Pieta prayer book?

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** St. Bridget prayed fervently in front of the Tabernacle wishing to know for some time, the number of blows Our Lord suffered during His Passion. He honored her request one day by appearing to her and told her,**
  • “I received 5480 blows on My Body. If you wish to honor them in some way,say 15 Our Fathers and 15 Hail Marys with the following Prayers for a whole year. When the year is up, you will have honored each one of My Wounds.” *
Enuff said…

I think I’ll start this devotion today and using the “Pieta Prayer Book” honor the 5480 blows our Christ received. Wow, 5480 blows and slashes. Jesus was truly a strong man, along with being a great God.
 
My wife and I happened upon the Pieta Prayer Booklet in about '92 and embarked on the 1-year novena praying the 15 St. Bridget prayers. It changed our lives! I still pray a couple of them before receiving Communion at daily Mass.
Two years ago Christmas, we learned of the 12-year novena!, also from St. Bridget with some more promises, and have faithfully been praying it daily. And 1 of our 7 children has joined in. It too has fostered spiritual growth in our marriage and family.
St. Bridget, PRAY FOR US!
 
i also have the prayer book called Pieta, and i love the prayers. There is one thing I am not certain about it. It has a picture of a lady which says, is the true picture of the Blessed Mother. It says that the Blessed Mother drew it herself. The version that I have, I think, is a locally published version (but i got to check it again when i get home).
 
The picture you are refering to, on page 19 of the edition I have, has the caption “This picture of Our Lady was drawn by a mystic in Italy. Her hand was guided by Our Lady.”
The Pieta’ Prayer Book was assembled by two americans during their pilgrimage to San Damiano in northwest Italy in the 1970’s. Tom Zimmer and Harry Faulhaber. Tom had a different idea than Harry, he included writings about avoiding alcohol and tobacco and other behaviors that harm us. Harry brought the book back to the US and had it printed so he edited some of the advice Tom had originally included. Harry told Tom that he excluded Tom’s advice to avoid tobacco and alcohol because Harry feared it might “put off” some readers. They tried to make a collection of beautiful prayers that they feared might be lost. Harry died many years ago and Tom died on Sept 10, 2009 in a Veteran’s rest home in Florida. He was 82. Tom spoke 5 languages. He had lived in Italy from the early 1970’s until November of 2008. He spent many years collecting prayers and assembling prayer collections. One of his other books is “Sacro Capo di Gesu” (“The Holy Head of Christ”), printed in italian. The Pieta’ Prayer Book has sold millions of copies but Harry sold them at cost. Tom spent many years in Rome and lived in Loreto, Italy for the last 15years. Tom knew Pope Benedict well and conversed with him in german. Tom encouraged John Paul II to recommend the practice of daily mass and communion. Tom attended over 300,000 masses during his lifetime (he said that the concelebrated mass was the most important invention in he history of the world!).

“Priests are not only the most important people, they’re the only important people, because they have the keys for us to enter eternal life.” Tom Zimmer 5/29/1924-9/10/2009

For more info about the Pieta’ Prayer Book visit www.mlor.com the original source of the book.
 
This is from EWTN.com:

Answer by Rev. Mark J. Gantley, JCL on 05-04-2005:
I was not familiar with the specific booklet that you have. Immediately, however, I agreed with your healthy instict about the faith.
Here is the text condemning the booklet: A Monitum from the Holy Office: In certain places a booklet has appeared with the title “The Secret of Happiness: Fifteen Prayers Revealed by Our Lord to Saint Brigid in the Church of Saint Paul in Rome,” published in various languages at Nice (and elsewhere).

Since it is asserted in this booklet that certain promises were made by God to Saint Brigid, and it is by no means certain that these promises were of supernatural origin, Ordinaries of places [bishops of dioceses] must avoid giving permission to publish or to reprint works or writings which contain the aforesaid promises.

Given at Rome, from the Holy Office, 28 January, 1954

(Acta Apostolicae Sedis 46-64, as contained in Canon Law Digest, Vol. IV, p. 389, Milwaukee: Bruce Publishing Company, 1958)

Anything published in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis is official and binding.
 
