Category: MORNING Prayers

Posted in FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, SAINT of the DAY

Our Morning Offering – 29 June

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 29 June

O God,
who on the Solemnity of the Apostles Peter and Paul
give us a noble and holy joy of this day.
Grant, we pray, that Your Church
may in all things follow the teaching
of those through whom she received
the beginnings of right religion.
Grant that we may be sustained
by the intercession
of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul
and that Your Church,
may ever stand firm upon the one foundation,
which is Jesus Christ our Lord;
who lives and reigns with You,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen

prayer on the solemnity of the apostles peter and paul

Posted in FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 28 June

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 28 June

Everyone who looks upon the Son
and believes in him shall have eternal life………….John 6:40

john 6-40

REFLECTION – “The Father made God visible to human beings through numerous mysteries to prevent them from losing everything – even their very lives. For the glory of God is the living person and the life of a person is the vision of God.”………..St Irenaeus – Father of the Church

the fathr made god visible-st irenaeus

PRAYER – Heavenly Father, You left us Your Church and Your Vicar the Holy Father our Pope, to insure our contact with You. Let me always cling to Your Church and follow its teachings in every detail and with all my heart. St Irenaeus, please pray for us all the members of Body of Christ, the one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, amen.

st irenaeus - pray for us

Posted in FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, SAINT of the DAY

Thought for the Day – 28 June

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 28 June

The Church is fortunate that St Irenaeus was involved in many of its controversies in the second century.   He was a student, well trained no doubt, with great patience in investigating, tremendously protective of apostolic teaching but prompted more by a desire to win over his opponents than to prove them in error.

As bishop of Lyons he was especially concerned with the Gnostics, who took their name from the Greek word for “knowledge.”   Claiming access to secret knowledge imparted by Jesus to only a few disciples, their teaching was attracting and confusing many Christians.   After thoroughly investigating the various Gnostic sects and their “secret,” Irenaeus showed to what logical conclusions their tenets led.   These he contrasted with the teaching of the apostles and the text of Holy Scripture, giving us, in five books, a system of theology of great importance to subsequent times.   Moreover, his work, widely used and translated into Latin and Armenian, gradually ended the influence of the Gnostics.

St Irenaeus’ deep and genuine concern for other people will remind us that the discovery of truth is not to be a victory for some and a defeat for others.   Unless all can claim a share in that victory, truth itself will continue to be rejected by the losers, because it will be regarded as inseparable from the yoke of defeat.   And so, confrontation, controversy and the like might yield to a genuine united search for God’s truth and how it can best be served……….Fr Don Miller, OFM

St Irenaeus pray for us all!

ST IRENAEUS PRAY FOR US

Posted in FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY

Quotes of the Day – 28 June

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quotes of the Day – 28 June

“Our way of thinking is attuned to the Eucharist
and the Eucharist in turn, confirms our way of thinking.”

our way of thinking - st irenaeus

“It is not you that shapes God.
It is God that shapes you.
If then you are the work of God
await the Hand of the artist who does
all things in due season.
Offer Him your heart,
soft and tractable
and keep the form in which the artist
has fashioned you.
Let the clay be moist
lest you go hard
and lose the imprint of His Fingers.”

it is not you that shapes god-strenaeus

“The preaching of the Church truly continues
without change and is everywhere the same.
It has the testimony of the Prophets
and Apostles and all their disciples.”

the preaching of the church

“Being obedient she (Mary)
became the cause of salvation for herself
and for the whole human race.
The knot of Eve’s disobedience was untied
by Mary’s obedience:
what the virgin Eve bound through her disbelief,
Mary loosened by her faith.”

being obedient-st irenaeus

“As long as any one has the means
of doing good to his neighbours
and does not do so,
he shall be reckoned a stranger
to the love of the Lord.”

as long as any one has the means-st irenaeus

St. Irenaeus (c130-c202), pray for us!

Posted in FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY

Our Morning Offering – 28 June

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 28 June

O Lamb of God
by St Irenaeus

O Lamb of God,
who takes away the sin of the world,
look upon us and have mercy upon us;
You who art Yourself both victim and Priest,
Yourself both Reward and Redeemer,
keep safe from all evil
those whom You have redeemed,
O Saviour of the world.
Amen

o lamb of god by st irenaeus

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY

Thought for the Day – 27 June – The Memorial of St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) Father and Doctor of the Incarnation

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 27 June – The Memorial of St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) Father and Doctor of the Incarnation

Theotokos is the official name of Mary and it is well to remember the great battle that was fought (and to my mnd, continues to fought today) over this title.  SHE IS the Mother of God – the Son of God was born of her in His human nature, without ceasing to be God. The whole mystery of the Incarnation is bound up in Mary and she is at the very heart of the work of Jesus’ Redemption of mankind!
St Cyril of Alexandria’s battle raged over the combined front of the Divinity of Christ and therefore, Mary the Mother of the Divinity, is summed up thus:   “Only if it is one and the same Christ who is consubstantial with the Father and with men can He save us, for the meeting ground between God and man is the flesh of Christ. Only if this is God’s own flesh can man come into contact with Christ’s divinity through His humanity, through his earthy mother, Mary.  Because of our kinship with the Word made flesh we are sons of God.   The Eucharist consummates our kinship with the word, our communion with the Father, our sharing in the divine nature—there is very real contact between our body and that of the Word.”

St Cyril of Alxandria, pray for us.
Mary, Mother of God, pray for us.

st cyril of alexandria pray for usholy mary mothr of god pray for us

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY

Quote/s of the Day – 27 June – Memorial of St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) Father and Doctor

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 27 June – Memorial of St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) Father and Doctor

“He who receives Communion is made holy and divinised in soul and body
in the same way that water, set over a fire, becomes boiling…
Communion works like yeast that has been mixed into dough
so that it leavens the whole mass;
…Just as by melting two candles together you get one piece of wax,
so, I think, one who receives the Flesh and Blood of Jesus
is fused together with Him by this Communion
and the soul finds that he is in Christ and Christ is in him.”

as two pieces of wax-st cyril of alexandria

“Indeed the mystery of Christ runs the risk
of being disbelieved – precisely because
it is so incredibly wonderful.”

indeed the mystery of christ - st cyril of alexandria

“It is like employing a small tool on big constructions,
if we use human wisdom
in the hunt for knowledge of reality.”

“Our Saviour went to the wedding feast
to make holy the origins of human life.”

our saviour went to the edding feast-st cyril of alexandria

ST CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 27 June

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 27 June

Do you not see that your bodies are members of Christ?………..1 Cor 7:15

1 corinthians 7-15

REFLECTION – “All of us are united with Christ inasmuch as we have received Him Who is one and indivisible in our bodies.   Therefore, we owe the service of our members to Him rather than to ourselves.”………. St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) Doctor and Father of the Church (Saint of the Day)

PRAYER – Almighty God and Father, help me to put all my faculties at the disposal of Christ so as to be His link to others and with the world around me.   Let me give myself wholly to Him this day and every day. St Cyril of Alexandria, defender of the divinity of Christ and the Mother of God, intercede for us, amen.

all of us are united - st cyrill of alexandria

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Our Morning Offering – 27 June

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 27 June

Prayer to the Mother of God
by St Cyril of Alexandria (Saint of the Day) 

Hail, Mother and virgin,
eternal temple of the Godhead,
venerable treasure of creation,
crown of virginity,
support of the true faith,
on which the Church is founded
throughout the world.
Mother of God,
who contained the infinite God
under your heart,
whom no space can contain:
through you
the most Holy Trinity is revealed,
adored, and glorified,
demons are vanquished,
Satan cast down from heaven into hell
and our fallen nature again
assumed into heaven.
Through you the human race,
held captive in the bonds of idolatry,
arrives at the knowledge of Truth.
What more shall I say of you?
Hail, through whom kings rule,
through whom the Only-Begotten
Son of God
has become the Star of Light
to those sitting in darkness
and in the shadow of death. Amen

prayer to the mother of god - st cyril of alexandria

Posted in MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY

Thought for the Day – 26 June

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 26 June

Opus Dei, which means Work of God, emphasizes that men and women can become holy by performing their daily duties with a Christian spirit.   In his homily, Pope John Paul II emphasised the importance of every believer following God’s will, as had the newly sainted founder of Opus Dei.   “The Lord has a plan for each one of us.  Saints cannot even conceive of themselves outside of God’s plan: they live only to fulfill it.”

St Josemaria is a good example of what one person with conviction can do.   Granted, we all have differing personalities and talents but still each of us can do great things with the grace of God and, let us never forget “we are all called to be saints! – a saint is a person who lets the light shine through.”

Let us go forth!   St Josemaria, Pray for us!

a saint is a person who lets the light shine through

st josemaria - pray for us 2

 

Posted in EUCHARISTIC Adoration, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Quote/s of the Day 26 June

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day 26 June

“A man who fails to love the Mass fails to love Christ.   We must make an effort to ‘live’ the Mass with calm and serenity, with devotion and affection.   And this is why I have always suspected that those who want the Mass to be over with quickly show, with this insensitive attitude, that they have not yet realised what the sacrifice of the altar means.” AND   “Many Christians take their time and have leisure enough in their social life (no hurry here).   They are leisurely, too, in their professionally activities, at table and recreation (no hurry here either).   But isn’t it strange how those same Christians find themselves in such a rush and want to hurry the priest, in their anxiety to shorten the time devoted to the most holy sacrifice of the altar?”

the man who fails to love the mass-st josemaria

“You don’t know how to pray? Put yourself in the presence of God, and as soon as you have said, ‘Lord, I don’t know how to pray!” you can be sure you have already begun.”

you don't know how to pay - st josemaria

“When you approach the tabernacle remember that he has been waiting for you for twenty centuries.”

when you approach the tabernacle - st josemaria

“To defend his purity, Saint Francis of Assisi rolled in the snow, Saint Benedict threw himself into a thorn bush and Saint Bernard plunged into an icy pond… You – what have you done?” …………………May I give you some advice for you to put into practice daily? When your heart makes you feel those low cravings, say slowly to the Immaculate Virgin:  Look on me with compassion.   Don’t abandon me.   Don’t abandon me, my Mother! – And recommend this prayer to others.”

don't abandon me my mother - st josemaria

“If you have so many defects, why are you surprised to find defects in others?”

IF YOU HAVE SO MANY DEFECTS-ST JOSEMARIA

 

Posted in MORNING Prayers, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 26 June

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 26 June

If you live in me and my words stay part of you, you may ask what you will – and it will be done for you………John 15:7

john 15-7

REFLECTION – “Turn your gaze constantly to Jesus who, without ceasing to be God, humbled Himself and took the nature of a slave, in order to serve us………..May you seek Christ, may you find Christ, may you love Christ………..Conversion is the task of a moment; sanctification is the work of a lifetime. To begin is for everyone, to persevere is for saints!”…….St Josemaria Escriva

conversion is the task of a moment - st josemaria

PRAYER – Enable me loving Father, to live a life of purity that will make me live in You. Let me be so united with You that whatever I might ask will be in total accord with Your will for me. St Josemaria, your inspiration and teachings help and show us the way to sanctification, please intercede for us all, amen.

st josemaria - pray for us

Posted in MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, SAINT of the DAY, The HOLY GHOST

Our Morning Offering – 26 June

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 26 June

Prayer to the Holy Spirit
by St Josemaria Escriva

Come, O Holy Spirit:
enlighten my understanding
to know Your commands;
strengthen my heart
against the wiles of the enemy;
inflame my will…
I have heard Your voice,
and I don’t want to harden my heart to resisting,
by saying ‘later… tomorrow.’
Nunc coepi! Now!
Lest there be no tomorrow for me!
O, Spirit of truth and wisdom,
Spirit of understanding and counsel,
Spirit of joy and peace!
I want what You want,
I want it because You want it,
I want it as You want it,
I want it when You want it.
Amen

prayer to the holy spirit by st josemaria

Posted in MORNING Prayers, NOVENAS

ANNOUNCING A NOVENA TO ST BENEDICT of NURSIA – BEGINNING SUNDAY – 2 JULY

Posted on by AnaStpaul

ANNOUNCING A NOVENA TO ST BENEDICT of NURSIA –
BEGINNING SUNDAY – 2 JULY

Who Is St. Benedict?

St Benedict was born to a noble family around 480 A.D. in Nursia, in central Italy.   He lived a sequestered life for many years, leaving family and friends behind to live in a cave near the town of Subiaco.   St. Benedict chose to live a quiet life of prayer and devotion to God after disapproving of the immoral lifestyle he encountered while he attended school in Rome.   Even though he lived a life devoted to God, St. Benedict (like all of us) was constantly tempted by the devil.   St. Benedict was able to defeat the devil numerous times throughout his life, earning him the title of protector against evil spirits, temptation and witchcraft.    St Benedict also offers protection against being poisoned, infectious diseases, childbirth complications and destruction during storms and tempests.   He also obtains for sinners the grace of conversion.

St. Benedict’s Protection — A Lifetime of Defeating the Devil

Pope Gregory I, also known as St. Gregory the Great, detailed St. Benedict’s encounters with the devil as part of his four-part book series, The Dialogues.   St Gregory called him “a shining light to the world.”

The Rule of St. Benedict has been used by monasteries all throughout the West for centuries.   It champions listening to God’s word and doing His work through a life of prayer, temperance, charity, obedience, patience and humility.   The Rule was considered rigorous, yet not unbendingly so, when Benedict first introduced it in his writings.

Cardinal Ratzinger was thinking of him in part when he was elected Pope in 2005 and chose the name Benedict XVI!   As the Pope has said, may St. Benedict encourage us all (as he sought to do with his Rule and his life) to put Christ first in our thoughts and in our actions!

St Benedict we run to you for aid and intercession, please pray for us all!

announcing a novena to st benedict beginning 2 july

Posted in MORNING Prayers, SAINT of the DAY, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Thought for the Day – 25 June

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 25 June

A Still quiet Moment

Today, 25 June, we celebrate the feast day of Saint William of Vercelli (1085-1142), founder of the Order of Monte Vergine, also known as the “Williamites.”   Saint William lived a quiet life of solitude and contemplation, listening intently for the voice of God and following the directions he received.   Through his obedience, William was taken far from home, worked many miracles and established a thriving religious community—all because he was quiet and paused to discern the Will of the Lord.
Saint William had complete trust in the Lord and in His Divine Providence.   Ever faithful and contemplative, William was willing to leave his home as a youth and subsequently leave the community he had built with his own hands in service to God.   Patient, humble and obedient, Saint William of Vercelli put the Lord’s work above his own desires at every moment of his life.   His great devotion to Our Lady, was a source of immense comfort and trust in the holy Mother of God, who he knew would lead him to her Son. We could do well by observing Saint William’s confidence in the Divine Providence and striving to imitate him by creating quiet moments in our own lives for prayer, reflection and contemplation.   It is in those moments that the Divine Plan for our own lives quietly unfolds…… if we listen.

St William of Vercelli and Monte Vergine, please pray for us!

st william of vercelli pray for us.2

 

Posted in MORNING Prayers, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE

Quote of the Day – 25 June

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote of the Day – 25 June

“DIE before you die
there is no chance after.”

Prof C S Lewis

 

Die before you die. C S LEWIS MYPIC

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 25 June

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 25 June

Blessed be God the Father . who gave us a new birth to a living hope…..to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading, kept in heaven for you………1 Peter 1:3-4

1 PETER 1-3,4

REFLECTION – “You have within you, everything that you need to purchase the kingdom of heaven.
Joy will be purchased by your sorrow,
rest by your labour,
glory by your humiliation
and eternal life by your passing death.”………………….St Augustine

YOU HAVE WITHIN YOU - ST AUGUSTINE

PRAYER – Loving Father,. teach me how to make every event on earth lay up treasures for me in heaven. Help me to endure sorrows, labour, humiliations, pain and death willingly so as to attain heaven with You, in unity with Your Son, Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. St William of Vercelli, your life was a focused gift to God, pray for us that we too may join you in eternal life. Amen

st william of vercelli pray for us

Posted in MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, Uncategorized

Our Morning Offering – 25 June

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 25 June

Morning Offering of St Edmund

Into Your Hands, O Lord
and into the hands of Your holy Angels,
I commit and entrust this day my soul,
my relations, my benefactors,
my friends and enemies
and all Your Catholic people.
Keep us, O Lord, through the day,
by the merits and intercession
of the Blessed Virgin Mary
and of all Your Saints,
from all vicious and unruly desires,
from all sins and temptations of the devil
and from sudden and unprovided death
and the pains of hell.
Illuminate my heart with the grace of Your Holy Spirit,
grant that I may ever be obedient
to Your commandments,
suffer me not to be separated from You, O God,
who lives and reigns with God the Father
and the same Holy Spirit for ever and ever.
Amen

 

morning offering of st edmund martyr - and king

Posted in FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MORNING Prayers, SACRED and IMMACULATE HEARTS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Thought for the Day – 24 June – Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 24 June – Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

“It was through the body of a young, Jewish girl, living in a tiny village called Nazareth, that Jesus, the divine Word, was made flesh.   Mary belonged to that part of the people of Israel, who awaited the Lord’s coming with expectation and longing.   She had no doubt read about His coming in the Old Testament Scriptures and prayed for it.   But she had no idea how it would come about.   Most Israelites thought the Messiah would manifest Himself gloriously.

When the Archangel Gabriel announced to Mary that she was to be the “door’ through which the long awaited desire of the nations would be fulfilled, she must have been astonished:  “Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you! … You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus” (Lk 1.28-31).   A new life – filled with risks – opened before her.   According to the Church’s tradition, Mary, in an exceptional gesture for a Jewish woman, had decided “not to know man” (Lk 1.34).   She had discerned virginity to be God’s will.   Her Immaculate Heart – the Feast we keep this day – prompted a total giving of herself to God and included the gift of both her body and her heart.   Reassuring her that God had not disdained her vow, Gabriel told Mary that, like the glory of God coming upon the ark, so would the Spirit overshadow her.   The young “handmaid of the Lord” contemplated the Angel’s words.   She treasured them in her heart.   Her response, known as her fiat – “let it be done to me as you say” (Lk 1.38) – shows that she entrusted herself fully to God’s designs.   She chose to forgo her own plans for God’s.   Through her fiat, the Word of God took flesh in the tabernacle of her womb…..

Today in this Eucharist, on the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Jesus knocks at the door of our heart.   In us, He wishes to take up His abode and, through our body, enter human history.   When we welcome Him, He gives birth to divinity within the crib of our hearts.   What answer will our heart give to His divine proposal?”…..Cardinal Robert Sarah (16 June 2012)

tday in this eucharist-card robert sarah

Immaculate Mary, Pray for us!

immaculate mary poray for us

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MORNING Prayers, SACRED and IMMACULATE HEARTS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Our Morning Offering – 4 June

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 4 June

Prayer to the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary

O Heart of Jesus pierced for our sins
and giving us Your Mother on Calvary!
O Heart of Mary pierced by sorrow
and sharing in the sufferings of your divine Son
for our redemption!
O sacred union of these Two Hearts!
Praised be the God of Love who united them together!
May we unite our hearts and every heart
so that all hearts may live in unity and in imitation
of that sacred unity which exists in these Two Hearts.
Triumph, O Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary!
Reign, O Most Sacred Heart of Jesus!
– in our hearts, in our homes and families,
in the hearts of those who as yet do not know You
and in all nations of the world.
Establish in the hearts of all mankind the sovereign triumph
and reign of your Two Hearts so that the earth may resound
from pole to pole with one cry:
Blessed forever be the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
and the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary!
Obtain for me a greater purity of heart
and a fervent love of the spiritual life.
May all my actions be done for the greater glory of God
in unions with the divine heart of Jesus
and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Hear and answer our prayers and intentions
according to Your most merciful will. Amen

Prayer to the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary

Posted in FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MORNING Prayers

One Minute Reflection – 24 June

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 24 June

He must increase, while I must decrease………John 3:30

24Jun

REFLECTION – “The true secret of love consists in this:
we must forget self like S John the Baptist and exalt and glorify the Lord Jesus.”………..St Peter Julian Eymard

PRAYER – Almighty God, help me to put my self-interests in the background. Let me seek Your interests and do everything for the honour and glory of Your Son Jesus the Christ, amen.

the true secret of love-st peter julian eymard

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SACRED and IMMACULATE HEARTS

Celebrating the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus – 23 June 2017

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Celebrating the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus – 23 June 2017

Excerpts from “To Be Loved by a Sacred Heart” – St Josemaria Escriva
“Christ is Passing By,” no. 162

“That Christ has come to us with a heart made of flesh tells us a lot about how the Sacred Heart loves us and about the kind of love we need.   We are loved by any number of hearts during our earthly lives but one alone among them we call Sacred.   We know how it feels to be loved by fallen people—by those who try but cannot love perfectly.   But what it is to be loved by a Sacred Heart?

At the outset of the last supper, the Lord gets down on His hands and knees and washes the feet of His disciples.  “Do you understand this?”  He asks them.   Before He tells the Apostles about union with Him, about the great commandment of love, about His joy, Jesus first shows them what it all “looks” like.

“Do you understand this?”   This is perhaps the ultimate question as we reflect on what it means to be loved by the Sacred Heart.   Perhaps the answer will be an honest, “No, Lord, I do not understand your love for me,” and that could be nearer the truth than anything. “I don’t understand what God is doing on His hands and knees wiping the dirt off of my feet.   If I were Jesus, I wouldn’t treat me like He treats me.   I wouldn’t be so tolerant and forgiving.  I wouldn’t keep on loving someone like me.”

But to spend our lives in contemplation of His love for us, as the apostles surely did, is what will bring us ever closer to the source of the Love that constantly reaches into our lives, showing itself to be subtle, selfless and inexhaustible.   If the fire, thorns and blood are the divinely revealed gauge of divine love in a human heart, then the more I welcome His tireless forgiveness, His unflinching friendship in the face of my infidelity, the more I will appreciate the mystery of divine charity which the Sacred Heart reveals.
Now we see imperfectly, in part but the part we do see should teach us why He needed to come to us with a heart of flesh, like ours.”

Devotion to the Saced Heart 1litany of the sh 1 - sh 8litany of the sh 2 - sh 8litany of the sh 3 - sh 10

sh3 snip3seven cardinal mysteries - sh 2sh 4 - enthronement

 

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, CONSECRATION Prayers, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, SACRED and IMMACULATE HEARTS, SAINT of the DAY

Friday 23 June 2017 Blessed and Holy Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (Friday after the Second Sunday after Pentecost)

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Friday 23 June 2017 Blessed and Holy Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus – (Friday after the Second Sunday after Pentecost)

The Twelve Promises of the Sacred Heart – given to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque:

1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.

2. I will give peace in their families.

3. I will console them in all their troubles.

4. They shall find in My Heart an assured refuge during life and especially at the hour of death.

5. I will pour abundant blessings on all their undertakings.

6. Sinners shall find in My Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.

7. Tepid souls shall become fervent.

8. Fervent souls shall speedily rise to great perfection.

9. I will bless the homes in which the image of My Sacred Heart shall be exposed and honoured.

10. I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts.

11. Those who propagate this devotion shall have their name written in My Heart, and it shall never be effaced.

12. The all-powerful love of My Heart will grant to all those who shall receive Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months the grace of final repentance;  they shall not die under My displeasure, nor without receiving their Sacraments; My Heart shall be their assured refuge at that last hour.

12 promises of the sacred heart

“And He showed me that it was His great desire of being loved by men and of withdrawing them from the path of ruin into which Satan hurls such crowds of them, that made Him form the design of manifesting His Heart to men, with all the treasures of love, of mercy, of grace, of sanctification and salvation which It contains, in order that those who desire to render Him and procure for Him all the honour and love possible, might themselves be abundantly enriched with those Divine treasures of which this Heart is the source.   He should be honoured under the figure of this Heart of flesh and Its image should be exposed … He promised me that wherever this image should be exposed with a view to showing It special honour, He would pour forth His blessings and graces.   This devotion was the last effort of His love that He would grant to men in these latter ages, in order to withdraw them from the empire of Satan which He desired to destroy, and thus to introduce them into the sweet liberty of the rule of His love, which He wished to restore in the hearts of all those who should embrace this devotion.”

—St. Margaret Mary

st margaret mary and the sacred heart of jesus

This Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus was composed by St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, a 17th Century French nun and mystic, pictured above, who saw our Lord in numerous visions.   She was instrumental in spreading devotion to His Sacred Heart after He conveyed His wish for her to do so.   In one vision she actually saw Jesus’ Sacred Heart with flames protruding from it to show His great love for us!   The burning love He showed her from His Sacred Heart certainly must have inspired her.

Clearly, our Lord wishes us to join our will to His in love for Him and each other on our earthly pilgrimage to Heaven.   And what better way than to appeal to our hearts, where our most sincere feelings and desires reside.

So too with Jesus, who we must remember, as man as well as God comes to us in Communion at Mass and in Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament with His heart filled with immense love and longing for us!   As our Lord said in the Gospels “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, bears much fruit. For without me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

Jesus once told St. Margaret Mary something quite similar when He said “Without me you can do nothing, but I will never let you lack help as long as you keep your weakness and nothingness buried in My strength.”

Our Lord wishes us to approach Him for help and love in humility, even when we’re feeling most uncertain or useless.   Don’t be afraid to offer up your own weaknesses and anxieties to Him!   He’ll be more than happy to fill your “nothingness” with His awesomeness!  And the best places are after receiving Him and in Eucharistic Adoration, where His Heart is calling you!

ACT of CONSECRATION to the MOST SACRED HEART OF JESUS
by ST MARGARET MARY ALACOQUE

act of consecration to the sacred heart - st alacoque

I (Name…………..), give and consecrate to the Sacred Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ,
my person, my life, my actions, my pains and sufferings,
so that I may be unwilling to make use of any part of my being
save to honour, love and glorify the Sacred Heart.
It is my unchanging intention to be all His
and to do all for love of Him.
I renounce at the same time with all my heart whatever can displease Him.

I, therefore, take You, O Sacred Heart,
for the only object of my love,
the protector of my life,
the pledge of my salvation,
the remedy of my weakness and inconstancy,
the atonement for the faults of my life
and the secure refuge at the hour of my death.

Be then, O Heart of goodness,
my justification before God the Father
and turn away from me the punishment of His just anger.
O Heart of love, I put my confidence in You
because I fear everything from my own sinfulness and weakness.
I hope for all things from Your mercy and generosity.

Destroy in me all that can displease or resist Your holy Will.
Let Your pure love impress You so deeply upon my heart
that I may never forget You or be separated from You.
May my name, by your loving kindness,
be written In You
because in You I desire to place all my happiness
and all my glory in living and dying in very bondage to You.
Amen

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, DOCTORS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, NOVENAS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, SACRED and IMMACULATE HEARTS

NOVENA in honour of the SACRED HEART of JESUS – DAY NINE –22 JUNE

Posted on by AnaStpaul

NOVENA in honour of the SACRED HEART of JESUS – DAY NINE –22 JUNE

By St Alphonsus Liguori
(1696-1787) Most Zealous Doctor
Published in 1758 from THE HOLY EUCHARIST

MEDITATION IX.
The Faithful Heart of Jesus.

Oh, how faithful is the beautiful heart of Jesus towards those whom He calls to His love: He is faithful Who hath called you, Who also will perform.’ [1 Thess. v. 24].

The faithfulness of God gives us confidence to hope all things, although we deserve nothing.   If we have driven God from our heart, let us open the door to Him and He will immediately enter, according to the promise He has made:  If anyone open to Me the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him. [Apoc. iii. 20].   If we wish for graces, let us ask for them of God, in the name of Jesus Christ and He has promised us that we shall obtain them: If you shall ask the Father anything in My name, He will give it you. [John xvi. 23].   If we are tempted, let us trust in His merits and He will not permit our enemies to strive with us beyond our strength:  God is faithful, Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able. [1 Cor. x. 13].

Oh, how much better it is to have to do with God than with men!   How often do men promise and then fail, either because they tell lies in making their promises, or because, after having made the promise, they change their minds:  God is not as man, says the Holy Spirit, that He should lie; or as the Son of Man, that He should be changed. [Num. xxiii. 19].   God cannot be unfaithful to His promises, because, being Truth itself, He cannot lie; nor can He change His mind, because all that He wills is just and right.    He has promised to receive all that come to Him, to give help to him that asks it, to love him that loves Him;  and shall He then not do it? Hath He said, then, and will He not do it? [Ibid.].

