I grew up Catholic, but I’ve only recently found out what graces have been made available to us through several devotions that have been handed down to us by the saints. O, what great consolations for us who strive throughout our lives to fight the good fight for heaven.
While it is true that salvation is free and has been fully paid for by the sacrifice of Jesus at the cross, He has extended His grace and His mercy through various means. This is not to devalue what He has already done but to make it all the more available for us.
He knows how weak we are and how we need help at almost every instance of our lives. He also knows how forgetful we are and how we badly need instruments to remind us of the path He desires for our salvation.
Below are some of the devotions I would also like to share with you. Let us avail of them while we can and thank God for His providence and generosity.
The Scapular
“Whosoever dies wearing this Scapular Shall not suffer eternal fire!”- Our Lady of Mount Carmel to Simon Stock (July 16, 1251)
According to the Sisters of Carmel, these conditions must be met to receive the promise of the brown scapular:
1.To observe exactly what has been prescribed regarding material, color, and shape of the Scapular, that is it must be 100% brown wool in a rectangular shape.
2.To be enrolled in the Scapular by a priest.
3.To wear it continually.
Any priest can help enroll you to the brown scapular by using a simple investiture formula:
Procedure for Blessing and Investiture
The Rosary
According to tradition, the Blessed Virgin Mary made the following promises to St. Dominic for those who will faithfully pray the rosary:
1. Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall receive signal graces.
2. I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary.
3. The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.
4. The Rosary will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire for eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.
5. The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall not perish.
6. Whoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its sacred mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just he shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of eternal life.
7. Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the sacraments of the Church.
8. Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plenititude of His graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the merits of the saints in paradise.
9. I shall deliver from Purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary.
10. The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in Heaven.
11. You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the Rosary.
12. All those who propagate the Holy Rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.
13. I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death.
14. All who recite the Rosary are my sons and daughters, and brothers and sisters of my only Son Jesus Christ.
15. Devotion of my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.
“The Rosary is the book of the blind, where souls see and there enact the greatest drama of love the world has ever known; it is the book of the simple, which initiates them into mysteries and knowledge more satisfying than the education of other men; it is the book of the aged, whose eyes close upon the shadow of this world, and open on the substance of the next. The power of the Rosary is beyond description.” — Fulton Sheen
The Joyful Mysteries
The Sorrowful Mysteries
The Glorious Mysteries
The Seven Sorrows of Mary
The Blessed Virgin Mary grants seven graces to the souls who honor her daily by saying seven Hail Mary’s and meditating on her tears and sorrows.
1. The prophecy of Simeon. (St. Luke 2:34, 35)
2. The flight into Egypt. (St. Matthew 2:13, 14)
3. The loss of the Child Jesus in the temple. (St. Luke 2: 43–45)
4. The meeting of Jesus and Mary on the Way of the Cross.
5. The Crucifixion.
6. The taking down of the Body of Jesus from the Cross.
7. The burial of Jesus.
The 7 Promises:
1.“I will grant peace to their families.”
2. “They will be enlightened about the Divine Mysteries.”
3. “I will console them in their pains and I will accompany them in their work.”
4. “I will give them as much as they ask for as long as it does not oppose the adorable will of my Divine Son or the sanctification of their souls.”
5. “I will defend them in their spiritual battles with the infernal enemy and I will protect them at every instant of their lives.”
6. “I will visibly help them at the moment of their death — they will see the face of their mother.”
7. “I have obtained this grace from my divine Son, that those who propagate this devotion to my tears and dolors will be taken directly from this earthly life to eternal happiness, since all their sins will be forgiven and my Son will be their eternal consolation and joy.”
The Chaplet of Divine Mercy
“My daughter, encourage souls to say the chaplet which I have given to you. It pleases Me to grant everything they ask of Me by saying the chaplet. When sinners say it, I will fill their souls with peace, and the hour of their death will be a happy one.” — Jesus to St. Faustina (Divine Mercy In My Soul, 1541 )
The Chaplet is prayed on ordinary rosary beads. Here are the prayers:
Our Father
Hail Mary
The Apostles’ Creed
Begin each of the five decades with:
“Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.”
On the 10 “Hail Mary” beads, pray:
“For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”
Closing prayer (three times)
“Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”
Jesus, King of Mercy, we trust in You.
The Five Saturdays Devotion
“See, my daughter, my Heart encircled by thorns with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. Do you, at least, strive to console me. Tell them that I promise to assist at the hour of death with the graces necessary for salvation all those who, in order to make reparation to me, on the First Saturday of five successive months, go to Confession, receive Holy Communion, say five decades of the Rosary, and keep me company for a quarter of an hour, meditating on the … mysteries of the Rosary.” — Our Lady of Fatima to Sis. Lucia
The Nine Fridays Devotion
“On Friday during Holy Communion, He said these words to His unworthy slave, if I mistake not: ‘I promise you in the excessive mercy of My Heart that Its all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on nine first Fridays of consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they will not die under My displeasure or without receiving their sacraments, My divine Heart making Itself their assured refuge at the last moment.’” — Jesus to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
12 Promise of the Sacred Heart
1. I will give them all of the graces necessary for their state of life.
2. I will establish peace in their homes.
3. I will comfort them in all their afflictions.
4. I will be their strength during life and above all during death.
5. I will bestow a large blessing upon all their undertakings.
6. Sinners shall find in My Heart the source and the infinite ocean of mercy.
7. Tepid souls shall grow fervent.
8. Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection.
9. I will bless every place where a picture of my heart shall be set up and honored.
10. I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.
11. Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart, never to be blotted out.
12. I promise you in the excessive mercy of My Heart that My all-powerful love will grant all to those who communicate on the First Friday in nine consecutive months the grace of final penitence; they shall not die in My disgrace nor without receiving their sacraments; My Divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.
The Feast of Divine Mercy
Here is the promise of Jesus to St. Faustina for all of those who will go to Confession and receive Communion on Divine Mercy Sunday (the Sunday after Easter Sunday).
“My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment…The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the First Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy.” — Jesus to St. Faustina, (Divine Mercy In My Soul, 699)
The Image of Divine Mercy
“I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish. I also promise victory over [its] enemies already here on earth, especially at the hour of death. I Myself will defend it as My own glory”- Jesus to St. Faustina, (Divine Mercy In My Soul, 48).
“In the evening, when I was in my cell, I saw the Lord Jesus clothed in a white garment. One hand [was] raised in the gesture of blessing; the other was touching the garment at the breast. From beneath the garment, slightly drawn aside at the breast, there were emanating two large rays, one red, the other pale. In silence I kept my gaze fixed on the Lord; my soul was struck with awe, but also with great joy. After a while, Jesus said to me, “Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature: Jesus, I trust in You. I desire that this image be venerated, first in your chapel, and [then] throughout the world.” — Jesus to St. Faustina, (Divine Mercy In My Soul, 47).
The thing about hope is that it’s a positive force that shines the most when it’s dark. When everything’s going well, we hardly notice it’s there. But when things go against us, when our dreams fade and when we see no immediate reprieve from our troubles, that’s when hope does its best work for us.
"Where Hope Can Be Found"