Bless Single Catholics Newsletter--No. 2

    You Can Become A Volunteer
    at the Lourdes Shrine

         The Lourdes Shrine in Lourdes, France is a beautiful Marian shrine where millions of pilgrims and visitors go every year to seek peace, physical and spiritual healing.  St. Bernadette was the visionary who was visited by Our Blessed Mother who appeared to Bernadette to help the sick who were in search of cures and healing.  Many great miraculous cures have been verified by the physicians at the Shrine.  Since there are so many sick that go to seek healing, the Sanctuary itself is in need of volunteers to help at the Sanctuary.  It is a great opportunity to help the sick by assisting them at the baths, at the Grotto, at the hospital, during meals and with many other functions.  
         We have recently posted that any single Catholic can apply to volunteer at the Lourdes Sanctuary to assist at different job functions.  Volunteers must pay for their own round-trip airfare to Lourdes and pay 12 euros per day for meals and accommodations.  There are hundreds of volunteers that help at the Lourdes Shrine every year of all ages, from various countries around the world and from all walks of life.
         If you wish to volunteer, you can apply by clicking here to access their information page.   

    Why We Should Continue
    ​Praying Novenas

         People used to pray Novenas more in years past but somehow Novenas are being prayed less and less during our modern age.  Some single Catholics ask, "What are Novenas and why should we pray them?"  So, what exactly is a Novena? According to an article from EWTN, "a Novena is a nine-day period of private or public prayer to obtain special graces, to implore special favors, or make special petitions. (Novena is derived from the Latin novem, meaning nine.) As the definition suggests, the novena has always been used more  of a sense of urgency and neediness that the petitioner has for a special favor or petition. 
         Acts of the Apostles recounts, 'After that they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet near Jerusalem—a mere Sabbath's journey away. Together they devoted themselves to constant prayer' (Acts 1:12,14). Nine days later, the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles at Pentecost. Perhaps, this "nine-day period of prayer" of the Apostles is the basis for the novena.
         In the Middle Ages, particularly in Spain and France, novenas of prayers were offered nine days before Christmas, signifying the nine months our Lord spent in the womb of our Blessed Mother. These special novenas helped the faithful prepare for the festive, yet solemn, celebration of the birth of our Lord. Eventually, various novenas were composed to help the faithful prepare for a special feast or to invoke the aid of a saint for a particular reason. Some of the popular novenas still widely used in our Church include those of Miraculous Medal, Sacred Heart of Jesus, St. Joseph and St. Jude, to name a few."
         So, it is important that we keep the tradition of praying Novenas alive for any special need or intention that we have.  It has been noted that those who pray Novenas are often granted special favors by Our Lord due to the persistence of the prayers.

    Become  A Member of the Rosary Confraternity Today

         The Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary is "A world-wide movement of prayer entrusted to the Dominican Order by the Holy See more than 500 Years Ago.  The Rosary Confraternity is a spiritual association (of the Catholic Church), of member which strive to pray the entire Rosary during the course of each week. They form a union of countless hundreds of thousands of the faithful throughout the world who, along with their own intentions, include the intentions and needs of all its members, while they in turn pray for them.
          As Pope Leo XIII said in his apostolic constitution on the Confraternity, 'whenever a person fulfills his obligation of reciting the Rosary according to the rule of the Confraternity, he includes in his intentions all its members, and they in turn render him the same service many times over.'
      Each member includes deceased fellow members as well; and thus he knows that in turn he will be included in the prayers of hundreds of thousands both now and hereafter. This led the Cure of Ars to say: 'If anyone has the happiness of being in the Confraternity of the Rosary, he has in all corners of the world brothers and sisters who pray for him.' The deceased cannot be enrolled in the Confraternity."
         Those people who become members of the Confraternity have certain obligations, benefits and indulgences which can be viewed by clicking here.  If you would like to become a member of the Confraternity (which is highly advised), you can apply by clicking here.

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