#pray more novenas

[tinyshe]

This is just a quick reminder that the Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus starts tomorrow on Wednesday (29 May 2024) ! We are looking forward to praying with you and for you!

If you'd like to let someone know you're going to pray this for them & their intentions, you can forward this e-mail to them and let them know :)

Don't forget to share!

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Your friends & family can sign up to pray this novena with us here: 

Thank you for praying with us! 

We're praying for you.

God bless you!

John-Paul & Annie - PrayMoreNovenas.com

[indynerdgirl]

My friend's brand new baby girl, Vianney, who was born on Sept 1st, has been in the NICU since Thursday (Sept 14th) and has just been diagnosed with hemimegalencephaly. It's a rare, non-hereditary genetic mutation that caused a malformation of one side of her brain, causing seizures. She'll have to stay in the hospital for several more weeks while they try to get her seizures to slow down. She needs brain surgery but has to make it to 6 months before she can have it. Unless a miracle happens, she will need special care her whole life.

I work for the Little Sisters of the Poor and one of the sisters has suggested we start a novena asking for the intercession of the newly beatified Ulma Family, particularly asking for the special intercession of their unborn baby that was beatified with them, for a complete healing of Vianney.

I would greatly appreciate it if you could spread the word to everyone you know, asking them to help pray for a miracle for little Vianney and her family.

Parents are Jennifer & Shad, and Vianney has two older sisters, Cecilia & Zelie.

Prayer for the Intercession of the Ulma Family

Almighty and eternal God,

we thank You for the testimony of the heroic love of the spouses Józef and Wiktoria with their children, who gave their lives to save persecuted Jews.

May their prayers and example support families in Christian life and help everyone to follow the true path of holiness.

Lord, if it is in accordance with Your will, kindly grant the grace for the complete healing of little Vianney, for which we are asking You through their intercession and count them among the Blessed.

Through Christ Our Lord

Amen

Our Father..., Hail Mary..., Glory Be...

[thesaintlygirl]

blog introduction ♪

hello! i’ve never done an introduction of myself. well, i haven’t made a personal post until this one. so i thought i should actually use this blog.

my name is jane. i’m currently 18 years old. i am a catholic christian! i’d say i’m pretty traditional but i can be flexible with certain things. my blog mainly revolves around my religion and things that i like and find appealing.

i’m currently in college. i’m a social and human services major. i hope to be a case/care manager one day. it’s also my dream to be a wife and mother sometime in the future. and i’m currently in a committed relationship with my beloved! <3

i like to draw, write/journal, read, play video games, listen to music, baking (especially bread!), etc. i also mainly like to pray the rosary and novenas (alongside more personal prayer, of course), read the bible and christian literature, going to sunday mass, etc.

[please do not interact if you don’t respect my beliefs or are generally anti-theist. also if you are associated with some hate group. thank you for your understanding.]

thank you for reading!! i hope to get along with you all :)

[batrachised]

psst psst what have you read lately that was worth the time?

i am currently rubbing my hands together in glee like a king's power-hungry advisor, this is a GIFT of an ask!! I have not been able to read this year as much as I would like, but one book that I read recently that I liked quite a bit was Subversive Habits by Shannon Dee Williams, a history of black nuns in the USA. It was a detailed if horrifying read about the structural racism these women faced, and the role the Catholic Church played in enforcing segregation., especially convents, which were bastions of racism and segregation. Definitely had some quotes/facts that I will be thinking about for some time!

One thing that will stay with me because I found it rather surprising: the Catholic Church was viewed as a unique threat to the racist structures of the South (see the first couple of bullet points below) partly because of its global nature (ie there have always been nonwhite Catholics all over the world) - but then as I found not surprising at all, in the end the KKK ended up allying with it because it was so overwhelmingly racist.

Some quotes from the book below:

Indeed, in a white-dominated and patriarchal society and Church that often opposed interracial marriage in law and custom, the very idea of a Black bride of a Christ imagined as white was nothing short of insurrectionary.

Over the next five years, men and women delegates to the Colored Catholic Congresses repeatedly called on Black Catholics and the Church to take the lead in opposing white supremacy and the descending shadow of Jim Crow segregation in the nation. “The Catholic Church alone can break the color line,” Rudd [black Catholic journalist] declared in 1891. “Our people should help her to do it.”

“I tell you people, the effort to Catholicise the colored man is fraught with the gravest danger,” Mayfield [KKK Ally] wrote [in 1922]. “We don’t want any negro Catholics in this country who will be subservient to a foreign ruler who believes in social equality.”

Had the three SSF members [nuns] been “mammies” to white children or lay maids to the white priest, no white resistance would have manifested. However, because they were nuns, educational leaders, and spiritual role models free from state supervision, these Black women threatened the foundations of segregation.

"I myself know of a congregation in a largely non-Catholic region of this country which has had requests to start schools in 19 different cities, but simply has not enough womanpower. The superior has had novenas made in honor of Blessed Martin de Porres [black saint] for plentiful vocations—but if Blessed Martin de Porres sent her two dozen Negro applicants, it is quite doubtful whether they would be accepted. Many other institutes which complain about the scarcity of vocations have drawn a color-line on would-be applicants—yet continue to pray for more vocations to arrive at their door." - Father Raymond Bernard

“They may perform individual acts of kindness or charity toward the black man,” she stated. “But neither kindness nor charity is justice." - Sister M. Martin de Porres Grey

[magicaguajiro]

La Bóveda: Spiritually Cleansing Yourself and the Altar

Once you and the altar are physically clean, it is important to make sure you are spiritually cleansed. We cleanse to clear ourselves of any energies we may have picked up, to make the space clear of unwanted spirits who may impede our communication and to perfume the space for our spirits. Whatever way you choose to cleanse the altar and yourself is up to you, but it is important that you pray through the whole ritual. I personally like to pray things like Psalm 23, Psalm 7, Alan Kardec’s Books of Selected Prayers, and La Fe en Oracion. You can also pray from your heart or pray pagan prayers if you choose, but I do recommend researching the role Christianity plays in modern folk practices.

If you are just starting out, try using a spiritual cologne like Florida Water or 1800. It is important to cleanse every object that is part of the table. You may also choose to smoke cleanse with Tobacco, Incense, herbs, and resins like frankincense and myrrh. When using Tobacco, you usually will light the end, flip it around and blow, as if the altar is taking the puff. Blow this smoke all over the entire altar once it is complete and the candle is lit and fill the cups with smoke. Don’t burn yourself! Traditionally, a preparation would be made called an Omiero to wipe down the altar. If you want to put some more energy into it, you can choose to do a series of spiritual baths for yourself. These baths won’t just be cute roses and lavender in a milk tub. It will be consecutive days of blessed and charged baths, using 3, 5, 7, 9 or more herbs as well as things like oils, waters, dirts, resins and colognes. Spiritual baths are a great tool to add to a routine if you can figure out a way to incorporate it. Though, as someone with ADHD I know how hard it can be so don’t feel pressured to if other methods suffice for you.

[My Go-To Quick Spiritual Cleanses for Bóveda work. From Left to Right: Rue Water, Blessed Florida Water, water from where the river meets the ocean, and blessed Kolonia 1800]

There are many different types of spiritual baths. It should be noted that working with certain materia is dangerous and should be supplied by a professional or elder. Also, some herbs can harm you spiritually if they are poured on your head, like espanta muerte. Also, most baths will need to be “illuminated” with a candle burned in them. I usually use white tapers or novena candles. The baños used for espiritismo include some called bitter baths and sweet baths. Bitter baths use herbs like espanta muerte, agrimony, pepper, wormwood, and garlic. These baths are designed to clear you of any crossed conditions or evil eye, remove obstacles and steer you on course to your path. After that, a sweet bath using honey, romerillo (shepherd’s nettle), basil (albahaca), abrecamino (road-opener), Hibiscus (marpacifico), and Orange. This is to draw in the correct opportunities for your path as well as to increase your personal ‘magnetism’ in a way. This basically makes you more appealing in all ways, even for money and opportunities. But also for negative entities, so remember to wear protective amulets at this point in the process. Finally, a white bath will be prepared using things like coconut water, goats milk, cascarilla, white rum, florida water, kolonia, and camphor. This serves to enlighten you and make you more sensitive to spirits and energies around you. It also draws your spirits closer to you. You may also choose to fast on occasion during the first three days or the final day of this routine.

It can also be traditional to preform a sweeping, where you take a bundle of fresh herbs or a blessed broom and use them to swat away any energies you don’t want to invade your altar and session. This can be hard to do properly if an altar is already set up, so I would suggest doing this on the days you deep clean the bóveda. It is also important on these days and when doing deeper work and sessions at the altar to cover your head. This closes your energy off, and means to connect to your spirits you have to allow them to tap in.

These are just precautions you have to take when working with the Dead and Disincarnate. In Cuba, the folk magic is inherently tied to the muertos.

Luz y Progreso. 🕯️

[perpetual-help]

I am the same anon from last night. I went to another priest. This one told me that I had been absolved but he didn't seem concerned about the situation at all. I might not have explained myself very well because I was crying but I'm fairly certain I got my point across and if anything the priest seemed a little annoyed with me. I felt so humiliated—the thing is with the one I confessed to last night, I had never met him before, but the one I spoke to this morning is one of the priests of my home church so I had more trust in him.

I'm not particularly interested in sharing my most shameful secrets a third time and risk the same thing happening.

I used to have such a close relationship with God and it was those very sins that drove me from Him. I no longer engage in those sins and haven't for some time but I feel like the wall they built between me and God is still there. I don't know how to have a relationship with Him anymore and I'm starting to feel like He doesn't want one with me anyway.

I'm really sorry. I don't think I should be burdening you with this but I just have no idea what to do.

If this priest has said that you are absolved, you should trust him, trust in God, and let go of it. It’s pride that tells us we are too wretched to be forgiven - God’s love and mercy supersedes all barriers we build with our sin when we confess our sins truthfully in confession; you’ve done this twice and you should rest in the confidence and hope that God has heard you even if his servants act strangely or wrongly.

The only thing that will prevent you from growing in a relationship with God now is yourself and your frame of mind. You should rebuke all thoughts that say you cannot grow in love with God, because they are untrue and likely a demonic influence. Run to God, Anon. Make yourself like a little child before Him, full of confidence in His love and care for you.

Say your prayers, receive the Eucharist as frequently as possible and foster a special love for Our Lord’s passion and His presence in the Eucharist.

You’re not a burden and I’m happy to speak with you as often as you need. I’m praying a novena for you. ❤️ God bless you and keep you.

[spiritualdirections]

ADVENT IS NOT THE CHRISTMAS SEASON!!!

Lots of people today refer to the period when Jingle Bells is playing in the CVS as “The Christmas Season” or (more frequently) “The Holiday Season.” It’s the time when we are supposed to be “festive.” There are so many parties and cookies and cakes that the average American adult gains one pound each year during the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas (and keeps it on the next year). It is the time of year when people spend so much money that it’s an essential part of the business model of many retailers.

   None of this is thinking the way the Church does. Rather, it serves to undermine the meaning of Christmas.

   The season of Advent is a time of preparation; the season of Christmas is the festive time. The season of Christmas begins...on Christmas, not before. There ought to be a marked contrast between the tone of Advent and the tone of Christmas:

The Season of Advent

Time to prepare for the Second Coming

Time of fasting

Liturgical color: violet (like Lent, funerals)

Don’t sing the Gloria at Mass

Time of Penance and Confession

Theme of readings: world is passing away

Time of almsgiving, sacrifice

Time of quiet prayer, meditation

The Season of Christmas

Time to celebrate the Birth of Jesus

Time of feasting

Liturgical color: white (like Easter)

Angels sang the first Gloria to the shepherds

Time to celebrate birth of our Savior 

Theme of readings: Peace on earth

Time of family, good cheer

Time of louder prayer, singing

Keep in mind that the preparation for Christmas is really limited to the novena before Christmas, starting on Dec. 17. The majority of Advent involves praying for Christ’s second coming, rather than remembering his first coming.

Some practical ways to celebrate Advent: 

Call it Advent. That’s the proper name for the liturgical season, so actually use it.

Choose a mortification for the season, a lesser version of what you choose during Lent. This coincides with the nickname of Advent--the “little Lent.” Perhaps you could give up alcohol or cookies or other sweets, so that when you go to “Christmas” parties, you maintain an appropriate mentality.

Do something special on Sundays. Light Advent candles, for example, or do something analogous that marks the progress of the season with your friends. 

