The 1° Reggimento Re at the Historical Procession of the Royal Colony of San Leucio, Caserta

Photos courtesy of Angela Cuccillato

Feast of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Blood of Christ, save us

July 1st is the Feast of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The Feast was extended to the whole church in 1849 by Blessed Pope Pius IX who, in the wake of the 1848 Revolution, was living in exile at Gaeta in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. After the French Army toppled the vile Roman Republic and restored the Holy See’s temporal power, His Holiness assigned the Feast to the first Sunday of June. This was later changed to June 1st by Pope Pius X in order to reduce the number of feast days allocated to a Sunday. Sadly, the feast was removed from the new Church calendar in 1969, but it is still in the traditional Roman calendar of 1962 usage. The month of July is dedicated to the Most Precious Blood. In celebration I’m posting the Litany of the Most Precious Blood. The accompanying photo of the tympanum with genuflecting Angels and the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ was taken at the Shrine Church of the Most Precious Blood in Little Italy, New York. 

Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ:
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
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 Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.
Blood of Christ, only-begotten Son of the eternal Father, save us.
Blood of Christ, Incarnate Word or God, save us.
Blood of Christ, of the New and Eternal Testament, save us.
Blood of Christ, falling upon the earth in Agony, save us.
Blood of Christ, shed profusely in the Scourging, save us.
Blood of Christ, flowing forth in the Crowning with Thorns, save us.
Blood of Christ, poured out on the Cross, save us.
Blood of Christ, price of our salvation, save us.
Blood of Christ, without which there is no forgiveness, save us.
Blood of Christ, Eucharistic drink and refreshment of souls, save us.
Blood of Christ, stream of mercy, save us.
Blood of Christ, victor over demons, save us.
Blood of Christ, courage of Martyrs, save us.
Blood of Christ, strength of Confessors, save us.
Blood of Christ, bringing forth Virgins, save us.
Blood of Christ, help of those in peril, save us.
Blood of Christ, relief of the burdened, save us.
Blood of Christ, solace in sorrow, save us.
Blood of Christ, hope of the penitent, save us.
Blood of Christ, consolation of the dying, save us.
Blood of Christ, peace and tenderness of hearts, save us.
Blood of Christ, pledge of eternal life, save us.
Blood of Christ, freeing souls from purgatory, save us.
Blood of Christ, most worthy of all glory and honor, save us.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us, O Lord.
V. You have redeemed us, O Lord, in Your Blood.
R. And made us a kingdom for our God.
Let us Pray:
V. Almighty and eternal God, You have appointed Your only-begotten Son the Redeemer of the world and willed to be appeased by his blood. Grant, we beg, that we may worthily adore this price of our salvation and through its power be safeguarded from the evils of the present life so that we may rejoice in its fruits forever in heaven. Through the same Christ our Lord.
R. Amen.

Feast of San Nicasio Camuto de Burgio

San Nicasio Camuto de Burgio, ora pro nobis

July 1st is the Feast of San Nicasio Camuto de Burgio, Knight of Malta and Martyr. Born in Sicily circa 1135, San Nicasio is descended from a Saracen Emir who converted to Christianity following the Norman reconquest of the isle. Joining the Knights Hospitaller, he fought to defend Christendom at Acre and was captured at the Battle of Hattin in 1187. Refusing to renounce his faith, the devout Crusader, along with his brother Ferrandino and other prisoners, were beheaded in the presence of the Sultan Saladin. San Nicasio is the patron saint of Caccamo (PA), Sicily. In celebration, I’m posting a Prayer to St. Nicaise.(1) Pictured are a pair of Sovereign Order of Malta postage stamps depicting the glorious martyr.(2) Evviva San Nicasio!

Prayer to St. Nicaise

O God, every year you give us joy in the commemoration of your martyr, blessed Nicasius: grant that through his prayers and example the companions of our Order may grow in faith and always follow you with all their hearts. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(1) Prayer courtesy of the Sovrano Military Ordine di Malta

(2) The stamps show the painting of the Madonna di Constantinople and detail of San Nicasio by the great Cavaliere Calabrese, Mattia Preti (1613-1699). An ex-voto for freeing Naples from the plague of 1656, the painting portrays the Blessed Mother crowning Santa Rosalia with San Giuseppe, San Gennaro, San Rocco and San Nicasio in attendance. The painting is held at the National Museum of Capodimonte in Naples.

Feast of St. Junipero Serra

St. Junipero Serra, ora pro nobis

“Siempre adelante, nunca atrás” ~ St. Junipero Serra*

July 1st is the Feast of St. Junipero Serra, Spanish Franciscan friar and Missionary. Known as the Apostle of California for his evangelization of the Indian tribes of North America, he is also the patron saint of vocations. In 2015 he became the first saint to be canonized in the United States. In celebration, I’m posting a prayer to St. Junipero Serra. The accompanying photo is a screen capture of the statue of St. Junipero Serra in San Francisco, California being toppled by a violent mob of Marxist vandals during the iconoclastic tantrums allowed to take place by cowardly and ineffectual leaders across these United States in 2020.

Prayer to St. Junipero Serra

O God, who by your ineffable mercy have been pleased through the labors of your priest Saint Junipero Serra to count many American peoples within your Church, grant by his intercession that we may so join our hearts to you in love, as to carry always and everywhere before all people the image of your Only Begotten Son. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

* “Always forward, never backward”

Happy National U.S. Postage Stamp Day!

In celebration of National U.S. Postage Stamp Day, I thought it would be fun to share a pic of my Lord of the Rings Presentation Pack, issued in the UK in 2004 in commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy masterpiece. Pictured from left to right are: a map showing Middle Earth, Forest of Lothlórien in Spring, Dust-jacket for The Fellowship of the Ring, Rivendell, The Hall at Bag End, Orthanc, Doors of Durin, Barad-dûr, Minas Tirith, and Fangorn Forest.