Oh, that we were as faithful with God as He is with us!   Oh, how often have we, in times past, promised Him to be His, to serve Him and love Him and then have betrayed Him, and, renouncing His service, have sold ourselves as slaves to the devil!   Oh, let us beseech Him to give us strength to be faithful to Him for the future!  Oh, how blessed shall we be if we are faithful to Jesus Christ in the few things that He commands us to do; He will, indeed, be faithful in remunerating us with infinitely great rewards and He will declare to us what He has promised to His faithful servants:  Well done, good and faithful servant; because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will place thee over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. [Matt. xxv. 21].

DAY NINE - NOVENA SACRED HEART

LET US PRAY – DAY NINE

Oh, that I had been as faithful towards You, my dearest Redeemer,
as You have been faithful to me.
Whenever I have opened my heart to You,
You have entered in, to forgive me and to receive me into Your favour.
Whenever I have called You, You have hastened to my assistance.
You have been faithfu1 with me
but I have been exceedingly unfaithful towards You.
I have promised You my love and then have many times refused it to You,
as if You, my God, Who has created and redeemed me,
were less worthy of being loved than Your creatures
and those miserable pleasures for which I have forsaken You.
Forgive me, O my Jesus. I know my ingratitude and abhor it.
I know that You are infinite goodness;
Who deserves an infinite love, especially from me,
whom You have so much loved,
even after all the offences I have committed against You.
Ah, no, my Love, have pity on me;
suffer me not to forsake You again
and then to damn myself, as I should deserve, to Hell.
O loving and faithful heart of Jesus, inflame, I beseech You, my miserable heart,
so that it may burn with love for You, My Jesus.
It seems to me that now I love You but I love You but little.
Make me love You exceedingly
and remain faithful to You until death.
I ask of You this grace, together with that of always praying to You for it.
Grant that I may die, rather than ever betray You again.

O Mary, my Mother, help me to be faithful to your Son. Amen.

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MORNING Prayers, NOVENAS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, SACRED and IMMACULATE HEARTS

NOVENA in honour of the SACRED HEART of JESUS – DAY EIGHT –21 JUNE

Posted on by AnaStpaul

NOVENA in honour of the SACRED HEART of JESUS – DAY EIGHT –21 JUNE

By St Alphonsus Liguori
(1696-1787) Most Zealous Doctor
Published in 1758 from THE HOLY EUCHARIST

MEDITATION VIII.
The Despised Heart of Jesus.

There is not a greater sorrow for a heart that loves, than to see its love despised: and so much the more when the proofs given of this love have been great, and, on the other hand, the ingratitude great.

If every human being were to renounce all his goods and to go and live in the desert, to feed on herbs, to sleep on the bare earth, to macerate himself with penances and at last give himself up to be murdered for Christ’s sake, what recompense could he render for the sufferings, the Blood, the life that this great Son of God has given for his sake?   If we were to sacrifice ourselves every moment unto death, we should certainly not recompense in the smallest degree the love that Jesus Christ has shown us, by giving Himself to us in the most Holy Sacrament.   Only conceive that God should conceal Himself under the species of bread to become the food of one of His creatures!

But, O my God, what recompense and gratitude do men render to Jesus Christ?   What but ill-treatment, contempt of His laws and His maxims, —– injuries such as they would not commit towards their enemy, or their slave, or the greatest villain upon earth.   And can we think of all these injuries which Jesus Christ has received and still receives every day and not feel sorrow for them?   And not endeavour, by our love, to recompense the infinite love of His Divine heart, which remains in the most Holy Sacrament, inflamed with the same love towards us and anxious to communicate every good gift to us and to give Himself entirely to us, ever ready to receive us into His heart whenever we go to Him?   Him that cometh to Me, I will not cast out. [John vi. 37].

We have been accustomed to hear of the Creation, Incarnation, Redemption, of Jesus born in a stable, of Jesus dead on the Cross. O my God, if we knew that another man had conferred on us any of these benefits, we could not help loving him.   It seems that God alone has, to to say, this bad luck with men, that, though He has done His utmost to make them love Him, yet He cannot attain this end, and, instead of being loved, He sees Himself despised and neglected. All this arises from the forgetfulness of men of the love of God.

DAY EIGHT - NOVENA SACRED HEART

LET US PRAY – DAY EIGHT

O Heart of Jesus, abyss of mercy and love,
how is it that, at the sight of the goodness You hast shown me and of my ingratitude, I do not die of sorrow? You, O mv Saviour, after having given me my being,
have given me all Your Blood and Your life, giving Yourself up for my sake, to ignominy and death;
and, not content with this,
You have invented the mode of sacrificing Yourself every day for me in the Holy Eucharist,
not refusing to expose Yourself to the injuries which You receive, and which You foresaw,
in this Sacrament of love.
O my God, how can I see myself so ungrateful to You without dying with contrition!
O Lord, put an end, I pray You, to my ingratitude,
by wounding my heart with Your love and making me entirely Yours.
Remember the Blood and the tears that You shed for me, and forgive me.
Oh, let not all Your sufferings be lost upon me.
But though You have seen how ungrateful and unworthy of Your love I have been,
yet You didst not cease to love me even when I did not love You.
Grant that this day may be the day of my thorough conversion;
so that I may begin to love You and may never cease to love You, my sovereign good.
Make me die in everything to myself,
in order that I may live only for You and that I may always burn with Your love.

O Mary, your heart was the blessed altar
that was always on fire with Divine love:
my dearest Mother, make me like you;
obtain this from your Son,
Who delights in honouring and pleasing you,
by denying you nothing that you ask of Him. Amen

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, DOCTORS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, NOVENAS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS

NOVENA in honour of the SACRED HEART of JESUS – DAY SEVEN –20 JUNE

Posted on by AnaStpaul

NOVENA in honour of the SACRED HEART of JESUS – DAY SEVEN –20 JUNE

By St Alphonsus Liguori
(1696-1787) Most Zealous Doctor
Published in 1758 from THE HOLY EUCHARIST

MEDITATION VII.
The Grateful Heart of Jesus.

The heart of Jesus is so grateful, that it cannot behold the most trifling works done for the love of Him —–our smallest word spoken for His glory, a single good thought directed towards pleasing Him—–without giving to each its own reward. He is besides so grateful, that He always returns a hundredfold for one: You shall receive a hundredfold.
[Matt. xix. 29] Men, when they are grateful, and recompense any benefit done to them, recompense it only once; they, as it were, divest themselves of all the obligation, and then they think no more of it. Jesus Christ does not do thus. with us; He not only recompenses a hundredfold in this life every good action that we perform to please Him, but in the next life He recompenses it an infinite number of times throughout eternity. And who will be so negligent as not to do as much as he can to please this most grateful heart?

But, O my God, how do men try to please Jesus Christ? Or rather, I will say, how can we be so ungrateful towards this our Saviour? If He had only shed a single drop of Blood, or one tear alone for our salvation, yet we should be under infinite obligation to Him; because this drop and this tear would have been of infinite value in the sight of God towards obtaining for us every grace. But Jesus would employ for us every moment of His life. He has given us all His merits, all His sufferings, all His ignominies, all His Blood, and His life; so that we are under, not one, but infinite, obligations to love Him.

But alas! we are grateful even towards animals: if a little dog shows us any sign of affection, it seems to constrain us to love it. How, then, can we be so ungrateful towards God? It seems as if the benefits of God towards men change their nature, and become ill-usage; for, instead of gratitude and love, they obtain nothing but offences and injuries. Do Thou, O Lord, enlighten these ungrateful ones, to know the love that Thou bearest them.

DAY SEVEN - NOVENA SACRED HEART

LET US PRAY – DAY SEVEN

O my beloved Jesus,
behold at Your feet an ungrateful sinner.
I have been grateful indeed towards creatures
but to You, alone I have been ungrateful, Who died fur me
and have done the utmost to oblige me to love You.
My dearest Jesus, I have in times past offended You
but now I love You more than everything —–more than myself.
Tell me what You would have me to do;
for I am ready to do everything with Your help.
I believe that for my sake You dost remain in the Blessed Sacrament;
I thank You for it, O my love.
Oh, permit me not to be ungrateful in future for so many benefits and proofs of Your love.
Oh, bind me, unite me to Your heart
and permit me not, during the years that remain to me,
to offend You or grieve You any more.
O my Jesus, it is time that I should love You now.
Oh, that those years that I have lost would return!
But they will return no more
and the life that remains for me may be short;
but whether it be short or long, my God, I desire to spend it all in loving You,
my sovereign good, Who deserves an eternal and infinite love.

O Mary, my Mother, let me never again be ungrateful to your Son. Pray to Jesus for me. Amen.

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, DOCTORS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, NOVENAS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, SACRED and IMMACULATE HEARTS

NOVENA in honour of the SACRED HEART of JESUS – DAY SIX – 19 JUNE

Posted on by AnaStpaul

NOVENA in honour of the SACRED HEART of JESUS – DAY SIX – 19 JUNE

By St Alphonsus Liguori
(1696-1787) Most Zealous Doctor
Published in 1758 from THE HOLY EUCHARIST

MEDITATION VI.
The Generous Heart of Jesus.

It is the characteristic of good-hearted people to desire to make everybody happy and especially those most distressed and afflicted.   But who can ever find one who has a better heart than Jesus Christ?   He is infinite goodness and has therefore a sovereign desire to communicate to us His riches:   With Me are riches, that I may enrich them that love Me. [Prov. viii. 18, 21]

He for this purpose made Himself poor, as the Apostle says, that He might make us rich: He became poor for your sakes, that through His poverty you might be rich. [2 Cor. viii. 9].   For this purpose also He chose to remain with us in the most Holy Sacrament, where He remains constantly with His hands full of graces, to dispense them to those who come to visit Him.   For this reason also He gives Himself wholly to us in Holy Communion, giving us to understand from this that He cannot refuse us any good gifts, since He even gives Himself entirely to us:  How hath He not also, with Him, given us all things? [Rom. viii. 32]

For in the heart of Jesus we receive every good, every grace that we desire: In all things you are made rich in Christ. . . so that nothing is wanting to you in any grace. [1 Cor. 1. 5, 7].   And we must understand that we are debtors to the heart of Jesus for all the graces we have received —–graces of redemption, of vocation, of light, of pardon, the grace to resist temptations and to bear patiently with contradictions;  for without His assistance we could not do anything good:  Without Me you can do nothing. [John xv. 5].   And if hitherto, says our Saviour, you have not received more graces, do not complain of Me, but blame yourself, who has neglected to seek them of Me:   Hitherto you have not asked anything; . . . ask, and you shall receive. [John xvi. 24].   Oh, how rich and liberal is the heart of Jesus towards everyone that has recourse to Him!   Rich unto all that call upon Him. [Rom. x. 12].   Oh, what great mercies do those souls receive who are earnest in asking help of Jesus Christ. David said, For Thou, O Lord, art sweet and mild, and plenteous to all who call upon Thee. [Ps. lxxxv. 5].   Let us therefore always go to this heart, and ask with confidence, and we shall obtain all we want.

DAY SIX NOVENA SACRED HEART

LET US PRAY – DAY SIX

Ah, my Jesus,
You have not refused to give me Your Blood and Your life
and shall I refuse to give You my miserable heart?
No, my dearest Redeemer, I offer it entirely to You.
I give You all my will – will You accept it and dispose of it at Your pleasure?
I can do nothing and have nothing
but I have this heart which You have given me
and of which no one can deprive me.
I may be deprived of my goods, my blood, my life but not of my heart.
With this heart I can love You;
with this heart I will love You.
I beseech You, O my God, teach me a perfect forgetfulness of myself.
I feel in myself a determination to please You
but in order to put my resolve iinto execution,
I expect and implore help from You.
It depends on You, O loving heart of Jesus,
to make my poor heart entirely Yours.
Oh, grant that my heart may be all on fire with the love of You,
even as Yours is on fire with the love of me.
Grant that my will may be entirely united to Yours
and from this day forth Your holy will may be the rule of all my actions,
of all my thoughts and of all my desires.
I trust, O my Saviour, that You will not refuse me Your grace,
to fulfill this resolution which I now make prostrate at Your feet,
to receive with submission whatever You may ordain for me, as well in life, as in death.

Blessed art you, O Immaculate Mary,
who had your heart always and entirely united to the heart of Jesus;
obtain for me, O my Mother,
that in future I may wish and desire that which Jesus wills and you will. Amen

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MORNING Prayers, NOVENAS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, SACRED and IMMACULATE HEARTS

NOVENA in honour of the SACRED HEART of JESUS – DAY FIVE – 18 JUNE

Posted on by AnaStpaul

NOVENA in honour of the SACRED HEART of JESUS – DAY FIVE – 18 JUNE

By St Alphonsus Liguo
(1696-1787) Most Zealous Doctor
Published in 1758 in “THE HOLY EUCHARIST”

MEDITATION V.
The Compassionate Heart of Jesus.

Where shall we ever find a heart more compassionate or tender than the heart of Jesus, or one that had a greater feeling for our miseries?

This pity induced Him to descend from Heaven to this earth;  it made Him say that He was that good shepherd Who came to give His life to save His sheep.   In order to obtain the pardon of our sins, He would not spare Himself but would sacrifice Himself on the Cross, that by His sufferings He might satisfy for the chastisement that we have deserved. This pity and compassion makes Him say even now:   Why will ye die, O house of Israel? return ye, and live. [Ezek. xviii. 31].  O men, He says, my poor children, why will you damn yourselves by flying from Me?   Do you not see that by separating yourselves from Me you are hastening to eternal death?   I desire not to see you lost;  do not despair; as often as you wish to return, return and you shall recover your life:  Return, and live.

This compassion even makes Him say that He is that loving Father Who, though He sees Himself despised by His son, yet, if that son returns a penitent, He cannot reject him  but embraces him tenderly and forgets all the injuries He has received: I will not remember all his iniquities. [Ibid. 22].  It is not thus that men behave;  for though they may forgive, yet they nevertheless retain the remembrance of the offence received and feel inclined to revenge themselves and even if they do not revenge themselves, because they fear God, at least they always feel a great repugnance against conversing and entertaining themselves with those persons who have vilified them.

O my Jesus, You pardon the penitent sinners and never refuse in this world to give them everything in Holy Communion during their life and everything in the other world, even in Heaven, with eternal glory, without retaining the slightest repugnance towards being united to the soul that has offended You, for all eternity.   Where, then, is there to be found a heart so amiable and compassionate as Yours, O my dearest Saviour?

DAY FIVE NOVENA TO THE SACRED HEART

LET US PRAY – DAY FIVE

O compassionate heart of my Jesus, have pity on me:
“Most sweet Jesus, have mercy on me.”
I say so now and beseech You to give me the grace always to say to You,
“Most sweet Jesus, have mercy on me.”
Even before I offended You, O my Redeemer,
I certainly did not deserve any of the favours You bestowed upon me.
You created me,
You have given me so much light and knowledge
and all without any merit of mine.
But after I had offended You. I not only did not deserve Your favour
but I deserved to be forsaken by You and cast into Hell.
Your compassion has made You wait for me
and preserve my life even when I had offended You.
Your compassion has enlightened me and offered me pardon;
it has given me sorrow for my sins and the desire of loving You
and now I hope from Your mercy to remain always in Your grace.
O my Jesus Your mercy which I implore of You
is that You would grant me light
and strength to be no longer ungrateful towards You.
No, my Jesus; I love You and I will always love You
and this is the mercy which I hope for and seek from You
“Permit me not to be separated from You, permit me not to be separated from You.”

And I beseech you also, O Mary my Mother,
help me not to be ever again separated from my God.
Amen

Posted in MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS

A Father’s Day Prayer – 18 June 2017

Posted on by AnaStpaul

A Father’s Day Prayer – 18 June 2017

Heavenly Father,
you entrusted your Son Jesus,
the child of Mary,
to the care of Joseph, an earthly father.
Bless all fathers
as they care for their families.
Give them strength and wisdom,
tenderness and patience;
support them in the work they have to do,
protecting those who look to them,
as we look to You for love and salvation,
through Jesus Christ our rock and defender,
in union with the Holy Spirit, one God
forever and ever,

St Joseph Pray for all our Fathers, Amen.

father's dayhappy father's day

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS for PRIESTS, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, Uncategorized

Wishing all Fathers a Blessed and Happy Father’s Day especially all our universal Fathers – our Priests!

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Wishing all Fathers a Blessed and Happy Father’s Day
especially all our universal Fathers – our Priests!

Prayer for Priests by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI

PRAYER FOR PRIESTS-BENEDICT

Lord Jesus Christ, eternal High Priest,
You offered Yourself to the Father
on the altar of the Cross
and through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit
gave Your priestly people a share in Your redeeming sacrifice.
Hear our prayer for the sanctification of our priests.
Grant that all who are ordained to the ministerial priesthood
may be ever more conformed to You, the divine Master.
May they preach the Gospel with pure heart and clear conscience.
Let them be shepherds according to Your own Heart,
single- minded in service to You and to the Church
and shining examples of a holy, simple and joyful life.
Through the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
Your Mother and ours, draw all priests
and the flocks entrusted to their care to the fullness
of eternal life where You live and reign with the Father
and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

“The Priest must be, first and foremost,
an Adorer who contemplates the Eucharist.”

the priest must be first an adorer - papa b