Spend some extra time in prayer. Perhaps make the effort to go to daily Mass, and say the rosary.

Make a special effort to perform works of mercy, which in certain contexts might simply mean smiling more and sharing your Christian joy with those who are stressed.

And then, when Christmas comes around--really cut loose! The Octave of Christmas is 8 days of celebrating the great mystery of Jesus’ Incarnation, so celebrate it accordingly. The contrast between Advent and Christmas should help to make the Christmas season not just a continuation of a month of getting fatter, but a special season focusing on the fact that God became Man in order to save us from our sins. Rather than being exhausted because of weeks of excess, we are prepared to welcome the King of Kings with excitement.

[fromgoy2joy]

My mother’s religion is Catholicism no longer.

It is bitterness and pride.

She nods along to homilies about the nuclear family- how one mommy and one daddy is what makes the world go round. Never mind I have a scar on my right arm given to me from her as a late eighth birthday present.

Instead of hymns, she listens constantly to internet pundits calling “transgenderism” butchery and evilness incarnate. She sneers at women with short hair and men with painted nails. There is no compassion- no humanity- for those that do not conform.

She scorns the person she crosses who wears a mask, laughing to me about their stupidity and is uncaring about possible health concerns they could have. She is not bothered by the homeless mother on the street but is horrified to come across a man with a high pitched voice who could possibly be gay.

She wasn’t always like this. I look at pictures from when she was my age. She worked in charity at her church, spending all her free time volunteering. There’s a picture of her I found- a carbon copy of me in 1995- wearing an ugly yellow shirt with “Saint Thomas ministries” scrawled across it. Her arm is looped around a boy wearing the same t-shirt in a half hug.

What is strange about him is his painted nails and blue lipstick, along with two dangly earrings. He wouldn’t look too much out of place on my campus, but I cannot imagine how it was in 1995.

“My friend, Benedict,” she told me when I asked, and her eyes teared up. “He died a few months after that photo. They found him dead in a forest. I always prayed he didn’t kill himself.”

I lost the religion I grew up with, to trial and vexation, and finding a new path. And I don’t know if she’s realized it yet- but my mother has lost hers too.

The girl she was is dead, and she says no more novenas. The prayers she cries are for things to stay exactly how they were- with men and women in enforced gender roles and perfect families.

And i look at her, wondering what Bible she is reading where the world is her against everyone and everything. Where her love has gone.

I hope one day I will understand her. But I pray even harder that I will never become her.

(I do not resent Catholics in the slightest. You are on your own path. Do not become like my mother. She is as much a parable as anything)

[gillespiejr]

If you're a catholic who has been praying for the release of the israeli hostages, here are some ways you can make your prayer intentions even more powerful

saint intercessions:

st. monica- patron saint of abuse victims and mothers, that the hostages are safe from harm and captivity and that their mothers see them returned home

st. christopher- patron saint of travellers, that the hostages be protected on their journey home

st. rita of cascia- patron saint of abuse victims and impossible causes

st. maximilian kolbe- patron saint of prisoners and families, who was said to have also provided shelter to at least 2000 jews during world war two

st. michael the archangel- patron saint of the military, that the idf and israel's allies are able to successfully extract and return as many hostages as possible home

novenas:

the 54-day novena is an extremely powerful novena to add to your daily prayers, as we continue to pray for the safety of our jewish friends and family, the state of israel, peace in the middle east, and for the hostages to return home.

[hoexist]

In another life, where I entered the seminary and became a priest, I would have spent this evening taking confessions. I would have prayed solemnly, given kind words, issued penances, smelled the wood and the candles and the stale incense as I sat in the semi darkness, eyes closed, slowly getting warmer. And when that sweet angel, my last confessor, finally arrives, my eyes will only open when I hear her kneel, smell her through the confessional screen.

"Bless me father for I have sinned, it's been one week since my last confession."

"Let us pray. Tell me your sins, child."

"Father, I confess to the sin of lust, and to adultery. I have -" Her voice catches.

"What have you done?"

"Sir I... I have long desired someone. I have prayed over this desire for many months, asking God to take it from me. And so far I had met God's test with strength. But I - last week, I went to him. I confessed my lust, my sin. And together we gave in."

"You allowed him to take you?"

"Yes. We took each other, Father."

A long silence. I sigh heavily, disappointed, pushing the silence into tight, twisted tension.

"This is a most grave sin, as I'm sure you're aware. Grave sins require serious penance."

Her breaths can be heard now. "Yes Father. I will accept anything you chose to give me."

"Tell me, when you committed your adultery, was there evidence left on your body?"

"Yes Father."

"For your penance, you are to pray a novena. For nice days, you will come to the church in the evenings and together we will pray for your forgiveness. Because you hid your sinful desire from God and the world, you must not be allowed to conceal anything further. You will pray your novena naked as Eve before the fall, and like her you shall become free of all sin."

I can practically taste her by now. Her breathing is hard, eyes wide enough that I can almost see them through the screen.

"Yes, I will. Thank you Father."

"Do you have any other obligations this evening?"

"Only you."

"Then we will begin tonight. Do you know your act of contrition?"

"Yes Father."

"Then let us pray."

And for the first time that day, I would pray in unison with a confessor, our voices layering and mixing.

"O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended You, and I detest all my sins because of Your just punishments, but most of all because they offend You, my God, who are all good and deserving of all my love. Amen. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen."

Another silence as the Spirit passes between us, the seal of the sacrament settling.

She gives a last shaky breath and stands from the wooden kneeler, not yet sore. The door of the confessional opens and closes, and I hear her deliberate steps towards the front of the church. I sit in the confessional for a while longer, praying, basking, knowing she is kneeling again.

After about 20 minutes, I stand and leave the confessional. The sight that greets me is sublime.

She is kneeling in the front right pew, just off the aisle. Her dress, something long and floral, is draped over the back of the pew. From the confessionals at the back of the church, I can only see the back of her head and shoulders. Visible on one shoulder is a vicious bite, a nasty circular bruise with a reddish patch in the center, just beginning to turn green at the edges. Her hair is twisted tightly into a clip at the back of her skull.

I walk slowly, deliberately up the aisle, wood heeled shoes echoing with each step. She does not move from her prostrated position, hands praying and head bowed. More of her back comes into view, and with it broken blood vessels from a flogging wrapping across her body. They extend all the way down her thighs, and I savor the sight as I stop to stand just next to her lowered head. Her eyes are closed.

Without saying anything, I'd kneel as if to genuflect and reach down behind her and stick two fingers in her wet, hot cunt. She's already soaked, wetness clinging to her public hair and beginning to dampen her thighs, as I know she has been since she left for confession.

She gasps, but her hands stay clasped and eyes stay closed.

"You know, penance is meant to be a punishment. You suffer, and through your suffering and the surrender of your pain to God, come to find redemption."

I twist my fingers, finding that electric spot that makes her weep, and now her eyes are open as she pants up at me.

"Please Father. Ah! I - please Father wash me clean of sin."

With my other hand I grab her hair and bring our faces together, air mingling.

"What am I to do with you? You confess, you complete your penance, you appear sincere and heartily sorry, and yet each week have more to confess. I'm beginning to think you're nothing but a dirty slut, a filthy thing only fit to be used for pleasure by your betters." I give her head a shake. "What do you think?"

"Yes sir, yes please I am a whore, I'm a lusting slut and I can't stop, please, please Father forgive me -"

I pull my fingers out and undo the clip already slipping from her hair to grab a better fistful of it, hauling her to her feet. The only things on her body are her shoes and a small scapular depicting St. Agnes of Rome around her neck. Patron saint of virgins. I love her sense of humor.

Holding her hair at waist level, she is forced to lean over and stumble as I drag her up the steps of the alter, to where the crucifix stands tall behind it. I push her to her knees in front of it.

"Stay. Look only at Him." I pointed to Jesus on the cross.

Obediently she sits, legs apart, staring up. I want to the vestibule, open a cabinet and remove a heavy wooden box. From it, I take two hanks of rope and a heavy scourge. I leave the steel cilice in the box for tonight.

Outside the vestibule she is still staring at the cross, having relaxed slightly.

"Stand."

She looks up at me and stands, mischievous smile brightening her face. I smile back, and with the hand not holding the rope and scourge, gently caress her cheek. She leans her face into my hand, and I kiss her gently, softly, slowly and deeply. She is so tender under my touch.

