Sunday 15 September 2013

Reparation , as a Catholic Tradition - What I have discovered from Wikipedia

Here is what I have gathered from Wikipedia about Reparation in Catholic Tradition. 
I note this down here , as a starting point from where I can do further research on this subject of Reparation in the Catholic Tradition. 
In his encyclical Miserentissimus Redemptor Pope Pius XI defined reparation as follows:
The creature's love should be given in return for the love of the Creator, another thing follows from this at once, namely that to the same uncreated Love, if so be it has been neglected by forgetfulness or violated by offense, some sort of compensation must be rendered for the injury, and this debt is commonly called by the name of reparation.[2]
Pope John Paul II referred to reparation as the "unceasing effort to stand beside the endless crosses on which the Son of God continues to be crucified".[3]
The need for prayers of reparation has also been emphasized within messages reported as part of Marian apparitions. A key recent example is the apparition of Our Lady of Akita in 1973 in which Sister Agnes Sasagawa reported the following message from the Blessed Virgin Mary:
"Many men in this world afflict the Lord. I desire souls to console Him to soften the anger of the Heavenly Father."
In 1988, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI), as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith provided a definitive judgement on the Akita messages as reliable and worthy of belief.[4]
The need for prayers of repentance, reparation and penance was also emphasized in the reported messages of Our Lady of Kibeho in 1982.

Theological issues[edit source | editbeta]

From a theological view, reparation is closely connected with those of atonement and satisfaction, and thus belonging to some of the deepest mysteries of the Christian Faith. Christian theology teaches that man is a creature who has fallen into original sin from an original state of grace in which he was created, and that through the Incarnation,Passion, and Death of Jesus Christ, he has been redeemed and restored again in a certain degree to the original condition.
Roman Catholic theology asserts that it was by voluntary submission that Jesus Christ died on the cross to atone for man's disobedience and sin and that his death made reparation for the sins and offenses of the world. Catholicism professes that by adding their prayers, labours, and trials to the redemption won by Christ's death, Christians can attempt to make reparation to God for their own offenses and those of others. Protestant Christians believe that the prize is already won by Christ for those who believe, wholly apart from their merit, or lack thereof, and that obedience and service to Christ is an outflowing of the new life that he purchased for them in his death on the cross.
The theological doctrine of reparation is the foundation of the numerous confraternities and pious associations which have been founded, especially in modern times, to make reparation to God for the sins of men. The Archconfraternity of Reparation for blasphemy and the neglect of Sunday was founded 28 June, 1847, in the Church of St. Martin de La Noue at St. Dizier in France by Mgr. Parisis, Bishop of Langres. With a similar object, the Archconfraternity of the Holy Face was established at Tours, about 1851, through the piety of M. Dupont, the "holy man of Tours". In 1883 an association was formed in Rome to offer reparation to God on behalf of all nations. The idea of reparation is an essential element in the devotion of the Sacred Heart, and acts of reparation were once common public devotions in Roman Catholic churches. One of the ends for which the Eucharist is offered is for reparation. A pious widow of Paris conceived the idea of promoting this object in 1862. By the authority of Pope Leo XIII the erection of the Archconfraternity of the Mass of Reparation was sanctioned in 1886.
A number of prayers as an Act of Reparation to the Virgin Mary appear in the Raccolta Catholic prayer book (approved by a Decree of December 15 1854, and published in 1898 by the Holy See). The Raccolta includes a number of diverse prayers for reparation.[4]
  • The Rosary of the Holy Wounds (which does not include the usual rosary mysteries) focuses on specific redemptive aspects of Christ's suffering in Calvary, with emphasis on the souls in purgatory.[5]

  • Holy Wounds devotion[edit source | editbeta]

    According to Ann Ball, Chambon was told to revive the Holy Wounds devotion.[4] Part of this devotion can be a Chaplet of Mercy of the Holy Wounds of Jesus, which was based on Chambon's private revelations.[4] This chaplet was approved for the Institute of Visitation in 1912, and was extended to all the faithful at large by the Sacred Penitentiary in 1924.[4] According to Liz Kelly, the Rosary of the Holy Wounds was revealed to Chambon and is prayed on a standard five decade rosary.[8]

