A little girl asked her Mum, "How did the human race appear?"
The Mum answered, "God made Adam and Eve and they had children, and so was all mankind made..."
Two days later the girl asked her Dad the same question.
The Dad answered, "Many years ago there were monkeys from which the human race evolved."
The confused girl returned to her mother and said, "Mum, how is it possible that you told me the human race was created by God, and Dad said they developed from monkeys?"
The mother answered, "Well, Dear, it's very simple. I told you about my side of the family and your father told you about his.."
Infant Jesus of Prague, located in the Church of Our Lady Victorious in Malá Strana, Prague, Czech Republic
Patron Saint for financial difficulties, patron saint for money problems, patron saint for wealth
Devotion to the Child Jesus under the title "Infant Jesus of Prague" is over three and a half centuries old. The devotion originated in Spain, spread to what is now Czechoslovakia, and from there to all parts of the globe. Replicas of the original statue dressed in royal priestly vestments are to be found in thousands of churches and private homes. In the United States, there is a national shrine in honor of the Christ Child under this title in Prague, Oklahoma.
In 1556, Maria Manriquez de Lara brought a precious family heirloom, a statue of the child Jesus, with her to Bohemia when she married the Czech nobleman Vratislav of Pernstyn. The statue of the child is eighteen inches tall, carved of wood, and thinly coated with wax. The left foot is barely visible under a long white tunic. The statue stands on a broad pedestal, and there is a waist-high silver case which holds it upright. The left hand holds a miniature globe surmounted by a cross, signifying the worldwide kingship of Christ. The right hand is extended in blessing in a form usually used by the Supreme Pontiff; the first two fingers are upraised to symbolize the two natures in Christ, while the folded thumb and last two fingers touch each other to represent the mystery of the Holy Trinity.
Since 1788, there have been two jeweled rings on the fingers of the statue. These were gifts of a noble family in thanks for the miraculous cure of their daughter. The head of the image has a wig of blond human hair. Old carvings and pictures indicate that at one time the wig may have been white. In 1655, the statue was solemnly crowned in a special coronation ceremony. The crown was presented by the supreme burgrave of the Czech kingdom. The original garments worn by the statue when it arrived in Bohemia are still preserved. Since the great cholera epidemic of 1713, however, the garments of the statue have been changed with the liturgical season. The wardrobe of the Infant of Prague resembles liturgical vestments.
There are a number of sets of vestments belonging to the statue which are of artistic and historic importance, including sets presented in thanksgiving by Empress Maria Theresa and Emperor Ferdinand. Today, the nuns from St. Joseph's Church in the Mala Strana quarter of Prague enjoy the privilege of clothing the Infant in keeping with the ancient custom. At the time the change of vestments is made, numerous devotional objects such as medals, pictures and rosaries are touched to the statue to be distributed to all parts of the world.
Princess Polyxena Lobkowitz inherited the statue of the infant from her mother. She had a great devotion to it, honoring it highly in her own home. On the death of her husband in 1623, she determined to spend the rest of her life in works of charity and piety. She was particularly generous to the Discalced Carmelites of Prague. Their monastery had been founded by Emperor Ferdinand II. After the emperor moved to Vienna, the monastery, having lost its wealthy founder and patron, fell on hard times, often not even having enough to eat. (At that time, cloistered monasteries depended heavily on donations for their daily needs.)
In 1628, Princess Polyxena presented her beloved statue to the friars, telling them, prophetically, that as long as they honored the Child Jesus as king, venerating His image, they would not want. Her prediction was verified, and as long as the Divine Infant's image was honored the community prospered, spiritually and temporally. However, when the devotions relaxed, it seemed as if God's blessing departed from the house.
The statue was set up in the oratory of the monastery, and twice daily special devotions were performed before it. The novices were particularly devoted to the Holy Infant. One of them, Cyrillus of the Mother of God, was suffering interior trials. After prayers to the Child Jesus, he found a sudden relief from his worries and became the greatest apostle of the Holy image.
During the Thirty Years' War, the novitiate was moved to Munich, Germany in 1630. In 1631, King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, an inveterate foe of Catholicism, invaded, and many inhabitants of Prague fled, including all of the Carmelites except two who remained to protect the monastery. The enemy took possession of the monastery in November of 1631, and the house was plundered. The image of the Infant was thrown in a heap of rubbish behind the high altar, where it lay forgotten for seven years.
In 1637, Father Cyrillus returned to Prague. The monastery had suffered many reverses in recent years, and the city was again overrun with hostile troops. The prior of the community called the monks together to offer prayers. Father Cyrillus remembered the favors formerly received through the intercession of the Infant, and he asked permission to search the monastery in hopes that the statue might have been left behind when the monastery was plundered. At last the statue was found, and Father Cyrillus placed the dusty little image on an altar in the oratory, where the long-forgotten devotions were renewed with vigor.
One day, after the other monks had left the oratory, Father Cyrillus remained kneeling in front of the statue for hours, meditating on the divine goodness. In a mystical ecstasy, he heard the statue speak these words: "Have pity on me, and I will have pity on you. Give me my hands, and I will give you peace. The more you honor me, the more I will bless you!" Startled, the priest looked and noticed for the first time that the statues hands had been broken off. He went immediately to the prior to beg him to have the statue restored. The prior, not having the same devotion or understanding as Father Cyrillus, excused himself by saying that the monastery was too poor.
Shortly thereafter, a wealthy and pious man came to Prague and fell ill. Father Cyrillus was called to the dying man, who offered financial help to repair the statue. The prior, however, used the donated money to buy an entirely new statue instead of having the old one repaired. On its very first day, the new statue was shattered by a falling candlestick. To Father Cyrillus, this was an indication that the wishes of the Infant must be fulfilled literally.
The sorrowing priest took the damaged statue to his cell, where he prayed through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin for the money to repair the statue. No sooner had he finished his prayer than he was called to the church, where he found a noble lady waiting for him. She handed him a considerable amount of money and then disappeared.
Happily, Father Cyrillus took the money to the prior and again requested the repair of the statue. At last, the prior agreed, provided the repairs did not exceed a certain amount. Unfortunately, the estimates were too high, so again the statue was not repaired. Interiorly, the priest heard a voice telling him to place the statue at the entrance of the sacristy. He did so, and soon a stranger came and noticed the broken hands of the statue. The stranger offered to have the statue repaired at his own expense, an offer that was joyously accepted.
At last the repaired statue was placed in the church. A pestilence was raging in Prague at the time, and the prior himself nearly died. He vowed to spread the devotion of the Infant if he were cured. Shortly thereafter, he ordered a general devotion to the Infant, in which all the friars took part. At last the Infant had won the hearts of the Carmel of Prague and become a cornerstone of their devotion.
In 1641, a generous benefactress donated money to the monastery for the erection of an altar to the Blessed Trinity with a magnificently gilded tabernacle as the resting place for the miraculous statue, which was then exposed for public veneration In 1642, a baroness financed the erection of a handsome chapel for the Infant which was blessed in 1644 on the feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, which has remained the principal feast day of the miraculous Infant ever since. In 1648, the Archbishop of Prague gave the first ecclesiastical approval of the devotion when he consecrated the chapel and gave permission to priests to say Mass at the chapel altar. In 1651 the Carmelite general made a canonical visitation to the monastery to examine matters regarding the devotion. The statue was solemnly crowned in 1655.
In 1741, the statue was moved to its final magnificent shrine on the epistle side off the church of Our Lady of Victory. It became one of the most famous ,and popular shrines in the world. In 1739 the Carmelites of the Austrian Province made the spread of the devotion a part of their apostolate. The popularity of the little King of Prague spread to other countries in the eighteenth century. Pope Leo XIII confirmed the Sodality of the Infant of Prague in 1896 and granted many indulgences to the devotion. Pope St. Pius X unified an organizing membership into a confraternity under the guidance of the Carmelites which increased the spread of the devotion in our own century. Church authorities have canonically established a U.S. national shrine to the Infant Jesus of Prague at Prague, Oklahoma.
There are many reported testimonies of the favours granted by the Infant Jesus of Prague to devotees' in solving particularly their financial difficulties.
Through the years, the Gracious Infant Jesus (as it has come to be called) has been showered by gifts fit for a royal King. Emperors, kings, queens, and the nobility have knelt before the statue and bequeathed it with gems, royal vestments, a crown, and even portions of their estate. The rich vestments of the Infant Jesus of Prague number almost 60 pieces, including one given by the famous Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. With the miracles and favors associated with it, the Prague icon became famous throughout Europe. Its history is well-documented especially with the book by P. Emerich a S. Stephano published in the early 18th century in German and in Czech.
Today, in the Church of the Virgin Mary Victorious in Prague, you can find a fairly big money box placed in front of the Infant Jesus. It is always full of money. Some people put the money in to ensure that their wishes spoken out in front of the Infant Jesus will come true, others see it as
a donation. Few know that giving presents to the Infant Jesus of Prague has a long tradition.
It was mostly wealthy pilgrims, who always brought expensive presents to the Infant Jesus of Prague. First it used to be primarily large sums of money for the adjacent Carmelite monastery, later distinguished visitors started to bring presents directly to the little statue. These were mostly ostentatious clothes and little crowns.
In the Philippines, the Infant Jesus of Prague is venerated till today as the Santo Niño. Devotion started hundreds of years ago when the the Santo Nino was given to the Queen of Cebu as a gift by legendary Portuguese explorer, Magellan.
A novena to the Infant Jesus of Prague is to be said at the same time every hour for 9 consecutive hours in just one day:
Prayer
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
O Jesus, Who hast said, ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you, through the intercession of Mary, Thy Most Holy Mother, I knock, I seek, I ask that my prayer be granted.
(Make your request)
O Jesus, Who hast said, all that you ask of the Father in My Name, He will grant you. Through the intercession of Mary, Thy most Holy Mother, I humbly and urgently ask Thy Father in Thy Name that my prayer be granted.
(Make your request)
O Jesus, Who hast said, "Heaven and earth shall pass away but My word shall not pass", through the intercession of Mary, Thy Most Holy Mother, I feel confident that my prayer will be granted.
Millions of people around the world have given testimonies of the favours they have received from the Infant Jesus Of Prague. Pray in confidence to the infant Jesus.
Read testimonials of prayers answered here, here, here and here. You'd be able to find many more testimonies attributed to the Infant Jesus Of Prague, online.
I read from the forums that apparently Fr. Benedict Groeschel once said that the Mormons are the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints; Catholics are the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Sinners.
In fourth chapter of Mark’s Gospel which we are reading at daily Mass this week we find the following saying of the Lord:
To the one who has, more will be given; from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. (Mk 4:25 )
The Rich get Richer? Now to one who reads such a text from a merely worldly perspective it might seem the Lord is saying in some fatalistic sense that the rich get richer and the poor just get poorer. But such a reading of this text would be incorrect since it fails to understand that the Lord Jesus is speaking of the Kingdom of God and not the kingdom of this world. Indeed, the fuller context of Chapter 4 is the memorable parable about the seed of the word that falls on either on the path, on rocky ground, among the thorns, or into good soil. Not only does the Lord give this parable, but goes on to explain the parable at considerable length. So the context of this saying is not the world but the Kingdom of God.
Thus, when the Lord speaks of those who have “more” he does not mean material possessions and the wealth of this passing world. Rather, those who have more are those who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold, sixtyfold and a hundredfold (Mk 4:20).
Thus, the one who has more is the one who has the Kingdom of God, who has faith, who, by faith, has the Lord and the justice of the Lord, and who stands to inherit all of heaven. He or she is the one who has more.
Note too how the “more” keeps building. To have faith is to have the Lord, and to have the Lord is have saving grace and mercy. And to have saving grace and mercy is to grow in holiness and experience greater and greater healing. And to experience this transformation and share in God’s holiness is to be made ready for heaven. And to be made ready for heaven is to one day have heaven, and to be with God for ever. Thus to have more and to accept its power is to have more and more and more, until we are spiritually rich in the kingdom. Yes, those who have the Kingdom are the ones who are rich! They may not have the fancy house, with the big car, big salary, big ego and big hair. But they are rich in the only way that really matters or lasts; they are rich in the Kingdom.
So, who are those who have not? They are those who have rejected the Kingdom of God, the Word of God, the grace and mercy of God. They “have not” the Kingdom. And they do not have it not because it hasn’t been offered but because they have rejected it. These are the ones who are truly poor, who are destitute, who “have not.”
But notice that the text does say they do have something, for the text says, even what he has will be taken away. Now this means he or she has something, but it will not be theirs for long. For what they have is the world and its vain, passing riches. It is theirs now, but like sand slipping through their fingers, it ebbs away and will some be gone. It cannot last no matter how large the fortune is that is amassed.
Consider carefully what the Lord says here. The world’s riches cannot last. Further, they are all but nothing compared to the riches of the Kingdom of heaven. The ones who have the kingdom are those who have and will get more. The ones who have this world, by comparison, have nothing at all, and the little they do have will be taken from them.
Think of a multibillionaire, a captain of industry with numerous homes, corporate jets, luxury yachts, even private islands. He may have amassed a fortune on this planet and own more real estate than even certain governments!
But really, what he has is ultimately so little! If you were to go out into space, not even all that far, and look back you couldn’t even see the earth. Our billionaire may have amassed a fortune, but it is only a portion of a speck of space dust, for the earth is but speck of dust compared to immensity of the things God has made.
Do you get the point? We get real impressed about what is really very little in the end. And our billionaire has this wealth for only a very brief nanosecond of cosmic time. When his little moment is up, even the little he has is taken from him.
There is only one way to be truly rich and that is to receive the gift of God and his Kingdom. Only this will last. Only in coming to possess this do we really have something that amounts to anything. Only this will grow until we are rich. Only those who have the kingdom are rich in any sense of the word. All others really have what amounts to only very little, and what little they have, if it is of the world, will be taken from them.
This song says: Only what you do for Christ will last. Some of the verses say,
You may build great cathedrals large or small, you can build skyscrapers grand and tall, but only what you do for Christ will last…. You may seek earthly power and fame, the world might be impressed by your great name, soon the glories of this life will all be past, but only what you do for Christ will last. Remember only what You do for Christ will last. Only what you do for Him will be counted at the end; only what you do for Christ will last.
A little girl asked her Mum, "How did the human race appear?"
