it was the language of our Saviour when He came on earth: "I will love him," He says..., speaking of those who love and obey Him, "and will manifest Myself to him ... We will come unto him, and make our abode with him." [John xiv. 21, 23.] Though He had come in our flesh, so as to be seen and handled, even this was not enough. Still He was external and separate; but after His ascension He descended again by and in His Spirit, and then at length the promise was fulfilled. There must indeed be a union between all creatures and their Almighty Creator even for their very existence; for it is said, "In Him we live, and move, and {169} have our being;" and in one of the Psalms, "When Thou lettest Thy breath go forth, they shall be made." [Psalm civ. 30.] But far higher, more intimate, and more sacred is the indwelling of God in the hearts of His elect people;so intimate, that compared with it, He may well be said not to inhabit other men at all; His presence being specified as the characteristic privilege of His own redeemed servants. From the day of Pentecost, to the present time, it has been their privilege, according to the promise, "I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever,"for ever: not like the Son of man, who having finished His gracious work went away. ...Thus Christ came, not to make us one, but to die for us: the Spirit came to make us one in Him who had died and was alive, that is, to form the Church. This then is the special glory of the Christian Church, that its members do not depend merely on what is visible, they are not mere stones of a building, piled one on another, and bound together from without, but they are one and all the births and manifestations of one and the same unseen spiritual principle or power, "living stones," internally connected, as branches from a tree, not as the parts of a heap. They are members of the Body of Christ. That divine and adorable Form, which the Apostles saw and handled, after ascending into heaven became a principle of life, a secret origin of existence to all who believe, through the gracious ministration of the Holy Ghost. This is the fruitful Vine, and the rich Olive tree upon and out of which all Saints, though wild and barren by nature, grow, that they may bring forth fruit unto God. (Taken from Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. IV, Sermon XI)

The wonderful Mgr Ronald Knox preached the following in a sermon at the London Oratory in 1951: "[St Philip's] apostolate was neither of the pen nor, chiefly at... any rate, of the pulpit; if you came under his influence, it was because he plucked you by the sleeve, folded you to his heart. And he was always there; as well expect to find Ars without St John Vianney, as Rome without St Philip. In this, above all, he has bequeathed his own spirit to his children. The sons of St Ignatius are ready to be sent off, at a moment’s notice, on some perilous mission; the sons of St Philip, called to a different form of self-sacrifice, are always at home. Nor is their love of room like the Benedictine’s love of his cell; the Benedictine’s abbey is his fortress, the Oratorian’s house is an open town, where all the world may pass through. He gives you that freedom which of all others is today most lacking: freedom of access. Reverend Fathers, you do not keep St Philip to yourselves; you share him with the world. Pray for us others, that we too may learn something of his spirit. "