Last I heard, unless I am mistaken the latest edition of the Pieta prayerbook has an imprimatur.

So it may be that that AAS against the promises in one of the prayers there is out of date.
 
Harsalter said:
** St. Bridget prayed fervently in front of the Tabernacle wishing to know for some time, the number of blows Our Lord suffered during His Passion. He honored her request one day by appearing to her and told her,** *“I received 5480 blows on My Body. If you wish to honor them in some way,say 15 Our Fathers and 15 Hail Marys with the following Prayers for a whole year. When the year is up, you will have honored each one of My Wounds.” *Enuff said…I think I’ll start this devotion today and using the “Pieta Prayer Book” honor the 5480 blows our Christ received. Wow, 5480 blows and slashes. Jesus was truly a strong man, along with being a great God.
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I am glad you brought that up. I have always wondered if it she got it wrong and maybe heard 5479 or 5481 blows. :eek: That passage did give me pause when I read it. Another book in which the name will go unmentioned had ‘roses’ coming out of the mouth. That is not to denegrate the prayers in the Pieta. Just a comment about a comment. Some of the claims in the older books are a bit fantastic but aren’t most of us able to sort the wheat from the chaff? The books are called devotionals for a reason.

As for indulgences, especially plenary, I am not sure I buy into that either. Perhaps I need to look into it more and there are things I don’t understand that may be good reasons for them. This would be a whole new thread but as I re-read Leviticus 7, and the type of sacrifices offered, I had wondered perhaps if this was where the idea of indulgences originated; the OT being a foreshadowing of the NT.
 
One is required to believe in indulgences, it is not optional. 🙂 If you need to do some learning about how they apply the merits of the saints to our penances due, there are some good articles out there.

Every sin is due penance… the penances are larger than you are used to as a person from these lax times… the indulgences take care of what penances are largely due for sins. A few prayers is not what is due each sin as is given in the Confessionals commonly… the actual penances due are much larger in general.

Penances got small in the Confessional due to fear people would not do the larger and for reasons not so good perhaps too.
 
lwest said:
This is from EWTN.com:

Answer by Rev. Mark J. Gantley, JCL on 05-04-2005:
I was not familiar with the specific booklet that you have. Immediately, however, I agreed with your healthy instict about the faith.
Here is the text condemning the booklet: A Monitum from the Holy Office: In certain places a booklet has appeared with the title “The Secret of Happiness: Fifteen Prayers Revealed by Our Lord to Saint Brigid in the Church of Saint Paul in Rome,” published in various languages at Nice (and elsewhere).

Since it is asserted in this booklet that certain promises were made by God to Saint Brigid, and it is by no means certain that these promises were of supernatural origin, Ordinaries of places [bishops of dioceses] must avoid giving permission to publish or to reprint works or writings which contain the aforesaid promises.

Given at Rome, from the Holy Office, 28 January, 1954

(Acta Apostolicae Sedis 46-64, as contained in Canon Law Digest, Vol. IV, p. 389, Milwaukee: Bruce Publishing Company, 1958)

Anything published in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis is official and binding.
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+Thank you Iwest for posting the above . . . ***and please ***. . . everyone take note . . . the above quote is not a “condemnation” of the Pieta Pray:gopray2:er Booklet . . . each individual Catholic Christian has a right . . . to believe . . . or . . . not to believe . . . personal reported apparitions, revelations, etc., . . . as long as one finds they are essentially in harmony with true Catholic beliefs . . . the promises re the **St. Brigid **prayers simply have not been investigated fully and at this point have not been formally approved . . . or disapproved . . . by the Holy See . . . and actually may never be . . . there have been a vast abundance of personal revelations down through the centuries in Christendom which have never been dealt with by the Holy See . . . a select few are under investigation . . . and may continue under investigation for years . . . but no final definitive decision has been made on a great many . . .

