Catholic Journey to Emmaus

The Mystery of the Catholic Mass

2010-10-07T01:00:00.000+02:00

Oct 02 - Homily: Guardian Angels

2010-10-02T23:16:00.000+02:00

Blessed Feast of Triumph / Exaltation of the Holy Cross

2010-09-14T11:31:00.004+02:00

This day we are celebrating the Triumph , exaltation or raising up of the Holy Cross .
The Exaltation of the Holy Cross is a triumphant day. We are exalting it. The definition of exalt is to praise, or extol. So, on this day, we are praising the wood of the cross, the exact wood that our Savior hung on Good Friday. So yes, it brings sad thoughts , but we are not in a day of mourning , but a day of gladness, a day of praise, and day of gloriously recognizing the Cross.
We are celebrating the feast of the Cross which drove away darkness and brought in the Light. As we keep this feast, we are lifted up with the crucified Christ, leaving behind us earth and sin so that we may gain the things above. So great and outstanding a possession is the cross that he who wins it has won a treasure.
The Cross is praiseworthy because it is both the sign God’s suffering and the trophy of His Victory. It stands for His suffering because on it He freely suffered unto death. But it is also His trophy because it was the means by which the evil was wounded and death conquered; the barred gated of hell were smashed, and the Cross became the one common salvation of the whole world , became our daily weapon against evil and darkness .
It is our duty and salvation to accept our own crosses, and do it gloriously. Whatever God gives us is our cross. They may be light day, but heavy the next.
Let us pray that we may accept these, lovingly, and do as Jesus did. So, to help us in this endeavor to accept our own crosses, and glorify them, as the True Holy Cross is glorified on this day, we pray:

God our Father,
in obedience to You
Your only Son accepted death on the Cross
for the salvation of mankind.
We acknowledge the mystery of the Cross on earth.
May we receive the gift of Redemption in Heaven.

We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You. Because by Your Holy Cross You have
redeemed the world.Amen

Our daily bread , the Holy Word of God

2010-08-29T03:24:00.005+02:00

"Well done! You are an industrious and reliable servant. Since you were dependable in a small matter I will put you in charge of larger affairs. Come, share your master's joy!" —Matthew 25:21

The Lord does not expect everyone to make ten thousand dollars. He does not necessarily expect us to do better than others. He also does not expect us to start from scratch; He gives us something to start with. We do not have to be prosperous, competitive, or creative by worldly standards. The Lord simply expects our best. If our best is very little, that's all right (see Lk 21:2ff). He doesn't expect us to do anything beyond our ability.

We may not be able to meet other people's standards or even our own, but we can always meet God's standards. We always have a "best," and we can always "do our best." We can always be pleasing to the Lord. We can always be everything God wants us to be. We don't have to wait on anyone else or on circumstances. We can choose always to be "an industrious and reliable servant" and to do a job "well done" (Mt 25:21).

Prayer: Father, may I put in a good day's work for You, today and every day.
Promise: "He has made Him our Wisdom and also our Justice, our Sanctification, and our Redemption." —1 Cor 1:30
Praise: St. Augustine, a sinful intellectual, opened a Bible at random to Romans 13:13-14. Pierced by God's word, he repented, was baptized Catholic, and spent his life defending and spreading the faith.
( bible meditation taken from Our Catholic Faith )

Blessed Corpus Christi Feast

2010-06-06T18:41:00.005+02:00

Let us pray
to the Lord who gives Himself in the Eucharist
that this sacrament may bring us Salvation and Peace .
Lord Jesus Christ,
You gave us the Eucharist
as the memorial of Your suffering and death.
May our worship of this sacrament of Your Body and Blood
help us to experience the salvation You won for us
and the peace of the kingdom
where You live with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
( prayer taken from New Saint Joseph Sunday Missal )

Each year, Holy Church celebrate the Solemnity of Corpus Christi. This feast recognizes that the Body and Blood of Jesus are divine Food given for our salvation.
Each of the four Gospels in the New Testament share how Jesus shared a final meal with his apostles prior to his betrayal and death. At this meal, referred to as The Last Supper, Jesus broke bread saying that it was his Body. He also blessed wine and shared it as his Blood and a sign of the New Covenant God was entering into with his people.
Today, our Catholic priests repeat the words Jesus spoke at The Last Supper as they consecrate bread and wine. Catholic Christians believe that these sacred words, spoken by ordained men, transform the bread and wine into divine food, the Body and Blood of Jesus. In this way, the command issued by Jesus in the Gospel of John is fulfilled: "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.”
The origins of Corpus Christi can be traced to St. Juliana of Mount Cornillon. Born in 1193 in Belgium, St. Juliana developed a deep devotion to the Eucharist, the term for the consecrated bread and wine turned Body and Blood of Jesus. After reportedly receiving a vision from God, St. Juliana advocated for a solemnity devoted to the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist.

Let us faithfully pray : Pange Lingua (written by St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, this hymn is considered the most beautiful of Aquinas' hymns and one of the great seven hymns of the Church. )

Sing my tongue, the Savior's glory,
of His flesh the mystery sing;
of the Blood, all price exceeding,
shed by our immortal King,
destined, for the world's redemption,
from a noble womb to spring.
Of a pure and spotless Virgin
born for us on earth below,
He, as Man, with man conversing,
stayed, the seeds of truth to sow;
then He closed in solemn order
wondrously His life of woe.
On the night of that Last Supper,
seated with His chosen band,
He the Pascal victim eating,
first fulfills the Law's command;
then as Food to His Apostles
gives Himself with His own hand
Word-made-Flesh, the bread of nature
by His word to Flesh He turns;
wine into His Blood He changes;-
what though sense no change discerns?
Only be the heart in earnest,
faith her lesson quickly learns.
Down in adoration falling,
Lo! the sacred Host we hail;
Lo! o'er ancient forms departing,
newer rites of grace prevail;
faith for all defects supplying,
where the feeble sense fail.
To the everlasting Father,
and the Son who reigns on high,
with the Holy Ghost proceeding
forth from Each eternally,
be salvation, honor, blessing,
might and endless majesty.
Amen. Alleluia.

Catholic bishop reportedly stabbed in Turkey - Examiner.com

2010-06-03T22:12:00.000+02:00

Anothey matryr for the Faith killed brutally by an turk islamist , Lord have Mercy !
May eternal Light shine upon him , may he rest in peace !

Catholic bishop reportedly stabbed in Turkey - Examiner.com

2010-05-23T20:12:00.002+02:00

Today, we are celebrating Pentecost Sunday , may it be a truly blessed feast for everyone !
The feast commemorates the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles, and takes its name from the fact that it comes nearly fifty days after Easter. Seven weeks have already passed since Easter . Also , nearly two thousand years ago, the Holy Catholic Church was made known to the world by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains :
"The Church was made manifest to the world on the day of Pentecost by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The gift of the Spirit ushers in a new era in the 'dispensation of the mystery' - the age of the Church, during which Christ manifests, makes present, and communicates his work of salvation through the liturgy of his Church, 'until he comes.' [1 Cor. 11:26] In this age of the Church Christ now lives and acts in and with his Church, in a new way appropriate to this new age. He acts through the sacraments in what the common Tradition of the East and the West calls 'the sacramental economy'; this is the communication (or 'dispensation') of the fruits of Christ's Paschal mystery in the celebration of the Church's 'sacramental' liturgy." (C.C.C. # 1076)
"On that day (of Pentecost), the Holy Trinity is fully revealed. Since that day, the Kingdom announced by Christ has been open to those who believe in him: in the humility of the flesh and in faith, they already share in the communion of the Holy Trinity. By his coming, which never ceases, the Holy Spirit causes the world to enter into the "last days," the time of the Church, the Kingdom already inherited though not yet consummated." (C.C.C. # 732)
The Church is catholic because Christ is present in her. 'Where there is Christ Jesus, there is the Catholic Church.' In her subsists the fullness of Christ's body united with its head; this implies that she receives from him 'the fullness of the means of salvation' which he has willed: correct and complete confession of faith, full sacramental life, and ordained ministry in apostolic succession. The Church was, in this fundamental sense, catholic on the day of Pentecost and will always be so until the day of Parousia." (C.C.C. # 830)
Happy Birthday Catholic Church and many blessed returns of the day for every Catholic faithful !

Waiting for Whitsunday , blessed Pentecost Feast

2010-05-21T20:48:00.002+02:00

Happy Birthday Holy Catholic Church !

When the Holy Spirit came to the Upper Room where the disciples and the Blessed Mother were praying on Pentecost, ten days after our Lord’s Ascension into Heaven, it was with great power, in the form of a driving wind and "tongues as of fire" (Acts 2:3) descending on each of them .
The Holy Spirit immediately transformed the timid disciples on Pentecost and enabled them to proclaim Christ’s Word with apostolic zeal! In addition, about 3000 people were baptized that day after hearing St. Peter’s Holy Spirit filled and inspired message calling for repentance and conversion(Acts 2:14-41).
Pentecost prayers can help us be Christ-like as we listen to the teachings and promptings of His Spirit in our hearts . So let us faithfully pray and prepare for the great Feast of Pentecost , may the Holy Spirit be with us always , even to the end of time

We beseech you, O Lord, let the power of the Holy Spirit be always with us; let it mercifully purify our hearts, and safeguard us from all harm. Grant this through Christ our Lord, Amen.
May the Comforter, Who proceeds from You, enlighten our minds, we beseech you, O Lord, and guide us, as Your Son has promised, into all truth. We ask this through Christ, our Lord, Amen.
Holy Spirit, Sweet guest of My Soul, Abide In Meand Grant That I May Ever abide in Thee. Amen

Feast of Triumph( Exaltation ) of the Holy Cross

2009-09-14T14:14:00.003+02:00

Today, we are celebrating the Feast of the Triumph or Exaltation of the Holy Cross .
Everywhere we look, the symbol of the Holy Cross is present to remind us of the infinite sacrifice that the Lord Jesus did for our redemption. The sign of the Cross is found in the Sacred Liturgy. The Holy Cross is in the Rite of Adoration. It is the symbol of blessing. It is found in the dedication of Churches, in the Schools, the homes, Hospitals, Seminaries, Convents, Religious Order, Crusades and even in cemeteries.
Today, let us look up to the Holy Cross as our symbol of faith and salvation. Let us always honour the work of Christ that was manifested through the Holy Cross, the true symbol of love, compassion and forgiveness.
Over and above being the symbol of Christianity, the Holy Cross brings to light many fundamental truths that are being taught by the Holy Catholic Church .
The Holy Cross is the symbol of Divine Love. For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son.
The Holy Cross is the symbol of Salvation. Through Jesus Christ and the Sacrament of Baptism, those who believe in Him and obey His teachings, they will enjoy eternal life in the Kingdom of God.
The Holy Cross is the symbol of Divine Mercy and Compassion. God did not send His Son into the world to condemn it, but in order that the world may be saved through Jesus.
The history of the Holy Cross, its recapture in 629 A.D., reveals to us the Divine power of God that is behind this most Sacred object on which the Blood of Christ was shed for the sins of mankind.

In regards to the Holy Cross itself, when the Body of Jesus was removed from it, to prevent His followers from finding it, the Cross was thrown in a ditch or well, and then covered with stones and earth.
According to the history , Helena Augustas, mother of Constantine, at the age of 80 travels to the Holy Land and finds the True Cross, the cross upon which Christ was crucified.
The visit takes place around 325, when Constantine initiates the construction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and informs the bishop to spare no expense. This martyrium encloses what is believed to be the site of the tomb of Christ as well as Golgotha.
Helena visits the Holy Land to show a presence of the emperor and to view the places where Christ had lived and died. She becomes interested in locating the True Cross. There are several versions on how the cross is found. In some, Helena has a dreams telling her where the cross is buried. In another tradition, the Ethiopian Coptic tradition still celebrated as Mesquel, she follows smoke from a bonfire to the site.
In the version that receives the most circulation and became popular in the middle ages, she asks the people of Jerusalem to tell her the location. When the Jewish leaders of the city are silent, she places one of them, a man named Judas, in a well until he agrees to show her the site. After seven days, he prays to God for guidance and reveals the location. Afterwards, Judas converts to Christianity, and takes the name Kyriakis, "he who belongs to the Lord."

Helena finds the three crosses, nails, and title under a pagan temple. To determine which is the right cross, a dead girl is brought to the site. Upon being touched by the True cross, she is restored to life.
Helena is made a saint for her role in finding the cross and becomes the model for a Christian empress due to her many acts of charity. Part of the trip was to promote good will for her son, especially after he had apparently executed his wife and his favorite son, and to redress the wrongs inflicted on Christians by the other emperor, Licinius, who Constantine had recently defeated and killed.
A portion of the cross remained in Jerusalem, where it was exhibited on certain Holy Days. The remainder was divided between Rome and Constantinople. A portion of the title is sent to Rome, where it is hidden and then found again in the 16th centuryIn 614, Chosroes II, the King of Persia, invaded Syria and Palestine, at which time he carried away many of the great treasures of Jerusalem, including the relic of the True Cross. In 629, Emperor Heraclius of Constantinople marched into Persia and recapture the True Cross, seeing to it that Heraclius piously bring it back to Jerusalem while being clothed in sackcloth of penance and barefoot. On September 14 th, the Sacred Cross was restored to its place in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. To commemorate this victory, in the 7 th century, the Church of Rome adopted the "Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross" on September 14 th.

Blessed Feast of the Triumph of the Holy Cross for everyone !

Homily for the Feast of Birth of Mary , Holy Mother of God

2009-09-08T23:49:00.002+02:00

Homily 1 for the Nativity of the Holy Mother of God; PG 97, 805 (trans. Breviary)

Today is the dawn of our salvation

We are no longer to be enslaved by the elemental spirits of the world, as the apostle Paul says, or held in the yoke of slavery to the letter of the law (Col 2,8 ; Rom 7,6). This is the summary of the benefits of Christ for us; this is the unveiling of the mystery; this is nature made new: God is made man, and human nature assumed by God is deified. But so radiant, so glorious a visitation of God to us needed some prelude of joy to introduce to us the great gift of salvation. The present feast is such: the prelude is the birth of the Mother of God, and the concluding act is the union which is destined between the Word and human nature.

A virgin is now born..., and is made ready to be mother of God, the king of all for ever... A double gain will be ours: we shall be led towards the truth, and we shall be led away from a life of slavery to the letter of the law. How will this be? Clearly, inasmuch as the shadow yields to the presence of the light, and grace introduces freedom in place of the letter. The present feast stands on the border between these: it joins us to the truth instead of signs and figures, and it brings in the new in place of the old.

Let the whole creation therefore sing praise and dance and unite to celebrate the glories of this day. Today let there be one common feast of those in heaven and those on earth. Let everything that is, in the world and above the world, join together in rejoicing. For today a shrine is built for the Creator of the universe. The creature is newly made ready as a divine dwelling for the Creator.

September 8, Nativity of the Virgin Mary

2009-09-08T15:40:00.002+02:00

With delight I rejoice in the Lord.--Isaiah 61:10
Mass readings: Micah 5:1-4 or Romans 8:28-30 / Matthew 1:1-16,18-23 or 1:18-23

Pondering God's Ways
Today's feast, the birth of Mary, has been celebrated by her Son's followers since the eighth century. Mary and St. John the Baptist are the only two saints whose births are celebrated in the Church's calendar. For many centuries, as Church Fathers studied and prayed over Mary's role, the Holy Spirit guided the unfolding of Marian teaching so that it puts the proper emphasis on Jesus.
One of the best ways to honor Mary today is to remember how she ''pondered all these things in her heart,'' as St. Luke puts it. To ponder God's will and ways, noted the late Cistercian Father Basil Pennington, doesn't mean to simply think about them. It means to let them sit and find a home in our hearts, even if we don't understand them.
Prayer: Mary, help us to imitate you, pondering in our hearts whatever God asks of us.

Wednesday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

2009-08-12T16:05:00.003+02:00

Deuteronomy 34:1-12
Psalm 66:1-3a, 5 and 8, 16-17
Matthew 18:15-20

Today is Wednesday of the nineteenth week in ordinary time. Think about that: ordinary time. We know what that means liturgically but I think that it describes how many of us live our lives spiritually. Anyone who sets out on the journey of becoming like Jesus embraces certain spiritual practices. Service, prayer, worship, meditation on Scripture, and other disciplines become important to us.

The chapter 18 begins with Jesus teaching us about our need for humility (verses 1-5).
He uses the analogy of body parts to show the importance of not offending little ones (verses 6-10). He then gives the Parable of the Lost Sheep to show His concern for every sheep (verses 11 - 14). He instructs about how we should deal with offenses among us (verses 15-20). All chapter is great teaching of Forgiveness , the only way to save ourself and obtain forgiveness for our sins .
This day gospel is ending with sublime encouragement to pray for each other , with entrustment that our Lord shall be present in the midst of us .
"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."
Every faithful christian has the presence of Christ with him; but the promise here refers to the meetings where two or three are gathered in His name, not only for discipline, but for religious worship, or any act of Christian communion .
When we come together, to worship God in a dependence upon the Spirit and grace of Christ as Mediator for assistance, and upon his merit and righteousness as Mediator for acceptance, having an actual regard to him as our Way to the Father, and our Advocate with the Father, then we are met together in his name.
Thank you Lord for your Holy Word and Divine Mercy , thank you for being always with us !

Aug 10 - Homily: True Treasure of St Lawrence

2009-08-10T18:37:00.001+02:00

Almighty God, Who called Your deacon Laurence to serve You with deeds of love, and gave him the crown of martyrdom: Grant that we, following his example, may fulfill Your commandments by defending and supporting the poor, and by loving You with all our hearts, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Aug 08 - Homily

2009-08-08T18:35:00.001+02:00

Aug 07 - Homily: Saint Cajetan

2009-08-07T18:34:00.001+02:00

Blessed Feast of Transfiguration ( August 6 )

2009-08-06T19:40:00.003+02:00

This is an excerpt from a homily by St. Leo the Great (Sermon 51, 3-4, 8: PL 54, 310-311, 313) explaining the meaning of the Transfiguration of the Lord Jesus Christ on Mount Tabor. Saint Leo contrasts the law, symbolized by Moses, with the grace of the gospel brought by Jesus Christ, providing a great Lenten reading used in the Roman office of readings for the 2nd second Sunday in Lent, given that the gospel of the day is the Transfiguration.
The Lord reveals His glory in the presence of chosen witnesses. His body is like that of the rest of mankind, but He makes it shine with such splendor that His face becomes like the sun in glory, and His garments as white as snow.
The great reason for this Transfiguration was to remove the scandal of the cross from the hearts of His disciples, and to prevent the humiliation of His voluntary suffering from disturbing the faith of those who had witnessed the surpassing glory that lay concealed.
With no less forethought he was also providing a firm foundation for the Hope of Holy Church. The whole body of Christ was to understand the kind of transformation that it would receive as His gift. the members of that body were to look forward to a share in that glory which first blazed out in Christ their head.
The Lord had himself spoken of this when He foretold the splendor of His coming: Then the just will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. Saint Paul the Apostle bore witness to this same truth when he said: I consider that the sufferings of the present time are not to be compared to the future glory that is to be revealed in us. In another place He says: You are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, your life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.
This marvel of the Transfiguration contains another lesson for the Apostles, to strengthen them and lead them into the fullness of knowledge. Moses and Elijah, the law and the prophets, appeared with the Lord in conversation with Him. This was in order to fulfil exactly, through the presence of these five men, the text which says: Before two or three witnesses every word is ratified. What word could be more firmly established, more securely based, than the word which is proclaimed by the trumpets of both old and new testaments, sounding in harmony, and by the utterances of ancient prophecy and the teaching of the Gospel, in full agreement with each other?
The writings of the two testaments support each other. The radiance of the Transfiguration reveals clearly and unmistakably the one who had been promised by signs foretelling Him under the veils of mystery. As Saint John says: The law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. In Him the promise made through the shadows of prophecy stands revealed, along with the full meaning of the precepts of the law. He is the one who teaches the truth of the prophecy through His presence, and makes obedience to the commandments possible through grace.
In the preaching of the Holy Gospel all should receive a strengthening of their faith. No one should be ashamed of the Cross of Christ, through which the world has been redeemed.
No one should fear to suffer for the sake of justice; no one should lose confidence in the reward that has been promised. The way to rest is through toil, the way to life is through death. Christ has taken on Himself the whole weakness of our lowly human nature. If then we are steadfast in our faith in Him and in our love for Him, we win the victory that He has won, we receive what He has promised.
When it comes to obeying the commandments or enduring adversity, the words uttered by the Father should always echo in our ears: This is my Son, the beloved, in whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.

