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Pietro Lorenzetti fresco detail, Assisi Basilica, 1310-1329.

In the Roman Catholic tradition, an Act of Reparation is a prayer or devotion with the intent to repair the "sins of others", e.g. for the repair of the sin of blasphemy, the sufferings of Jesus Christ or as Acts of Reparation to the Virgin Mary.^[1] These prayers do not usually involve a petition for a living or deceased beneficiary, but aim to repair sins.

In his encyclical Miserentissimus Redemptor Pope Pius XI defined reparation as follows:

The creature's love should be given in return for the love of the Creator, another thing follows from this at once, namely that to the same uncreated Love, if so be it has been neglected by forgetfulness or violated by offense, some sort of compensation must be rendered for the injury, and this debt is commonly called by the name of reparation.^[2]

Pope John Paul II referred to reparation as the "unceasing effort to stand beside the endless crosses on which the Son of God continues to be crucified".^[3]

Prayers of reparation

Our Lady of Sorrows El Viso del Alcor, Seville, Spain.

A number of prayers as an Act of Reparation to the Virgin Mary appear in the Raccolta Catholic prayer book (approved by a Decree of December 15 1854, and published in 1898 by the Holy See). The Raccolta includes a number of diverse prayers for reparation.^[4]

• The Rosary of the Holy Wounds (which does not include the usual rosary mysteries) focuses on specific redemptive aspects of Christ's suffering in Calvary, with emphasis on the souls in purgatory.^[5]

• A well known Act of Reparation to Jesus Christ and for the reparation of blasphemy is The Golden Arrow Holy Face Devotion (Prayer) first introduced by Sister Marie of St Peter in 1844. This devotion (started by Sister Marie and then promoted by the Venerable Leo Dupont) was approved by Pope Leo XIII in 1885.^[6]

• A frequently offered Act of Reparation to The Holy Trinity is based on the messages of Our Lady of Fatima and is usually called the Angel Prayer.^[7][8]

Duty of reparation

In the encyclical Miserentissimus Redemptor Pope Pius XI called acts of reparation a duty for Roman Catholics:

We are holden to the duty of reparation and expiation by a certain more valid title of justice and of love, of justice indeed, in order that the offense offered to God by our sins may be expiated

The pontiff further emphasized, "Moreover this duty of expiation is laid upon the whole race of men"

Apparitions

The need for reparation has been mentioned in some Marian apparitions. The messages of Our Lady of Akita, which were formally approved by the Holy See in 1988 by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) include the following statement attributed to the Blessed Virgin Mary:

"Many men in this world afflict the Lord. I desire souls to console Him to soften the anger of the Heavenly Father. I wish, with my Son, for souls who will repair by their suffering and their poverty for the sinners and ingrates."

Organizations for reparation

Specific Catholic organizations (including Pontifical Congregations) whose focus is reparation have been formed:^[9][10]

• The Archconfraternity of Reparation for blasphemy and the neglect of Sunday was founded by Msgr. Pierre Louis Parisis in 1847.

• The Archconfraternity of the Holy Face was founded in 1851 by the Venerable Leo Dupont, the "Holy Man of Tours".

• In 1886 Pope Leo XIII authorized the formation of the Archconfraternity of the Mass of Reparation in Rome.

• In 1950, the Venerable Abbot Hildebrand Gregori formed the organization "Prayerful Sodality" which in 1977 became the Pontifical Congregation of the Benedictine Sisters of the Reparation of the Holy Face.

See also

• Rosary of the Holy Wounds
• Acts of Reparation to the Virgin Mary
• Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ
• Acts of Reparation to The Holy Trinity
• The Golden Arrow Holy Face Devotion (Prayer)
• The encyclical Miserentissimus Redemptor
• Pontifical Congragation of the Benedictine Sisters of the Reparation of the Holy Face

Notes

External links

• Archconfraternity of the Mass of Reparation