    Format of the Chaplet[edit source | editbeta]

    The chaplet consists of three prayers that are said on specific portions of the rosary beads as follows:[1][4]
    • The following prayers are said on the crucifix and first three beads:
    O JESUS, Divine Redeemer, be merciful to us and to the whole world. Amen.
    Strong God, Holy God, Immortal God, have mercy on us and on the whole world. Amen
    Grace and Mercy, O my Jesus, during present dangers; cover us with Your Precious Blood. Amen.
    ETERNAL Father, grant us mercy through the Blood of Jesus Christ, Your only Son; grant us mercy we beseech You. Amen, Amen, Amen.
    • The following prayer is said on the large beads of the rosary chain:
    Eternal Father, I offer You the Wounds of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, to heal the wounds of our souls.
    • The following prayer is said on the small beads of the rosary chain:
    My Jesus, pardon and mercy, through the merits of Your Holy Wounds.
  • A well known Act of Reparation to Jesus Christ and for the reparation of blasphemy is The Golden Arrow Holy Face Devotion (Prayer) first introduced by Sister Marie of St Peter in 1844. This devotion (started by Sister Marie and then promoted by the Venerable Leo Dupont) was approved by Pope Leo XIII in 1885.[6]

  • Prayer of reparation for insults and blasphemies[edit source | editbeta]

    Words of the prayer:[8]
    O Jesus, my Savior and Redeemer, Son of the living God, behold, we kneel before Thee and offer Thee our reparation; we would make amends for all the blasphemies uttered against Thy holy name, for all the injuries done to Thee in the Blessed Sacrament, for all the irreverence shown toward Thine immaculate Virgin Mother, for all the calumnies and slanders spoken against Thy spouse, the holy Catholic and Roman Church. O Jesus, who hast said: "If you ask the Father anything in My name, He will give it to you", we pray and beseech Thee for all our brethren who are in danger of sin; shield them from every temptation to fall away from the true faith; save those who are even now standing on the brink of the abyss; to all of them give light and knowledge of the truth, courage and strength for the conflict with evil, perseverance in faith and active charity! For this do we pray, most merciful Jesus, in Thy name, unto God the Father, with whom Thou livest and reignest in the unity of the Holy Spirit world without end. Amen

    The Golden ArrowThe Golden Arrow Prayer is part of the devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus and appears in the book The Golden Arrow, the autobiography of Sr. Marie of St Peter. In her book she wrote that in her visions of Jesus she was told that an act of sacrilege or blasphemy is like a "poisoned arrow", hence the name "Golden Arrow" for this reparatory prayer.[9][10][11]

    Words of the prayer:
    May the most holy, most sacred, most adorable,
    most incomprehensible and ineffable Name of God
    be forever praised, blessed, loved, adored
    and glorified in Heaven, on earth,
    and under the earth,
    by all the creatures of God,
    and by the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ,
    in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.
    Amen.
  • A frequently offered Act of Reparation to The Holy Trinity is based on the messages of Our Lady of Fatima and is usually called the Angel Prayer.[7][8]
  • O Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore Thee profoundly. I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifferences by which He is offended. By the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary I beg the conversion of poor sinners.
  • Roman Catholic tradition and Mariology include specific prayers and devotions as acts of reparation for insults and blasphemies against the Blessed Virgin Mary. Similar prayers as Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ and Acts of Reparation to The Holy Trinity also exist.
    Some such prayers are provided in the Raccolta Roman Catholic prayer book, first published in association with the Roman Catholic Congregation of Indulgences in 1807.[1]

    Reparation for insults to the Blessed Virgin Mary[edit source | editbeta]

    Words of the Prayer from Raccolta:
    O blessed Virgin, Mother of God, look down in mercy from Heaven, where thou art enthroned as Queen, upon me, a miserable sinner, thine unworthy servant. Although I know full well my own unworthiness, yet in order to atone for the offenses that are done to thee by impious and blasphemous tongues, from the depths of my heart I praise and extol thee as the purest, the fairest, the holiest creature of all God's handiwork. I bless thy holy name, I praise thine exalted privilege of being truly Mother of God, ever Virgin, conceived without stain of sin, Co-Redemptrix of the human race. I bless the Eternal Father who chose thee in an especial way for His daughter; I bless the Word Incarnate who took upon Himself our nature in thy bosom and so made thee His Mother; I bless the Holy Spirit who took thee as His bride. All honor, praise and thanksgiving to the ever-blessed Trinity who predestined thee and loved thee so exceedingly from all eternity as to exalt thee above all creatures to the most sublime heights. O Virgin, holy and merciful, obtain for all who offend thee the grace of repentance, and graciously accept this poor act of homage from me thy servant, obtaining likewise for me from thy Divine Son the pardon and remission of all my sins. Amen.


    From other Sources
    HIS HOUR

    THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS . . . began this devotion of the Holy Hour of Reparation, when He entered the Garden of Gethsemane on Mount Olivet. He said to His Apostles: "My soul is sorrowful even unto death. Stay ye here and watch with Me." Later He said to them: "Could ye not watch one hour with Me? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation." [Matt. 26:38, 40, 41]

    As Jesus spoke to His Apostles, so He pleads with us to stay and watch and pray with Him. His Sacred Heart is filled with sadness, because so many doubt Him, despise Him, insult Him, ridicule Him, spit upon Him, slap Him, accuse Him, condemn Him. In the Sacrament of His Love, so many forget Him. Every mortal sin brings down the terrible scourges on His Sacred Body, presses the sharp thorns into His Sacred Head, and hammers the cruel nails into His Sacred Hands and Feet.

     The ingratitude of mankind continually pierces His Sacred Heart.

    When Jesus saw the sins of the world and the reparation that must be made to His Heavenly Father, He began to fear and to be sad and sorrowful. "Kneeling down, He prayed: 'Father, if Thou will, remove this chalice from Me; But not My Will, Thine be done: There appeared an Angel from Heaven to strengthen Him; and being in agony, He prayed the longer, and His sweat became as drops of blood trickling to the ground." [Luke 22:41, 44]

    The Sacred Heart of Jesus said to St. Margaret Mary: "Make reparation for the ingratitude of men. Spend an hour in prayer to appease Divine justice, to implore mercy for sinners, to honor Me, to console Me for My bitter suffering when abandoned by My Apostles, when they did not WATCH ONE HOUR WITH ME."

    "That the necessity of Expiation and Reparation is especially urgent today must be evident to everyone who considers the present plight of the world, 'seated in wickedness' [John 5:9]. The Sacred Heart promised to St. Margaret Mary that he would reward abundantly with His graces all those who should render this honor to His Heart."    --------Pope Pius XI, the Encyclical, Misserentissimus

    From, 

    St. Alphonsus [4] summarizes this statement as follows:
    "Can it be that Christ's passion alone was insufficient to save us? No. It left nothing more to be done; it was more than sufficient to save all men. However, for the merits of the Passion to be applied to us, according to St. Thomas Aquinas, [5] we need to cooperate (subjective redemption) by patiently bearing the trials God sends us, so as to become like our head, Christ."
    This is called 'reparation.' It is a theological doctrine of the Catholic Church. Reparation is the foundation of many confraternities and pious associations [6] – to make reparation for our sins and for the sins of mankind.
    That infinite merit of Christ's Passion and Sacrifice on Calvary enables us to add our daily prayers, labors, trials, and sufferings to those of our Lord. Thus, we become actually co-redeemers with Christ, sharing in His suffering.
    Suffering, more than anything else, makes present in the history of humanity the force of the Redemption. [7]
    Why should we make reparation to God? For two reasons: 1) to repair for our own offences against Him, 2) by virtue of the Communion of the Saints, we can also make satisfaction or reparation for the sins of others.
    However, we first need to see ourselves as we really are so we can properly intercede for the souls of others. We do this through frequent Confession. [8]
    The Catechism of the Catholic Church, n.2412, n.2487, n.2454, n. 2509 teaches that every offense committed entails the duty of reparation, even if its author has been forgiven.
    The greatest offering of reparation is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
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