The Holy Family : Sagrada Familia and the Sacred Heart of Jesus
The above photograph shows my used to be altar. The Sagrada Familia was shifted out of the house to the corridor cupboard and then to my mother's house and back to my house again... The Sacred heart of Jesus beside it was purchased before Jesus came to me. It was blessed by Father Vincent Chee.
The Holy Family consist of 3 people as shown in the picture above -- Mother Mary, St. Joseph and Jesus. Who is Jesus Christ?
The second Person of the Blessed Trinity became a man, Jesus Christ. His Mother was Mary of Nazareth, daughter of Joachim and Anne. Joseph, Mary's husband, was like a father to Jesus. Jesus' true and only Father is God; he had no human father.
Conceived in Mary's womb by the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea probably between the years 6 to 4 B.C. He died on Calvary (outside of Old Jerusalem) as a relatively young man, most likely in his early thirties.
He is only one Person, but he has both a divine nature and a human nature. He is truly God and he is also truly a human being. As God he has all the qualities and attributes of God. As human, he has a human body, human soul, human mind and will, human imagination and human feelings. His divinity does not overwhelm or interfere with his humanity -- and vice versa.
On Calvary he really died; he experienced the same kind of death that all human beings experience. But during his dying, at this death, and after his death, he remained God.
After his death, Jesus "descended to the dead". The older English translation of the Creed said "descended into hell" -- which means the same thing: Hades, the nether world, the region of the dead, the condition of those who had passed on from this life. (This is clear from New Testament references such as 1 Peter 3:19, 4:6; Ephesians 4:9; Romans 10:7; Matthew 12:40; Acts 2:27, 31). Basically, therefore, "descended to the dead" means: Jesus really died and entered among the dead as their Saviour. Liturgically, Holy Saturday expresses this aspect of the mystery of salvation -- the "death" or absence of God.
The prayer of the dying Jesus -- "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34) -- finds it echo in the lives of many Christians. "Descended to the dead" expresses Jesus' outcry of agony -- his experience of clinging to his Father in his moment of absolute anguish. It also expresses what many Catholics experience as God deepens their love of him by making them realize the hell life is without a sense of his presence.
Jesus rose from the dead on Easter morning. He is living today with his Father and the Spirit -- and in our midst. He is still both God and man, and always will be.
He lives. And his passage from death to life is the mystery of salvation we are all meant to share.
Prayer Found Under Christ's Sepulchre 1503AD
O God Almighty, who suffered death upon the Cross, particularly for my sins, be with me.
Holy Cross of Jesus - have pity on me.
Holy Cross of Jesus - be my protector.
Holy Cross of Jesus - take away all bitter pains.
Holy Cross of Jesus - take away all evil.
Holy Cross of Jesus - let me walk in the way of salvation.
Preserve me from any temporal accidents, take away any danger of sudden death. I always adore the Holy Cross of Jesus Christ; Jesus of Nazareth crucified, have pity on me; Make the spirit of evil leave me for all times; Oh, Mother of Perpetual Succour, I come before Thy Sacred picture and with a childlike conscience invoke thine aid. Show Thyself a Mother to me now, Have pity on me. Oh, dearest Mother of Perpetual Succour, for the love Thou bearest to Jesus and in honour of his Sacred wounds, help me in this my necessity; (Mention it) Oh, Loving Mother, I leave it all to Thee in the Name of the Father; I leave it all to Thee in the Name of the Son; I leave it all to Thee in the Name of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, Pray For Us (3 Times)
NB: Sent by the Pope to Charles when he went to fight the enemy of France. He who wants or hears someone else read it or carries on his person, will not die suddenly, drown, burn, be poisoned or lose battle or be taken prisoner. During childbirth, a woman who reads or listens to someone else read the prayer, or carries it on her person will have a short labour. When the child is born, place the prayer on his or her right side and it will be preserved from evil. When walking in the street and you find anyone in a fit, put the prayer on the right side and they will recover. He who writes this prayer whether for himself or for another, I will bless him, says the Lord and he who ridicules it will perish. When this prayer is placed in a home, such a home will be preserved from lightning and thunder. He who reads it daily will be given a sign 3 days before his death.
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