God Bless each one of you !

Aug 03 - Homily: If Today You Hear His Voice

2009-08-03T18:00:00.000+02:00

Monday in the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time

2009-08-03T16:48:00.003+02:00

Numbers 11:4b-15
Psalm 81:12-13, 14-15, 16-17
Matthew 14:13-21

Today we read gospel concerning Christ's feeding five thousand men with five loaves and two fishes, recorded by all the four Evangelists .

First we read about the tender compassion of our Lord Jesus towards those who thus followed him, v. 14. 1 . None like Christ for pity to souls; His compassions fails not.

He did not only pity them, but He helped them; many of them were sick, and He, in compassion to them, healed them; for He came into the world to be the great Healer.

After awhile, they were all hungry, and He, in compassion to them, fed them.

Christ all along expressed more tenderness toward the people than His disciples did; for what are the compassions of the most merciful men, compared with the tender mercies of God in Christ? They need not depart . Those who have Christ have enough, and need not depart to seek a happiness and livelihood in the creature .

We must see this miracle as an emblem of the Bread of life, which came down from heaven to sustain our perishing souls .

Aug 02 - Homily: God's Visitation

2009-08-02T16:40:00.001+02:00

Our Lord talks about the coming severe judgment of God's Visitation on Jerusalem and this is a symbol of what will happen to every unrepentant soul and every unrepentant society.

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

2009-08-02T15:07:00.002+02:00

Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15
Psalm 78:3-4, 23-24, 25,
Ephesians 4:17, 20-24
John 6:24-35
They found him on the other side of the sea, v. 25 .
Christ will be found of those that seek Him, first or last; and it is worth while to cross a sea, to go from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth, to seek Christ, if we may but find Him at last.
"Rabbi, when did you get here?”
Jesus answered them and said,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
you are looking for me not because you saw signs
but because you ate the loaves and were filled. "
The Savior reveals to them the true motives which induced them to seek him. Not because He taught them, but because He fed them; not for Love, but for loaves. People are more interested for earthly bread, than anxious concerning food for their souls .
Bible text continue : "So they said to him,
“What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?
What can you do?
Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written:
He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”
So Jesus said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven;
my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world.”
Jesus reveals that God, even his Father, who gave their fathers that food from heaven to support their natural lives, now gave them the true Bread for the salvation of their souls.
Coming to Jesus, and believing on Him, signify the same.
Christ shows that He is the true Bread; He is to the soul what bread is to the body, nourishes and supports the spiritual life.
He is the Bread of God.
Bread which the Father gives, which He has made to be the food of our souls.
Bread nourishes only by the powers of a living body; but Christ is Himself living Bread, and nourishes by His own power.
The doctrine of Christ crucified is now as strengthening and comforting to a believer as ever it was.
He is the Bread which came down from Heaven.
That denotes the Divinity of Christ's person and His authority; also, the Divine origin of all the good which flows to us through Him.
May we with understanding and earnestness say, Lord, evermore give us this Bread.

Aug 01 - Homily: Blessed Womb that Bore Him

2009-08-01T02:14:00.003+02:00

Leviticus 25:1, 8-17 Psalm 67:2-3, 5, 7-8Matthew 14:1-12

Aploste Matthew's gospel tells the tragical story of John the Baptist’s beheading. The story itself of the imprisonment and martyrdom of John.
These extraordinary sufferings of him who was the first preacher of the gospel, plainly show that bonds and afflictions will abide the professors of it. As the first Old-Testament saint, so the first New-Testament minister, died a martyr. And if Christ's forerunner was thus treated, let not his followers expect to be caressed by the world.
That is the death by which he must glorify God; and because it was his who died first after the beginning of the gospel, though the martyrs died various kinds of deaths, and not so easy and honourable as this, yet this is put for all the rest, Rev. 20:4, where we read of the souls of those that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus
The reasons for this barbaric action appear outlandish. John the Baptist disapproved of Herod’s divorce from his wife and unlawfully taking his brother’s wife. John the Baptist did not change his message to accommodate Herod, but rather he was willing to be imprisoned for being true to God’s word. A drunken Herod ordered to have John the Baptist beheaded because he promised to give Herodias’ daughter anything she wanted. Herod was weak. He succumbed to temptation. He became a vehicle for vengeance. His weaknesses led to the death of a pious and holy man.
May Lord grant us strenght to overcome all weakness and trials of life .
Saint John the Baptist pray for us ! Amen

Jul 31 - Homily: Soldier of God

2009-07-31T17:43:00.003+02:00

Gospel Mt 13:54-58

Today we read and we have here our Lord Jesus Christ in His own country. He went about doing good, yet left not any place till He had finished His testimony there at that time. His own countrymen had rejected Him once, yet He came to them again .
They upbraid Him with His father. Is not this the carpenter's son? Yes, it is true He was reputed so: and what harm in that? No disparagement to Him to be the son of an honest tradesman. They remember not (though they might have known it) that this carpenter was of the house of David (Lu. 1:27), a son of David (ch. 1:20); though a carpenter, yet a person of honour . They upbraid Him with His mother , they were offended in Him: they stumbled at these stumbling-stones, for He was set for a sign that should be spoken against, Lu. 2:34; Isa. 8:14.
Our Lord answered to their affront by saying : "Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor." And He did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith .
Unbelief is the great obstruction to Christ's Grace and Mercy . The gospel is the power of God unto salvation, but then it is to every one that believes, Rom. 1:16. So that if Mighty works be not wrought in us, it is not for want of power or grace in Christ, but for want of faith in us.
By grace ye are saved, and that is a mighty work, but it is through faith, Eph. 2:8.

Jul 30 - Homily: Parable of the Net

2009-07-30T17:09:00.000+02:00

Gospel Mt 13:47-53

Jesus said to the disciples:
"The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea,
which collects fish of every kind.
When it is full they haul it ashore
and sit down to put what is good into buckets.
What is bad they throw away.
Thus it will be at the end of the age.
The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous
and throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth."

"Do you understand all these things?"
They answered, "Yes."
And he replied,
"Then every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of heaven
is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom
both the new and the old."When Jesus finished these parables, he went away from there.

Jul 29 - Homily: Busy Martha

2009-07-29T19:04:00.002+02:00

Although being overly busy lead Martha to be distracted from listening to the Lord on one occasion, in today's Gospel Martha's action in going out to meet our Lord was an act of faith which brought her closer to Him and shows that we must be both active and prayerful.

Jul 26 - Homily: Bread from Heaven - Video - Catholic Online

2009-07-29T17:02:00.001+02:00

Jul 26 - Homily: Bread from Heaven - Video - Catholic Online

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Saturday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time ( July 18 )

2009-07-18T19:40:00.002+02:00

Exodus 12:37-42
Psalm 136:1 and 23-24, 10-12, 13-15
Matthew 12:14-21

"He will not break a bruised reed until he brings justice to victory"

Matthew quotes from the "Suffering Servant" prophecies of Isaiah to explain how Jesus the Messiah would accomplish his mission – not through crushing power – but through love and sacrificial service (Isaiah 42:1-4).
In place of a throne Jesus chose to mount the cross and wear a crown of thorns. He was crucified as our Lord and King (John 19:19; Philippians 2:11)
There is no greater proof of God's love for us than the sacrificial death of his only begotten Son for our sake and our salvation (John 3:16).
Jesus died not only for the Jews but for all the Gentile nations as well.
Isaiah had prophesied centuries before, that the Messiah would bring justice to the Gentiles. To the Greek mind, justice involved giving to God and to one's fellow citizen that which is their due (whatever is owed to them).
Jesus taught his disciples to give God not only his due, but to love him without measure just as he loves us unconditionally – without limits or reservations.
Jesus brings the justice of God's kingdom tempered with divine Love and Mercy. He does not bruise the weak or treat them with contempt, but rather shows understanding and compassion. He does not discourage the fainthearted but gives hope, courage, and the strength to persevere through trying circumstances.
No trials, failings, and weaknesses can keep us from the mercy and help which Jesus offers to everyone who asks.
His grace is sufficient for every moment, every situation, and every challenge we face. When we meet trials and difficulties, we must rely on God's help and grace.
Let us pray and meditate :
Lord Jesus, Your Love and Mercy knows no bounds.
Give me strength when I am weak, hope when I am discourged, peace when I am troubled, consolation when I am sad, and understanding when I am perplexed.
Make me an instrument of Your Love and Peace to those who are troubled and without hope.
Amen

Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

2009-07-17T11:11:00.003+02:00

Exodus 11:10—12:14

Psalm 116:12-13, 15 and 16bc, 17-18

Matthew 12:1-8

In our first bible text from the Old Testament Exodus 11:10—12:14 we can understand that warning is here given to Pharaoh of the last and conquering plague which was now to be inflicted. This was the death of all the first-born in Egypt at once, which had been first threatened (ch. 4:23, I will slay thy son, thy first-born), but is last executed; less judgments were tried, which, if they had done the work would have prevented this. See how slow God is to wrath, and how willing to be met with in the way of his judgments, and to have his anger turned away, and particularly how precious the lives of men are in his eyes: if the death of their cattle had humbled and reformed them, their children would have been spared; but, if men will not improve the gradual advances of divine judgments, they must thank themselves if they find, in the issue, that the worst was reserved for the last.

It's so awesome relevant connection between the Old and New Testament , the Lord's Passover - A sign of His passing over you, when he destroyed the Egyptians , to memorize and remember that day . Without remembering God’s saving deeds, we easily forget that we belong to God , without keeping the active memory of God’s saving deeds dear to us , we won’t really understand what Jesus means by I desire mercy, not sacrifice.

God bless and be you all passing through !

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time : July 12 - 18

2009-07-14T14:35:00.002+02:00

This is a great week to grow in a sense of not being alone. It is so difficult to find intimacy with God in the midst of our everyday lives if we go through our lives, either trying to do it alone or simply not acknowledging the fact that God is always with us. We could make this the special gift we ask for each week: “Lord, let me know and experience that you are with me, every day, all the time.”
If we walk through each day this week with a little more confidence in God’s presence, God’s merciful love for us, God’s protection and care for us, then the Gospel message of Jesus can find a way into our hearts much more freely. Imagine, if with this confidence, we could start asking Jesus:
Lord, I don’t want to keep seeking myself this week. I don’t want to be so absorbed in my needs , I want to find myself, the life you offer me, by surrendering more, by letting go of what I cling to. Help me be freer this afternoon and when I get home from work.”
We could make this prayer, have this conversation with Jesus, while walking from one place to another, while shopping, over a lunch break, while doing laundry, sitting at an airport or driving to a meeting . This week, we can find concrete times in our week, in real encounters and responsibilities of our very busy lives to say these or similar words:
“Lord, help me to be more childlike today. Help me simply come to you when I’m burdened or just tired, rather than all the other places I tend to go for relief. Let me be yoked to you as I carry out the promises of my life today. Free me from my impatience and tendency to judge others. Teach me how showing others the mercy you have showed me is more important that my hard driving sacrifice.”
May Lord Jesus be with each one of us today , this week and to the eand of times . Amen

Friday in the Octave of Easter

2009-04-17T17:10:00.002+02:00

Acts 4:1-12Ps 118:1-2 and 4, 22-24, 25-27aJn 21:1-14
One week ago we're suffering together with our Lord Jesus , we were waiting and expecting for the great moment of Light of Resurrection . For me all days in the Octave of Easter are joyful , through the great gift of eternal life and victory over sins and evil . We are so blessed and loved like children of God , in His glorious Trinity .
In this Octave we celebrate Jesus conquering sin and death, and in the Gospel he is appearing to the Apostles for the third time since his Resurrection from the dead. So, I’m reminded today of the One we are following, the One who conquered sin and death, and we are reminded that that early Church, which was established by Jesus was put here to help us follow our Faith.
Like the apostles who were a little fuzzy the day Jesus showed up while they were fishing, we too get a little fuzzy from time to time. Our Church is here to help clarify, shine light into the darkness, when the issues become bigger than us. In our Psalm reading, we hear “the stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.” Jesus was rejected too, and we know we can expect a similar treatment, but not alone. So, I am consoled to stand firm with the Church on all the Pro-Life issues; because we know we are standing with Truth
During this beginning of the Easter season it is important that we remember to recognize our lowliness and let the Holy Spirit work through us to give glory to God. Let us ask the intercession of our mother, Mary, who perfectly recognized herself as the handmaid of the Lord. It is only by giving God the glory and recognizing his ultimate authority, that the Holy Spirit will fill us with courage, zeal, and love as we continue to proclaim as Saint Peter did that: “there [is no] other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved” except that of “Jesus Christ the Nazorean.” May the Holy Spirit work within to bring us to a greater zeal for and love of Christ.
God bless and be with all of you !

Thursday in the Octave of Easter

2009-04-16T13:54:00.003+02:00

Today is Thursday within the Octave of Easter .
Acts 3:11-26
Psalm 8:2ab and 5, 6-7, 8-9
Luke 24:35-48
In this day Psalm we can read and meditate upon these verses :
O LORD, our Lord,
how glorious is your name over all the earth!
What is man that you should be mindful of him,
or the son of man that you should care for him?
The psalmist seems thoroughly amazed that God cares so much about humans. Why is it, O Lord, considering how glorious You are, that You are mindful of us?

How much God , in His Holy Trinity is caring for us .. Then, as if that were not enough, He has made us just a little less than the angels, crowned us with glory and honor and made us like Him: rulers over everything He has made.
The psalmist can think of only one explanation for this: “O Lord, our God, how wonderful Your name in all the earth!”
This is a message that disciples of Jesus have been commissioned to take to the ends of the earth. How do we do it? Luke tells us how the earliest disciples did it. Like us, they had troubles, questions, doubts, and, on occasion, were even terrified. How then did they take the good news of Jesus to their world?
First, Jesus opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. They had power to share their faith because Jesus was in their minds.
Second, in the breaking of the bread, they recognized Jesus. They saw him in the most mundane of things.
Finally, in the midst of their greatest doubts, they remembered the words of Jesus: “Peace be with you.”

Understanding – recognition – memory; blessings to cherish during the Octave of Easter and beyond.

Tuesday in the Octave of Easter

2009-04-14T00:18:00.000+02:00

Acts 2:36-41 Psalm 33:4-5, 18-19, 20 and 22 John 20:11-18

The joy that we experience at Easter is enhanced by the gospel accounts of the joy felt by those who were privileged to see the risen Jesus on Easter day. Today St. John directs our attention to Mary Magdalene who, according to the gospel accounts, was the first person to see Jesus after his resurrection.
There is a tradition in the Church that even before his appearance to Mary Magdalene Jesus visited his mother Mary. But the gospels are silent about such a visit. However, when I contemplate this gospel reading about Mary Magdalene I always think also of the Blessed Virgin Mary. What joy she must have felt on seeing her risen son! The lives of the two Marys offer an interesting contrast: the sinless Virgin Mary and the repentant sinner Mary Magdalene. And yet they are very much alike in their love for Jesus. Their love of Jesus bound them in a friendship reserved for the very closest of his followers

Monday in the Octave of Easter

2009-04-13T22:23:00.003+02:00

Joyful Easter, to all of us on this first Monday after Easter.
We have been reading the death and resurrection story of our Saving Lord, Jesus Christ. Today we read, about Saint Peter (Acts 2:14, 22-33 ) calling out to members of his Jewish community to be witnesses to the death and resurrection of the man they knew as Jesus, truly the Son of God. This reading calls us to embrace and to live the values and ideals that Jesus taught, now recorded for us in scripture.
Today is the day after the resurrection. Lent has ended, and now we begin a new week in a new season. Liturgically, this is a joyful time for us, and nature responds as well: spring is upon us.

The plants are making their journey upwards for yet another year, as their bright green shoots bring forgotten colors back to the dark soil after months of rest.
When we see a new plant sprouting up, baby animals, or new life in any form, we should let those signs be a reminder for us of what God has promised for us.
That in seeing those forms of new life we consider what amazing gift we have been given and are filled with hope and joy in Him .

Holy Saturday meditation ( quoting Crossroad Initiative )

2009-04-11T01:01:00.003+02:00

Holy Saturday Prayer:

All-powerful and ever-living God, Your only Son went down among the dead and rose again in glory. In Your goodness raise up Your faithful people, buried with Him in baptism, to be one with Him in the eternal life of Heaven, where He lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.Amen

Something strange is happening - there is a great silence on Earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole Earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The Earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and He has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear.
He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, He has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, He who is both God and the Son of Eve. The Lord approached them bearing the cross, the weapon that had won Him the victory. At the sight of him Adam, the first man He had created, struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone: “My Lord be with you all”. Christ answered him: “And with your spirit”. He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying: “Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light”.

[ This Holy Saturday reading on the descent of the Lord Jesus into Hell is used in the Roman Church's Office of Readings for Holy Saturday, with the accompanying biblical reading of Hebrews 4:1-13. The "harrowing of hell" and the rescue of Adam and Eve was a popular theme in early and medieval Christian poetry, liturgy and song. Note the parallels here between Adam and Eve's sin, which lost paradise for us, and the passion of Christ, which won for us not simply an earthly paradise, but eternal life. While it appears that this comes from a Holy Saturday homily written in Greek dating back to the fourth century liturgy (PG 43, 439, 462f), the author of this text is unknown. ]

Waiting for the sacred and Holy Resurrection of Lord Jesus Christ

2009-04-11T00:34:00.000+02:00

Perhaps this Lent has been for us a journey into “death,” into letting go of things, circumstances, perhaps even people who have blocked the path of Life, and have prevented our growing “into union” with Jesus. If so, the promise of this Holy Night burns brightly: you, too, shall live! Perhaps this Lent has found us “holding on for dear life,” clinging to other loves and satisfactions that still block our path.
The Risen Jesus calls to us: Do not be afraid. Die with me, so that with me you may have life!
Let us humbly pray

Eternal Father,
You teach us in both the Old and the New Testament
to celebrate this Passover mystery.
Help us to understand Your great Love for us.
May the goodness You now show us
confirm our Hope in Your future Mercy.
We ask this through Christ
our Lord and Saviour . Amen

Holy Thursday

2009-04-09T09:33:00.001+02:00

Holy Thursday is one of the truly marvelous days for all chistianity .
We celebrate the gift of the love of Jesus,
given to us for our nourishment -
given to us as an example of self-less love.
In our prayer today, we let our Lord wash our feet - Love us unconditionally -
and we let Jesus be broken and given for us.

