Our Morning Offering – 7 May – “Mary’s Month” – Thursday Fourth week of Easter
O Mary, I Give You My Heart
By St Dominic Savio (1842-1857)
O Mary, I give you my heart.
Grant me to be always yours.
Jesus and Mary,
be ever my friends
and, for love of you,
grant me to die, a thousand deaths
rather than to have the misfortune
of committing a single mortal sin.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 6 May – ‘Mary’s Month” – Wednesday of the Fourth week of Easter
Mother of Mercy
By St Bonaventure (1217-1274)
Serpahic Doctor
Virgin full of goodness,
Mother of Mercy,
I entrust to you my body and soul,
my thoughts, my actions,
my life and my death.
O my Queen, help me,
and deliver me from all
the snares of the devil.
Obtain for me the grace
of loving my Lord Jesus Christ,
your Son,
with a true and perfect love,
and after Him, O Mary,
to love you with all my heart
and above all things.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 5 May – “Mary’s Month” Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter
Take my hand, O Blessed Mother
Traditional Marian Prayer
Take my hand, O Blessed Mother,
hold me firmly lest I fall.
I am nervous when I’m walking
and to thee I humbly call.
Guide me over every crossing,
watch me when I’m on the stairs,
let me know you are beside me,
listen to my fervent prayers.
Bring me to my destination
safely, every single day.
Help me with each undertaking,
as the hours go on their way.
And when evening falls upon me
and I fear to be alone,
take my hand, O Blessed Mother,
once again and lead me home.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 4 May – ‘Mary’ Month’ -Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter
O Lady, I Call upon You
By St Bernard (1090-1153)
Doctor of the Church
Run, hasten, O Lady,
and in your mercy help your sinful servant,
who calls upon you,
and deliver him from the hands of the enemy.
Who will not sigh to you?
We sigh with love and grief,
for we are oppressed on every side.
How can we do otherwise than sigh to you,
O solace of the miserable,
refuge of outcasts,
ransom of captives?
We are certain that when you see our miseries,
your compassion will hasten to relieve us.
O our sovereign Lady and our Advocate,
commend us to your Son.
Grant, O blessed one,
by the grace which you have merited,
that He, who through you,
was graciously pleased to become a partaker
of our infirmity and misery,
may also, through your intercession,
make us partakers, of His happiness and glory.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 3 May – The Fourth Sunday of Easter, Good Shepherd Sunday and “Mary’s Month”
Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary
Before Holy Mass
O most blessed Virgin Mary,
Mother of tenderness and mercy,
I, a miserable and unworthy sinner,
fly to you with all the affection of my heart
and I beseech your motherly love,
that, as you stood by your most dear Son,
while he hung on the Cross,
so, in your kindness,
you may be pleased to stand by me, a poor sinner,
and all Priests who today are offering the Sacrifice
here and throughout the entire holy Church,
so that with your gracious help,
we may offer a worthy and acceptable oblation
in the sight of the most high and undivided Trinity.
Amen.
(This prayer is adapted from the Priests’ Prayers Before each Mass)
Our Morning Offering – 2 May – “Mary’s Month” – Saturday of the Third Week of Easter, the Memorial of St Athanasius (c 295-373) – Father and Doctor of the Church, “The Father of Orthodoxy”
Mary, Mother of Grace
St Athanasius (297-373) Father & Doctor
It becomes you to be mindful of us,
as you stand near Him who granted you all graces,
for you are the Mother of God and our Queen.
Help us for the sake of the King,
the Lord God and Master, who was born of you.
For this reason,
you are called full of grace.
Remember us, most holy Virgin,
and bestow on us gifts
from the riches of your graces,
Virgin full of graces.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 1 May – “Mary’s Month” and Friday of the Third Week of Easter
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God
By St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444)
Father & Doctor of the Church
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
Virgin and Mother!
Morning Star, perfect vessel.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
Holy Temple in which god Himself was conceived.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
Chaste and pure dove.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
Who enclosed the One who cannot be encompassed
in your sacred womb.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
From you flowed the true light, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
Through you the Conqueror
and triumphant Vanquisher of hell came to us.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
Through you, the glory of the Resurrection blossoms.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
You have saved every faithful Christian.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
Pray for us sinners now
and at the hour of our death.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 30 April – Thursday of the Third Week of Easter
“Let us Pray together, entrusting ourselves to the intercession of St Joseph, Guardian of the Holy Church, the Holy Family, Guardian of all our families. Even the carpenter of Nazareth knew precariousness and bitterness. Though he worried about the future, he knew how to walk the darkness of certain moments, always letting himself be guided by God’s will without reservation.” ... -Pope Francis, 18 March 2020
Prayer to St Joseph
For the Opening of our Churches
Adapted from a Prayer by Pope Francis
Protect, O Holy Guardian, this our Holy Church.
Enlighten our Bishops,
so that they might know — like you do —
how to care for those entrusted to their responsibility.
Bless, O St Joseph, the Church,
beginning with her ministers,
make her the sign and instrument
of your light and your goodness.
Accompany, us O St Joseph,
as we await the re-opening of our Churches.
We are bereft and suffering without the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
The Food for our journey is necessary to grant us strength,
although we call Our Lord to come to our hearts,
we miss His Real Presence.
Preserve the elderly from loneliness,
especially those who are recipients of the Holy Eucharist
in their homes, grant that no-one might be left in desperation
from abandonment and discouragement.
Comfort those who are the most frail,
encourage those who falter in faith,
strengthen all of us,
intercede for the poor.
With the Virgin Mother, beg the Lord to liberate the world
from every form of suffering and want
and to come back to us in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 29 April – Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter and the Memorial of St Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) Doctor of the Church
O God of Truth and Love
A Prayer of Penitence
By St Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)
O omnipotent Father,
God of truth,
God of love
permit me to enter into
the cell of self-knowledge.
I admit, that of myself,
I am nothing
but that all being
and goodness in me
comes solely from You.
Show me my faults,
that I may detest them,
and thus I shall flee from self-love
and find myself clothed again
in the nuptial robe of divine charity,
which I must have,
in order to be admitted
to the nuptials of life eternal.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 28 April – Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter
O Christ Jesus,
When All is Darkness
By St Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556)
O Christ Jesus,
when all is darkness
and we feel our weakness
and helplessness,
give us the sense of Your presence,
Your love and Your strength.
Help us to have perfect trust
in Your protecting love
and strengthening power,
so that nothing
may frighten or worry us,
for, living close to You,
we shall see Your hand,
Your purpose,
Your will
through all things.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 27 April – Monday of the Third Week of Easter
A Song of Praise
St John Baptiste de la Salle (1651-1719)
(Instructions and Prayers Ch 17. 81-82)
My tongue is untied
in praise of my God.
because His mercy
for mankind has no limits
and He is loving
with all his creatures across the centuries.
I unite my voice with that of the angels and saints
to sing the glory of God in heaven
and His peace on earth.
Through Christ in whom You, Father, are pleased,
with Christ and in Christ
may every praise,
power,
honour and glory
be given to You
throughout the ages.
Alleluia!
SO BE IT.
Our Morning Offering – 26 April – Third Sunday of Easter, Year A
Most of us are still deprived of Holy Mass and the Holy Eucharist but this practice of making an Spiritual Communion, has been especially used by Christians in times of persecution, such as during the era of state atheism in the Eastern Bloc, as well as in times of plagues, such as now, during the current 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic, when we are unable to receive the Eucharist on the Lord’s Day.
Act of Spiritual Communion
By Servant of God Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val (1865-1930)
At Thy feet, O my Jesus,
I prostrate myself
and I offer Thee repentance of my contrite heart,
which is humbled in it’s nothingness
and in Thy holy presence.
I adore Thee in the Sacrament of Thy love,
the ineffable Eucharist.
I desire to receive Thee into the poor dwelling
that my heart offers Thee.
While waiting for the happiness of sacramental communion,
I wish to possess Thee in spirit.
Come to me, O my Jesus,
since I, for my part, am coming to Thee!
May Thy love embrace my whole being in life and in death.
I believe in Thee,
I hope in Thee,
I love Thee.
Amen
Let us remember the words of St Pope John Paul in his Encyclical, Ecclesia de Eucharistia:
In the Eucharist, “unlike any other Sacrament, the mystery [of communion] is so perfect that it brings us to the heights of every good thing –
Here is the ultimate goal of every human desire, because here we attain God
and God joins Himself to us in the most perfect union.”
Precisely for this reason it is good to cultivate in our hearts a constant desire for the sacrament of the Eucharist.
This was the origin of the practice of “Spiritual Communion,” which has happily been established in the Church for centuries and recommended by Saints who were masters of the spiritual life. St Teresa of Jesus (1515-1582) Doctor of Prayer, wrote:
“When you do not receive Communion and you do not attend Mass, you can make a Spiritual Communion, which is a most beneficial practice; by it the love of God will be greatly impressed on you” [The Way of Perfection, Ch. 35.].1.
Our Morning Offering – 25 April – Saturday of the Second Week of Easter
Blessed Virgin Mary, Holy Mary!
By St Augustine (354-430)
Father & Doctor of the Church
Blessed Virgin Mary,
who can worthily repay you
with praise and thanks
for having rescued a fallen world
by your generous consent!
Receive our gratitude and by your prayers
obtain the pardon of our sins.
Take our prayers into the sanctuary of heaven
and enable them to make our peace with God.
Holy Mary,
help the miserable,
strengthen the discouraged,
comfort the sorrowful,
pray for your people,
plead for the clergy,
intercede for all women consecrated to God.
May all who venerate you feel now, your help and protection.
Be ready to help us when we pray
and bring back to us, the answers to our prayers.
Make it your continual concern to pray for the people of God,
for you were blessed by God and were made worthy to bear
the Redeemer of the world,
who lives and reigns forever.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 24 April – Friday of the Second week of Easter
I Will Put Myself In Your Hands
By St John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
O my God, I will put myself
without reserve into Your hands.
Wealth or woe,
joy or sorrow,
friends or bereavement,
honour or humiliation,
good report or ill report,
comfort or discomfort.
Your presence or the
hiding of Your countenance,
all is good
if it comes from You.
You are Wisdom
and You are love –
what can I desire more.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 23 April – Thursday of the Second Week of Easter
You are the King of All
By St Albert the Great (1200-1280)
Universal Doctor
We pray to You, O Lord,
who are the supreme Truth,
and all truth is from You.
We beseech You, O Lord,
who are the highest Wisdom,
and all the wise depend on You
for their wisdom.
You are the supreme Joy,
and all who are happy owe it to You.
You are the Light of minds,
and all receive their understanding from You.
We love, we love You above all.
We seek You, we follow You,
and we are ready to serve You.
We desire to dwell under Your power
for You are the King of all.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 22 April – Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter
To Jesus, the Truth
By Blessed James Alberione (1884-1971)
O Jesus,
our One, our only Light,
when You illumine the anxious minds,
evil error takes flight
and eternal Truth serenely shines.
The world, when deprived of Your Light,
remains enwrapped in densest darkness.
May faith and charity benign,
unite their flames in every heart.
May every tongue sing praise to You,
may schools and arts in every age,
sing Your praises,
may books and journals bear Your Truth,
resplendent on each printed page.
May nations sing Your glorious paise
and around the globe,
Your Truth resound,
transmitted by new means and ways,
which modern man has discovered.
Jesus, our everlasting Truth, Way and Life,
by You we are led,.
by You we live,
to Father, You and the Spirit,
may all peoples praise and glory give.
Amen.
Blessed Fr James Alberione (1884-1971)
the Founder of the Pauline Family,
composed various Prayers to Jesus Master,
The Way, the Truth and the Life,
specifically directed to honour Jesus, the Master –
to sanctify the whole person, mind, will and heart.
These prayers are prayed by his Orders every day.
To Jesus, the Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/04/09/our-morning-offering-9-april-to-jesus-master-the-life/
To Jesus, the Way:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/04/17/our-morning-offering-17-april-bl-james-alberione-to-jesus-the-way/
Our Morning Offering – 21 April – Tuesday of the Second week of Easter and the Memorial of St Anselm OSB (1033-1109) Doctor of the Church
O Lord, Draw Near
In Troubles and Perils
By St Anselm (1033-1109)
Doctor of the Church
O Lord,
we bring You
the troubles and perils
of peoples and nations,
the sighing of prisoners and captives,
the sorrows of the bereaved,
the needs of strangers,
the helplessness of the weak,
the tiredness of the weary,
the failing powers of the aged.
O Lord, draw near to each,
for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 20 April – Monday of the Second week of Easter
Jesu, be You my Life!
Msgr Robert Hugh Benson (1871-1914)
I cannot live alone another hour,
Jesu, be You my Life!
I have not power to strive,
be You my Power
In every strife!
I can do nothing
– hope, nor love, nor fear.
But only fail and fall.
Be You my soul and self,
O Jesu dear.
My God and all!
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 19 April – Low Sunday the Octave Day of Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday
O Spirit of God, Spirit of Love and of Mercy
By St Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938)
O Spirit of God, Spirit of love and of mercy,
Who pours into my heart the balm of trust,
Your grace confirms my soul in what is good,
Giving it an invincible strength – constancy!
O Spirit of God, Spirit of peace and of joy,
Who comforts my thirsting heart,
Pour into it the living spring of divine love
And make it dauntless in battle.
O Spirit of God, my soul’s most lovable guest,
I, for my part, desire to be faithful to You
In days of joy, as much as in days of suffering.
Spirit of God, I desire to live always in Your presence.
O Spirit of God who penetrates my being
And lets me know Your divine and Trinitarian life,
You initiate me to Your divine Being;
Thus united with You, I have eternal life.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 17 April – Easter Friday
To Jesus, the Way
By Bl James Alberione (1884-1971)
O Jesus,
You are the Way secure,
You guide us on life’s troubled ways,
amid the errors of each age,
while we gaze toward our fatherland.
taking to Yourself our nature,
You came to us in flesh and blood
and as our model and our mould,
You call us to tread the way You trod.
A stable You chose at birth,
long years You laboured tirelessly,
the bitter Cross You did embrace
and so You tell us,
“Learn of me.”
Jesus, our everlasting Way, Truth and Life,
by You we are led,
by You we live,
to Father, You and the Spirit,
may all peoples praise and glory give.
Amen.
Blessed Fr James Alberione (1884-1971)
the Founder of the Pauline Family,
composed various Prayers to Jesus Master,
The Way, the Truth and the Life,
specifically directed to honour Jesus, the Master –
to sanctify the whole person, mind, will and heart.
These prayers are prayed by his Orders everyday.
See Jesus, the Life
https://anastpaul.com/2020/04/09/our-morning-offering-9-april-to-jesus-master-the-life/
Our Morning Offering – 15 April – Thursday of Easter week
Grant us Your Light, O Lord
By St Bede (673-735)
Father and Doctor of the Church
Grant us Your light, O Lord,
so that the darkness of our hearts,
may wholly pass away
and we may come at last,
to the light of Christ.
For Christ is that morning star,
who, when the night of this world has passed,
brings to His saints,
the promised light of life
and opens to them,
everlasting day.
Amen
(From ‘On the Apocalypse’)
Our Morning Offering – 15 April – Easter Wednesday
Tis I – Be not Afraid!
St John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
WHEN I sink down in gloom or fear,
Hope blighted or delayed,
Thy whisper, Lord, my heart shall cheer,
“’Tis I – be not afraid!”
Or, startled at some sudden blow,
If fretful thoughts I feel,
“Fear not, it is but I!” shall flow,
As balm my wound to heal.
Nor will I quit Thy way, though foes
Some onward pass defend,
From each rough voice the watchword goes,
“Be not afraid!… a Friend!”
And O! when judgement’s trumpet clear
Awakes me from the grave,
Still in it’s echo may I hear,
“’Tis Christ! He comes to save.”
Our Morning Offering – 13 April – Easter Monday
The beautiful ancient Easter sequence
Victimae Paschali Laudes can be said or sung
before the Gospel everyday during the Octave:
Victimae Paschali Laudes
Christians, to the Paschal Victim
Offer your thankful praises!
A Lamb the sheep redeems,
Christ, who only is sinless,
Reconciles sinners to the Father.
Death and life have contended
in that combat stupendous,
The Prince of Life, who died, reigns immortal.
Speak, Mary, declaring
What you saw, wayfaring.
“The tomb of Christ, who is living,
The glory of Jesus’ resurrection.
Bright angels attesting,
The shroud and napkin resting.
Yes, Christ my hope is arisen,
To Galilee He goes before you.”
Christ indeed from death is risen,
our new life obtaining.
Have mercy, victor King, ever reigning!
Amen. Alleluia!++
Our Morning Offering – 12 April – Easter Sunday – The Solemnity of the Resurrection of the Lord
Easter Prayer
By St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604)
One of the original four Doctors of the Latin Church
It is only right,
with all the powers of our heart and mind,
to praise You Father and Your Only-Begotten Son,
Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Dear Father, by Your wondrous condescension
of Loving-Kindness toward us, Your servants,
You gave up Your Son.
Dear Jesus,
You paid the debt of Adam for us,
to the Eternal Father by Your Blood
poured forth in Loving-Kindness.
You cleared away the darkness of sin
by Your magnificent and radiant Resurrection.
You broke the bonds of death
and rose from the grave as a Conqueror.
You reconciled Heaven and earth.
Our life had no hope of Eternal Happiness
before You redeemed us.
Your Resurrection has washed away our sins,
restored our innocence and brought us joy.
How inestimable is the tenderness of Your Love!
We pray You, Lord, to preserve Your servants
in the peaceful enjoyment of this Easter happiness.
We ask this through Jesus Christ Our Lord,
Who lives and reigns with God The Father,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, forever and ever.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 11 April – Sabbatum Sanctum – Holy Saturday – Easter Vigil in the Holy Night
Beautiful and Glorious
By St John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
I look at You, my Lord Jesus
and think of Your most holy Body
and I keep it before me
as the pledge of my own resurrection.
Though I die, as die I certainly shall,
nevertheless, I shall not forever die,
for I shall rise again.
O You, who are the Truth,
I know and believe,
with my whole heart,
that this very flesh of mine will rise again.
I know, base and odious as it is at present,
that it will one day, if I be worthy,
be raised incorruptible
and altogether beautiful and glorious.
This I know, this by Your grace,
I will ever keep before me.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 10 April – Friday of the Passion of the Lord
Our Lord’s Passion
St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) Doctor of the Church
In Your hour of holy sadness
could I share with You, what gladness
should Your Cross to me be showing.
Gladness past all thought of knowing,
bowed beneath Your Cross to die!
Blessed Jesus, thanks I render
that in bitter death, so tender,
You now hear Your supplicant calling,
Save me Lord and keep from falling
from You,
when my hour is night.
Our Morning Offering – 9 April – Holy Thursday Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper
To Jesus, the Life
By Blessed James Alberione (1884-1971)
O Wellspring of eternal life,
all life is grafted in You, Lord,
You break the bonds of death
and give life to us anew.
Descending from Your splendid throne,
You have brought this gift to us below,
profusely from Your open side,
You bestow divine riches.
We have joined Your Mystical Body,
engrafted by baptismal grace,
life flowing from Your seven springs,
lifts up anew our fallen race.
Though wounded by our parents’ fault,
our nature is restored by grace,
virtue is practised for Your love
and reaps the heavenly reward.
Only You can give true peace,
lead nations to live in harmony,
cause innocence to bloom in homes,
grant prosperity to our works.
Jesus, our everlasting Life, Truth and Way,
by You, we are led,
by You we live,
to Father, You and the Spirit,
may all peoples praise and glory give.
Amen
Blessed Fr James Alberione (1884-1971)
the Founder of the Pauline Family,
composed various Prayers to Jesus Master,
The Way, the Truth and the Life,
specifically directed to honour Jesus, the Master –
to sanctify the whole person, mind, will and heart.
These prayers are prayed by his Orders everyday.
Our Morning Offering – 4 April – Saturday of the Fifth week of Lent, Year C “Marian Saturdays”
Mother of Sorrows, of Love, of Mercy
By Fr Lawrence Lovasik SVD (1913-1986)
Mary, most holy Virgin and Queen of Martyrs,
accept the sincere homage of my childlike love.
Into your heart, pierced by so many sorrows,
welcome my poor soul.
Receive it as the companion of your sorrows
at the foot of the Cross, on which Jesus
died for the redemption of the world.
Sorrowful Virgin, with you,
I will gladly suffer all the trials,
misunderstandings and pains
which it shall please our Lord to send me.
I offer them all to you in memory of your sorrows,
so that every thought of my mind
and every beat of my heart,
may be an act of compassion and of love for you.
Loving Mother, have pity on me,
reconcile me to your Divine Son Jesus,
keep me in His grace and assist me
in my last agony,
so that I may be able to meet you in heaven
and sing your glories.
Mary, most sorrowful Mother of Christians,
pray for us.
Mother of love, of sorrow
and of mercy, pray for us!
Amen. Amen!
Our Morning Offering – 3 April – Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Strengthen me, O God
By Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)
Strengthen me, O God,
by the grace of Your Holy Spirit.
Grant me the power to grow in holiness
and to empty my heart of all useless care and anxiety,
that I may not be led by the desire for earthly things,
whether of little or great value.
Help me to regard all things
in this world, as they are –
passing and short-lived –
realising, that I, too,
will pass away with them.
Nothing under the sun is lasting
but all is vanity and a chase after wind (Eccl 1:14).
Give me Your heavenly wisdom, O Lord,
that I may learn,
that the most important thing
is to seek You and to find You
and, above all things else,
to love You,
Amen
The Imitation – Book 3 Ch 27
Our Morning Offering – 2 April – Thursday of the Fifth week of Lent
O Saviour of the World
By St Ignatius of Antioch (c 35-c 108)
Father of the Church
Lord Jesus Christ,
on the human side
You are sprung from David’s line,
Son of God according to God’s will and power,
born of the Virgin Mary,
baptised by John
and actually Crucified for us in the flesh,
under Pontius Pilate and Herod the Tetrarch.
On the third day, You raised a standard
to rally Your saints and faithful forever
in the one body of Your Church.
By the grace and power of these mysteries,
fit us out with unshakeable faith,
nail us body and soul to Your Cross
and root us in love by Your Blood, shed for us,
O Saviour of the world,
living and reigning, now and forever,
amen.
AnaStpaul 
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