After a long while, I pull back. Her eyes flutter open, and watched as I draw my hand back and slap her, hard, across the same cheek I held. She nearly falls, but I grab her by the arm and quickly begin a simple single column tie.

"I did not tell you to look away from God." I reach up and tie the tail of the rope to an arm of the cross. "You will stare into the face of Our Lord as he was crucified and you will contemplate his suffering and death. I can only hope it will teach you some reverence." Her other wrist is now also tied to the cross and she stands in front of it, arms outstretched, mirroring and nearly embracing the bloody and tortured body of God.

"Thank you Father."

"Good girl." She whimpers.

Walking behind her, I begin to swing the scourge. She can hear it cutting through the air, and just once I bring it down with an almighty whack on the alter. I laugh cruelly as she jumps and gives a small scream.

I take a deep breath and smile at the ceiling, thanking God and Satan for delivering this lost lamb to me.

"Let us pray."

~ Fr. Marino

[tinyshe]

"Peace be with you!

"We hope that each novena we pray together is one more prayer that will bring you closer to Jesus and His comforting love. This next novena should do just that :)

"The next novena is The Novena to Mary, Undoer of Knots!

"Whenever we grow closer to Jesus' mother, our mother, we grow closer to Jesus -- because Mary always brings us to Jesus. 

"We will start praying on Saturday, April 27th and we'll finish the novena on May 6th.

"The month of May is actually dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, so it's a perfect time to ask for her intercession and to begin the month of May!

"As St. Francis de Sales wrote: "Let us run to Mary, and, as her little children, cast ourselves into her arms with a perfect confidence."

Don't forget to share!"

"You can ask your friends & family to sign up to pray this novena with us here:

[hats-off-to-hermes]

DEVOTIONAL ACTS - ARCHANGEL GABRIEL

Hey there friends! It's time for a post all about Gabriel. Read the others here: Archangel Michael, Archangel Uriel, Archangel Haniel, Archangel Jophiel, Archangel Zadkiel

Archangel Gabriel is the messenger of God and is generally noted as the messenger archangel. His name means "God is my strength". He helps people express themselves, speak the truth, communicate, and nurture and is associated with the throat energy center.

📜 If you need help accepting a message or lesson, you can rely on Gabriel

📜 If you're expecting to hear news, you can pray to Gabriel to deliver it safely and swiftly (you can also ask Raphael for this too)

📜 If you work in telecommunications or communications, Gabriel is a patron archangel of those areas! You can seek his guidance and presence during work for the best outcomes, healthy relations, and good work

📜 If you participate in Christian/Catholic prayers, you can pray the Angelus in dedication to Gabriel

📜 He embodies a lot of tarot energy, especially from The Fool, Judgement and The Lovers. Building devotional acts around these energies can be a great devotional act

📜 Meditating and praying to him so that you can speak your truth and develop boundaries through your verbal work

📜 If you need help understanding a message, you can ask for his guidance

📜 When you need to write something you find difficult to write, ask for Gabriel's guidance to communicate the best you can

📜 If you're a writer, Gabriel can assist in granting divine inspiration

📜 Even as a creative, you can ask for his assistance

📜 He can help small or young children with learning communication

📜 If you would like to learn a language or are learning a language, Gabriel is an angel to help with that

📜 His communications skills can enable us to tap into intuition and receive messages from beings, spirits, deities, god, source, the universe etc

📜 Journalling is one of the best methods to connect with Gabriel

📜 Light a candle for Archangel Gabriel

📜 Pray a novena to Gabriel

Do you have any more suggestions for this awesome angel? Let me know!

[hwspirilovebot]

I believe this has to be asked at some point, what is Antonio and Piri's relationship like?

Our internalized racism (thanking Spain for uniting the ethnolinguistic groups to form the PH, Islamophobia and prejudice against Indigenous people, desiring Western validation too much, viewing ourselves as not Southeast Asian enough due to Catholicism overpowering Hindu-Buddhism, etc.) toxic machismo (patriarchy and all its consequences and misogyny and the huge support for authoritarian politicians), hypocrisy (of the Church and everything else), and a lot more can trace its roots from the Spanish colonization of the Philippines

But for Spain, era solo otro día.

The Philippines was not Spain's most profitable colony, and there are even instances of people saying it's a waste of money. Credit goes to @sweaty-clouds for these excerpts:

With the constant typhoons that damage crops and the lack of spices which Indonesia is blessed with (to be fair, Mindanao had cinnamon but Spain failed to conquer most of it.), the Philippines was better off as a trading hub for Chinese goods bound for Acapulco and Europe. Ultimately, it was the missionaries that insisted on keeping the country (that's another can of worms), and in terms of foreign policy, and the Spanish empire needs to have a hold in Asia.

I can imagine Antonio comparing Piri constantly with his peers and being disappointed but still keeping him for Christianity's sake. He rarely visits him and leaves all the work to Mexico (Nueva España, then) until Mexico became independent and Suez Canal was opened which made travelling from Sp to Ph became faster.

Piri would ask how come his neighbors are productive and Antonio would blame him for being lazy rather than Spain's late industrialization and dependence on the mining of silver and gold in exchange for Chinese goods.

Jose Rizal criticized this Spanish style mercantilism: While we see all the walls of London covered with advertisements of the products of its colonies, while the English make heroic efforts to substitute Ceylon tea for Chinese tea, they themselves begin with the sacrifice of their taste and their stomach; in Spain, with the exception of tobacco, nothing from the Philippines is known: neither its sugar nor coffee, hemp nor fine cloths, nor its Ilocano blankets . . . . The most commercial and most industrious countries have been the freest countries: France, England and the United States prove this. Hongkong, which is not [equal to] the most insignificant [island] of the Philippines, has more commercial movement than all the islands together, because it is free and is well-governed.

But I am in no way an Anglo-Saxon apologist. They are fcked up too. This has to be pointed out because there were instances in PH history where some Filipinos would rather be a British colony in the belief that the success of Hongkong and Singapore can be imitated!

The PH economy did become less restrictive when Spain lost its colonies in the Americas (deserve!). Many were afforded the right to study in Europe, hence, the ilustrados and enlightened thinkers like Jose Rizal, Marcelo del Pilar, etc. With enlightenment, comes the desire to be independent.

So, Antonio tries to be . . . more amiable with Piri. Piri appreciates it since he wants his respect but he wants equal status (as he should), equal rights, and often criticizes the church. Little Piri wanted to be the favourite and would often pray the rosary and the novena, hoping it would make him the apple of Antonio's eyes, but teenage Piri ain't taking any shit anymore because if God exists, they would favor David and not Goliath.

Then there's the Spanish-American war.

Now I heard Spain was more sentimental about losing Cuba (whether it's real life or Hetalia canon). There's the Generation '98, but it was never about Piri alone. It was about the fallen empire. Their relationship remains strained throughout the 20th century, especially when some upperclass Mestizo families in the Philippines supported Franco and were leaning towards the Axis powers, but the Philippines was trying to take in more Jewish refugees. Learning the Spanish language was also no longer required, and more attention was given to learning English since there's more job opportunities (and also, Hollywood).

Perhaps in the recent decade, Piri and Antonio are more cordial and diplomatic for the sake of trade relations and business. The Arroyo administration was active in that regard. Filipinos, nowadays, would joke about fighting Spaniards and while we do acknowledge the lingering colonial mentality and how fcked up colonialism is, we're not hostile to Spaniards. There's also this anecdote from a former teacher and her interaction with a Spaniard who said something along the lines of, "I learned about what Spain did to the Philippines, and I'm sorry. But it was the Castillans who did it! Not me, I'm from Catalonia."

But since Piri (and Filipinos) is canonically sassy, he would have visited Antonio in the midst of his financial crisis and asked, "Can I get a discount in Zara as colonial reparations?"

[liddleglitterygirl]

The priest had raised her like his own, Father in more ways than one. He had taught her how to be pure and perfect, a servant of the Lord -- and her own nature was kind to the point of pliant, faith her unshaken pillar. There is one place that she feels most comfortable, and it is knelt before her Father and the Lord on cool marble tile -- occasionally, even, head bent to press to the ground. Prostate.

It is here, knelt before the monstrance, lit by candles and shining with bliss, that her Father finds her. Her hair shines in the low light, her heart pounding in spiritual ecstasy, but all he can see is the fact that her dress clings to her in ways he hadn't noticed before. He takes a moment to adjust his trousers before a soft "ahem." It doesn't even register, for her -- she's too deep in prayer. It takes him pressing a hand to the back of her head, trailing through the hair he's braided and brushed, cursing himself for the moment of weakness, before she comes back to earth with the rest of the mortals.

When she looks up at him, eyes beatific, a vision flashes through his mind, plain as day, of her looking up at him like that with his cock easing into her mouth. He clears his throat. "It's time for bed, darling." She nods. "I need a moment."

"Of course."

She finishes her prayers, lilting Latin murmured as she presses her head back to the ground. He helps her back to the ground, leads her back to the rectory. He helps her braid her hair while they pray their nightly novena. And once she's settled in bed, he fists his cock, face pressed into his desk in an imitation of her, burning with guilt and lust and when he comes, spilling over his hand, her name is on his lips, her breasts through the thin floral fabric all he can imagine, he feels the flames of hell licking at his heels.

He prays for another hour, clear through Matins all the way to Lauds. His cock aches the entire time.

[ditchdwellersupreme]

The Anvil Novena

(The Sigil Of TARTAROUKHOS)

There is folklore that says if an anvil were to fall into the pit, it would take nine (9) days before it reached the bottom of Tartarus. Naturally, I wanted to adapt that into a Novena working.

Novenas, for anyone unfamiliar, are nine (9) day prayers said to achieve some goal or effect. Typically, they are said in-tandem with candles lit to Saints, Angels, Mary, or the Trinity. However, there are also plenty made for specific "conditions" (love, luck, money, cursing, you name it!), as well as for non-Christian spirits, notably African and Latine spirits. They have even broken into neopagan spaces, with people creating devotional Novena Candles for their deities.

I grew up with novenas, being raised Catholic with a Mexican parent, and I still incorporate them, as I feel they are honestly a wonderful way to work with spirits. When I read about this bit of folklore, I decided to approach Hekate about it.

She gave me the following working:

Prepare a black candle made to last 9 days. Place it into [a bowl of] spring water, and cense it with chthonic herbs of your choice [(myrrh when in doubt)]. A petition may be placed in the water, written on the candle, or in any other way that you like. You must place under the bowl the sigil of TARTAROUKHOS (see above) With this sigil, it is best if it is made in some sacred fashion, and blessed by the witch. Once ready, place the bowl in an appropriate place and pray: TARTAROUKHOS TARTAROUKHOS TARTAROUKHOS O Anvil of Heaven Where ARES’ sword is forged O Anvil of Heaven Who’s steel smashes bone O Anvil of Heaven HEPHAESTUS’ sacred friend Fall, fall, fall for me Far, far, far for me Into the black pit you bear my prayer Crushing all who stand in your way Into the black pit fall O Anvil of Heaven Fall for me, fall for Hekate [Petition] AMEN Pray [this] daily for 9 days and your petition will be granted.

There was some caution going into this: Namely, be careful what you wish for, and who you are wishing to. These spirits aren't necessarily kindly or friendly to people. Being more primordial as well, they aren't very delicate in their approach. Caution is advised with this working, given its power and potential effects.

If anyone here does attempt it, please feel free to share your results here! Reblog or comment to let me know how it went!

[theownerofsich]

The Miraculous Staircase in the Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is one of the most famous architectural wonders

The Loretto Chapel was built in 1873 for the Roman Catholic Sisters of Loretto. The architectural style of the building is a smaller version of the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris

After the construction was completed, it was discovered that the builders had not planned for a staircase to the choir loft, which was located on the second floor. Conventional staircases could not be installed due to limited space.

Miracle of the Staircase

Mysterious Carpenter: According to legend, the Sisters of Loretto prayed a novena to St. Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters. On the ninth day, a stranger appeared with a donkey and a toolbox and offered to build the staircase.

Construction: The carpenter worked in solitude and built a magnificent spiral staircase without a central support, using only simple tools and wooden pegs instead of nails.

Disappearance: After completing the staircase, the carpenter vanished without a trace. No one knew who he was, and the Sisters believed it was St. Joseph himself.

The staircase makes two complete 360-degree turns and has no central support, making it a true engineering marvel.The type of wood used in the staircase was not identified as being native to the region at the time, adding more mystery.The construction did not use a single nail, which was highly unusual for that period.

Many people consider the staircase a miracle due to its unique design and the mysterious circumstances of its construction