We pray that we might be faithful to the one commandment of Jesus -
that we might Love others in the same way that we have been loved.
If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another's feet.
I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do. John 13
Let us to remember that by surrendering to His Passion and Death on the Cross, Jesus washes our feet. By being broken and given for us in the Eucharist, Jesus is giving us an example and a commandment for how we are to be broken and given for each other, by washing each other's feet.
Jesus loves us unconditionally, that is, without condition. He loves us, not because we deserve it. He loves us because we need loving. He tells us to love the same way. Tonight we are given his Eucharistic, self-sacrificing example of how to love each other. "This much," he says. "Love each other this completely, this freely, loving the most unattractive parts of each other, where love is needed most."

Tonight, when we watch this example of His love for us, and when we receive the Eucharist together, let us let Jesus love us.
We can pray in our hearts, "Lord, I so desire for You to love me. I don't want to hold back, hold away from You, those unpresentable parts inside of me. I don't want anything covered up, anymore. I want to be transparent and free before You. Wash all of me with Your love."
And we might ask, "Lord, let Your body and blood bring me into the most intimate communion with You tonight.
Fill my heart.
Push out all of the fear and anxiety, all of the anger and frustration, all the pettiness and lust.
Fill me tonight, Lord, so that I might be filled with Your peace and learn how to love others this way.
Help me to give myself to those closest to me in the days ahead.
Help me to be self-sacrificing, thinking of their needs first.
Help me to serve them and care for them and to delight in losing myself in feeding their hungers.
And, Lord, let me hear the cries, the hungers and thirsts of so many more of Your people, not only close to me, but in my city and throughout the world.
On this special night, let me taste Your desire that we all be one, through our sharing of this Eucharistic love."
Where Love and Charity are found,
there is God.

2009-03-30T09:37:00.003+02:00

Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Daniel 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62 or 13:41c-62 Psalm 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6 John 8:1-11

Praise to Jesus, our Savior; by his death he has opened for us the way of salvation.
Let us ask him:
Lord, guide your people to walk in your ways.

God of mercy, you gave us new life through baptism,
- make us grow day by day in your likeness.
May our generosity today bring joy to those in need,
- in helping them may we find you.
Help us to do what is good, right and true in your sight,
- and to seek you always with undivided hearts.
Forgive our sins against the unity of your family,
- make us one in heart and spirit.

Help us to pass from our old life of sin to our new life of grace. This week we let the powerful light of God's love shine into the deepest, darkest corners of our soul, revealing the most un-loving parts of our hearts, and we ask for forgiveness and healing.
We might make the Stations of the Cross to stir our hearts more deeply with the sense of his love for us.
Though I walk in the valley of darkness, I fear no evil, for you are with me. Psalm 23

Let us pray faithfully :
God of love,
We know that You are the source of all
that is good and graced in our Life.
Help us to move from the Life of sin
to which we so often cling,
into the new Life of Grace You offer us.
You know what we need to prepare for Your Kingdom.
Bless us with those gifts.Amen

Let us end the this day meditation by reading the recommended Bible texts .

Today’s readings move me every time I hear them. They stir up a lot of different emotions.
The first reading reminds me of how much I abhor injustice and lies. The two elders, whom people revered because of their wisdom, knew that their word would carry more weight than that of the righteous woman, Susanna. They knew that their reputation would serve as a perfect cover for their accusation and lies. Their lust and power could overcome their “conscience” with impunity. Susanna recognized that she was in a “no win” situation. She chose to trust in the Lord, to trust Him with her predicament. I must admit that I would find it difficult to let go of my “rational” brain and to trust God in such a precarious situation. I often find that I rely on my own problem solving capabilities rather than to rely on the power of prayer. I often forget how powerful it can be to share my problems with the Lord. Susanna was saved because she believed that justice would prevail.
John’s Gospel 8:1-11 reminds me of how easy it is to judge others and how easy it is to condemn others for some action.

Individuals tend to attribute invariable dispositions or traits to people’s action while underestimating the impact of situational factors. We are quick to judge others. To make us feel better, we tend to judge others as inferior to our own. We see ourselves as “better than average.” This better-than-average effect is helpful in keeping our self-esteem and self-concept intact. However, it also assumes that others are worth somewhat less than us, that they may be acting wickedly while we would refrain from doing the same. Jesus made explicit what we typically do not see: “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” It is so much easier to judge others than to be honest with ourselves. This parable goes to the heart of what it means to be human. We are sinners; we are imperfect and rather than look inwards and ask for forgiveness, we look outward and judge others.
I pray that I will not judge others, that I will work toward a just world, and that I will see the light, “even though I walk in the dark valley.” I pray that I will trust the Lord, for He is at my side.
( meditation taken from Daily Reflections ~~Isabelle Cherney )

Sunday of the fifth week of Lent

2009-03-29T18:59:00.002+02:00

We continue to try to choose Lent, to act Lent, in very concrete ways. Our hearts are being renewed, as we experience God's reconciling love through sorrowful and lifegiving Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ , through His glorious Resurrection .
All this is wonderfully supported by the drama of the daily liturgies. We begin with the raising of Lazarus (and we may celebrate the Scrutinies).Scrutinies are very special rites are celebrated on the last three Sundays of Lent, at liturgies where the Elect are present.
The Scrutinies ( From the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, prepared by the International Commission on English in the Liturgy and the Bishops' Committee on the Liturgy, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops )

141 The scrutinies, which are solemnly celebrated on Sundays and are reinforced by an exorcism, are rites for self-searching and repentance and have above all a spiritual purpose. The scrutinies are meant to uncover, and then heal all that is weak, defective, or sinful in the hearts of the elect; to bring out, then strengthen all that is upright, strong, and good. For the scrutinies are celebrated in order to deliver the elect from the power of sin and Satan, to protect them against temptation, and to give them strength in Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life. These rites, therefore, should complete the conversion of the elect and deepen their resolve to hold fast to Christ and to carry out their decision to love God above all.

2009-03-29T12:05:00.003+02:00

Before starting again posting , I must ask again and again forgiveness for my latest weakness and laic attachment , instead of keeping myself close to the Lent spirit and Real Presence of our Lord. There are several christian places/sites on internet , where we can listen beautiful worship songs , or where we can join so called christian forums , where people should share their faithful thoughts and prayers , to help each other to discover God and the meaning of christianity , but these forums are only endless debats and contraditions , these forums are internet places to loose your precious time you could use to pray and meditate . I ask once more forgiveness , I'm returning to my journals with contrite heart and I humbly pray

O Lord Jesus, lover of our souls,
who, for the great love with which You loved us,
willed not the death of a sinner,
but rahter that he should be converted and live,
I grieve from the bottom of my heart that I offended You,
my most loving Father and Redeemer,
to whom all sin is infinitely displeasing,
who so loved that You she Your blood for me,
and endured the bitter torments of a most cruel death.
O my God, my inifinite Goodness,
would that I never offended You.
Pardon me, O Lord Jesus,
as I most humbly implore Your mercy.
Have pity on a sinner for whom Your blood pleads
before the face of the Father.

O merciful and forgiving Lord,
for the love of You,
I forgive all who have ever offended me.
I firmly resolve to forsake and flee from all sins,
and to avoid the occasions of them,
to confess, in bitterness of spirit,
all those sins which I committed against Your divine goodness,
and to Love You, O my God,
for Your own sake,
above all things and for ever.
Grant me grace so to do,
most gracious Lord Jesus.
Amen

Thanksgiving in Time of Desolation

2009-03-21T14:26:00.003+01:00

By Father Daniel A. Lord S.J. (1888-1955)

I'm posting this awesome meditation , prayer and conversation with our Lord Jesus Christ , our Savior and Redeemer ( for all passing through desolation , sorrows and dissapointmens , for all needing Divine Mercy in own life )

1. Lord Jesus, present in my heart, I confess to you the sorrow and desolation of my soul. I ask you to speak to me, to console me, to give me the vivid realization that God my Father loves me, that you my Saviour have come to me as my nearest and dearest Friend, and that the Holy Spirit dwells within me, waiting to light my darkened way and warm my chilly soul if I will only give Him the chance.

2. How easy and meritorious it is, dear Lord, to serve you when you are sweet and tangible and my way stretches smooth in the white and gold of the sunshine! How hard it becomes to serve you when the clouds lower, the thunder rumbles, and the earth seems to quake under my feet! Yet my service when things are easy is perhaps hardly worthy to be offered to you. When your grace is making my tasks light and my burdens sweet, when my cross is entwined with roses, what have I really to offer to you, my Saviour? Now I have something worthy to present to you. I give you my service because I find service hard. I offer you obedience because inwardly I rebel against obedience. I smile despite the loneliness of my heart. Because I myself am sad, I will hurry to do what I can to make those around me happier. That may be worthy offering to you, dear Saviour. May I ask your acceptance of this offering?

3. "Into each life some rain must fall, some days be dark and dreary." Do you mind, dear Lord, if I quote thoughtfully those rather commonplace lines of a poet? Today those words happen to be particularly true for me. Life is measured in sunshine and rain, in laughter and tears, in happiness and pain, in crowns won and crosses borne. No life can be exempt from this motley division and diversity. I cannot expect to be different from the rest of mankind. For some the early days are easy and the latter ones hard. To some is given the disappointment of never reaching your house or following their desire to enter your services. Some know the pains of sickness. Some are weighted by a sense of continuous failure. I must have my share of trial. May I then, dear Lord, accept what you send me now as my portion of the darkness of Good Friday? Life knows only a very small proportion of unhappiness compared with the happiness that you constantly shower on the world. Perhaps what I now experience is my rightful share of unhappiness. Let me be aware how trial and storm sent or permitted by you hold the implicit promise and unspoken hope that, knowing storms and problems now, I shall know not too remotely my full share of happiness and peace.

4. A soul is tempered in trial. This too is platitude; but to my consolation it remains absolutely true. I have too deep and unreasonable a pride; surely I cannot continue to be proud now that I know how far down I can go into depression and near despair. I have a love of physical comfort; but now I know that physical comfort fades in the presence of spiritual trial. I could easily be cold and hard toward others; never again should I be otherwise than tender and sympathetic with others' weaknesses and sorrows, for I have known weakness and been acquainted with sorrow. I have learned pity because of my need for pity.

5. Lord Jesus, it is your desire to see me happy. In religious life I was meant to know real peace and joy. You have been good to let me know my sorrows early. Once the storms have passed, I can be certain of my share in serenity. If now you are silent, I can wait in the certainty that you will speak soon. The cross is heavy now. But your shoulder is under that cross, waiting for proof of my courage before you take it wholly upon yourself. You are giving my soul its trial by fire; out of that trial it should emerge purified, tender, merciful, and kind.

Lord Jesus, I accept my time of depression. I ask you to use that depression for my soul's advancement and for the development within me of deep understanding for the trials of others. I await your voice whenever you are ready to speak again. I look forward to the peace you have promised we shall someday know. Out of my depths let me rise to a new stature of purity and courage. It may well be that I shall find you in the depths before I shall find you upon the heights.

Friday of the Second Week of Lent

2009-03-13T11:17:00.003+01:00

Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a Psalm 105:16-17, 18-19, 20-21 Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46

We hear of the vineyard owner whose tenants killed his servants and then his son. Let us be called open our hearts and lives to the challenge of your Gospel. It is possible to say it every day
"Therefore, I say to you,the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and be given to a people that will produce its fruit." Matthew 21

It seems only a few weeks ago that we reflected on Cain’s infamous words, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Jealousy and spiritual blindness had driven him to take his own brother’s life, the first murder and the first familial betrayal after the Fall. Here, in today’s reading from Genesis, we find that the situation is not much improved. Humanity, in its fallen state, still envies its brother and still fails to see the image of God in its neighbor. Humanity still fails to love.
However, in such guilt, we also find a message of hope. No matter the brokenness of humanity, God’s own love still overcomes all evil and brings deliverance to those in sorrow. In the reading and the Gospel, we learn about the loss of a son three times: first, Israel’s loss of Joseph; second, the landowner’s loss of his son and heir; and finally, a foreshadowing moment of the death of God’s son, Jesus Christ. We also see, in these moments of trial, that redemption always follows. Joseph, rejected by his brothers in hate, saved a nation. We can read on to discover how he was brought to the land of Egypt and interpreted a dream for Pharaoh that ultimately saved the region from famine. His brothers came to Egypt in search for food, were given hospitality by Joseph, and thus survived to make the nation of Israel and its twelve tribes a reality. For Israel (Jacob by another name), seeing his son, once thought dead, alive, it was a resurrection experience, and for us as Christians, it was the foundation of the faith and tradition that lives on in us today.
In the Gospel parable, the landowner sends his servants, his prophets, and they are rejected and killed by greedy, envious, and ungrateful tenants. The land owner then sends his heir, his beloved, who is also rejected and killed. By his son’s death, the landowner expels the evil tenants and shares his kingdom with those worthy, those who will be faithful and love the landowner, his messengers, and each other. It is in the death of the son that those who labor forward in fidelity can be redeemed, that the righteous can become true heirs of the kingdom.
And so the connection is made to Christ, God’s own son, coming after Israel’s rejected prophets, who, though scorned, beaten, and murdered by those in whom God so entrusted the kingdom, has brought redemption to all and opened the kingdom to those who seek after Truth with endurance.
In the end, salvation prevails, in spite of human failure. God’s love for the world surpasses all envy, hatred, and greed, and we as brethren of the kingdom only have to strive to be true heirs in the way that we love in imitation of Christ.
So, today, who are we in these readings? Are we the jealous brothers, denying the father’s passionate love for his son and casting the son away? Are we the repentant brothers, who reconcile ourselves with both the son and the father in our desire to love? Are we the greedy tenants, or are we the redeemed tenants who will be heirs to the kingdom of God? Are we to reject the corner stone, or build on it the foundation of a Church that welcomes all and loves all? Can we love each other as God loves the son and the son loves humanity, loves us?
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
by the Lord has this been done,
and it is wonderful in our eyes?
By the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes.

Thursday of the Second Week of Lent

2009-03-12T18:44:00.005+01:00

Jeremiah 17:5-10 Psalm 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6 Luke 16:19-31
Today we're recalling the powerful teachings of Saint Luke's Gospel 16:19-31 .

The story of the Rich Man and Lazarus is our lesson today. We beg to be open to the workings of the Spirit, that we might not settle for the consolations of this life alone.
Jesus then said, "I am the one who raises the dead to life! Everyone who has faith in me will live, even if they die. And everyone who lives because of faith in me will never really die". Do you believe this?
The story of the rich man and the beggar at the gate is so familiar that it probably has lost its power to disturb us – as surely it should. Why? Well, there is no indication in the story that the rich man had broken any of the commandments – no indication that he even realized Lazarus lay in distress outside his door. So why this terrible reversal in the life after death?
The message Jesus is conveying is not just that we should be generous. Of course we should! Not just that we should comfort those in need. Of course we should! It is much more.
If we have more than we need – of anything – we are charged with finding and sharing with those who need what we have been given. As Isaiah told us the Saturday after Ash Wednesday, “. . . give of your own food for the hungry . . .” (58:10). The rich man did not do that. You possibly could hear him saying (in a modern way of expressing himself) “I felt I owed it to myself” or “God gave me this. I should enjoy it . . .” (as one of the Renaissance popes said of the papacy). Yes, gifts are to be enjoyed, but the enjoyment comes not in indulgence, but in sharing. Gifts are to be given away.
It is tempting to feel “I worked hard for what I have. I studied hard, got good grades, worked long hours . . . don’t I deserve to enjoy what I have earned?” We need to reflect for a moment. Is my aptitude for learning, my basic intelligence, of my own making? Is my motivation, the values I received from my parents, my religion, my country, my citizenship, are any of these things of my making? The truth is: it’s all gift – a gift given to be shared. It is our own selves that we need to give. After all, that is what God did in Jesus. Our future lives with God are the life of God. It is pure, eternal self-giving.We prepare for that in our earthly lives precisely by self-giving. Self-giving is not a test to see if we make the grade. It is the goal.
The story of Lazarus and the rich man sets a high standard. It should. The stakes are terribly high.
God bless and be with you all !

This could be the last victory ...

2009-03-02T12:30:00.006+01:00

.. the last victory of evil ( written with the most little letters , exactly as it deserve .. ) . It's very possible that evil can have victory over Catholic religion , the oldest and the one Jesus build on Earth , 2000 years ago on a chosen one stone : Saint Peter .
Catholics voting and electing Hussein Obama , so called Pro-choice catholics , indifferents to the great sin of homosexuality , euthanasy and pornography promiscuity , catholics like Biden or what's her name ... Pelosi , antisemitic "catholics" with sympathy for SSPX and bishop Williamson , all these evil manifestations and anomalies inside the Catholic Church , lead me to the sad reality that evil is preparing only for the moment victory ! But is only a ephemere victory , because in the end Justice will triumph over evil's destruction of world , through the Second coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ !
Jesus , we are waiting for You , come soon !
Forgive us our sins and save us from the fires of hell !
Save us once more and for one Eternity !

Join Catholic Action and pray Novena for the Protection of Marriage

2009-02-26T12:30:00.003+01:00

Join this catholic action and Novena initiated by Catholics for the Common Good
Between the lines we can read : "The only thing left for us to do is to pray. With marriage and the sovereign right of the voters to amend their constitution hanging in the balance, we must mount a massive prayer effort – equivalent to that which took place during the fall campaign. "

This novena is offered for the attorneys and justices involved in the challenges to California Proposition 8. Oral arguments will be held on the last day of the novena, March 5, in San Francisco. You may pray any prayer, offer fasting or any sacrifice for this novena. Suggested daily prayers can be found at the bottom of this sheet. We do ask that you consider saying either or both of the following prayers:
Start with
A Morning Offering

Heavenly Father, I offer You my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings today, and unite them with those of the whole mystical Body of Christ. Imploring the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe, I beg You to protect marriage as authored by You at the very time of creation.
Open the minds and hearts of the California Supreme Court Justices to accept Your Divine Plan for marriage.
Inspire the Justices to consider the delight You take in families.
Guide them with wisdom and understanding of the rights of children to know and be cared for by their father and mother.
Fill them with right judgment and courage to decide legal challenges to marriage on their merits, and to uphold the sovereign power of the voters.
Send Your Holy Spirit, we beg You, upon the attorneys to guide them in their presentations and to make their arguments compelling.
We ask these things in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
St. Joseph, earthly father of Jesus and protector of the family, pray for marriage.
Ss. Joachim and Anna, grandparents of Jesus, parents of His mother Mary, pray for marriage.

Prayer at Other Times of the Day
Dear Father in Heaven, You are Lord, not only of individuals, but of nations and governments.
I thank You for Your law, which our Founding Fathers acknowledged and recognized as higher than any human law.
Jesus, in performing Your first public miracle during the wedding feast of Cana, You confirmed the goodness of marriage. Continue to bless marriage in our day by guiding the Justices of the California Supreme Court to uphold Proposition 8 against its attackers.
Holy Spirit, please strengthen me and all supporters of Proposition 8 so that we never despair, not even in the face of ferocious opposition.
Grant us strength, fortitude, and energy to persevere in the work for life, marriage, and family. Amen.
St. Thomas More, father of a family and patron of lawyers, you defended your nation’s law with your life. Please intercede for us in this legal challenge to
marriage.
Blessed Junipero Serra, missionary to California pray for marriage. Amen

Memorare
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary,
that never was it known that anyone
who fled to your protection, implored your help, or
sought your intercession, was left unaided.
Inspired with this confidence, I fly to you,
O virgin of virgins, my mother.
To you I come, before you I stand,
sinful and sorrowful.
O mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my
petitions, but in your mercy hear and answer them.Amen

Daily thoughts and meditation

2009-02-26T11:06:00.000+01:00

“Decisions have consequences.” That’s a bit of wisdom we may have heard somewhere along the line. Moses’ address to the people makes the truth of that statement so clear: Staying with the Lord leads to life; turning hearts to “adore and serve other gods” leads to death.
Jesus’ words echo that sentiment: “. . . whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.”
Although we know these words well enough, we easily forget that faith decisions do have consequences. Although we might not say it directly, we begin to operate on the assumption that we can “be in neutral,” that we can “coast,” or not have to be concerned about whether or not we are moving forward on our journey with the Lord. “I’m doing ok,” we might say. And before we know it, we are actually choosing death, rather than life.
The starkness of the prophetic words on this second day of Lent is meant to awaken us from our slumber, and to save us from the lies that tell us life can be lived “in neutral.” Where am I slumbering today? Where am I living “in neutral”?
Awaken us, O Lord, to the truth that you desire ever more to fill us with life! Help us to respond to you, to decide for you, today!

