June 19, 2017: ST. JULIANA FALCONIERI

June 19, 2017: ST. JULIANA FALCONIERI, VIRGIN

Rank: Double.

Thou lovedst righteousness, and hatedest inquity; therefore God, thy God hath anointed thee with an oil of gladness in a more excellent manner than thy companions.

Prayer (Collect).
O God, who didst vouchsafe to refresh, after a wonderful manner, blessed Juliana, thy Virgin, in her last moments, with the precious body of thy Son: grant, we beseech thee, through her merits and intercession, that we also may, in our last conflict, be so refreshed and strengthened with the same, as to be brought to our heavenly country. Thro’ the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

HYMN.
Whilst thou dost, Juliana, claim
The nuptials of the heavenly lamb,
Thou dost thy Father’s house forsake,
And care of Virgins undertake.

And whilst with deepest sorrows pierced,
Nor day, nor night thy groans e’er ceas’d,
For thy dear spouse nail’d on a tree,
His sacred image was in thee.

And wounded sevenfold, thou dost weep,
And at God’s mother’s feet dost keep:
Whilst tears thy ardent love proclaim,
Thy tender heart is on a flame.

And hence when painful death drew near,
God took of thee unusual care;
His sacred body he bestows,
And puts an end to all thy woes.

To God the Father and the Son
And Holy Spirit, Three in One,
Be endless Glory, as before,
The world began, so evermore. Amen.

Example - St. Juliana Falconieri
The following was extracted from: "The Fairest Flower of Paradise; Considerations on the Litany of the Blessed Virgin, Enriched with Examples Drawn from the Lives of the Saints", by Fr. Alexis M. Lepicier O.S.M., p. 68-70, 1922, Imprimatur

One of those souls who applied themselves especially to imitate the spotless purity of the Mother of God, was without doubt the illustrious Foundress of the Mantellate Sisters of the Servants of Mary, St. Juliana, a descendant of the powerful Falconieri family of Florence, born in the second half of the thirteenth century.

During her childhood, her whole personality breathed forth such candor and modesty, that her uncle St. Alexis, one of the Seven Holy Founders of the Order of the Servants of Mary, used to say to her mother that she had given birth to an angel rather than to a child. So great was her horror of sin, that at its bare mention she trembled from head to foot, and one day when she heard tell of some offense against God, she fell down in a swoon.

When only fourteen, she made a vow of perpetual virginity before the miraculous picture of the Santissima Annunziata in Florence. In order to keep herself always pure and spotless, she afflicted her body with disciplines and hairshirts, so much so, that these latter became embedded in her flesh. Such virtues could not but arouse the hatred of the infernal enemy, who attacked her with all manner of fierce temptations, but the holy servant of Mary used to repeat: "My Jesus, cast me into hell, but do not permit me to offend Thee!"

So great was the sanctity of Juliana, that, as we read in the Bull of her Canonization, she did not commit any deliberate venial sin throughout her whole life. The secret of such holiness is to be found in her ardent devotion to the sorrows of Mary. Every day she recited a thousand Hail Marys before Our Lady's altar. From this devotion there grew in her heart a deep love for Jesus Crucified. She was wont to exclaim: "Let no one ever take away from me my Loved One Crucified."

No doubt it was owing to this great devotion, that Juliana merited the singular grace which crowned her life. In her last extremity, she desired to receive Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, but not being able to do this on account of an excessive weakness caused by fasting, she begged the priest at least to place the Sacred Host on a linen cloth over her heart. Her wish was complied with, and lo! as soon as the Sacred Host was placed near to that furnace of divine love, It disappeared and Juliana gave up her soul into the hands of her Lord, exclaiming: "O my Jesus!" This remarkable death took place on the nineteenth of June, 1341.

Prayer
O Mary, Mother of Our Redeemer, Immaculate Virgin, temple of God, and sanctuary of the Holy Ghost, thou art the sole creature who in such a manner wast pleasing to Jesus Christ, that He associated thee in the work of our ransom. Grant me, I beseech thee, to flee sin, and never to seek anything but the good pleasure of God. Amen.

An indulgenced prayer to St. Juliana Falconieri.

O faithful Spouse of Jesus Christ and most humble Servant of the Sorrowful Virgin, glorious S. Juliana, when nearing the term of a life all spent in the practice of the most heroic virtues, you felt but the one grief of being prevented by sickness from receiving in viaticum your Beloved; but this grief proved to be so pleasing to your heavenly Spouse Jesus Christ that he deigned himself to reward it by an extraordinary prodigy, when, behold, at your supplications, the Divine Sacrament having been placed on your virginal breast, it instantly penetrated the same, leaving the image of the Crucified visibly impressed thereon, whilst your soul, with a sweet smile, expired in his sacred embrace. O great Saint, and my special Patroness, obtain for us from God, we pray, the grace to live a holy life like to yours, that we may die a holy death; and in particular that, prepared for this last voyage, provided with the Holy Sacrament, and strengthened with God’s grace, I may deserve a holy demise and escape eternal death.

His Holiness, Leo XIII, by a rescript of the S. Congr. of Indulgences, dated July 20, 1889, granted to the faithful who shall say the above prayer AN INDULGENCE OF TWO HUNDRED DAYS, once a day.

Taken from: The Divine Office for the use of the Laity, Volume II, 1806; and
http://www.tcwblog.com/182861438/2854376/posting/

Pray for us Oh St. Juliana Falconieri;
that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ!