St. Longinus

Recovery Resources, Inc.

 

Addiction Recovery Resources & Religious Counseling at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church.

Learn to develop skills in dealing with addictions from St. Longinus Recovery Resources Inc. in Houston, Texas.
When you feel controlled by your addiction, the search for answers may feel hopeless and impossible. Rely on God's love and strength to develop the skills you need to achieve sobriety through participation with our Small Group meetings.

In the St. Joseph's Freedom Group small group meeting you can discuss your problems in an atmosphere of confidentiality and mutual compassion. Men from all religious backgrounds are welcome to participate in our weekly sessions, as long as you are comfortable with Catholic beliefs and practices.

There is no magic pill or one answer to battling addiction. St. Longinus Recovery Resources and all organizations under us use the teachings of the Catholic Church in the Catechism and other texts addressing Sexual Addictions and Chemical Addictions.

Gain comfort through the sacred rituals of the Catholic Church. We regularly use the Sacrament of Penance, sit in Adoration, and pray using the prayers of the Rosary in our meetings, as well as prayers and novenas to St. Joseph, the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Michael, and St. Longinus.

There are no dues or fees for membership, as we are self-supporting through our own contributions and the charity of others. The only requirement for membership is a desire to obey God's laws to stop your destructive behaviors.

 

Take the first step on the road to healing addiction when you contact us.

St. Longinus Recovery Resources, Inc.

 

 

Cautions Against Masking Indifference as Respect for 'Privacy'

 

VATICAN CITY, FEB. 7, 2012 (Zenit.org).- everyone is weak and imperfect

 

"we must not remain silent before evil."

 

"In a world pervaded by individualism, it is essential to rediscover the importance of fraternal correction, so that together we may journey towards holiness,"

 

He reflected on three elements of Christian life: concern for others, reciprocity (the idea that both individual's sin and his good works affect the whole of the community, and he is likewise affected by the rest) and personal holiness.

 

We are very sensitive to the idea of charity and caring about the physical and material well-being of others, but almost completely silent about our spiritual responsibility towards our brothers and sisters. [...]

 

"The Scriptures tell us: 'Rebuke the wise and he will love you for it.' [...] Christ himself commands us to admonish a brother who is committing a sin."

 

"It is important to recover this dimension of Christian charity," Benedict XVI exhorted. "We must not remain silent before evil. I am thinking of all those Christians who, out of human regard or purely personal convenience, adapt to the prevailing mentality, rather than warning their brothers and sisters against ways of thinking and acting that are contrary to the truth and that do not follow the path of goodness. Christian admonishment, for its part, is never motivated by a spirit of accusation or recrimination. It is always moved by love and mercy, and springs from genuine concern for the good of the other. [...]

 

"In a world pervaded by individualism, it is essential to rediscover the importance of fraternal correction, so that together we may journey towards holiness. Scripture tells us that even 'the upright falls seven times' (Prov 24:16); all of us are weak and imperfect (cf. 1 Jn 1:8). It is a great service, then, to help others and allow them to help us, so that we can be open to the whole truth about ourselves, improve our lives and walk more uprightly in the Lord's ways. There will always be a need for a gaze which loves and admonishes, which knows and understands, which discerns and forgives (cf. Lk 22:61), as God has done and continues to do with each of us."

 

"The Lord's disciples, united with him through the Eucharist, live in a fellowship that binds them one to another as members of a single body. This means that the other is part of me, and that his or her life, his or her salvation, concern my own life and salvation. Here we touch upon a profound aspect of communion: our existence is related to that of others, for better or for worse. Both our sins and our acts of love have a social dimension."

And regarding the last point, the Holy Father recalled that there is always "the temptation to become lukewarm, to quench the Spirit, to refuse to invest the talents we have received, for our own good and for the good of others."

 

"The spiritual masters remind us that in the life of faith those who do not advance inevitably regress," he reflected. "Dear brothers and sisters, let us accept the invitation, today as timely as ever, to aim for the 'high standard of ordinary Christian living.'"

 

"In a world which demands of Christians a renewed witness of love and fidelity to the Lord, may all of us feel the urgent need to anticipate one another in charity, service and good works."

 

Catholic Practices, Postures and Gestures

 

Bow of the head

How: Simply lower your chin toward your throat and hold a moment

When:

• When you pass by a Church, bow your head and make the Sign of the Cross to honor the Real Presence of Christ in the tabernacle.
• Any time you hear the Name "Jesus" (note that "Christ" is His title, meaning "Annointed One"; there is no need to bow the head at just the mention of the word "Christ"). Men should remove their hats and bow their heads when passing a church or when His Name is spoken; this practice is for both inside and outside of Mass. All Catholics bow their heads at these times (yes, if you're having a casual conversation with someone on the subway and you pass a church or mention His Name, you actually are supposed to bow your head, removing your hat if you are a man). ¹
• Cross yourself and bow the head when the priest and the Crucifer walk down the aisle before and after Mass. After Mass, as the priest leaves the Altar, it is also customary to pray for him. (Some make a profound bow instead at these times)

Not commonly known and practiced: any time you hear "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit mentioned together; any time you hear the name of Mary; and, during Mass, when the name of the Saint in whose honor the Mass is being celebrated

 

Striking of the Breast

How: With either a fist or with the tips of the fingers, held close together, strike your chest over the heart to express regret and sorrow ²

When:

·          at the Mass, formally: at each "mea culpa" during the Confiteor; at the Nobis Quoque Peccatoribus (priest); three times during the Agnus Dei; and three times during the Domine, Non Sum Dignus

·          informally: at the "forgive us our trespasses" ("dimitte nobis debita nostra") in the "Our Father"; any time to express penitence or remorse inside or outside of the Liturgy

 

Bow at the waist (or "profound bow")

How: Bow at the waist in the manner of the Japanese (about 30^o forward)

When:

• at the Aspérges at Mass when the priest sprinkles the congregation with holy water
• when the Altar boy incenses the congregation during the Mass
• Cross yourself and make a profound bow when the priest and Crucifer walk down the aisle before and after Mass. After Mass, as the priest leaves the Altar, it is also customary to pray for him. (Some simply bow the head instead of making a profound bow at these times)

·          when greeting a hierarch who doesn't have jurisdiction over you (e.g., the Bishop of a diocese other than one in which you live). As you bow, kiss the hierarch's ring. This bow and ring-kissing are only done if the Pope is not present.

 

Genuflection on Left Knee

How: Kneel on your left knee for a moment, bringing the left knee all the way to the floor and keeping the back straight. Hold for a moment, then stand. (The word is pronounced "jen-you-flek'-shun")

When: When greeting or leaving the Pope or other hierarchs with the rank of Bishop or above and who have jurisdiction over you (only when the Pope is not present) -- e.g., to the Bishop or Archbishop of your diocese, not of a neighboring diocese. During the left-knee genuflection, a kiss is given to the hierarch's ring. Then stand.

 

Genuflection on Right Knee

How: Looking at what you are genuflecting toward, kneel on your right knee for a moment in the manner of a man proposing to a woman, bringing the right knee all the way to the floor, close to the heel of the left foot, keeping the back and neck erect. Hold for a moment, then stand.

When:

• Genuflect toward the Tabernacle where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved, and each time you pass in front of it (except when you're in procession, such as standing in line for Communion, or returning to your seat afterward). While this should, on one level, be a matter of habit, it shouldn't be done thoughtlessly. Remind yourself when genuflecting toward the Tabernacle that you are kneeling before God. Praying mentally, "My Lord and My God" is a good habit to get into while genuflecting on the right knee. If the Tabernacle is not on the Altar, genuflect toward the Altar and the Altar Crucifix.
• Before a relic of the True Cross when it is exposed for public adoration.

·          On Good Friday to Holy Saturday, after the ceremony of the Adoration of the Cross, genuflect when passing in front of the exposed Crucifix on the Altar.

 

Kneeling (Double Genuflection)

How: Kneel on both knees

When:

• any time the Blessed Sacrament is exposed, to show adoration and humility
• many times during the Mass: during the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, after the Sanctus, after the Agnus Dei, at the altar rail, and at the Last Blessing
• during Confession, inside or, in emergencies, outside of the Confessional
• when receiving a priestly blessing, inside or outside of the Liturgy. If you are unable for some reason to kneel, then bow your head.

·          during private prayer (see St. Dominic's "Fourth Way"" of prayer)

 

Prostration

How: Keeping your legs together, drop to your knees and then lie down flat on the floor on your face, crossing your hands underneath your forehead forming a "pillow" on which to rest your forehead 

When: Prostrations, which signify total humility and penance, are made during the Rite of Ordination, during rites of religious profession (i.e., entry into religious orders), as penance in religious orders, and by anyone during private prayer before a Crucifix or the Blessed Sacrament. It is also occasionally made by adults, at the priest's invitation, before the Profession of Faith in the solemn Rite of Baptism.

 

Kisses

How: To paraphrase Lauren Bacall in "To Have and Have Not," you know how to kiss, don't you? You just put your lips together... but don't blow.

When:

• Kissing Crucifixes and Icons (2-D or 3-D): In icons that depict more than one person, kiss first Our Lord (His Feet, Hem of His garment, or hands), then Our Lady (her hands or veil), then the the angels and Saints. To reverence a Crucifix or icon that you can't reach too well with your lips, kiss your fingers and then touch where you would kiss.
• Kissing rings of hierarchs: see above under "Genuflection on Left Knee"

 

Orans

How: Raise arms either at your sides and with hands up to shoulder height, or raise arms up over your head as a child would when wanting his father to pick him up

When:

• Priests perform this gesture (the first method mentioned) during the Mass.

^·           Laymen sometimes adopt this position during private prayer. It should not be used by laymen at the Mass.

Veiling

How: There are various options here for women:  

• the classic Catholic lace mantillas
• lace chapel caps (this is for young girls)
• oblong gauzy or cotton scarves worn over the head and over one or both shoulders, or tied in various ways.
• standard-sized square chiffon or cotton scarves folded into a triangle and worn tied under the chin in the Jackie-O style or tied behind the head in the peasant style, etc.
• shawls worn over the head
• elegant but simple hats (cloches, toques, berets, "Lady Diana" hats, etc.)