Daily Act of Contrition together with Hope and Charity

2009-02-25T17:01:00.004+01:00

Before any devotion or meditation , I'm praying each day an Act of Contrition , together with an Act of Charity and Hope . Why ? I don't know , just because ..

Seriously talking , I need indulgence and daily Mercy in my life , because I need to confess and to get close to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and His Immaculate Mother Mary , and the only way is to purify myself through contrition and charity , insomuch as hope .

The Holy Season of Lent

2009-02-25T08:06:00.009+01:00

In our busy world, Lent provides us with an opportunity to reflect upon our patterns, to pray more deeply, experience sorrow for what we've done and failed to do, to be generous to those in need and not the last : to repent our sins .
We begin our Lenten journey aware of where we are going. We want to enter into the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus for us more fully.
That is the purpose of our journey. It is why we mark our heads with His Holy Cross. It is why we fast today and abstain from meat , a little self-denial in rememberance of Jesus Passion for our sins .
We have been saved by His sacrifice and sorrowful Passion , our self-denial helps us, in the darkness that surrounds us, to prepare ourselves to receive His Light.
This year's journey begins today.
Let us pray for the grace to keep Lent faithfully and to pray in quiet remembrance of our need for redemption.
Lord,
protect us in the struggle against evil.
As we begin the discipline of Lent,
make this season holy by our self-denial.
Father in Heaven,
the light of Your Truth bestows sight
to the darkness of sinful eyes.
May this season of Repentance
bring us the blessing of Your Forgiveness
and the gift of Your Light.
Grant this through our Lord, Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.Amen

First day of Lent 2009

2009-02-25T07:12:00.003+01:00

Ash Wednesday Prayer

Blessed are You, O Lord our God, the All-Holy One, who gives us life and all things.
As we go about our lives, the press of our duties and activities often leads us to forget Your presence and Your love.
We fall into sin and fail to live out the responsibilities that You have entrusted to those who were baptized into Your Son.
In this holy season of Lent , help us to turn our minds and hearts back to You.
Lead us into sincere repentance and renew our lives with Your Grace.
Help us to remember that we are sinners, but even more, help us to remember Your loving Divine Mercy.
As we live through this Ash Wednesday, may the crosses of ashes that mark our foreheads be a reminder to us and to those we meet that we belong to Your Son.
May our worship and prayer and penitence this day be sustained throughout these 40 days of Lent.
Bring us refreshed and renewed to the celebration of Christ’s resurrection at Easter.
We ask this through Your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.

Everyday with the Holy Spirit

2009-02-21T00:59:00.002+01:00

God created the world around us. God created us. God didn't build a toll booth to collect user fees for life. Instead, Life is free, and being in the created world is Free; it's a Gift.
We humans are the ones who attach fees to what's been freely given to us.
The biggest gift of all, however, isn't other people, and isn't nature, or the Universe.
The biggest gift in all of existence is that we are given the Giver - the same Greatest One who was Job's only satisfaction and Moses' only strength is now given to humankind.
God chooses not only to put up with us, but to Be with us.
That's what all this Jesus talk means - that's why Jesus matters. He is, in Christmas-talk, "God-with-us", Immanuel.
That is the gift of Jesus and through Him the divine Spirit by whom Christ is still in effect right here and now. This Spirit leads, shapes, empowers, and gives us Joy.
The gift a Christian lives in every day, most fundamentally, is the Holy Spirit.

Beside this meditation I'm praying this day Novena prayer :
O Holy Spirit,
You are the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity!
You are the Spirit of Truth,
Love, and Holiness,
proceeding from the Father and the Son,
and equal to Them in all things!
I adore You and love You with all my heart.
Teach me to know and to seek God,
by Whom and for Whom I was created.
Fill my heart with a holy fear
and a great love of Him.
Give me compunction and patience,
and do not let me fall into sin.
Increase Faith, Hope, and Charity in me
and bring forth in me all the Virtues
proper to my state of life.
Help me to grow in the four Cardinal Virtues,
Your seven Gifts,
and Your twelve Fruits.
Make me a faithful follower of Jesus,
an obedient child of the Church,
and a help to my neighbor.
Give me the grace to keep the commandments
and to receive the sacraments worthily.
Raise me to holiness in the state of life
to which You have called me,
and lead me through a happy death to everlasting life.
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Grant me also, O Holy Spirit,
Giver of all good gifts,
the special favor for which I ask...
(State your request here...)
if it be for Your honor
and glory and for my well-being.
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.

He who believes in Me, though he may die, shall live - John 11: 25-26

2009-02-20T10:51:00.000+01:00

God reveals himself to us through the scriptures

2009-02-20T09:38:00.005+01:00

Friday 20th February, 2009
Day of penance
Genesis 11:1-9
Happy the people the Lord has chosen to be his own—Ps 32(33):10-15

Mark 8:34-9:1

Those who would come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

In today's gospel, Jesus reminds his disciples of the selflessness required to be his follower and so to enter the kingdom of God. To journey with Christ, we are asked to put aside pride, status and possessions and see others as equal in the eyes of God. Equally frail yet powerful, equally alike yet unique. It can seem impossible for us to put our self-interest last, to leave the trappings of our comfortable life and carry our cross on our shoulders. Is this really what it takes to be a follower of Christ? It sounds so difficult!
We cannot take our wealth, credentials or lifestyle with us when our body ultimately fails. Such things have no value to God, who loves us for how we have served him, and how, in spite of rebuke and criticism, we have given of ourselves to others: the poor, the hungry, the excluded.
We have been given a simple but challenging itinerary: to travel light, to carry our cross each day, and to follow Jesus.
So we laugh at the world's pleasures, positions, and power. If we gain it all, we would gain nothing and destroy ourselves in the process (Mk 8:36).
We Christians may look like losers now, but the worst losers are those who lose their immortal souls forever.
Win now and lose everything later.
Lose now and rejoice forever in Heaven.

2009-02-19T14:53:00.003+01:00

First Corinthians, Chapter 10, Verses 31-33, Chapter 11, Verse 1

Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.

Whether we eat or drink, or whether
we dig ditches, compose songs,
feed the hungry, write books,
count stars in the skies,
or whatever we do,
Holy Spirit, let us
do everything
for the glory
of God.
For
in Him
we live
and move
and have our being.

Amen

St. Michael Prayer Campaign for the Conversion of Abortionists

2009-02-13T06:51:00.005+01:00

Sign the Saint Archangel Michael Pledge for salvation of souls of abortionists:

Holy Michael the archangel,
defend us in the day of battle;
be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou, prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God thrust down to hell satan and all wicked spirits,
who wander through the world for the ruin of souls.Amen.

http://www.hli.org/st_michael_prayer.html/

To our dear priests and bishops: As a faithful member of the Church Militant, I intend to say the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel at the end of every Mass that I attend. I respectfully ask that you lead the faithful entrusted to your care in doing the same. I do so because our fight against the culture of death is fundamentally a fight against "the principalities and powers of this world of darkness" (Eph 6: 12). That being true, then surely we need to invoke St. Michael's assistance if we are to bring to conversion and to the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, all abortionists who commit crimes against our unborn brothers and sisters. In union with millions of others around the world who labor to restore the sanctity of human life, I promise you my prayers as you consider this request.

( This is a Human Life International petition )

2009-02-11T17:38:00.004+01:00

Lourdes is one of the most important places of grace known to the Church. It is like a vast basin of purity where countless souls have removed the clothes of sin and put on the snow white garments of spiritual rebirth!
How can we deny that the Mother is the true One who knows the Will of the Son better than anyone else and that turning to Her we understand better the mysterious plan God has for each one of us? No one better than Mary can convince us to “do whatever he tells you”!

The first to witness Our Lady's presence at Lourdes was little Bernardette Soubirous, who became her intrepid messenger. Although she is buried far away in Nevers in the north of France, her body totally incorrupt, as if she were asleep, you can "meet" Saint Bernadette everywhere in Lourdes.
We can remember her Journal dedicated to the Queen of Heaven, 1866 , where she wrote this humble words she addressed to Our Lady: “Yes, gentle Mother, you lowered yourself, you came down to earth to appear to a helpless little girl… You, the Queen of Heaven and earth, deigned to make use of what was most humble for the world "
Following Saint Bernadette example , let us also pray :
God of Mercy, we celebrate the feast of Mary, our Lady of Lourdes , the sinless Mother of God . May Her prayers help us to rise above our human weakness. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
MARY, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.
O BLESSED be the Holy and Immaculate Conception of the most blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God.
HOLY Virgin Mary Immaculate, Mother of God and our Mother, speak thou for us to the Heart of Jesus, Who is thy Son and our Brother.
OUR Lady of Lourdes, pray for us!
HOLY Mother, deliver us from mortal sin!
Pray 3 Hail Mary's
Through the Lourdes Apparitions, the devotion of persons in all parts of the world to the Immaculate Mother of God has been wonderfully spread, and countless miracles have been wrought everywhere through Her intercession. The Virgin Mother of God is truly the chosen Messenger of God to these latter times, which are entrusted to Her, the chosen vessel of the unique privilege of exemption from original sin. Only with Her assistance will the dangers of the present world situation be averted. As She has done since 1858 in many places, at Lourdes, too, She gave us Her peace plan for the world, through Saint Bernadette: Prayer and Penance, to save souls.

This day meditation

2009-02-10T07:40:00.002+01:00

Tuesday of the Fifth week in Ordinary Time

Today the Church celebrates : St. Scholastica

Genesis 1:20-2:4

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 7,1-13.

"This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me"

Prayer is a heart to heart with God... Prayer that has been carried out well touches God's heart and prompts him to answer us. When we pray, let it be our whole being that turns towards God: our thoughts, our heart... The Lord will be moved to incline towards us and come to our help...

Pray and hope. Do not get upset; worrying doesn't help. God is merciful and will hear your prayer. Prayer is our best weapon; it is the key that opens God's heart. You need to speak to Jesus less with your lips than with your heart.

Rs: Psalm 8:4-9

White Roses

2009-02-09T18:53:00.002+01:00

White roses for Immaculate Heart of Mary !

Mary, conceived without sin,

pray for us who have recourse to You .

Amen

2 February : Presentation of the Lord ( Candlemas )

2009-02-02T13:58:00.003+01:00

Today we celebrate the close of the Christmas with a festival of light. Candles are blessed and they are carried in procession to welcome Christ, the Light to enlighten the Gentiles and the glory of His people. Until the year 1969, the feast, which is of Eastern origin, was known in the West as the feast of the Purification of Our Lady and also as Candlemas. Now we prefer to refer to it as the Presentation of the Lord.
Today’s feast brings to an end a whole period which resonates with a sense of light. Christmas itself, taking place just after the winter solstice, is the celebration of the end of the darkness of winter and the coming of light into the world, especially the Light of the World. Twelve days later there is the feast of the Epiphany when the light of a star guides the Gentile outsiders to pay homage to the Light of the World. Then today, we bring the celebration to a close with this feast of light. It has long been a day for processions as we remember the Lord’s entry into the Temple, the house of his Father, for the first time. These processions originally replaced pagan celebrations. Later, it was identified with the blessing of candles carried in procession in honour of Christ, “the light to enlighten the Gentiles” .
Prayers and Intercessions
Let us worship our Saviour, presented in the temple, and bring our petitions to Him:
- Lord, may our eyes see Your salvation.
Jesus Christ, by Your own will You obeyed the Father’s law and were presented in the temple:
teach us to offer ourselves alongside You in the sacrifice of the Church.
You are the consolation of Israel, recognised by the righteous man Simeon when he saw You in the temple:
make us recognise You in our brethren.
You are the Hope of the nations, preached by the prophetess Anna to all who looked for the redemption of Israel:
teach us to speak properly of you.
You are the Cornerstone of the Kingdom of God, placed as a sign of contradiction:
make men, through faith and love, receive their resurrection from You.

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.
Almighty and eternal God, we bring our petitions before Your throne.
Your only-begotten Son was presented to You in the temple today,
incarnate in our flesh.
Purify our minds
so that we may be presented to You.Amen
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.
Amen.

Novena for Unborn Protection and Right of Life

2009-01-30T06:37:00.000+01:00

With gratitude and respect to Esther ( A Catholic Mom in Hawaii ) for sharing this novena in her awesome journal .

Eternal Father, we, Your unworthy servants approach You.

We ask You to protect the lives of the Holy Innocents of this day and age,the pre-born.

Please bless them and keep them from the moment of conception to natural death.

We ask the guardian angels of the pre-born to watch over and protect these children.

Enkindle the flame of maternal and paternal love in current and future parents,
so they may be open to life and accept children lovingly and willingly according to Your Will.

Enlighten every mind to the horror of abortion
and the evil of artificial contraception,
and give us the courage and strength to fight for the Culture of Life
with truth and love.

We humbly ask You in the Holy Name of Jesus this favor
and through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
her spouse St. Joseph, St. Michael the Archangel,
and Your good and faithful servants, Pope John Paul the Great and Pope Paul VI,
please hear and answer our prayers.

For You are our God, The God of salvation and compassion,
And we glorify You, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
Now and forever, And unto ages of ages.
Amen.

(Say one Our Father, 3 Hail Mary's,
1 Guardian Angel Prayer , and 1 Glory Be)

Holy Jesus, Infant of Prague - HEAR OUR PRAYER
Immaculate Heart of Mary - PRAY FOR US
St. Joseph - PRAY FOR US
St. Michael the Archangel - PRAY FOR US
Pope John Paul the Great - PRAY FOR US
Pope Paul VI - PRAY FOR US

Jesus, meek and humble of heart,
make my heart like unto to yours.
Amen.

This novena was a collaborative project between
Chuck Abraham and Joan Hasselman
Chuck Abraham, privateervideo@yahoo.com

This day prayer

2009-01-27T12:46:00.001+01:00

Most holy and immaculate Virgin,
Mother of Jesus and our loving Mother,
being his Mother,
you shared in His universal kingship.
The prophets and angels proclaimed Him King of peace.
With loving fervour in our hearts
we salute and honor you as Queen of Peace.

We pray that your intercession
may protect us and all people from hated and discord,
and direct our hearts into the ways of Peace and Justice
which your Son taught and exemplified.
We ask your maternal care for our Holy Father
who works to reconcile the nations in Peace.

Glorious Queen of Peace,
grant us Peace in our hearts,
harmony in our families
and concord throughout the world.
Immaculate Mother,
as patroness of our beloved country,
watch over us and protect us
with your motherly love. Amen.

This day prayer

2009-01-21T23:49:00.000+01:00

Sometimes, I feel distance from You, oh Lord,
But, You are always right here for me.
I may feel far from trusting You,
Yet, You are trustworthy.
I may fall short of having faith in You, Lord,
However, You are ever faithful towards me.

Sometimes, my pride gets in the way,
Nevertheless, You will not stop trying to teach me humility.
I do not always practice rigorous honesty in my life,
Still, You continue to show me the value of honesty.
I may be experiencing spiritual dryness,
Yet, when I make an effort to talk to You,

You hear my every request, praise and thanksgiving.
Although I sin,
You keep the door of reconciliation open for me.

I may not make the attempt to get to know You better, as often as I should,
Even still, you keep the opportunity available to me.
I may fall short of serving you Lord,
However, You are constantly providing for me.
While I may not always show my love towards You.
You love me unconditionally. Amen

May God bless and be with all of you !

Liturgical Year : 21 January Feast of Saint Agnes

2009-01-21T23:28:00.000+01:00

Prayers to St. Agnes of Rome

O glorious St. Agnes, you served God in humility and confidence on earth and are now in the enjoyment of His beatific Vision in heaven because you persevered till death and gained the crown of eternal life. Remember now the dangers that surround us in the vale of tears, and intercede for us in our needs and troubles. Amen.

Let us gain courage for our own battle
by honoring the martyrdom of the glorious virgin Agnes.
St. Agnes, vessel of honor,
flower of unfading fragrance,
beloved of the choirs of Angels,
you are an example to the worth of virtue and chastity.
O you who wear a Martyr's palm
and a virgin's wreath,
pray for us that,
though unworthy of a special crown,
we may have our names written in the list of Saints . Amen

Saint Agnes is one of the best known and honoured of the Roman martyrs. She suffered martyrdom during the persecution of the Emperor Diocletian in 304 or 305. She was only twelve years old. Her name which means 'lamb' or 'victim' in Latin, and 'pure' in Greek, is still invoked in the First Eucharistic Prayer for Holy Mass.

The stories of her martyrdom date from the 5th century, about one hundred years after her death, so there are not many details known about her life. It is certain though that young noblemen of Rome, attracted by her youth, wealth and beauty, courted her, asking her hand in marriage. She declined all their offers, saying that she had chosen a Spouse who could not be seen with mortal eyes. Hoping to change the young saint's mind, the suitors accused her of being a Christian.

Saint Agnes was brought before a judge, who at first treated her gently and kindly, because of her young age. In spite of his kindness, she refused to offer incense to the goddess Minerva. Then the judge tried to frighten her with threats of torment. She was shown terrible fires, and tools of torture but remained calm and steadfast in her loyalty to Christ.

Finally, angered by her stubbornness, the judge ordered that she be sent to a house of prostitution, a rough and immoral place. Here, the sight of the saint struck respect and awe into most, but one youth, bolder than the rest, attempted to molest her. He was 'struck down, as if by lightning' and fell to the ground, blind. Throughout this ordeal Agnes remained chaste and pure, still a spotless spouse of Christ.

The most influential of her suitors was angered by this event, and convinced the judge to order Agnes executed. Spectators wept to see the young and beautiful virgin, hampered by fetters, joyfully making her way to the place of execution. The executioner had secret orders to make one last attempt to persuade her to deny Christ and live. Again, Agnes refused.

Finally, with a trembling hand, the executioner beheaded this most famous of martyrs. Agnes went to meet Jesus, who she loved more than life. She was buried on the Via Nomentana, just outside of Rome, and the Christian emperor Constantine erected a church in her honour about the year 350.

For centuries, an annual celebration blesses two lambs at the altar in this church where her relics lie. The lambs are then sent to a cloister and raised. Their wool is used to make the palliums sent by the Pope to archbishops. The palliums are worn around the archbishop's shoulders as symbols of the sheep carried by the Good Shepherd.

This day prayer

2009-01-20T12:31:00.001+01:00

Father, hear our prayers for the salvation of the world.
Grant Mercy to all souls that turned away from You.
Open their hearts and minds with Your light.

Gather Your children from the east and the west,
from the north and the south.

Have mercy O God on those who do not know You.
Bring them out of darkness into Your light.
You are our saving God
Who leads us in our salvation.
Protect us from evil.

Bless and praise You O Lord,
hear our prayers and answer us.
You, our Savior,
are the hope of all the ends of the Earth
and the distant seas.
May Your way be known upon Earth;
among all nations Your salvation.

We put the world in Your hands;
fill us with Your love.
Grant us peace through Christ, our Lord.

Amen

Spiritual Bouquet

2009-01-19T12:13:00.000+01:00

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.
St. Matthew 5:9

Daily Prayer January 18

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Lord Jesus,You said,
"I have come to set the captives free."
We are captive and need Your healing touch.
Free us, Lord, from our addictions,
so that we will be:
...free from the cares and worries that stifle our happiness;
...free from sins that cling to us, and to which we cling;
...free from all compulsive behavior
that prevents us from becoming what You, Lord,
have planned for us.
Bring us, loving Savior,
to the experience of abundantlife
which You promised.
Amen.

This Day Prayer

2009-01-17T11:16:00.000+01:00

Most Blessed Virgin, in Your life of glory,
remember the sorrows of earth.
Look with kindness on those who suffer ,
who struggle against difficulties,
who drink unceasingly the bitterness of this life.

Have pity on those who love each other and are separated.
Have pity on the lonely of heart.
Have pity on the weakness of our faith.
Have pity on the objects of our affection.
Have pity on those who weep, those who pray;
those who fear . . . Obtain for all hope and peace.
Amen

Second Christmas Novena ( Day 6 )

2008-12-21T23:14:00.000+01:00

21 December
O Dayspring,
Brightness of the everlasting light,
Son of justice,
come to give light to them that sit in darkness
and in the shadow of death!

Say 1 Our Father...
Say 1 Hail Mary...
Say 1 Glory Be...

Holy Family Novena

2008-12-20T18:45:00.000+01:00

Here we are preparing for the Christmas and also for the New Year 2009 .
Looking back , 2008 wasn't a great year , many bad happenings and wrong presidential election , many terrorist attacks and disasters , many sorrowful perspectives for the unborn babies and other sinful behaviour from White House , including corruption and strange politics .
The Holy Family feast is a good time to remember the family unit and pray for our human and spiritual families , for unborn and elders , for justice and hopes for the future , for our children and parents .
The Feast of the Holy Family is not just about the Holy Family, but about our own families too . The main purpose of the Feast is to present the Holy Family as the model for all Christian families, and for domestic life in general. Our family life becomes sanctified when we live the life of the Church within our homes. This is called the "domestic church" or the "church in miniature."
St. Paul gives us some advice on family life in Colossians 3:12-21 :
"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, forbearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, and sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged . "

May you all have a great Christmas and New Year !

Second Christmas Novena ( Day 5 )

2008-12-20T16:52:00.000+01:00

20 December:

O Key of David,
and Sceptre of the house of Israel,
that openeth and no man shutteth,
and shutteth and no man openeth,
come to liberate the prisoner from the prison,
and them that sit in darkness,
and in the shadow of death.

Say 1 Our Father...
Say 1 Hail Mary...
Say 1 Glory Be...

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.

Novena for the Holy Family Feast ( JMJ have mercy on us )

2008-12-19T18:26:00.000+01:00

The Holy Family feast is a good time to remember the family unit and pray for our human and spiritual families , for unborn and elders , for justice and hopes for the future , for our children and parents . Let us pray for them and for everyone needing God's presence in their life :

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,
bless me and grant me the grace of loving Holy Church as I should,
above every earthly thing,
and of ever showing my love by deeds.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,
bless me and grant me the grace of openly professing as I should,
with courage and with deep human respect,
the faith that I received as your gift in holy Baptism.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,
bless me and grant me the grace of sharing as I should
in the defense and propagation of the Faith when duty calls,
whether by word or by the sacrifice of my possessions and my life.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,
bless me and grant me the grace of loving my family and others
in mutual charity as I should,
and establish us in perfect harmony of thought, will, and action,
under the rule and guidance of the shepherds of the Church.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,
bless me and grant me the grace of conforming my life fully
as I should to the commandments of God’s law
and those of His Holy Church,
so as to live always in that charity which they set forth.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,
I ask in particular this special favor:
(State your intention(s) here...)

Dedication of One’s Family:

Most loving Jesus,
by Your sublime and beautiful virtues of humility,
obedience, poverty, modesty, charity, patience, and gentleness,
You blessed with peace and happiness the family
which You chose on earth.
In Your mercy look upon my family.
We belong to You,
for we have received Your many blessings over many years
and we entrust ourselves to Your loving care.

Look upon my family in Your loving kindness,
preserve us from danger,
give us help in time of need,
and grant us the grace to persevere to the end
in imitation of Your holy Family,
so that having revered You and loved You faithfully on earth,
we may praise You eternally in heaven.

Mary, dearest Mother,
to your intercession we have recourse,
knowing that your Divine Son will hear your prayers.
Glorious patriarch, Saint Joseph,
help us by your powerful prayers
and offer our prayers to Jesus through Mary’s hands.
Amen.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus Christ,
being subject to Mary and Joseph,
You sanctified family life by Your beautiful virtues.
Grant that we, with the help of Mary and Joseph,
may be taught by the example of Your holy Family,
and may after death enjoy its everlasting companionship.

Lord Jesus, help us ever to follow the example of Your holy Family,
that in the hour of our death Your glorious Virgin Mother
together with Saint Joseph may come to meet us,
and we may be worthy to be received by You into the everlasting joys of heaven.
You live and reign forever.
Amen.

Christmas Novena ( Day 4 )

2008-12-19T17:38:00.000+01:00

19 December

O Root of Jesse,
which standest for an ensign of the people,
at Whom the kings shall shut their mouths,
Whom the Gentiles shall seek,
come to deliver us,
do not tarry.

Say 1 Our Father...
Say 1 Hail Mary...
Say 1 Glory Be..

May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.

Second Christmas Novena ( Day 3 )

2008-12-18T06:53:00.000+01:00

18 December

O Adonai,
and Ruler of the house of Israel,
Who didst appear unto Moses in the burning bush,
and gavest him the law in Sinai,
come to redeem us with an outstretched arm!

Say 1 Our Father...
Say 1 Hail Mary...
Say 1 Glory Be...

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.

Second Christmas Novena ( Day 2 )

2008-12-17T18:32:00.000+01:00

17 December:

O Wisdom that comest out of the mouth of the Most High,
that reachest from one end to another,
and orderest all things mightily and sweetly,
come to teach us the way of prudence!

Say 1 Our Father...
Say 1 Hail Mary...
Say 1 Glory Be...

May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.

Second Christmas Novena ( Day 1 )

2008-12-16T23:32:00.000+01:00

Let us pray daily this novena , beside the traditional one , in this way we'll pray the Antiphons ( in the titles used to address Jesus between the 17 th and the 24 the of December )

16 December:

O Shepherd that rulest Israel,
Thou that leadest Joseph like a sheep,
come to guide and comfort us.

Say 1 Our Father...
Say 1 Hail Mary...
Say 1 Glory Be...

Christmas Novena begins today ( First Novena )

2008-12-16T22:58:00.000+01:00

Let us pray for the Glory of Holy Infant Jesus who came to redeem the world and for all unborn chidren , for all ill people , for old parents living lonely , for everyone in deep need of God's infinite Mercy .
Let us pray confidently each day and prepare our hearts and souls for the great Joy and Light of Christmas

Divine Infant,
after the wonders of Your birth in Bethlehem,
You wished to extend Your infinite mercy to the whole world
by calling the Wise Men by heavenly inspiration to Your crib,
which was in this way changed into a royal throne.
You graciously received those holy men
who were obedient to the Divine call
and hastened to Your feet.
They recognized and worshipped You as Prince of Peace,
the Redeemer of mankind,
and the very Son of God.
Show us also Your goodness and almighty power.
Enlighten our minds,
strengthen our wills,
and inflame our hearts to know You,
to serve You,
and to love You in this life,
that we may merit to find our joy in You eternally in the life to come.
O Jesus, most powerful Child,
I implore You again to help me:
(State your intention here...)
Divine Child, great omnipotent God,
I implore through Your most Holy Mother's most powerful intercession,
and through the boundless mercy of Your omnipotence as God,
for a favorable answer to my prayer during this Novena.
Grant me the grace of possessing You eternally
with Mary and Joseph
and of adoring You with Your holy angels and saints . Amen

Blessings

2008-12-15T02:20:00.000+01:00

Deep peace of the running wave to you.
Deep peace of the flowing air to you.
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.
Deep peace of the shining stars to you.
Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you.

A blessing

2008-12-15T02:08:00.000+01:00

Psalm 8 ( Divine Glory and Human Dignity )

2008-12-15T01:58:00.000+01:00

How great is your name, O Lord our God,
through al the earth!

When I see the heavens, the work of your hands,
the moon and the stars which you arranged,
what are we that you should keep us in mind,
men and women that you care for us?

Yet you have made us little less than gods;
and crowned us with glory and honour,
gave us power over the works of your hands,
put all things under our feet.

How great is your name, O Lord our God
through all the earth!

Prayers in season of Light and Joy

2008-12-10T15:06:00.000+01:00

Praying for God's mercy and help through these sad moments , nothing seems to be well in my world , even we're in the purest season of Light and Joy : Christmas !
Lord Jesus , have Mercy on us and upon the whole world !

Our Lord Jesus said to Saint Faustina,"Say unceasingly this chaplet that I have taught you. Anyone who says it will receive great Mercy at the hour of death. Priests will recommend it to sinners as the last hope. Even the most hardened sinner, if he recites this Chaplet even once, will receive grace from My Infinite Mercy. I want the whole world to know My Infinite Mercy. I want to give unimaginable graces to those who trust in My Mercy...""...
When they say this Chaplet in the presence of the dying, I will stand between My Father and the dying person not as the just judge but as the Merciful Savior".

Opening Prayers :
You expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls, and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fountain of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us.

O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of Mercy for us, I trust in You!

Our Father
Hail Mary
The Apostles' Creed

Prior to each decade (ten small beads), you say the following prayer on the large bead:

Eternal Father,I offer you the Body and Blood,Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son,Our Lord, Jesus Christ,in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.

On each of the ten small beads :

For the sake of His sorrowful Passion,have mercy on us and on the whole world.

In the end of Divine Mercy Chaplet we pray :

Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

Closing Prayer :

Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion - inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself.

Novena to Saint Jude ( Feast October 28 )

2008-10-19T23:33:00.000+02:00

I. (Day One) St. Jude, Powerful Healer

St. Jude undoubtedly traveled with Jesus from village to village and witnessed Jesus' healing power. He may have seen his master cure the ten lepers, heal the woman suffering from hemorrhages and raise the dead to life. To the blind beggar who cried out, "Jesus! Son of David! Have mercy on me!" he may have heard Jesus answer, "Receive your sight. Your faith has made you well." (Lk 18:39-43)

St. Jude was one of the disciples to whom Jesus "gave power and authority...to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick." (Lk9:1-2) He sent them out two by two, and to their amazement, "They drove out many demons, and rubbed oil on the sick and healed them." (Mk 6:13)
We may doubt that God wants what is best for us. We sometimes mistakenly think all suffering and sickness are punishment for sin. We forget how Jesus worked tirelessly to heal the infirm. When Jesus cured the man born blind, he explained, "Neither he nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that the works of God might be displayed in him." (Jn 9:3)

St. Jude understood the Lord's desire to make people whole. After Jesus' ascension, St. Jude and the other apostles preached everywhere, and "the Lord worked through them and proved that their preaching was true by the miracles that were performed." (Mk 16:18) Jesus' words at the Last Supper were fulfilled in St. Jude, "Whoever believes in me will perform the same works as I do myself and will perform even greater works." (Jn 14:12)

Prayer St. Jude, you witnessed the healing power of our Lord Jesus. You saw his compassion for the sick and dying. You yourself touched the sick, shared the sorrows of the mournful, and encouraged the despairing. You received this authority and healing power to work wonders, to cure the incurable, to make people whole. We ask you to intercede with our brother, Jesus, to send his saving grace to heal the sick and suffering, to uplift their despondent spirits, and to instill hope in their hearts. Amen.

Commitment I promise that in some way I will bring the good news of God's love to someone who is sick or infirm.

Prayer to St. Jude Thaddeus
Most Holy Apostle, St. Jude Thaddeus, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the name of the traitor who delivered your beloved Master into the hands of his enemies has caused you to be forgotten by many. But the Church honors you, and I invoke you as the special advocate of those who are in trouble and almost without hope. Help me to realize that through our faith we triumph over life's difficulties by the power of Jesus who loved us and gave his life for us. Come to my assistance that I may receive the consolation and succor of heaven in all my needs, trials, and sufferings, particularly (here make your request) and that I may praise God with you and all the saints forever.
St. Jude, apostle of the Word of God, pray for us. St. Jude, follower of the Son of God, pray for us. St. Jude, preacher of the love of God, pray for us. St. Jude, intercessor before God, pray for us. St. Jude, friend of all in need, pray for us. St. Jude, pray for us, and for all who invoke your aid.

II. (Day Two) St. Jude, Apostle of Prayer

Jesus taught St. Jude how to pray with a faith that could move mountains. His prayer was inspired by Jesus' words: "Ask and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you." (Lk 11:9-10)
We sometimes think that God has abandoned us or that our prayers have fallen on deaf ears. St. Jude prayed with the confidence instilled by Jesus' teaching: "Look how the wild flowers grow; they never have to spin or weave; yet not even Solomon in all his regalia was robed like one of these. How much more will God look after you?... Don't worry... Your Father knows what you need. Instead, set your hearts on God's kingdom, and these other things will be given you as well." (Lk12:22-31)

Although we do not totally understand God's ways, we confidently place ourselves in God's hands, as Jesus himself did. St. Jude was with Jesus the night he prayed in the Garden. There, in agony, Jesus taught us how to pray: "Father, if it be possible, take this cup of suffering from me.Yet, not my will but yours be done." (Mt 26:39)

When we are insistent and confident in prayer, we also allow our prayer to transform our lives. We open our hearts to God's spirit, willingly accept the challenges God allows us and generously recommit ourselves to imitate Jesus. St. Jude understood the Lord's words, "It is not those who say to me 'Lord, Lord' who will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the person who does the will of my Father." (Mt 7:21)

Prayer St. Jude, through prayer you praised God for the wonderful works of Jesus. You asked God for the strength to meet the challenges of your apostolate. You put your trust in God's mercy, believing firmly that God loved you and understood your joys and sorrows, your hopes and fears, and your triumphs and failures. You understood that nothing is impossible for God. We ask you to pray for us now before the Most High so that we too might be filled with God's saving power, understand God's will for us and faithfully place ourselves in God's loving hands. Amen.

Commitment I recommit myself to pray daily with greater confidence and faith that God's will be done in me.
~Recite the St. Jude Thaddeus Prayer~

III . (Day Three) St. Jude, Suffering Christian Apostle of Prayer

Like the other apostles, St. Jude suffered a martyr's death because he was committed to carry out the mission of our Lord. He accepted Jesus challenge, "If any want to follow me, let them deny themselves, take up their cross and follow me." (Lk 9:23)
In the midst of his difficulties St. Jude trusted the Lord, who said, "Come to me all you who labor and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest. For my yoke is easy and my burden light." (Mt 11:28-30)

St. Jude undoubtedly understood that his sufferings were joined to those of Jesus and therefore were also redemptive. St. Paul declared, "I am happy to suffer for you, for by means of my sufferings, I help complete what still remains of Christ's sufferings on behalf of his body, the church." (Col 1:24)

St. Jude was human. He felt pain as we do. But he remembered the suffering of Jesus, his sense of abandonment on the cross, when he cried out "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?" (Mt 27:46) These memories helped St. Jude endure his pain because he knew he suffered in union with the Lord.
In our sufferings we reflect on those of our Savior, Jesus. He was spit upon, beaten, and nailed to the cross where he hung in agony for three hours. Perhaps the most painful suffering that pierced his heart was the rejection by the people's leaders and the abandonment by his friends. Nevertheless, Jesus was faithful until the end when he cried out, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." (Lk 23:46)

Prayer : St. Jude, you remained faithful to our Lord, even unto death. You gave your life so that others might live. You endured physical pain and emotional abandonment. But you gladly joined your sufferings to those of our Savior, Jesus, and thus shared in the redemption of the world. We ask you now to intercede with our brother, Jesus Christ, so that we too might be faithful in the face of our suffering. Help us to trust in God and put our life in his hands. Amen.

Commitment I will join all my sufferings to those of Jesus for the redemption of the world, and I will encourage someone who is suffering.
~Recite the St. Jude Thaddeus Prayer~

IV .Day Four: St. Jude, Champion of Justice and Peace

Like the other apostles, St. Jude learned to struggle for justice and peace by accompanying Jesus and listening to his teaching. He heard the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus taught, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God....Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and tell all kinds of evil lies against you because you are my followers. Be happy and glad, for a great reward awaits you in heaven." (Mt 5: 9, 11-12)
St. Jude wrote in his letter, "I encourage you to fight on for the faith which once and for all God has given to people." (Jude 1:3) St. Jude struggled for all that Jesus worked to establish. As did Jesus, he preached the Good News to the poor, proclaimed liberty to captives, restored sight to the blind, and set free the oppressed. (Lk 4: 18)

We sometimes resist the Lord's challenge to work for God's reign of justice and peace. We fear criticism and conflict; we seek comfort and convenience. Not St. Jude! He fought non-violently for peace through reconcilation and compassion, and understood that without justice there is no true peace.

For his commitment to the reign of justice and peace, St. Jude suffered, just as Jesus had predicted, "You will be hated on account of my name." (Mt 10:22) Nevertheless, he enjoyed the peace promised by the Lord at the Last Supper when he said: "Peace I give to you, my own peace I leave you; a peace the world cannot give, this is my gift to you." (Jn14:27)

Prayer St. Jude, you courageously preached the Word of God in the most difficult situations. Like Jesus, you defended the poor and oppressed and challenged the rich and powerful. When threatened with death, you did not resort to violence or despair but recalled Jesus' words of peace and forgiveness. Hear our prayer, today, for peace and justice in our world. Ask the Lord to give us the courage to stand up for what is right. Pray that we be effective peacemakers like you, especially in the world where there is war and oppression, in our communities where there is violence and strife, and in our families where there is conflict and tension. Amen.

Commitment I promise to act against some injustice and take some action that will restore peace somewhere in the world.
~Recite the St. Jude Thaddeus Prayer~

V. Day Five) St. Jude, Servant of God's People

St. Jude was privileged to accompany Jesus nearly every day. He learned from the Lord how God loves us and how we must love one another. At times we may want others to serve us, to do our bidding and to attend to our needs. Sometimes we compete with others in order to be first or the best. Like St. Jude, we need to learn from Jesus, "Anyone who wants to be great, must be the servant of the rest, and anyone who wants to be first, must be the slave of all, like the Son of Man, who did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life to redeem many." (Mt 20:26-28)

At the Last Supper Jesus showed St. Jude and the other apostles how they were to serve. He washed their feet and then said, "I have set an example for you, so that you will do just what I have done for you." (Jn13:15)

St. Jude did not look for a reward for doing good for others. Rather, he lived what Jesus taught, "When you have done all you have been told to do, say, 'We are merely servants; we have done no more than our duty.'" (Lk 17:10)

St. Jude fulfilled the greatest commandments identified by Jesus: to love God with our whole heart, our whole soul, and our whole mind, and our neighbor as ourselves. (Mt 22:37-40) Jesus wants us to love like this, just as he does: "As I have loved you, so you must love one another. If you do love one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples." (Jn 13:34-35)

Prayer St. Jude, although you were chosen by Jesus as one of the twelve apostles, you learned not to be proud, not to pursue honors or the highest places. Instead, you humbled yourself in the service of your sisters and brothers. We pray that you help us to serve with a more generous heart, to sacrifice our own interest for the good of others. Intercede for us with our crucified Christ, who humbled himself on the cross, who sacrificed his life that we might live. May we imitate him by a life of dedicated, selfless service to others. Amen.

Commitment I will do some service for those who need it most or expect it least.
~Recite the St. Jude Thaddeus Prayer~

VI.Day Six) St. Jude, Compassionate Reconciler

St. Jude was a human being like all of us, and forgiveness did not come easily to him. He learned how to forgive others from the Master, our Lord, Jesus. He probably was shocked to hear Jesus say, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you," so that you may "be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Mt 5:44, 48) But that is just what he did, and so must we. Jesus extended his mercy and forgiveness to sinners and even to those who attacked him. Even when he was dying on the cross, Jesus forgave his executioners, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."(Lk 23:34)

Like Paul, St. Jude preached that we should not let the sun go down upon our anger. (Eph 4:26) If we have anything against anyone, we must first reconcile with that person before presenting our gift at the altar. (Mt5:23-24)

Can we really forgive those who have offended us? And how many times can we forgive? When Peter asked Jesus that question, St. Jude probably heard about Jesus' answer: "Not seven times seven, but seventy times seven." (Mt 18:22)

When teaching St. Jude and the other apostles how to pray, Jesus explained, "If you forgive others the wrongs they have done to you, your Father in heaven will also forgive you." (Mt 6:14) For this reason we ask for the strength to forgive those who have offended us as we pray the words Jesus taught us, "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us."

Prayer St. Jude, apostle of mercy and reconciliation, help us to forgive one another. You understand the depth of God's compassion and our hesitancy to forgive. You learned how to be merciful from Jesus, the Son of God. He taught you how to forgive those who persecuted you and put you to death. Intercede for us now before our compassionate God that we might forgive those who have offended us. Help us to remove every trace of hatred, bitterness or revenge from our hearts. May we have the strength to forgive as God forgives. Amen.

Commitment I will forgive someone who has offended me and try to reconcile myself with that person.
~Recite the St. Jude Thaddeus Prayer~

VII .Day Seven) St. Jude, Preacher of the Good News of God's Reign

Jesus trained St. Jude and sent him and others to outlying villages to preach the Good News and work for the Kingdom of God. After Jesus ascended into heaven, St. Jude continued the Lord's work and followed his command, "Go, therefore; make disciples of all the nations; baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I have given you. And know that I am with you always, even, to the end of time." (Mt28:19-20)

We sometimes think that we are not called or sent; mistakenly we think we have nothing to offer to the world or that we lack sufficient knowledge or power to change anything. We forget that through baptism we were commissioned just like St. Jude, "You are the salt of the earth....You are the light of the world....Your light must shine before all, so that, seeing your good works, they may praise your Father in heaven." (Mt 5:13-16) Jesus warned us not to hide our light under a basket.

St. Jude knew how to bring the Good News of Jesus to others. He learned from the Lord that whenever we give food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit the sick or imprisoned, we befriend Jesus himself. (Mt 25:31-46)

St. Jude courageously announced the Good News of God's love and energetically preached the coming of God's reign of justice, peace, and love wherever he went. He remembered Jesus' words at the Last Supper, "In the world you will have trouble, but be brave; I have conquered the world." (Jn 16:33)

Prayer St. Jude, you left home and traveled afar in order to bring the Good News of God's love to all the nations. You preached enthusiastically about what you learned personally from the words and works of our Lord, Jesus. You courageously faced criticism, rejection and eventually martyrdom. Ask the Lord to send us his Spirit so that we might be faithful messengers of God's love, forgiveness and justice to our selfish, violent and unjust world. Help us to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world by the loving and compassionate way we speak to and treat one another. Amen.

Commitment I will act on my faith and bring the Good News of Jesus Christ by word, deed and example to someone.
~Recite the St. Jude Thaddeus Prayer~

VIII.Day Eight) St. Jude, Advocate of Difficult Cases

St. Jude was not only a follower of Jesus but probably his cousin and friend as well. His close relationship to Jesus not only changed his life but made him a powerful advocate on our behalf. From Jesus he learned about God's boundless compassion and infinite power. He learned not to doubt God's wisdom but confidently to trust divine mercy.

St. Jude understood how we all desire to be close to Jesus, to be his friend, to feel the warmth of his love and to experience his healing power. St. Jude heard the Lord say, "I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have learned from my Father. You did not choose me, no, I chose you; and I commissioned you to go out and to bear fruit, fruit that will last; and the Father will give you anything you ask in my name." (Jn 15:15-16)

At times we despair of God's love for us or at least doubt that God hears our prayer. We question: "Why has this happened to me?" "Where is the Lord when I need him?"

We come to St. Jude because we believe he is a man of faith and understands that nothing is impossible for God. He believed what Jesus had told him at the Last Supper, "If you ask for anything in my name, I will do it." (Jn 14:14) He heard Jesus say, "...with God everything is possible." (Mk 10:27)

Prayer St. Jude, you are Jesus' cousin and friend. Accompanying him on his journeys and watching him cure the sick, you felt his infinite compassion and experienced his saving grace. You believed that he has the words of eternal life and power over sickness and death. Intercede for us now so that we might feel the comfort of his friendship, the warmth of his presence, and the healing power of his spirit. Because nothing is impossible for our God, pray that the Spirit will make us whole in body and soul. Amen.

Commitment I promise to encourage someone who is facing a seemingly hopeless situation.
~Recite the St. Jude Thaddeus Prayer~

IX.Day Nine) St. Jude, Founder of the Church

As one of the twelve apostles, St. Jude is a part of the foundation of the Church of Jesus Christ. (Rev 21:14) Wherever he traveled, he established communities of faith in which "the faithful lived together and owned everything in common... sharing among themselves according to what each one needed. Day after day they went as a body to the temple but met in their houses for the breaking of bread; they shared their food gladly and generously." (Acts 2:44-46)

St. Jude believed in unity and equality within the Church. Like St. Paul, he understood that "all of us are part of Christ's body." (I Cor 12: 27) Because we are all equal in Christ, St. Jude professed with St. Paul, "There is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, between slaves and free, between men and women; we are all one in Christ Jesus." (Gal 3:28)

Jesus promised the apostles that he would send his Spirit, the advocate, "to lead them to complete truth." (Jn 16:13) On Pentecost, they received that Spirit "like a powerful wind from heaven," and began to make bold proclamations as the Spirit prompted them. (Acts 2:2,4) They overcame their fear and preached with wisdom and strength.

The Lord calls us to be active members of our parish communities, sharing our gifts and placing them at the service of others. We need to overcome our fears, timidity and selfish individualism in order to join with others to share our faith, unite in prayer, and work together to build up Christ's body, which is the church. Jesus longed that we all be one as he and the Father are one. May we work for that unity and equality among all believers in Jesus Christ.

Prayer St. Jude, you traveled far and wide to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to all nations. You gathered people into communities of faith so that they might live the Gospel of the Lord, sharing their lives and resources, joining their hearts and minds in the Lord. You recognized the dignity of all, the diversity of gifts, and the equality among all God's children. Pray to the Lord to send his Spirit to our church leaders and to each of us so that we might create unity and equality amid the division and discrimination in our church communities. Help us overcome our own fear, our timidity or self-centeredness in order to place our gifts at the service of our sisters and brothers in our local church communities. Amen.

Commitment I will do something to help build up my local church.
~Recite the St. Jude Thaddeus Prayer~

Happy Feast of one's Guardian Angel ( today October 2 )

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Consecration to One's Guardian Angel

O Holy Angel of God, here, in the presence of the Triune God and in the love of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer, I, (name), a poor sinner, want to make a covenant with thee, his servant and my appointed Guardian, so that in union with thee, I might work with humility and fortitude for the glory of God and the coming of his Kingdom. Therefore, I implore thee to assist me, especially in the adoration of God and of the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar; in the contemplation of the word and the salvific works of God; in the imitation of Christ and in the love of His Cross in a spirit of expiation; in the faithful fulfillment of my mission within the Church, serving humbly after the example of Mary, my heavenly Mother, thy Queen. Thou, my good guardian Angel, who continually behold the face of our Father in Heaven, God entrusted me to thee from the very beginning of my life. I thank thee with all my heart for thy loving care. I commit myself to thee and promise thee my love and fidelity. I beg thee: protect me against my own weakness and against the attacks of the wicked spirits; enlighten my mind and my heart so that I may always know and accomplish the will of God; and lead me to union with God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Meditation for the Feast of our Guardian Angel ( by Pope John XIII )

According to the teaching of the Roman catechism, we must remember how admirable was the intention of divine Providence in entrusting to the angels the mission of watching over all mankind, and over individual human beings, lest they should fall victims to the grave dangers which they encounter. In this earthly life, when children have to make their way along a path beset with obstacles and snares, their fathers take care to call upon the help of those who can look after them and come to their aid in adversity. In the same way our Father in heaven has charged his angels to come to our assistance during our earthly journey which leads us to our blessed fatherland, so that, protected by the angels' help and care, we may avoid the snares upon our path, subdue our passions and, under this angelic guidance, follow always the straight and sure road which leads to Paradise...
Everyone of us is entrusted to the care of an angel.
That is why we must have a lively and profound devotion to our own Guardian Angel, and why we should often and trustfully repeat the dear prayer we were taught in the days of our childhood.
May we never fail in this devotion to the angels! During our earthly pilgrimage we may often run the risk of having to face the natural elements in turmoil, or the wrath of men who may seek to do us harm. But our Guardian Angel is always present. Let us never forget him and always remember to pray to him.

Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God's love commits me here, ever this day (or night), be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.

Novena to our Guardian Angel ( October 2 )

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O Holy Angel, whom God,
by the effect of His goodness and His tender regard for my welfare,
has charged with the care of my conduct,
and who assists me in all my wants
and comforts me in all my afflictions,
who supports me when I am discouraged
and continually obtains for me new favors,
I return thee profound thanks,
and I earnestly beseech thee,
O most amiable protector,
to continue thy charitable care and defense of me
against the malignant attacks of all my enemies.
Keep me away from all occasions of sin.
Obtain for me the grace of listening attentively
to thy holy inspirations
and of faithfully putting them into practice.
In particular, I implore thee to obtain for me
the favor which I ask for by this novena.

[Here mention your need(s).]

Protect me in all the temptations and trials of this life,
but more especially at the hour of my death,
and do not leave me until thou hast conducted me
into the presence of my Creator
in the mansions of everlasting happiness.

Amen.

Novena for the Feast of Saint Therese of The Child Jesus

2008-09-25T14:14:00.000+02:00

I'm starting very late two novenas of the Liturgical year : in the honor of Saint Therese of Lisieux ~ our little Flower , and in the honor of Our Guardian Angel . I was delaying to pray , because I'm passing through sorrowful moments in my life , many hardships and worries , so many that I just can't describe . But I trust in God , in His endless Divine Mercy that soon I shall find the good answer to all this present moment problems .

First, recite the prayer...

O St. Therese of the Child Jesus,
who during your short life on earth
became a mirror of angelic purity,
of love strong as death,
and of wholehearted abandonment to God,
now that you rejoice in the reward of your virtues,
cast a glance of pity on me
as I leave all things in your hands.
Make my troubles your own,
speak a word for me to Our Lady Immaculate,
whose flower of special love you were
to that Queen of Heaven
"who smiled on you at the dawn of life."
Beg her powerful intercession
the grace I yearn for so ardently at this moment...

(State your intention here....)
and that she join with it a blessing
that may strengthen me during life,
defend me at the hour of death,
and lead me straight on to a happy eternity.

Amen.

O God, who did inflame with the Spirit of Love,
the soul of your servant Therese of the Child Jesus,
grant that we also may love you
and make you much loved.

Amen.

Next, recite the prayer of the appropriate day...

DAY ONE

O Therese of the Child Jesus,
well beloved and full of charity,
in union with you,
I reverently adore the majesty of God,
and since I rejoice with exceeding joy
in the singular gifts of grace
bestowed upon you during your life,
and your gifts of glory after death,
I give Him deepest thanks for them;
I beseech you with all my heart’s devotion
to be pleased to obtain for me

(State your intention here....)

But if what I ask of you so earnestly
does not tend to the glory of God
and the greater good of my soul,
do you, I pray, obtain for me
that which is more profitable to both these ends.

Amen.

St. Therese of the Child Jesus,
pray for us.

DAY TWO

Almighty God,
giver of all good gifts,
who did will that Blessed Therese,
being watered by the heavenly dew of your guiding grace,
should bloom in Carmel with the beauty of virginity
and patience in suffering,
grant that I your servant
may go forward in the order of her sweetness
and may be found worthy to become a devoted
and loyal follower of Christ.

Amen.

St. Therese of the Child Jesus,
pray for us.

DAY THREE

O Therese of the Child Jesus,
lily of purity,
ornament and glory of Carmel,
I greet you, great saint,
seraph of divine love.
I rejoice in the favors
our Lord so liberally bestowed on you.
In humility and confidence
I ask you to help me,
for I know God has given you love
and pity as well as power.
Tell Him, now, I beseech you,
of the favor I seek in this novena...

(State your intention here....)

Your request will crown my petition
with success and bring joy to my heart.
Remember your promise to do good here on earth.
"I shall spend my heaven doing good on the Earth.
After death I shall let fall a shower of roses."

St. Therese of the Child Jesus,
pray for us.

DAY FOUR

O Little Flower of Jesus,
who at an early age had your heart set on Carmel
and in your brief earthly life
did become the mirror of angelic purity,
of courageous love
and of whole hearted surrender to Almighty God,
turn your eyes of mercy upon me who trusts in you.
Obtain for me the favor I seek in this novena...

(State your intention here....)

and the grace to keep my heart and mind pure and clean.
O dear saint, grant me to feel in every need
the power of your intercession;
help to comfort me in all the bitterness of this life
and especially at its end,
that I may be worth
to share eternal happiness with you in heaven.

Amen.

St. Therese of the Child Jesus,
pray for us.

DAY FIVE

O Little Flower of Carmel,
Almighty God endowed you,
consumed by love for him,
with wondrous spiritual strength
to follow the way of perfection
during the days of your short life.
Sickness touched you early
but you remained firm in faith
and prayer was your life.
O pray for me that I may benefit
by your intercession
and be granted the favor I ask in this novena...

(State your intention here....)

St. Therese of the Child Jesus,
pray for us.

DAY SIX

O Little Flower of Jesus,
you have shown yourself so powerful in your intercession,
so tender and compassionate toward those
who honor you and invoke you
in suffering and distress,
that I kneel at your feet
with perfect confidence
and beseech you most humbly
and earnestly to take me under your protection
in my present necessity
and obtain for me the favor I ask in this novena...

(State your intention here....)

Vouchsafe to recommend my request to Mary,
the merciful Queen of Heaven,
that she may plead my cause with you
before the throne of Jesus, her divine Son.
Cease not to intercede for me until my request is granted.

St. Therese of the Child Jesus,
pray for us.

DAY SEVEN

Therese of the Child Jesus,
most loving Saint,
in union with you I adore the Divine Majesty.
My heart is filled with joy
at the remembrance of the marvelous favors
with which God blessed your life on earth
and of the great glory that came to you after death.
In union with you,
I praise God,
and offer Him my humble tribute of thanksgiving.
I implore you to obtain for me,
through your powerful intercession,
the greatest of all blessings
that of living and dying in the state of grace.
I also beg of you to secure for me
the special favor I seek in this novena...

(State your intention here....)

St. Therese of the Child Jesus,
pray for us.

DAY EIGHT

O glorious St. Therese, who,
burning with the desire of increasing the glory of God,
invariably attended to the sanctification of your soul
by the constant practice of prayer and charity so that,
becoming in the Church a model of holiness,
you are now in Heaven the protector of all those
who have recourse to you in faith,
look down upon me who invokes your powerful patronage
and join your petition to mine
that I be granted the favor I seek in this novena...

(State your intention here....)

St. Therese of the Child Jesus,
pray for us.

DAY NINE

O St. Therese,
seraphic virgin,
beloved spouse of our Crucified Lord,
you who on earth did burn with a love
so intense toward your God and my God,
and now glow with a bright
and purer flame in paradise,
obtain for me, I beseech you,
a spark of that same holy fire
which shall help me to put things of the world
in their proper place
and live my life always conscious of the presence of God.
As I conclude my novena
I also beg of you to secure for me
the special favor I seek at this time...

(State your intention here....)

St. Therese of the Child Jesus,
pray for us.

Amen

Novena to Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels ( September 29 )

2008-09-20T19:02:00.002+02:00

Today I'm starting Novena to Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels . We all know that a novena is nine days of special and focused prayer . I see this as a time to focus our prayers toward areas of struggle in our lives and world, and to recognize that we are in a spiritual battle. But we are not alone. We have the help of God's Holy Angels and mighty Archangels. And there are brothers and sisters in Christ who have gone before us and encourage us still with their prayers and example. And we know that within this communion of saints there is victory acheived through prayer. So please join me in praying each of these days , knowing that we are united in prayer . Know that my prayers are with all of you too, for we are all called to be part of this communion of saints within the Church.
This novena is adressing to all three Holy Archangels : Michael , Gabriel and Raphael . I think we have to pray this way , respecting the importance and the role of each of Holy Archangels . So let us pray :

St. Michael the Archangel, loyal champion of God and His people, I turn to you with confidence and seek your powerful intercession. For the love of God, Who made you so glorious in grace and power, and for the love of the Mother of Jesus, the Queen of the Angels, be pleased to hear my prayer. You know the value on my soul in the eyes of God. May no stain of evil ever disfigure its beauty. Help me to conquer the evil spirit who tempts me. I desire to imitate your loyalty to God and Holy Mother Church and your great love for God and people. And since you are God's messenger for the care of his people, I entrust to you this special request: (Mention your request).

St. Michael, since you are, by the Will of the Creator, the powerful intercessor of Christians, I have great confidence in your prayers. I earnestly trust that if it is God's holy Will, my petition will be granted.

Pray for me, St. Michael, and also for those I love. Protect us in all dangers of body and soul. Help us in our daily needs. Through your powerful intercession, may we live a holy life, die a happy death, and reach heaven where we may praise and love God with you forever. Amen.

St. Gabriel the Archangel, I venerate you as the "Angel of the Incarnation," because God has specially appointed you to bear the messages concerning the God-Man to Daniel, Zechariah, and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Give me a tender and devoted Mother, more like your own.

I venerate you also as the "strength from God," because you are the giver of God's strength, consoler and comforter chosen to strengthen God's faithful and to teach them important truths. I ask for the grace of a special power of the will to strive for holiness of life. Steady my resolutions, renew my courage, comfort and console me in the problems, trials, and sufferings of daily living, as you consoled our Savior in His agony and Mary in her sorrows and Joseph in his trials. I put my confidence in you.

St. Gabriel, I ask you especially for this favor: (Mention your request). Through your earnest love for the Son of God-Made-Man and for His blessed Mother, I beg of you, intercede for me that my request may be granted, if it be God's holy Will.

Pray for us, St. Gabriel the Archangel. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us Pray. Almighty and ever-living God, since You chose the Archangel Gabriel from among all the Angels to announce the mystery of Your Son's Incarnation, mercifully grant that we who honor him on earth may feel the benefit of his patronage in heaven. You live and reign for ever. Amen.

Holy Archangel Raphael, standing so close to the throne of God and offering Him our prayers, I venerate you as God's special Friend and Messenger. I choose you as my Patron and wish to love and obey you as young Tobiah did. I consecrate to you my body and soul,all my work, and my whole life. I want you to be my Guide and Counselor in all the dangerous and difficult problems and decisions of my life.

Remember, dearest, St. Raphael, that the grace of God preserved you with the good Angels in heaven when the proud ones were cast into hell. I entreat you, therefore, to help me in my struggle against the world, the spirit of impurity, and the devil. Defend me from all dangers and every occasion of sin. Direct me always in the way of peace, safety, and salvation. Offer my prayers to God as you offered those of Tobiah, so that through your intercession I may obtain the graces necessary for the salvation of my soul. I ask you to pray that God grant me this favor if it be His holy Will: (Mention your request).

St. Raphael, help me to love and serve my God faithfully, to die in His grace, and finally to merit to join you in seeing and praising God forever in heaven. Amen.

Glory to the God Father Almighty Who is wonderful in His Angels and Saints .

Prayer for the Grace from all the world's Masses

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My Lord and my God !
Eternal Father, we humbly offer Thee our poor presence, and that of the whole of humanity, from the beginning to the end of the world at all the Masses that ever have or ever will be prayed. We offer Thee all the pains, sufferings, prayers, sacrifices, joys, and relaxations of our lives, in union with those of our Lord Jesus here on earth. May the Most Precious Blood of Christ, all His Blood, Wounds, and Agony save us, through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary. Amen.

[This prayer should be recited daily, and be made known.]

Novena to Saint Padre Pio ( September 23 )

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First Day :

Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, loving father, you bore the visible wounds of Our Lord Jesus Christ on your body. You carried the Cross for all humanity. In bearing the physical and moral sufferings that continually tortured your body and soul you became a martyr of love for all people. We beg you to intercede for us with our Almighty Father that we may have the courage to accept the great and small crosses of life that transform individual suffering into a sure link that leads us to eternal life.

Padre Pio : You should feel at home with sufferings that it pleases Jesus to send you, since you always have to live with them. Acting thus you think less of being freed from them. Jesus who cannot suffer long to keep you in affliction will come to relieve and comfort you by infusing fresh courage into your soul.

Closing Prayer :

O my Jesus, You have said: "Truly I say to you, ask and it will be given you, seek and you will find, knock in it will be open to you". Behold I knock , I seek and ask for the grace of (name your request)

Our Father , Hail Mary , Glory be to the Father
Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust You.

O my Jesus, You have said: "Truly I say to you, if you ask anything of my Father in My Name, He will give it to you." Behold in Your Holy Name I Asked the Father for the grace of (name your request).

Our Father , Hail Mary , Glory be to the Father
Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust You.

O my Jesus, You have said: "Truly I say to you, Heaven and earth will pass away but My words will not pass away." Encouraged by Your infallible words I now ask for the grace of (maybe request).

Our Father , Hail Mary , Glory be to the Father
Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust You.

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, for whom it is impossible not to have compassion on the afflicted, have pity on us miserable sinners and grant us the grace which we ask of You, through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary and through the intercession of Saint Padre Pio .

Say the Hail, Holy Queen and add St. Joseph, foster father of Jesus, pray for us.

Second Day:

Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, holy father, you now live with our loving Father and God Jesus Christ. You grew in holiness and resisted the seductions of the evil One. You were physically beaten by the infernal spirits of evil who sought to force you to leave the road to holiness that you had chosen to follow. Pray for us to God that through your intercession and in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ, we may find the spiritual courage to renounce sin and be strengthened in faith until death.

Padre Pio: Courage, do not be afraid of lucifer’s anger. Temptations, discouragement and unrest are the wares offered by the enemy. Remember this: if the devil makes noise it is a sign that he is still outside and not yet within. That which must terrify us is his peace and concord with the human soul.

End with the Closing Prayer .

Third Day:

Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, virtuous father, you loved Our Blessed Mother very much. You were gifted every day with the graces and comforts that only She can give. We beg you to pray for us to our Heavenly Mother and place our sins and petitions in Her hands. As at Cana in Galilee, may She intercede for us that Her Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, may hear Her prayers on our behalf and inscribe our names in the Book of Life.

Padre Pio: May Mary be the star that gives light to your way and indicates the certain road that leads to the Heavenly Father. May she be a sure sign that keeps you united with each other in times of trial.

End with the Closing Prayer .

Fourth Day:

Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, chaste father, you taught us to love our Guardian Angel as you loved yours so much. Your Guardian Angel was your constant companion, guide, defender and messenger. The Angels even brought the prayers of your spiritual children to you. Since they are a presence of the Living God who help to avoid the disgrace of sin and are always ready to indicate the road that leads us to goodness and keep us from evil, pray that we too may learn, as you, to appreciate the ministry of our Guardian Angels and speak to them that we may be receptive to their inspiration and learn to obey them at all times.

Padre Pio: Invoke your Guardian Angel who will enlighten you. God gave you your Guardian Angel for this reason. So make use of your Angel’s service.

End with the Closing Prayer .

Fifth Day:

Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, prudent father, you loved the Souls in Purgatory so much and taught us to love them as well. You offered yourself as a victim to expiate their sufferings in Purgatory. Intercede for us with Our Lord and God Jesus Christ that our hearts may be filled with compassion and love for the Holy Souls. Following your example, we too desire to assist the Holy Souls and reduce their time of affliction in Purgatory. We ask that our prayers and sacrifices may grant them relief in their sufferings, the holy indulgences necessary to liberate them from their place of torment and a speedy entrance into the eternal joys of heaven.

Padre Pio: Lord Jesus Christ, I beg you to give me the punishment due to sinners and the Souls in Purgatory. Increase the sufferings in me that will convert and save sinners, and quickly liberate the souls from the torments of Purgatory.

End with the Closing Prayer .

Sixth Day:

Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, obedient father, your loved the sick and infirm more than yourself because in them you saw Jesus. In the name of God you performed miracles of healing in body, soul and mind. Your intercession with God healed the ills of past and present and strengthened people to respond with confidence to future challenges. Those who came to you regained a sense of spiritual integrity as you re-kindled hope in their lives, and encouraged them to renew the spirit in their hearts. Through the intercession of Our Heavenly Mother, may we experience your powerful assistance and be healed in our bodily and spiritual needs, and gratefully give praise and thanks to God for all his blessings.

Padre Pio: If I knew that someone were suffering, whether in body or soul, I would ask God to free that person from whatever their problem is. And I would willingly accept that person’s sufferings on myself if that would save the person and allow the person to share in the fruits of that suffering.

End with the Closing Prayer .

Seventh Day:

Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, holy father, you fulfilled the salvation plan of God and offered yourself as a victim to free all people from their bondage to Satan. Pray for us to God. Intercede for all those people who have no faith, that they cooperate with God’s gifts and grow in a strong and sincere faith, and thus be converted to the Lord, through a sincere and heartfelt repentance of their sins. May those whose faith is weak grow strong in their Christian life, and may the faithful children of God continue with greater commitment on the road to salvation.

Padre Pio: If the world could see the beauty of a soul without sin, all sinners, all non-believers would instantly convert (their lives).

End with the Closing Prayer .

Eighth Day:

Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, pure father, you loved your Spiritual Children very much. How many of your children were acquired at the price of your blood! Pray that we who have not known you personally, may also be numbered among your Spiritual Children. Through your fatherly protection, saintly guidance and the spiritual strength you gain for us from God, at the moment of our death may we encounter you waiting for us at the Gates of Paradise.

Padre Pio: If it were possible, I would like one favor from the Lord: I would want, if He said to me ‘Go to heaven’, I would like to have this grace: Lord, do not allow me to enter heaven until the last of my children, the last of those persons entrusted to my priestly care, have entered before me...I have made an agreement with the Lord that when my soul is purified by the flames of Purgatory and is worthy to enter heaven, I will stand at the gates of paradise and will not enter until I have seen the last of my sons and daughters enter.

End with the Closing Prayer .

Ninth Day:

Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, humble father, you truly loved our Holy Mother the Church. Ask God, the Lord of the Harvest, to send laborers into His vineyard. May He fill the world with many and holy priests who are filled with the strength and inspiration that comes only from God. Intercede for us with the Blessed Virgin Mary, our Mother, that she may lead to unity all our brothers and sisters who call upon Jesus, the Christ, as Lord and Savior. May they find their unity in the one great family of God in Christ on earth, so that the Church may be a beacon of light and sure hope of salvation in the storm-tossed sea of life.
Always remain united to the Holy Catholic Church, because only She can save you. Only She possesses Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar, Who is the true Prince of Peace. Outside the Church there is no salvation. The Church alone gives Baptism; the Forgiveness of Sins; and the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ that offer you eternal life; and all the other Sacraments that assist us in living a holy life.

End with the Closing Prayer .

Amen

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross ( September 14 )

2008-09-14T21:34:00.000+02:00

Today is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, where we recall the triumph of the Cross against sin, satan, and death as well as fact that when we are baptised each one of us becomes part of Christ on His Cross so that through our daily crosses we may be brought to the Resurrection (Luke 9:23, 24) .

Exaltation of the Holy Cross is named also Roodmas , or more commonly known simply as "Holy Cross Day" -- was first begun to commemorate the Dedication of the Basilica of the Resurrection, built by St. Helena (Constantine the Great's mother), in Jerusalem in A.D. 355 -- but the true Cross was found shortly thereafter, also by St. Helena, so the two events were joined.

The story of the finding of the True Cross , from Wikipedia :

Saint Helen, the mother of Emperor Constantine the Great, discovered the True Cross or Holy Cross on 14 September 325 AD in the vicinity of Golgotha, where it lay buried in the dust of the centuries. Whenever the waves of persecutions directed against Christians died down and the Christians emerged, tormented and bloodied, from the catacombs and caves into God’s light, signing themselves with an extensive sign of the cross, then it was Constantine the Great, who more than once had felt the power of the Cross, decided to find the same Tree to which the Body of Christ had been nailed.

His eighty-year old holy mother Helen took upon herself this sacred task. Arriving in Jerusalem she spent much time and means to discover exactly where the Holy Cross of the Lord was hidden. She managed to establish the fact that soon after the Resurrection of Christ the Jews had deeply filled up the crag of the Lord’s tomb, since it was a living monument of their rejection of the Lord. There, covered by rocks and all sorts of refuse, was discovered the life-giving Tree of Christ with the crosses of the thieves. In order to weaken the respect of the early Christians towards the holy places, in later times the heathen had placed idols upon Golgotha, had built a temple in honor of the shameless goddess Venus. Later it was found that a certain old Jew, Judas by name, on the basis of written family traditions, knew exactly where the Cross of Christ was hidden. For a long time he did not agree to reveal his secret and only forced by hunger and poverty did he lead the Empress Helen and Patriarch Macarius to Golgotha. Pointing to the exact spot, he said : “Here you will find the Cross of your Christ.’’

With piety, burning with impatience, the people started to work, animated by the sweet-odour emerging from the earth at that spot. Sure enough, soon there were found three well-preserved crosses which were exactly alike by their exterior shape. It was therefore impossible to ascertain which of them was the Cross of Christ, since the board with the inscription J.N.KJ. was lying separately. The perplexity was dispersed by Patriarch Macarius who said: “If Providence did not favor the leaving of the Lord’s Cross in the ground, will it allow it to remain unknown now? Will it allow us to give honor to a robber’s cross in place of the Lord’s Cross? God Himself will show us the Cross of Our Saviour.” With these words he commanded that the crosses he taken to the home of a grievously-ill woman. Here, after fervent prayer, he placed on her the crosses, one after another. The first two did not show any effect on the sick woman, but as soon as he placed on her the third cross—the ill woman immediately felt herself healed and arose from her bed. Giving praise to God, everyone unanimously recognized this wonder-working Cross as the Lord’s.

It was pleasing to the Providence of God to reveal new glory for the life-bearing Tree. Just at that time a dead man was being carried to burial past the house of the woman who had been healed. Filled with faith, the Patriarch, in the presence of the Empress and a great multitude of people, stopped the sorrowful procession and began to lay the crosses upon the dead man. And the same one of them, the Holy Cross, which gave health to the sick woman, resurrected the dead man to the indescribable joy of the surrounding populace. All those present could not be controlled in their desire to venerate the precious Holy Cross and kiss it.

Since this was impossible because of the tremendous gathering of people, Patriarch Macarius stood upon an elevated place, and with help raised the Holy Cross high in the air several times so that it could, at least, be seen by all. Bowing down to the ground with piety, the people cried out : "Lord, have mercy!" It is from this festive act of the raising or elevation of the life-giving Cross of the Lord that today’s feast received its name. In this glorification of Christ’s Holy Cross, His very enemies were forced to give it veneration. Judas, with whose help the Lord’s Cross was found, received Holy Baptism with the name Cyriacus and, little by little, being elevated in the degrees of the Priesthood, later occupied the place of Patriarch of Jerusalem, and later still was made worthy of a martyr’s crown.

On the spot where the Holy Cross was discovered, there was also found a hitherto unknown flower of rare beauty and fragrance, which has been named Vasiliko (Basil), meaning the flower of royalty, out of respect for the Dowager Queen who led the expedition. For the next three hundred years, the Holy Cross stayed in the possession of the Christians in Jerusalem, but the city was captured by the Persians in 614 AD and the Holy Cross fell into their hands. It was later recovered by the forces of the Eastern Roman Empire (or Byzantine Empire).

Because of the many diseases that occur in the month of August, the custom prevailed of old in Constantinople to carry the precious Wood of the Holy Cross in procession throughout the city for its sanctification and its deliverance from illnesses. It was brought forth from the imperial treasury on the last day of July and placed upon the Holy Table of the Great Church of the Holy Wisdom; and beginning August 1, until the Dormition of the Theotokos, it was carried in procession throughout the city and was set forth for veneration before the people. This was called the Feast of the Procession of the Venerable Wood of the Cross, Procession of the Cross or the Feast of the Cross.

On the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross (or Triumph of the Cross) we honor the Holy Cross by which Christ redeemed the world. We made the Sign of the Cross before prayer which helps to fix our minds and hearts to God. After prayer we make the Sign of the Cross to keep close to God. During trials and temptations our strength and protection is the Sign of the Cross. At Baptism we are sealed with the Sign of the Cross, signifying the fullness of redemption and that we belong to Christ. Let us look to the cross frequently, and realize that when we make the Sign of the Cross we give our entire self to God — mind, soul, heart, body, will, thoughts.

O cross, you are the glorious sign of victory.
Through your power may we share in the triumph of Christ Jesus.

Let us pray

2008-09-08T23:16:00.000+02:00

Novena to Our Lady of Sorrows

MOST BLESSED and afflicted Virgin, Queen of Martyrs, who didst stand generously beneath the cross, beholding the agony of thy dying Son; by the sword of sorrow which then pierced thy soul, by the sufferings of thy sorrowful life, by the unutterable joy which now more than repays thee for them; look down with a mother’s pity and tenderness, as I kneel before thee to compassionate thy sorrows, and to lay my petition with childlike confidence in thy wounded heart.

I beg of thee, O my Mother, to plead continually for me with thy Son, since He can refuse thee nothing, and through the merits of His most sacred Passion and Death, together with thy own sufferings at the foot of the cross, so to touch His Sacred Heart, that I may obtain my request,

Here pause and name the favours which you are asking Our Sorrowful Mother to obtain for you through this Novena. (Let your secondary intention be to pray for the intentions of all the people making this Novena anywhere in the world. Thus a great mass prayer for all Novena intentions will arise to Our Blessed Mother.)

For to whom shall I fly in my wants and miseries, if not to thee, O Mother of mercy, who, having so deeply drunk the chalice of thy Son, canst most pity us poor exiles, still doomed to sigh in this vale of tears? Offer to Jesus but one drop of His Precious Blood, but one beat of His adorable Sacred Heart; remind Him that thou art our life, our sweetness, and our hope, and thou wilt obtain what I ask, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Hail Mary, Virgin Most Sorrowful, pray for us. (Seven times)

Novena in the glory of Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary , Holy Mother of God

2008-09-01T21:04:00.000+02:00

The birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary announced joy and the approaching salvation of a lost world. Mary was brought into the world not like other children of Adam, infected with the contagion of sin, but pure, holy, beautiful, and glorious, adorned with all the most precious graces fitting for the One predestined to be the Mother of the Saviour. Never did She have the slightest inclination towards anything other than the absolute and immediate Will of God. She appeared indeed in the weak condition of all mortals, but in the eyes of Heaven She already transcended the highest seraphim in purity, humility, charity, and the richest ornaments of grace. God had created Her in the original grace, as in the beginning Adam and Eve had enjoyed that ineffable privilege; after original sin, it was lost for all Adam’s posterity, until the time of the Redemption dawned in Mary.

The nations celebrate, often too noisily, the birthdays of the great ones of this earth... How then ought we, Christians, to rejoice in that of the Virgin Mary, Mother of our Salvation, and to present publicly to God the homage of our best praises and thanksgiving for the great mercies He has shown in Her, imploring Her mediation with Her Divine Son! Jesus of Nazareth will not reject the supplications of His most holy Mother, through whom He chose to descend from Heaven; She, the Spouse of the Canticle, is all beautiful and is the One He was pleased to obey while on earth. Her love, care, and tenderness for Him, the title and qualities which She bears, the charity and graces with which She is adorned, and the crown of glory with which She is honored, incline Him readily to receive Her recommendations and petitions.

Let us pray :

Holy Child Mary of the royal house of David, Queen of the angels,
Mother of grace and love, I greet you with all my heart.
Obtain for me the grace to love the Lord faithfully during
all the days of my life. Obtain for me, too, a great devotion
to you, who are the first creature of God's love.

Hail Mary, full of grace................

O heavenly Child Mary, who like a pure dove was born
immaculate and beautiful, true prodigy of the wisdom of
God, my soul rejoices in you. Oh! Do help me to preserve
the angelic virtue of purity at the cost of any sacrifice.

Hail Mary, full of grace................

Hail, lovely and holy Child, spiritual garden of delight, where,
on the day of the Incarnation, the tree of life was planted,
assist me to avoid the poisonous fruit of vanity and pleasures of the world.
Help me to engraft into my soul the thoughts, feelings,
and virtues of your divine Son.

Hail Mary, full of grace................

Hail, admirable Child Mary, Mystical Rose, closed garden,
open only to the heavenly Spouse. O Lily of paradise,
make me love the humble and hidden life;
let the heavenly Spouse find the gate of my heart always open
to the loving calls of His graces and inspiration.

Hail Mary, full of grace................

Holy Child Mary, mystical dawn, gate of heaven,
you are my trust and hope.
O powerful advocate, from your cradle stretch out your hand,
support me on the path of life.
Make me serve God with ardor and
constancy until death and so reach an eternity with you.

Hail Mary, full of grace................

Prayer :

Blessed Child Mary, destined to be the Mother of God and our loving Mother, by the heavenly graces you lavish upon us, mercifully listen to my supplications. In the needs which press upon me from every side and especially in my present tribulation, I place all my trust in you.

O holy Child, by the privileges granted to you alone and by the merits which you have acquired, show that the source of spiritual favors and the continuous benefits which you dispense are inexhaustible, because your power with the Heart of God is unlimited.

Deign through the immense profusion of graces with which the Most High has enriched you from the first moment of your Immaculate Conception, grant me, O Celestial Child, my petition, and I shall eternally praise the goodness of your Immaculate Heart.

Holy Mother of God , please pray for us , we love and praise you from all our soul and heart !

Daily Prayer August 31

2008-08-31T12:53:00.000+02:00

Father, help us to seek the values that will bring us lasting Joy in this changing world. In our desire for what You promise make us one in mind and heart. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Prayer to the Holy Trinity ( may all of you be blessed )

2008-08-11T22:38:00.000+02:00

Glory be to the Father,
Who by His almighty power and love created me,
making me in the image and likeness of God.

Glory be to the Son,
Who by His Precious Blood delivered me from hell,
and opened for me the gates of heaven.

Glory be to the Holy Spirit,
Who has sanctified me in the sacrament of Baptism,
and continues to sanctify me
by the graces I receive daily from His bounty.

Glory be to the Three adorable Persons of the Holy Trinity,
now and forever.

Amen.

Our Lady Help of Christians ~~ video prayer

2008-08-11T22:28:00.000+02:00

Devotion to our Lady is not an end to itself. Speaking of devotions to Mary, the Second Vatican Council stated: "While honoring Christ's Mother, these devotions cause her Son to be rightly known, loved, and glorified, and all His commands observed." Similarly Don Bosco often repeated: "I beg you first to adore Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and then to pay homage to Mary most holy."

Novena to Saint Maximilian Kolbe

2008-08-07T19:14:00.000+02:00

Follow me in praying daily this novena dedicated to one heroes of our Lady : Saint Maximilian Kolbe . May we find answer and heavenly help to all our prayer request , through great and merciful intercession of Saint Maximilian Kolbe . May his generous and humble life be an example of living for each one of us .

Let us pray :

O Lord Jesus Christ, who said,
"greater love than this no man has
that a man lay down his life for his friends,"
through the intercession of St. Maximilian Kolbe
whose life illustrated such love, we
beseech you to grant us our petitions...

(State your intention here.)

Through the Militia Immaculata movement,
which Maximilian founded,
he spread a fervent devotion to Our Lady
throughout the world.
He gave up his life for a total stranger
and loved his persecutors,
giving us an example of unselfish love for all men -
a love that was inspired by true devotion to Mary.

Grant, O Lord Jesus,
that we too may give ourselves entirely
without reserve to the love
and service of our Heavenly Queen
in order to better love
and serve our fellowman
in imitation of your humble servant, Maximilian.

Amen.

Recite the following prayers...

3 Hail Mary...

1 Glory Be...

Saint Maximilian Kolbe pray for us !

Reparation through Flowers

2008-08-07T16:29:00.001+02:00

A key need of our time in religious history is for the widest participation in Christ's sacrificial reparation of the world temporal effects of sin, which prompt so many to violence. The immediate, pressing task at hand today is thus our fullest participation in Christ's reparational deliverance of the world from these temporal effects of sin - for which we pray in Mass, and in essence in the Our Father, the Lord's Prayer.

The basic assumption of this participation - from the revelation of Genesis, and from observation in infants and small children - is that in the fallen world we are still created in basic goodness, but this is then corrupted by the temporal effects of sin in the world environment . . .transmitted and accumulated through the years from the original sin of our first parents in their response to the temptation of Satan. However, it is our faith and hope that, with a fullness of the divine/human sharing desired and willed for Creation by God, Christ's redemption of the world for Kingdom will accomplish the needed reparation for the temporal effects of sin, as well as forgiveness for the sins creating them.

The dual path of Christ's redemption is set forth for us in the simplest terms in the Our Father - the Lord's Prayer - in which in addition to praying for the forgiveness of sins, we pray that the corrupting environment of values be overcome with God's assistance through our forgiveness of offenses, our avoidance of temptation, and our deliverance from evil. Deliverance from evil is too often viewed as only to be prayed for, and awaited, dependently, rather than obtained actively through our sharing penitentially in Christ's redeeming and repairing sacrifice, "making up what is wanting in the suffering of "Christ" (Col. I, 24 )

It is widely understood that our sins are forgiven, and in satisfaction to the Father, through Christ's taking them upon himself for their dissolution through the sacrificial death of his body on Calvary - in which we are called and enabled to share through our re-enactive continuation of his sacrifice of Calvary in the Mass.

However, it would appear that the need for reparation for the temporal effects of sin in the world is not adequately understood, and acted upon because of the mistaken belief that conflicts can be resolved through discursive, logistical strategy, tactics and timing of action and negotiation in accordance with moral norms; whereas in actuality without reparative spiritual dissolution of the effects of sin, logistical action and discursive negotiation, however loving and moral, can only be a rejuggling of the effects of sin..

It is because of the massive accumulation of unrepaired effects of sin in the world, that Mary, in her mediated divine revelations at Fatima, and then at Akita - both approved by the Church for devotion - beseeched that for peace on earth there must be a fullness of our loving offering, with Christ. What is evidently required, further, is more than one-time reparational services, but a widespread reparational continuity of sacrificial offering for and with Christ through each day of all works as they are undertaken, and of all diminishments and sufferings as experienced.

Our virtual offerings at Mass, in Eucharistic adoration, in our Morning Offerings, and in our praying of the sorrowful mysteries of the Rosary are fulfilled in the concreteness of our actual offerings made through the day in loving spiritual communion with Jesus as he, in his infinity, takes them sacrificially on himself.

One means widely and readily at hand which can quicken our reparational offerings through the day are flowers which, as direct creations of God, were seen in medieval times, before the days of printing and general literacy, as familiar religious symbols, and which can be seen as such again today.

In the broadest view, the very colors of flowers were seen as symbolic of the Gospel mysteries: white of the joyful, red of sorrowful, yellow/gold of the glorious - and now, purple of the luminous. Then there is a myriad of flowers, such as those illustrated here, whose forms were seen to symbolize aspects of Gospel mysteries, events and persons. Knowledge of such symbolism leads to quickening by all flowers.

In this, in addition to recourse to the quickening of reflection by bouquets of cut flowers seen everywhere, all have the ability to undertake the cultivation of plants, whether in gardens, patios or window boxes outdoors, or indoors on windowsills, in dish gardens or as a single house plant - as constant reminders and quickeners for our sacrificial offerings for and with Christ through the day.

Additionally, the cultivation of flowers or even one flower symbolizing for the medieval faithful Christ's and Mary's redemptive and co-redemptive reparational sacrifices, serves to heighten our own sense of sacrificial sharing and spiritual communion with both Jesus and Mary, for the deliverance of the world from evils - with quickening of our hope that massive sacrifices not be imposed externally as a consequence of unrepaired temporal effects of sin, as warned by Our Lady at Fatima and Akita.

A prayer which can be repeated through the day with each work undertaken, or adversity or suffering experienced is:

"All for and with you, my Jesus, through the Immaculate and Sorrowful Heart of Mary, in reparation for temporal effects of sin in the world that, delivered from their evil, the hearts and minds of all - and especially those of world leaders, dissidents and insurgents - may be freed increasingly to respond in their thus liberated inherent created goodness, to the graces of forgiveness, reconciliation, peace , and just compromise beseeched in the prayers and sacrifices of the Holy Father and all the faithful."

Finally, flowers help us also to envisage, as the temporal effects of sin are repairingly dissolved in souls, the flowering of virtues in the redeemed spiritual soil of their natural goodness.

This day meditation

2008-08-06T12:33:00.000+02:00

The transfiguration of Jesus, like his baptism, is a revelation of the Trinity. Jesus, God the Son, the Second Person of the Trinity, shines with the light of the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity; while the voice of the Father, the First Person, proclaims Jesus' Sonship. It is the light of the Trinity, which dazzles the disciples' sight on the holy mountain, and causes them to fall to the ground in amazement.

But it was not a glory, which the disciples at the time could fathom. No doubt they would have welcomed a glory on the mountain far away from the conflicts which had happened and the conflicts which were going to happen as Jesus sets his face towards Jerusalem. Yet it was these conflicts which Jesus took with Him to the mountain to be transfigured with Him. Thus It was the transfiguration of the whole Christ, from his first obedience in childhood right through to the final obedience of' Gethsemane and Calvary.

To Peter and John and James,

your chosen disciples,

you showed today, Lord,

on Mount Tabor

the glory of your divine form.

For they saw your clothing

shine as the light,

and your face

more radiant than the sun.

They could not endure the sight

of your unbearable brightness,

and fell down on the ground,

quite unable to look up.

For they heard a voice,

hearing witness from above:

This is my beloved Son,

who has come into the world

to save mankind.

It is indeed good to be here, as you have said, Peter. It is good to be with Jesus and to remain here for ever. What greater happiness or higher honour could we have than to be with God, to be made like him and to live in His light? Therefore, since each of us who possesses God in our heart is being transformed into the divine image, we also should cry out with joy: 'It is good for us to be here' -- here where all things shine with divine radiance, where there is joy and gladness and exultation; where there is nothing in our hearts but peace, serenity and stillness; where God is seen. For here, in our hearts, Christ takes up his abode together with the Father, saying as he enters: 'Today salvation has come to this house.' With Christ, our hearts receive all the wealth of His eternal blessings, and there where they are stored up for us in Him, we see reflected as in a mirror both the first fruits and the whole of' the world to come.

That glory which shone on the mountain top, we must remember also belongs to the plain. As we sing in a hymn for the Transfiguration,

'Tis good Lord to be here,

Yet we may not remain;

But since Lord you bid us leave the mount,

Come with us to the plain.

We are not allowed to linger there. We are bidden to journey on to Calvary and there learn of the darkness and the desolation which are the cost of glory. But from Calvary and Easter there comes the Christian hope of immense range: the hope of the transformation not only of mankind but of the cosmos too.

O God, who on the holy mount revealed to chosen witnesses your well beloved Son, wonderfully transfigured, in raiment white and glistening: Show us too the splendour of your beloved Son. As we listen to the voice of your Son, help us to become heirs to eternal life with Him, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Feast of the Transfiguration

2008-08-06T11:54:00.000+02:00

The Transfiguration foretells the glory of the Lord as God, and His Ascension into heaven .It anticipates the glory of heaven, where we shall see God face to face. Through grace, we already share in the divine promise of eternal life.
We pray :

God our Father, in the transfigured glory of Christ Your Son, You strengthen our faith by confirming the witness of Your prophets, and show us the splendor of Your beloved sons and daughters. As we listen to the voice of Your Son, help us to become heirs to eternal life with Him who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Jesus and the three apostles -- Peter, James and John -- went up to the top of Mount Tabor. At a certain moment the Divine Master disappeared from their sight to reappear all at once in a glory of light and splendor. Moses and Elijah stood on either side of him, and Jesus was talking to them. Moses represented the Law, Elijah the prophecies that had been made through the centuries, foretelling the Redemption of man. What was Jesus speaking about with these two personages of the Old Testament? Certainly not about human and worldly opinions and enterprises, nor about the enjoyment of this transient life, but about the fulfillment of the purpose of God's infinite goodness, in accordance with which the Son of God made man was about to suffer and die on the Cross in order to save mankind.
The three apostles were not yet capable of understanding all this; they were so entranced by the vision that they wished it could last forever, so intense was the joy of their hearts. Stricken with awe they fell to the ground, but were soon raised again by Jesus who had re-assumed His ordinary human appearance. "Rise, and have no fear." That was the first order He gave them, and then, as they were coming down from the mountain, He said: "Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead."
In this episode described by St Matthew there is a profound and sublime lesson for all times, and for Christians of all sorts and conditions. In this earthly life we must not expect every hour to offer us joy, pleasures and glory, even if we seek these with an honest and legitimate purpose.
( — Pope John XXIII )

Hello again my lonely blog , I'm back

2008-08-06T00:39:00.000+02:00

I'm returning to my blog after a long missing . I'm sad and sorrowful , lonely in front of problems and difficulties of life . It's hard to mention , I shall only pray :

Most Precious Lord Jesus, Gentle And Wonderful God, Truly Awesome And Ever-present Holy Spirit,
Precious Lord Jesus, I love you.
Lord Jesus, I feel like an outcast.
I feel like a person the whole world wants to shun.
In your love and grace, show me how you were also the kind of person the whole world rejected.
In your love and grace, show me how going your way is the way of your will.
As an outcast of the world, show me how I hold a special place in your heart.
In this world, I have never "fit in" like I thought others "fit in."
In your love and in your grace, help me know in ever stronger ways each day how I always fit in with you.
All these things I humbly pray in the name of my most Blessed Lord Jesus Christ, my Mighty God, and my Ever-present Holy Spirit upon whom I can rely.
Amen

Prayer in the Steps of the Passion

2008-04-07T22:34:00.000+02:00

Most dear Jesus, filled with sorrow during the agony in the garden, covered with a sweat of blood while praying, have mercy on us, O Lord.

Most dear Jesus, delivered into the hands of the wicked by a kiss, bound like a robber, and abandoned by Your disciples, have mercy on us, O Lord.

Most dear Jesus, condemned to death by an unjust Council, taken as an evildoer before Pilate, and ridiculed by the wicked Herod, have mercy on us, O Lord.

Most dear Jesus, publicly shorn of Your garments, and most cruelly scourged at the pillar, have mercy on us, O Lord.

Most dear Jesus, crowned with thorns, beaten and blindfolded, clothed in rich purple and mocked, have mercy on us, O Lord.

Most dear Jesus, likened to the infamous Barabbas, rejected by Your people, and unjustly sentenced to death, have mercy on us, O Lord.

Most dear Jesus, burdened with the weight of the Cross and led to the place of execution like a lamb to the slaughter, have mercy on us, O Lord.

Most dear Jesus, reckoned with the wicked, blasphemed, and derided, and given gall to drink to mitigate Your pain, have mercy on us, O Lord.

Most dear Jesus, dying on the Cross in the presence of Mary, pierced with a lance that drew blood and water from Your side, have mercy on us, O Lord.

Most dear Jesus, taken down and placed in the arms of Your Sorrowful Mother, have mercy on us, O Lord.

Most dear Jesus, horribly bruised and marked with five wounds, annointed for burial and placed in a tomb, have mercy on us, O Lord.

My Jesus, I thank You for dying on the Cross for my sins. Have mercy on us, O Lord. Amen

This day prayer

2008-04-06T10:03:00.001+02:00

Teach me, my Lord, to be sweet and gentle in all the events of my life--in disappointments, in the thoughtlessness of others, in the insincerity of those I trusted, in the unfaithfulness of those on whom I relied.

Let me put myself aside, to think of the happiness of others, to hide my little pains and heartaches, so that I may be the only one to suffer from them.

Teach me to profit by the suffering that comes across my path. Let me so use it that it may mellow me, not harden nor embitter me; that it may make me patient, not irritable; that it may make me broad in my forgiveness, not narrow, haughty and overbearing.

May no one be less good for having come within my influence. No one less pure, less true, less kind, less noble for having been a fellow traveler in our journey toward eternal life.

As I go my rounds from one distraction to another, let me whisper from time to time, a word of love to Thee. May my life be lived in the supernatural, full of power for good, and strong in its purpose of sanctity. Amen.

Prayer on the Beatitudes

2008-04-06T07:41:00.000+02:00

Lord Jesus, You said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Keep us from being preocuppied with money and worldly goods, and with trying to increase them at the expense of justice.

Lord Jesus, You said, "Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth." Help us not to be ruthless with one another, and to eliminate the discord and violence that exists in the world around us.

Lord Jesus, You said, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." Let us not be impatient under our own burdens and unconcerned about the burdens of others.

Lord Jesus, You said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be filled." Make us thirst for you, the fountain of all holiness, and actively spread your influence in our private lives and in society.

Lord Jesus, You said, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy." Grant that we may be quick to forgive and slow to condemn.

Lord Jesus, You said, "Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God." Free us from our senses and our evil desires, and fix our eyes on you.

Lord Jesus, You said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God." Aid us to make peace in our families, in our country, and in the world.

Lord Jesus, You said, "Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of justice, for the kingdom of heaven in theirs." Make us willing to suffer for the sake of right rather than to practice injustice; and do not let us discriminate against our neighbors and oppress and persecute them.

Welcome to my new journal

2008-04-05T23:03:00.000+02:00

I'm starting my very new journal in which I'll post all my daily prayers and meditations . I hope that you all passing through my journal may join me and all my shared prayers shall help everyone

Catholic Journey to Emmaus

The Mystery of the Catholic Mass

Oct 02 - Homily: Guardian Angels

Blessed Feast of Triumph / Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Our daily bread , the Holy Word of God

Blessed Corpus Christi Feast

Catholic bishop reportedly stabbed in Turkey - Examiner.com

Waiting for Whitsunday , blessed Pentecost Feast

Feast of Triumph( Exaltation ) of the Holy Cross

Homily for the Feast of Birth of Mary , Holy Mother of God

September 8, Nativity of the Virgin Mary

Wednesday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Aug 10 - Homily: True Treasure of St Lawrence

Aug 08 - Homily

Aug 07 - Homily: Saint Cajetan

Blessed Feast of Transfiguration ( August 6 )

Aug 03 - Homily: If Today You Hear His Voice

Monday in the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Aug 02 - Homily: God's Visitation

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Aug 01 - Homily: Blessed Womb that Bore Him

Jul 31 - Homily: Soldier of God

Jul 30 - Homily: Parable of the Net

Jul 29 - Homily: Busy Martha

Jul 26 - Homily: Bread from Heaven - Video - Catholic Online

Saturday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time ( July 18 )

Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time : July 12 - 18

Friday in the Octave of Easter

Thursday in the Octave of Easter

Tuesday in the Octave of Easter

Monday in the Octave of Easter

Holy Saturday meditation ( quoting Crossroad Initiative )

Waiting for the sacred and Holy Resurrection of Lord Jesus Christ

Holy Thursday

Sunday of the fifth week of Lent

Thanksgiving in Time of Desolation

Friday of the Second Week of Lent

Thursday of the Second Week of Lent

This could be the last victory ...

Join Catholic Action and pray Novena for the Protection of Marriage

Daily thoughts and meditation

Daily Act of Contrition together with Hope and Charity

The Holy Season of Lent

First day of Lent 2009

Everyday with the Holy Spirit

He who believes in Me, though he may die, shall live - John 11: 25-26

God reveals himself to us through the scriptures

St. Michael Prayer Campaign for the Conversion of Abortionists

This day meditation

White Roses

2 February : Presentation of the Lord ( Candlemas )

Novena for Unborn Protection and Right of Life

This day prayer

This day prayer

Liturgical Year : 21 January ~~ Feast of Saint Agnes ~~

This day prayer

Spiritual Bouquet

Daily Prayer ~~ January 18 ~~

This Day Prayer

Second Christmas Novena ( Day 6 )

Holy Family Novena

Second Christmas Novena ( Day 5 )

Novena for the Holy Family Feast ( JMJ have mercy on us )

Christmas Novena ( Day 4 )

Second Christmas Novena ( Day 3 )

Second Christmas Novena ( Day 2 )

Second Christmas Novena ( Day 1 )

Christmas Novena begins today ( First Novena )

Blessings

A blessing

Psalm 8 ( Divine Glory and Human Dignity )

Prayers in season of Light and Joy

Novena to Saint Jude ( Feast October 28 )

Happy Feast of one's Guardian Angel ( today October 2 )

Novena to our Guardian Angel ( October 2 )

Novena for the Feast of Saint Therese of The Child Jesus

Novena to Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels ( September 29 )

Prayer for the Grace from all the world's Masses

Novena to Saint Padre Pio ( September 23 )

Liturgical Year : 21 January Feast of Saint Agnes

Daily Prayer January 18

Daily Prayer August 31