If you will carefully attend to the wording it only states . . .
Since it is asserted in this booklet that certain promises were made by God to Saint Brigid, and it is by no means certain that these promises were of supernatural origin, Ordinaries of places [bishops of dioceses] must avoid giving permission to PUBLISH or to REPRINT works or writings which contain the aforesaid promises.​
Ordinaries [Bishops], all act in the name of and under the auspices of the Catholic Church . . . and as such their actions speak for the Church to the faithful . . . since these particular promises are not yet approved . . . the caution recorded above is just that . . . a “caution and prohibition” against publishing and/or reprinting them as an official action of acceptance by the Catholic Church . . . this does NOT “condemn” the Pieta Pray:gopray2:er Booklet itself . . . and neither does it forbid its printing and publication and use by the faithful in the private sector . . . it just inserts essentially a word of caution about uninvestigated private revelations . . . and advises those in authority in the Church to be careful not to formally and officially under the auspices of the Catholic Church to recognize . . . in the name of the Catholic Church . . . the recorded **St. Brigid **promises . . . which are still in the category of “private” revelation . . .

I’ve heard brothers of the EWTN **Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word **mention their use of this lovely little pray:gopray2:er book . . . and I’ve found it to be a rich blessing and wonderful contribution to my personal pray:gopray2:er life . . . I’ve carried it with me always for years . . . and have found it to be an extraordinary blest and abundantly beautiful collection . . .

We need always to keep in mind and remember what pray:gopray2:er actually is . . . for the enemy of souls would just love to put a stop to our praying to our . . . **Wonderful God **. . . and throw every truly blest holy “baby” out with the bath . . . so-to-speak . . .*to put it simply . . . *
:signofcross:
"For me prayer is a surge of the heart, it is a simple look towards Heaven,
it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy."
  • Saint Therese of Lisieux
. . . all for Jesus+​
 
donanobis said:
Shin,

Can you point us to a source that says belief in indulgences is required and not optional?

thanks,
dona
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Here you go. 😃

The Church possesses the power to grand indulgences is de fide, that is without a doubt required dogma of the Faith as stated in the Council of Trent:
*
“Whereas the power of conferring Indulgences was granted by Christ to the Church; and she has, even in the most ancient times, used the said power, delivered unto her of God; the sacred holy Synod teaches, and enjoins, that the use of Indulgences, for the Christian people most salutary, and approved of by the authority of sacred Councils, is to be retained in the Church; and It condemns with anathema those who either assert, that they are useless; or who deny that there is in the Church the power of granting them.”*

The source of indulgences is the Church’s treasury of satisfaction which consists of the superabundant satisfactions of Christ and the saints. (sent. certa.)

The use of Indulgences is useful and salutary to the Faithful (de fide.) D 989, D998.
  • Ludwig Ott, Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma
If you look at the penance due to sin, that is the proper and true full penance for each sin, it is large. Even for “small” sins. And so up to but the -most recent- (I’m afraid lax and somewhat corrupt at best) times, you have a constant tradition of pilgrimages, mortifications, etc.

This is because every sin as a matter of justice is due real penance by the person who committed the sin. It is demanded by Christ. But pastorally, confessors have for fear of scaring penitents away by them, gradually given less and less penance, which was always understood as partial and not the full penance in any case. This has changed in times of bad formation into complete lack of understanding of penance due, sadly.

However as a norm people are taught that they then after receiving their partial penance in the Confessional make up the rest of the penance on their own. But with indulgences -someone else- makes it up for you. The justice is not gotten rid of… but the merits of Christ and the saints are applied, i.e. they suffer for you in your stead the punishment due the sin.

God’s justice is so satisfied.

Indulgences are attached to prayers, penances, and other acts… so that to encourage you to penance… and prayer… but also help.

Interestingly, with the revisions of the indulgences, partial indulgences are far smaller as a norm than they used to be. They used to represent large acts of penance, now they are only equal to what you put in, additionally to the penitential act. So they make up for far less of your penance in these times.

Which is something to send people running to the Divine Mercy devotion, I might say at the least. But also people should desire to do some of their penances, because without penance there is no salvation.
 
Shin said:
Here you go. 😃 …This is because every sin as a matter of justice is due real penance by the person who committed the sin. It is demanded by Christ…Which is something to send people running to the Divine Mercy devotion, I might say at the least. But also people should desire to do some of their penances, because without penance there is no salvation.
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Thank you that was a pretty comprehensive explanation which is somewhat complicated and hard for me to comprehend and must be doubly hard for our Protestant brothers and sisters to understand, especially in that it is demanded by Christ. I think you are explaining the reason/meaning of the Catholic belief in Purgatory?

I do like the idea however that a plenary indulgence means I get a fresh start as far as temporal punishment I owe if I died today and had received a plenary indulgence. Can God override this? or is He bound to the Churchs’ ruling? (serious question not a SA one).

As I wondered in a previous post “as I re-read Leviticus 7, and the type of sacrifices offered, I had wondered perhaps if this was where the idea of indulgences originated; the OT being a foreshadowing of the NT” and that this might be something our Jewish brethren might understand in relation to indulgences.
*to the Church; and she has, even in the most ancient times, used the said power, delivered unto her of God; *
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Also, could you do a little refresher on dogma and our need to believe it as a Catholic?

thanks,
dona
 
aspirant said:
This should help: “Primer on Indulgences.” See also “Myths About Indulgences” and “The Catechism of the Catholic Church on Indulgences.”
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Thank you for that. I’m a newbie and am just getting my CAF footing. I wasn’t aware that resource was even available. Also looking around I found a dogma refresher at theworkofgod.org/dogmas.htm.

I still wonder, and if you have an answer, if I receive a plenary indulgence and died right after would God be bound by that or can he overide it-nullify it? Like when God makes a covenant with man or forgives the sins His priest forgives?

And Yikes! I also didn’t realize this thread started in 2006! jumped to 2009 and was picked up again?
 
donanobis said:
Thank you for that. I’m a newbie and am just getting my CAF footing. I wasn’t aware that resource was even available. Also looking around I found a dogma refresher at theworkofgod.org/dogmas.htm.

I still wonder, and if you have an answer, if I receive a plenary indulgence and died right after would God be bound by that or can he overide it-nullify it? Like when God makes a covenant with man or forgives the sins His priest forgives?

And Yikes! I also didn’t realize this thread started in 2006! jumped to 2009 and was picked up again?
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Good question. I don’t know. 🙂 Though I wouldn’t put the question quite like that, I’d use a ‘will’ rather than a ‘can’.

Two great sources of info on dogma are Ludwig Ott’s ‘Fundamentals’ and Denziger’s ‘The Sources’. The latter is much more complex, so the first is best for a beginner.
 
Call me crazy but I believe in the promises whole heartedly. If one has enough perseverance to actually pray all the requirements then who says with that kind of faith that God will not hear your prayer of faith? I love this book, its a comfort to take with you as you step out of your home. Its a small booklet and has many wonderful prayers. What I most like about it is the due respect it gives to Mother Mary. The Way of the Cross is condensed as well. I think the problem that people have with indulgences and so forth, is that we have lost the origins of where this all came from. The Catholic Church is almost 2000 years old! But I take it to be that at some point this mystery or indulgence was revealed to a Catholic just as an approved Catholic apparition was. So if you wear the brown scapular for the faith that you trust in Mary’s words that you will be delivered from eternal fire or will be delivered from purgatory the following Sat., then its the same faith based reasoning. The brown scapular originated by the order of carmelites by the way.
 
ThomasEugene said:
just a thought: isn’t this similar to new age automatic writing?:confused:
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I think that’s why the Church does investigations into alleged apparitions and mystical claims because it has to adhere to Church doctrine etc. But as far as your question is concerned, I think automatic writing is about revealing something that has nothing to do with Christianity. But if its truly from Mary, in my humble opinion, they say she always gives attention to her Son Jesus Christ. I wouldn’t exactly equate new age techniques with Christian teachings and saints. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and Heaven is for everyone, but I think that drawing from an unknown source is somewhat scary anyway, that’s how a famous book got attention. I didn’t read it cause I knew I would just confuse myself and it would be a read out of desperation rather than steadfast faith. I see where you made the connection though.
 
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