Traditionally, single women wear white or ivory headcoverings, and married or widowed women wear black, but this isn't a hard and fast rule, and is often ignored.

When:

Laymen never wear hats in churches (except for rare ceremonial reasons on the part of some confraternities and lay associations).

On the other hand, women do cover their heads and have from the very first day of the Church. Some parishes and chapels will have veils available for women who don't have one.

This one superficially small act is:  

• so rich with symbolism: of submission to authority; of surrender to God; of the imitation of Our Lady as a woman who uttered her "fiat!"; of covering our glory for His glory; of modesty; of chastity, of our being vessels of life like the Chalice, the Ciborium and, most especially, Our Lady;
• an Apostolic ordinance -- with roots deep in the Old Testament -- and, therefore, a matter of intrinsic Tradition;
• the way Catholic women have worshipped for two millennia (i.e., even if it weren't a matter of Sacred Tradition in the intrinsic sense, it is, at the least, a matter of ecclesiastical tradition, which also must be upheld). It is our heritage, a part of Catholic culture;
• pragmatic: it leaves one free to worry less about "bad hair days";

·          and for the rebels out there, it is counter-cultural nowadays, you must admit!

 

Novena Prayers to St. Longinus - Day 2

Novena Prayers to St. Longinus

 Prayer (2)

 

Say on second, fifth, and eighth days of a 9 day cycle, especially beginning on 6 March and ending on 14 March, the eve of the Feast of St. Longinus.

 

O Saint Longinus, I venerate you and ask you stand by me as I offer my prayer to God, that he will give me courage, for perhaps I lack it more than anything else.

 

I need courage before men against their threats and against their seductions.

 

I need courage to bear unkindness, mockery, contradiction.

 

I need courage to fight against the devil, against terrors and troubles, temptations, attractions, darkness and false lights, against tears, depression, and above all fear.

 

St Longinus with your help and strength. I will receive the Grace of God. Console me in God’s blessed Presence and grant me the courage to persevere until I am standing with you before the throne of our Lord in heaven.

 

I ask you to pray to God this special request if it be His holy will.

 

Mention your requests

 

9 Memorare

 3 Our Father

 3 Hail Mary

 3 Glory Be

 1 Apostles’ Creed

 

Almighty, Eternal God, You were pleased to make Your Church illustrious through the varied splendor of St. Longinus. As we venerate his memory, may we also follow such shining examples of virtue on earth and thus obtain merited crowns in Heaven. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

St Longinus Patron Saint of the Physically and Spiritually Blind, Pray for us.

 

St Longinus Patron Saint of Good Discernment, Pray for us.

Memorare

 

Remember, O most compassionate Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided.

 

Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I kneel, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy clemency hear and answer me. Amen.

 

OUR FATHER

 

Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be

 Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy Will be done,

 on earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our

 daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we

 forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us

 not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

 

HAIL MARY

 

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.

 Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is

 the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

 Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners,

 now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.

 

GLORY BE

 

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

 

APOSTLES CREED

 

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth,

 and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, Who was conceived by

 the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,

 was crucified, died, and was buried.

 He descended into Hell; the third day He arose again from the dead;

 He ascended into Heaven and is seated at the right hand of God

 the Father Almighty, from thence He shall come

 to judge the living and the dead.

 I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church,

 the Communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins,

 the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen

Novena Prayers to St. Longinus - Day 1

Novena Prayers to St. Longinus

Prayer (1)

Say on first, fourth, and seventh days of a 9 day cycle, especially beginning on 6 March and ending on 14 March, the eve of the Feast of St. Longinus.

O Saint Longinus, you were chosen as the Venerable gate keeper and was granted the gift of discernment by the Lord. An eyewitness of God’s miracle, who glorified the resurrected Christ. To your death, you remained Christ’s soldier and for Christ you gave your head.

Pray for us, therefore, O St. Longinus so that being inspired by your example and assisted by your prayers, we may live a holy life, die a happy death, and reach eternal life to praise and thank God in heaven with you. I ask you to pray to God this special request if it be His holy will.

 Mention your requests

 9 Memorare

 3 Our Father

 3 Hail Mary

 3 Glory Be

 1 Apostles’ Creed

 

Almighty, Eternal God, You were pleased to make Your Church illustrious through the varied splendor of St. Longinus. As we venerate his memory, may we also follow such shining examples of virtue on earth and thus obtain merited crowns in Heaven. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

St Longinus Patron Saint of the Physically and Spiritually Blind, Pray for us.

St Longinus Patron Saint of Good Discernment, Pray for us.

MEMORARE

Remember, O most compassionate Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided.

Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I kneel, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy clemency hear and answer me. Amen.

 

OUR FATHER

Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy Will be done, on earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

HAIL MARY

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is
the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, 
now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.

GLORY BE

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

 APOSTLES CREED

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, Who was conceived by
the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
 He descended into Hell; the third day He arose again from the dead;

 He ascended into Heaven and is seated at the right hand of God
 the Father Almighty, from thence He shall come

 to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church,
 the Communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins,
 the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen