Category: MORNING Prayers

Posted in Our MORNING Offering

Our Morning Offering – 24 September – Eternal God, our Refuge

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Our Morning Offering – 24 September – “Month of the Seven Sorrows of Mary”

Eternal God, our Refuge
By St Boniface (672-754)

Eternal God,
the Refuge and Help
of all Your children,
we praise You
for all You have given us,
for all You have done for us,
for all that You are to us.
In our weakness,
You are Strength,
in our darkness,
You are Light,
in our sorrow,
You are Comfort and Peace.
We cannot number Your Blessings,
we cannot declare Your Love
For all Your Blessings,
we bless You.
May we live, as in Your presence,
and love the things, that You love
and serve You in our daily lives;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen

Posted in ONE Minute REFLECTION

One Minute Reflection – 24 September – The Faith of Women

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One Minute Reflection – 28 September – –“Month of the Seven Sorrows of Mary” – Readings: Ps 118:137; 118:124, Ps 118:1, Eph 4:1-6, Matt 22:34-46

One body and one Spirit, even as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of all, Who is above all, and throughout all, and in us all, Who is blessed forever and ever. Amen.

Eph 4:1-6

REFLECTION – Since Thou, my Creator, art not ungrateful, I do not think Thou wilt fail to do what they beseech of Thee, for when Thou wert in the world, Lord, Thou didst not despise women, but didst always help them and show them great compassion. Thou didst find more faith and no less love in them than in men, and one of them was Thy most sacred Mother, from whose merits we derive merit, and whose habit we wear, though our sins make us unworthy to do so. We can do nothing in public that is of any use to Thee, nor dare we speak of some of the truths over which we weep in secret, lest Thou shouldst not hear this our just petition.

Yet, Lord, I cannot believe this of Thy goodness and righteousness, for Thou art a righteous Judge, not like the judges in the world, who, being, after all, men and sons of Adam, refuse to consider any woman’s virtue as above suspicion. Yes, my King, but the day will come when all will be known. I am not speaking on my own account, for the whole world is already aware of my wickedness, and I am glad that it should be known, but, when I see what times are like, I feel it is not right to repel spirits which are virtuous and brave, even though they be the spirits of women.

St Teresa of Avila

PRAYER – Lord God, You hold out the Light of Your Word to those who do not know You. Strengthen in our hearts, the faith You have given us and the Credo we profess, so that no trials may quench the fire Your Spirit has kindled in us. May the intercession of all the Apostles, grant us the grace of following the way of the Cross, to stand beneath it with our afflicted Mother, the Mother of God, Ave Maria! We make our prayer through Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.

Posted in Our MORNING Offering

Our Morning Offering – 23 September – May We Love Only You

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Our Morning Offering – 23 September – The Memorial of Saint Adamnan of Iona (c 628-704) Relative of Saint Columban

May We Love Only You
By St Columban (543-615)

Loving Saviour,
be pleased to show Yourself to us who knock,
so that in knowing You,
we may love only You,
love You alone,
desire You alone,
contemplate only You, day and night
and always think of You.
Inspire in us the depth of love
that is fitting for You to receive as God.
So may Your love pervade our whole being,
possess us completely
and fill all our senses,
that we may know no other love
but love for You,
Who are everlasting.
May our love be so great,
that the many waters of sky, land and sea
cannot extinguish it in us –
many waters could not extinguish love.
May this saying love be fulfilled
in us also, at least in part,
by Your gift,
Jesus Christ, our Lord,
to whom be glory forever and ever.
Amen

Posted in ONE Minute REFLECTION

One Minute Reflection – 23 September – I do believe, help my unbelief!

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One Minute Reflection – 23 September – “Month of the Seven Sorrows of Mary” – Readings: Ps 80:2-5, Ps 80:6, Amos 9:13-15, 2 Esd. 8:1-10, Mark 9:16-28

At once the father of the boy cried out, and said with tears, I do believe; help my unbelief.

Mark 9:16-28

REFLECTION – Faith is the virtue that Our Lord most often rewards and praises. Sometimes he praises love, as in the case of Mary Magdalen. Sometimes humility, but these are rare cases, and it is nearly always faith that earns his approval and reward. Why is this? No doubt because it is the most important of the virtues, if not the greatest, for it is the foundation of all the others, including charity, and it is the rarest of all.

To have real faith, faith that inspires all one's actions, and faith in the supernatural which tears the mask from the world and sees God in everything, which makes all things possible, which takes all meaning out of such words as worry, peril, fear, which makes us pass through life calmly, peacefully, happily, like a child holding its mother's hand, which gives the soul perfect detachment from all material things, shewing it their emptiness and puerility; which gives to prayer the confidence of a child asking something he deserves from his father; a faith to which “all is falsehood except to do the will of God”; a faith that makes all appear in a new light, so that we see people in the likeness of God making us love them and respect them as the counterfoils of our Beloved, and do them all the good we can. It will help us to regard all other living things as aids to the winning of Heaven, for we can always give God praise for them, or use them, or renounce them. Faith will shew us the greatness of God and our own littleness. It will make us undertake whatever is pleasing to God without hesitation or false shame or fear and without looking back. Ah! such faith is rare indeed. My God, give me this faith; my God, I believe, help thou my unbelief; my God, let me believe and love.

Charles de Foucauld

PRAYER – Shepherd of Your Church and we, the sheep of Your flock, who follow You and hear and do Your Word. Support us with grace those who are constantly striving to do Your will, so that following the example of the humble fiat of Your blessed Mother and ours, we may devote all our powers and talents to love of You and our neighbour and finally arrive safely in our heavenly home. May the prayers of St Adamnan of Iona, your faithful servant, be assistance in strengthening us in this vale of tears. In God, our Father we pray through You who live in union with Him and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ages and ages. Amen

Posted in Our MORNING Offering

Our Morning Offering – 22 September – Lord, May Your Kingdom Come into My Heart

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Our Morning Offering – 22 September – “Month of the Seven Sorrows of Mary”

Lord, May Your Kingdom Come into My Heart
By Father Jean-Pierre de Caussade (1675-1751)

Lord, may Your Kingdom come into my heart
to sanctify me, nourish me and purify me.
How insignificant is the passing moment,
to the eye without faith!
But how important each moment is,
to the eye enlightened by faith!
How can we deem insignificant anything,
which has been caused by You?
Every moment and every event is guided by You
and so, contains Your infinite greatness.
So, Lord, I glorify You
in everything that happens to me.
In whatever manner You make me live and die,
I am content.
Events please me for their own sake,
regardless of their consequences,
because Your action lies behind them.
Everything is heaven to me
because, all my moments,
manifest Your love.
Amen

Posted in ONE Minute REFLECTION

One Minute Reflection – 22 September – The more you receive, the more you have to account for

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One Minute Reflection – 22 September – “Month of the Seven Sorrows of Mary”- Readings: Sir 45:30, Ps. 131:1, Sir 44:16-27; 45:3-20, Matt 25:14-23

And he who had received the five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; behold, I have gained five others in addition.’

Matt 25:14-23

REFLECTION – The man in travelling into a far country is our Redeemer, who ascended into heaven in that flesh which He had taken upon Him. For the proper home of the flesh is the earth, and it, as it were, travels into a foreign country, when it is placed by the Redeemer in heaven.

Otherwise; The five talents denote the gift of the five senses, that is, the knowledge of things without; the two signify understanding and action, the one talent understanding only.

There are also some who though they cannot pierce to things inward and mystical, yet for their measure of view of their heavenly country they teach rightly such things as they can, what they have gathered from things without, and while they keep themselves from wantonness of the flesh, and from ambition of earthly things, and from the delights of the things that are seen, they restrain others also from the same by their admonitions.

Again, there are some who by their understanding and their actions preach to others, and thence gain as it were a twofold profit in such merchandize. This their preaching bestowed upon both sexes is thus a talent doubled.

To hide one talent in the earth is to devote the ability we have received to worldly business.

This lesson from this Gospel warns us to consider whether those who seem to have received more in this world than others shall not be more severely judged by the Author of the world; the greater the gifts, the greater the reckoning for them. Therefore should every one be humble concerning his talents in proportion as he sees himself tied up with a greater responsibility.

St Gregory the Great

PRAYER – O God of love, You sent Your beloved Son to the world to proclaim the Good News of Salvation, to heal every illness and to cure all infirmity of body and soul. Help us to continue the mission of the merciful Christ in the service towards our neighbour, preaching the Gospel and offering our help in whatever way we can. May the example of suffering of our Blessed Mother Mary, teach us how to love and serve You. Through her intercession, grant us the grace to go forth in love. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.

Posted in Our MORNING Offering

Our Morning Offering – 21 September – O Matthew, Christ Just Bade You Come

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Our Morning Offering – 21 September – The Feast of St Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist

O Matthew, Christ
Just Bade You Come

The glory that surrounds your name,
O blessed Levi, is a proof
Of God’s all loving clemency
Besides a sign of hope for us.

While seated at your counting board,
O Matthew, Christ just bade you come,
Without a word of all the wealth
Of grace He had in store for you.

Your heart no hesitation knew,
From then your house became His own,
In following, you gave up all
To earn the triumph of the Twelve.

The life the Son of David led,
The words He spoke, you stored as gold,
Which, handed down the centuries,
Have fed and taught the Christian world.

You spread the Gospel fearlessly;
Until at last you shed your blood,
In witness to your faith in Christ
And pledge of your undying love.

Apostle and evangelist
With Martyrdom as final crown,
Bring us to heaven, that with you
God’s praises we may ever sing.
Amen.

Posted in ONE Minute REFLECTION

One Minute Reflection – 21 September – The man got up and followed him

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One Minute Reflection – 21 September – The Feast of St Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist- Readings: Ps 36:30-31, Ps 36:1, Ezek 1:10-14, Matt 9:9-13

At that time, Jesus saw a man named Matthew sitting in the tax-collector’s place, and said to him, Follow Me. And he arose and followed Him.

Matt 9:9-13

REFLECTION – Seated at his customs post, this unfortunate publican was in an even worse situation than the paralytic about whom I spoke to you the other day – the one who was lying on a stretcher. The latter was afflicted with bodily paralysis but this man with paralysis of soul. Where the first was concerned, all his members were deformed, but in the case of the second, all his powers of judgement were in disarray. The former was lying a prisoner of his own flesh; the latter was seated, captive in soul and body. The paralytic fell a prey to suffering in spite of himself, but as for the publican, it was with full consent that he was a slave of evil and sin. This latter, innocent in his own eyes, was accused of covetousness by others; the former, in the midst of his sores, knew himself to be a sinner. This man piled up his gains, all of which were sinful; the other wiped out his sins while groaning in misery. Hence the words addressed to the paralytic were absolutely just: “Courage, child, your sins are forgiven you”, since by his sufferings he was making up for his offences. As for the publican, these were the words he heard: “Come, follow me,” which is to say: “You will make reparation by following me, you who were lost by following after money.”

Someone may say: Why did the publican, apparently the more culpable, receive a higher gift? Straightaway he becomes an apostle. He himself received forgiveness and grants to others the remission of their sins; he illumines the whole earth with the brightness of the preaching of the Gospel. Whereas the paralytic is barely accounted worthy even to receive forgiveness. Would you like to know why the publican obtained greater graces? It is because, according to the apostle Paul’s words: “Where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more,”.

St Peter Chrysologus

PRAYER – We thank You, heavenly Father,
for the witness of Your Apostle
and Evangelist, Matthew,
to the Gospel of Your Son, our Saviour
and we pray that, after his example,
we may with ready wills and hearts,
obey the calling of our Lord, to follow Him;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.

Posted in Our MORNING Offering

Our Morning Offering – 20 September – Indulgenced Prayers to the Blessed Virgin

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We fly to thy patronage, O holy Mother of God, despise not our petitions in our necessities, but ever deliver us from all dangers, O glorious and blessed Virgin.

(5 years every time said. Plenary indulgence at the point of death to all who have frequently recited it during life)

Grant us, thy servants, we beseech thee, O Lord God, to enjoy perpetual health of mind and body, and, by the intercession of glorious Blessed Mary ever a Virgin, to be delivered from present sorrow and to enjoy everlasting gladness. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

(3 years every time said)

O holy Mary, help the unfortunate, aid the weak, refresh the sorrowful, pray for the people, intercede for the clergy, plead for religious women; let all enjoy thine aid who keep holy commemoration of thee.

(3 years every time said)

In thy conception, O Virgin Mary, thou wast immaculate; pray for us to the Father, whose Son, Jesus, conceived of the Holy Ghost, thou didst bring forth.

(300 days every time said)

To thee, O Virgin Mother, who wast never defiled with the slightest stain of original or actual sin, I commend and entrust the purity of my heart.

(300 days every time said)

O Mary, who didst come into this world free from stain, do thou obtain for me from God that I may pass out of it free from sin.

(300 days every time said)

Blessed be the holy and Immaculate Conception of the most blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God.

(300 days every time said)

O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

(300 days every time said)

By thy Immaculate Conception, O Mary, make my body pure and my soul holy.

(300 days every time said)

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One Minute Reflection – 20 September – The two commandments

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One Minute Reflection – 20 September – “Month of the Seven Sorrows of Mary” – Readings: Ps 118:137; 118:124, Ps 118:1, Eph 4:1-6, Matt 22:34-46

‘You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, and with your whole soul, and with your whole mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And the second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

Matt 22:34-46

REFLECTION – When our Master was asked which was the greatest of the commandments, he replied: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your strength. There is no other commandment greater than this”. I think so, too, since it concerns primary and essential Being, God our Father, through whom all things were made, all things remain in being, and to whom all who are saved will return. He it is who loved us the first, who gave birth to us. It would be sacrilege to think there exists any being more ancient or more wise. Our thanksgiving may be insignificant compared to his great gifts, yet we cannot offer him any other recognition, he who is perfection itself and has no need of anything. Let us love our Father with all our strength and ardor of soul and we shall win immortality. The more we love God, the more is our nature incorporated and mingled with his own.

The second commandment, Jesus says, yields in nothing to the first: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” When the scholar of the Law asks Jesus: “And who is my neighbor?” , he does not reply by giving the Jewish definition of neighbor – family, fellow Jews, proselytes, those who live according to the same Law – but tells the story of a traveler who was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. Wounded by robbers, the man was cared for by a Samaritan who “showed himself a neighbor”.

And who is even more of a neighbor to me than our Savior? Who showed more compassion to us when the powers of darkness had left us battered by blows? Jesus alone knew how to heal our wounds and root out the evils planted in our hearts. That is why we should love him just as much as we love God. And loving Christ Jesus is to carry out his will and keep his commandments.

St Clement of Alexandria

PRAYER – Lord, be the beginning and the end of all that we do, all that we say, in every moment be our Light. Prompt our actions with Your grace and complete them with Your all-powerful love. May we always seek Your Face in every circumstance, in every moment, so that Your Light may become our life. Holy and Mother, you lived your life in the Presence of the Holy Face of Christ our Lord, please intercede for us and for all the world. We make our prayer through Christ, our Lord with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.

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Our Morning Offering – 19 September – O Christ, our Master and God

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Our Morning Offering – 19 September – Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

O Christ, our Master and God
Thanksgiving after Holy Mass
By St Basil the Great (329-379)
Father and Doctor of the Church

O Christ, our Master and our God,
King of the ages and Creator of all,
I thank You for all the good things
that You have given to me
and for the reception
of Your most pure and life-giving Mysteries.
I pray You, therefore,
O good Lover of Humankind,
keep me under Your protection,
in the shadow of Your Wings.
Grant that with a pure conscience,
until my last breath,
I may worthily partake of Your Holy Gifts,
for the forgiveness of sins
and for life everlasting.
For You are the Bread of Life,
the Fountain of Holiness
and the Bestower of all Blessings
and to You we give glory
together with the Father
and the Holy Ghost,
now and forever and ever.
Amen

Posted in Our MORNING Offering

One Minute Reflection – 19 September – At an hour you do not know the Son of Man will come

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One Minute Reflection – 19 September – Readings: Ps 36:39, Ps 36:1, Heb 10:32-38, Matt 24:3-13

And many false prophets will arise, and will lead many astray. And because iniquity will abound, the charity of the many will grow cold. But whoever perseveres to the end, he shall be saved.

Matt 24:3-13

REFLECTION – To prevent his disciples from questioning him about the time of his coming Christ said: “Of that hour no one knows, neither the angels nor the Son”. It is not for you to know the days or the hour”. He hid the time from us so that we would be on the watch and so that each of us might think that the coming will happen in his own lifetime. If he had revealed when he was to come again, his coming would have been made pointless and the peoples and ages in which it will take place would no longer yearn for it. He said that he will come again, indeed, but he did not say exactly when. Hence, all generations and ages live in eager expectation of him.

The Lord pointed out the signs of his coming but we have no knowledge of when they will be completed. In many varied ways they have happened and passed away and are still happening. His last coming is, in fact, like his first: the just and the prophets longed for him, thinking that he was to appear in their day. So, today, each of the faithful wants to receive him in his own lifetime, and even more so in that Jesus did not reveal the day of his coming. His reason for this was so that no one might think that the Christ is subject to a law of time or a given hour, he who is lord over numbers and times.

Saint Ephrem

PRAYER – Grant us Lord, a true knowledge of salvation, so that, freed from fear and from the power of our foes, we may serve You faithfully in love and sorrow for our sins. May we, through the love You grant us, extend our love to all we meet and may the tears of the Holy Virgin of la Salette and of Sorrows, not reject our prayers but intercede for us, obtain for us the grace to love and follow our Lord Jesus above all else. May we console you by a holy life and so come to share the eternal life Christ gained by His Cross. Our Lady of La Salette, pray for us, through our Lord Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.

Posted in Our MORNING Offering

Our Morning Offering – 18 September – O Mother of Sorrows, Stand by Me in My Last Agony

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Our Morning Offering – 18 September – “Month of the Seven Sorrows of Mary”

O Mother of Sorrows,
Stand by Me in My Last Agony
By St Gabriel Francis Possenti
of Our Lady of Sorrows (1838-1862)

O Mother of Sorrows,
by the anguish and love
with which thou did stand at the Cross of Jesus,
stand by me in my last agony.
To thy maternal heart
I commend the last three hours of my life.
Offer these hours to the Eternal Father
in union with the agony of our dearest Lord,
in atonement for my sins.
Offer to the Eternal Father
the most Precious Blood of Jesus,
mingled with your tears on Calvary,
that I may obtain the grace
of receiving Holy Communion
with the most perfect love and contrition
before my death
and that I may breathe forth my soul
in the adorable presence of Jesus.
Dearest Mother,
when the moment of my death has at last come,
present me as your child to Jesus.
Ask Him to forgive me for having offended Him,
for I knew not what I did.
Beg Him to receive me into His kingdom of glory
to be united with Him forever.
Amen

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One Minute Reflection – 18 September – They do not practice what they preach

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One Minute Reflection – 18 September – “Month of the Seven Sorrows of Mary” – Readings: Ecclus 1:14-15, Ps 83:2, 1 Cor 13:1-8, Matt 22:1-14

“The marriage feast indeed is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy; go therefore to the crossroads, and invite to the marriage feast whomever you shall find.”

Matt 22:1-14

REFLECTION – The Lord warns us that flattering words and sweet promises should be judged by the fruits they produce. We have to value someone, therefore, not by how they present themselves in speech but as they really are in their deeds. Often enough, beneath an outward show of a lamb a ravening wolf is concealed. And just as thorns do not produce grapes nor thistles produce figs, even so, Jesus says, genuinely good works do not consist in fine words such as these. Each one should be judged according to their fruits.

No indeed, a service that was limited to fine words would not suffice to obtain the Kingdom of heaven. It is not those who say “Lord, Lord” who will inherit it. What sense would a holiness be that was limited to the invocation of a name? For the Kingdom of heaven is to be found in obedience to God’s will.

We ought, then, to put something of our own into it if we want to attain eternal blessedness. We have to give something out of our own resources: desire good, avoid evil and obey the divine precepts with all our hearts. An attitude such as this will make us worthy of being acknowledged as one of his own by God. Therefore, let us conform our actions to his will instead of taking pride in his power. For he will resist and reject those who have themselves turned away from him by the injustice of their deeds.

St Hilary of Poitiers

PRAYER – All-powerful, eternal God, splendour of true light and never-ending day, turn our ears and hearts to Your Word, that we may hear and live by the seed You have sown. May all that grows in us be of Your good seed and yield fruit a hundredfold. Grant us the grace of imitating the virtues of Mary, the Mother of Your only-begotten Son and our Mother and may her prayers intercede on our behalf. May we may be filled with courage and love and spread Your Word by our lives. We make our prayer through Jesus, our Lord and Word, with the Holy Spirit, one God with You, forever, amen.

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Our Morning Offering – 17 September – May Every Beat of My Heart, Be a Prayer

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Our Morning Offering – 17 September – “Month of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary ”

Morning Offering
May Every Beat of My Heart Be a Prayer
By St Mary Euphrasia Pelletier (1796-1868)

O my God,
may every beat of my heart,
be a prayer, to obtain grace
and pardon for sinners.
May all my sighs
be so many appeals
to Your infinite mercy.
May each look
have the virtue to gain to Your love,
those souls, whom I shall look on.
May the food of my life,
be to work without ceasing
for Your glory
and the salvation of souls.
Amen

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One Minute Reflection – 17 September – He who humbles himself shall be exalted

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One Minute Reflection – 17 September – “Month of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary ” – Readings: Ps 85:3; 85:5, Ps 85:1, Eph 3:13-21, Luke 14:1-11

But when you are invited go and recline in the last place; that when he who invited you comes in, he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher!’

Luke 14:1-11

REFLECTION – “You spread a table before me in the sight of my foes” What more could we desire? Why would we choose the places of honor? Whatever place we occupy, we have everything in abundance and lack nothing. But you who want to have the place of honor, whoever you might be, go and sit in the lowest place. Do not let your knowledge make your head swell with pride; do not allow yourself to be exalted by means of your reputation. Instead, the greater you are, the more you must humble yourself in everything and “you will find favor with God”, so much so that at the favorable time he will say to you: “My friend, come up higher,” and “this will win you the esteem of your fellow guests.”

Most certainly, so far as it depended on him, Moses occupied the lowest place. When the Lord wanted to send him to the children of Israel and invited him to come higher, he answered: “If you please, Lord, send someone else, for I am slow of speech.” It is as though he had said: “I am not worthy of such a high function.” Saul also considered himself to be a man of humble condition when the Lord made him king. And in the same way, Jeremiah, afraid to go up to the place of honor, said: “Ah, Lord God! I do not know how to speak; I am too young.” It is thus through humility, not pride, through the virtues, not money that we must seek to occupy the place of honor.

St Bruno of Segni

PRAYER – Heavenly Father, help me to be holy in the way that You have laid out for me. Let me carry out my duties of my state of life to the full and grant me the grace to carry my crosses in honour of You. Only in You may I attain holiness, learning to give myself, my will, my heart and my soul only to You. Mary Holy Sorrowful Virgin and Glorious Mother of Christ Jesus, we ask for your intercession. We make our prayer in unity with Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, one with You, now and forever, amen.

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Our Morning Offering – 16 September – Indulgenced Prayers to the Blessed Virgin

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O Mary, make me live in God, with God, and for God.

(300 days every time said)

Mary, mother of grace, mother of mercy, protect us from the enemy and receive us at the hour of death.

(300 days every time said)

Remember, O Virgin Mother of God, when thou standest in the sight of the Lord, to speak good things in our behalf, and thus He may avert His indignation from us.

(300 days every time said)

May the Virgin Mary with her loving Child bless us.

(300 days every time said)

Thou art my mother, O Virgin Mary; defend me lest I should ever provoke thy most beloved Son, and grant that I may always and in everything please Him.

(300 days every time said)

O Virgin Mary, thou hast been blessed by the Lord God on high before all women on earth.

(300 days every time said)

Most worthy queen of the world, Mary ever Virgin, intercede for our peace and salvation, thou who didst bring forth Christ the Lord, the Saviour of all.

(300 days every time said)

Holy Mother of God, pray for me. Hail Mary, etc.

(300 days every time said thrice before a representation of the Blessed Virgin Mary)

Hail, O queen, mother of mercy, hail, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve, to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us. And after this our exile show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

(5 years every time said. Plenary indulgence at the point of death to those who have frequently said it during life)

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One Minute Reflection – 16 September – “By your perseverance you will secure your lives”

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One Minute Reflection – 16 September – “Month of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary ” – Readings: Ps 78:11; 78:12; 78:10, Ps 78:1, Wis 3:1-8, Luke 21:9-19

The souls of the just are in the hands of God, and no torment of death shall touch them. They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was judged an affliction, and their going forth from us, utter destruction. But they are in peace.

Wis 3:1-8

REFLECTION – Do you want to come to that life where you will be sheltered from error forever? Who does not want this? We all desire life and truth but how are we to attain it? What path are we to follow? Certainly, we have not reached the end of the journey yet we can already see it, we yearn for life and truth. Christ is both one and the other. What is the way to it? “I am the way,” he says. To what will we come? “I am the truth and the life”.

This is what the martyrs loved; this is why they looked beyond the love of present goods that pass away. Don’t be astonished at their bravery: in them love overcame suffering. Let us walk in their footsteps, our eyes fixed on him who is both their Leader and ours. If we would come to so great a happiness, let us not be afraid of treading difficult paths. He who has promised is true; he is faithful; he could not deceive us. Why fear the hard road of suffering and tribulation? Our Saviour in person has trodden it.

You answer: “But that was him, the Saviour!” Know that the apostles passed that way too. Now you’re going to say: “But they were apostles!” Yes, I know. But don’t forget that a great many people like yourself have trodden it in their turn, women have trodden it, too children, even young girls have gone that way. How could the road that so many passers-by have levelled still be too hard?

Saint Augustine

PRAYER – Look upon us Lord, Creator and Ruler of the whole world, give us the grace to serve You with all our hearts, to take up our cross and follow You, that we may come to know the power of Your love and the forgiveness which You give and You teach. Grant that by the intercession of Sts Cornelius and Cyprian, we may attain the glory of Your kingdom and see You face to face. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.

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Our Morning Offering – 15 September – O Afflicted Virgin!

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Our Morning Offering – 15 September – “Month of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary” and Memorial of the Seven Sorrows of our Mother

O Afflicted Virgin!
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor

O afflicted Virgin!
O soul, great in virtues
and great also in sorrows!
for both arise from that great fire of love
thou hast for God;
thou “whose heart can love nothing but God.”
O Mother, have pity on me,
for I have not loved God
and I have so much offended Him.
Thy sorrows give me great confidence
to hope for pardon.
But this is not enough;
I wish to love my Lord
and who can better obtain this for me
than thou,
thou who art the Mother of fair love?
O Mary, thou dost console all,
comfort me also.
Amen

Posted in ONE Minute REFLECTION

One Minute Reflection – 15 September – A love without equal, after that of Christ

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One Minute Reflection – 15 September – “Month of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary” and Memorial of the Seven Sorrows of our Mother – Readings: Jn. 19:25, Jn. 19:26-27, Judith 13:22; 13:25, John 19:25-27

The Lord has blessed you by His power, Who by you has brought our enemies to nought. Blessed are you, O daughter, by the Lord the Most High God, above all women upon the earth.

Judith 13:22; 13:25

REFLECTION – The martyrdom of the Virgin is suggested both by the prophecy of Simeon and by the very narrative of the passion of the Lord. “This one,” said the old man speaking of the child Jesus, “will be a sign of contradiction, and yourself,” he added to Mary, a sword will pierce her soul “. Yes, blessed mother, your soul, a sword pierced her, and besides, it was only by penetrating her that he entered the flesh of your son. In fact, when your Jesus – which is everyone’s, but especially yours – had returned His Spirit, the cruel lance did not reach its soul. If, not saving him – even dead – it opened his side, it could no longer cause Him pain. But your soul, it pierced: at that moment, his was no longer there, but yours could not turn away from him.

Maybe someone will say, “Didn’t she know in advance that she should die?” Yes, undoubtedly. “Wasn’t she hoping to see him resurrect immediately?” Yes, with confidence. “After that, she suffered when he was crucified?” Certainly, and with what violence! So who are you therefore, brother, and where does equivalent wisdom come from to surprise you more of the compassion of Mary, than from the passion of the son of Mary? He could die from the death of the body and she could not have died with him in heart? There, it is the work of a love that no one surpasses; Here, it is the result of a love that after the first has never had its equal.

Saint Bernard

PRAYER – Our Father, when Jesus Your Son, was raised up on the Cross, it was Your will that Mary, His Mother, should stand there and suffer with Him in her heart. Grant that in union with her, the Church may share in the passion of Christ and so be brought to the glory of His Resurrection. Be our intercessor and our consolation, Our Lady of Sorrows, amen.

Posted in Our MORNING Offering

Our Morning Offering – 14 September – O Cross of Christ

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Our Morning Offering – 14 September – Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

O Cross of Christ
Stanbrook Abbey

O Cross of Christ, immortal tree
On which our Saviour died,
The world is sheltered by your arms
That bore the Crucified.

From bitter death and barren wood
The tree of life is made;
Its branches bear unfailing fruit
And leaves that never fade.

O faithful Cross, you stand unmoved
While ages run their course,
Foundation of the universe,
Creation’s binding force.

Give glory to the risen Christ
And to His Cross give praise,
The sign of God’s unfathomed love,
The hope of all our days.
Amen

Posted in ONE Minute REFLECTION

One Minute Reflection – 14 September –  Let us glorify God

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One Minute Reflection – 14 September – Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross – Readings: Gal 6:14, Ps 66:2, Phil 2:5-11, John 12:31-36

At that time, Jesus said to the multitudes of the Jews, Now is the judgment of the world; now will the prince of the world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to Myself.

John 12:31-36

REFLECTION – Knowing then these things, let us rouse ourselves, let us glorify God, not by our faith alone, but also by our life, since otherwise it would not be glory, but blasphemy. For God is not so much blasphemed by an impure heathen, as by a corrupt Christian. Wherefore I entreat you to do all that God may be glorified; for, Woe, it says, to that servant by whom the Name of God is blasphemed, (and wherever there is a woe, every punishment and vengeance straightway follows,) but blessed is he by whom that Name is glorified.

Let us then not be as in darkness, but avoid all sins, and especially those which tend to the hurt of others, since by these God is most blasphemed. What pardon shall we have, when, being commanded to give to others, we plunder the property of others? What shall be our hope of salvation? You are punished if you have not fed the hungry; but if you have even stripped one who was clothed, what sort of pardon shall you obtain? These things I will never desist from saying, for they who have not heard today perhaps will hear tomorrow, and they who take no heed tomorrow perhaps will be persuaded the next day; and even if any be so disposed as not to be persuaded, yet for us there will be no account to give of them at the Judgment. Our part we have fulfilled; may we never have cause to be ashamed of our words, nor you to hide your faces, but may all be able to stand with boldness before the judgment-seat of Christ, that we also may be able to rejoice over you, and to have some compensation of our own faults, in your being approved in Christ Jesus our Lord, with whom to the Father and the Holy Ghost be glory forever. Amen.

St John Chrysostom

PRAYER – O God, who willed that Your Only Begotten Son should undergo the Cross to save the human race, grant, we pray, that we, who have known His mystery on earth, may merit the grace of His redemption in heaven. For You placed the salvation of the human race on the wood of the Cross, so that, where death arose, life might again spring forth and the evil one, who conquered on a tree, might likewise on a tree be conquered through Christ. O Cross, You are the glorious sign of victory. Through your power may we share in the triumph of Christ Jesus. We adore You O Christ and we praise You, for by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world. Amen.

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Our Morning Offering – 13 September – O God, Send forth Your Holy Spirit

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O God, Send forth Your Holy Spirit
By St Anthony of Padua (1195-1231)
Doctor of the Church

O God,
send forth Your Holy Spirit
into my heart
that I may perceive,
into my mind,
that I may remember,
and into my soul,
that I may meditate.
Inspire me to speak
with piety,
holiness,
tenderness
and mercy.
Teach, guide and direct my thoughts
and senses, from beginning to end.
May Your grace,
ever help and correct me,
and may I be strengthened now
with wisdom from on high,
for the sake of Your infinite mercy.
Amen

Posted in ONE Minute REFLECTION

One Minute Reflection – 13 September – Jesus at table with the Pharisees

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One Minute Reflection – 13 September – Readings: Ps 85:3; 85:5, Ps 85:1, Eph 3:13-21, Luke 14:1-11

And Jesus asked the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to cure on the Sabbath? But they remained silent. And He took and healed him and let him go.

Luke 14:1-11

REFLECTION – The world’s eternal and invisible Creator, preparing to save humankind, which for long ages had been hindered by its subjection to the heavy law of death, deigned “in these last days” to become man that in his mercy he might redeem those who in justice he condemned. And so as to show the depth of his love for us, he not only became a man but a poor and humble man so that, by drawing near to us in his poverty, he might make us sharers in his riches. So poor did he become for our sake that he had nowhere to lay his head: “Foxes have dens and the birds of the air have their nest, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head”.

This is the reason why he agreed to go and dine wherever he was invited, not out of an excessive enjoyment in eating but so that he could teach the way of salvation and stimulate faith. There he would fill the guests with light by his miracles and the servants, who were kept busy inside and were not free to go with him, would hear the words of salvation. Indeed, he despised no one and none were considered unworthy of his love because “he has mercy on all; he hates nothing of what he has made and takes care of them all”.

So that he might carry out this work of salvation the Lord entered the house of an eminent Pharisee on the sabbath. The scribes and Pharisees watched him with the intention of calling him to account, so that if he were to cure the man with dropsy they could accuse him of breaking the Law and, if he did not, they could accuse him of blasphemy or inability. By the pure light of his word of truth they were to see the darkness of their deceit vanish away.

Blessed Guerric of Igny

PRAYER – Lord God and holy Father, guard our faith we pray and grace us with Your mercy. Keep us ever faithful to Your precepts and bring us to Your home, to look upon Your Face. May the prayers of Your saints assist us on our journey. In your untiring life of trust in God, And may our Holy and Sorrowful Mother Mary, be our merciful protector. We ask all this through Christ, our Lord with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.

Posted in Our MORNING Offering

Our Morning Offering – 12 September – Mary! How Sweetly Falls That Word

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Our Morning Offering – 12 September – Feast of the Holy Name of Mary

Mary! How Sweetly Falls That Word
Anonymous, 19th Century

Mary! How sweetly falls that word
On my enraptured ear!
Oft do I breathe in accents low,
That sound when none are near.
Chorus:
Sing, O my lips and loudly proclaim:
O Mary, O Mary, how sweet is thy name!
Sing, O my lip, and loudly proclaim;
O Mary, O Mary, how sweet is thy name!

Sweet as the warbling of a bird,
Sweet as a mother’s voice;
So sweet to me is that dear name,
It makes my soul rejoice.
Chorus.

Bright as the glittering stars appear,
Bright as the moonbeams shine,
So bright in my mind’s eye is seen
Thy loveliness divine!
Chorus.

Through thee I offer my requests,
And when my prayer is done,
In ecstasy sublime I see
Thee seated near thy Son.
Chorus.

Tune: St Basil’s Hymnal: Unnamed Tune. (1889)

Posted in ONE Minute REFLECTION

One Minute Reflection – 12 September – May the most glorious Virgin Mother Mary be jubilant !

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One Minute Reflection – 12 September – Readings: Ps 44:13, 15-16., Ps 44:2, Sir 24:23-31, Luke 1:26-38

At that time, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary.

Luke 1:26-38

REFLECTION – May the holy divinity of your glory, my God, O my gentleness, with which you deigned to fill and to inhabit for nine months the chaste viscera of the Virgin Mary, bless you. May the highest virtue of your divinity, which bent to the humbleness of the virginal valley, bless you. May the utmost art of your almightiness, God most high, with which you imparted onto the virgin rose such virtue, radiance, and comeliness as you yourself could yearn for, bless you. May your wondrous wisdom, whose copious grace made all of Mary’s life and body, as well as her soul, comparable with your worthiness, bless you. May you strong, wise and most dulcet love which made you, the flower and spouse of virginity, become the Son of a virgin, bless you.

May the worthiest heart and soul of the most glorious Virgin Mother Mary (whom, because of my need for salvation, you chose for yourself as mother and that her motherly clemency might always be open to me) be jubilant to you on my behalf. May that most faithful concern which is yours for me (by which you have provided me with an advocate and patron saint of such capability that through her I may easily be able to find your grace, and in whom, I trustfully believe, your eternal mercy is preserved for me) be jubilant to you. May that wonderful tabernacle of your glory, which alone has ministered to you worthily as a holy dwelling place, and through which you can best make amends for me to yourself for the due measure of praise and glory that I owe you, be jubilant to you.

Saint Gertrude of Helfta

PRAYER – Heavenly Father, assist us at all times we pray, to obtain a spirit of worthy penance, for our sins and that of all the world. To the invocation of Your Divine Son, Jesus, we call on the intercession of His holy Mother, to aid us on our pilgrimage. With great affection and confidence, we honour the Holy Hearts and invoke the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, to be our constant source of pure assistance and succour that we might bear fruits worthy of their Names. Blessed be the Name of Mary! Amen

Posted in Our MORNING Offering

Our Morning Offering – 11 September – Mother of Love, of Sorrow and of Mercy

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Our Morning Offering – 4 September – “Month of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Mother of Love, of Sorrow and of Mercy
By St Bridget of Sweden (1303-1373)

O Blessed Virgin Mary,
Immaculate Mother of God,
who endured a martyrdom of love and grief,
beholding the sufferings and sorrows of Jesus!
Thou didst co-operate in the benefit of my redemption
by thy innumerable afflictions
and by offering to the Eternal Father,
His only-begotten Son, as a holocaust
and victim of propitiation for my sins.
I thank thee for the unspeakable love
which led thee to deprive thyself
of the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus,
true God and true Man, to save me, a sinner.
Oh! make use of the unfailing intercession
of thy sorrows with the Father and the Son,
that I may steadfastly amend my life
and never again crucify
my loving Redeemer by my sins
and that, persevering till death in His grace,
I may obtain eternal life
through the merits of His Cross and Passion.
Amen
Mother of love, of sorrow and of mercy, pray for us!

Posted in ONE Minute REFLECTION

One Minute Reflection – 11 September – “When the Lord saw her… he said to her: ‘Do not weep’”

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One Minute Reflection – 11 September – “Month of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – Readings: Ps 85:1-3, Ps 85:4, Gal 5:25-26; 6:1-10, Luke 7:11-16

And as He drew near the gate of the town, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a large gathering from the town was with her. And the Lord, seeing her, had compassion on her, and said to her, Do not weep.

Luke 7:11-16

REFLECTION – Christ, hope of the believer, does not call those who leave this world ‘dead’ but ‘sleeping’ when he says: “Our friend Lazarus is asleep”. The apostle Paul, likewise, does not want us to be grieved “about those who have fallen asleep”. By this, if our faith holds that “everyone who believes” in Christ, according to his word in the Gospel, “will never die”, we know that he himself is not dead and we too will not die. Because “the Lord himself, with a word of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God, will come down from heaven and the dead will rise”. May hope in the resurrection encourage us, then, since we shall see then all those we have lost. It matters that we should firmly believe in him, that is to say that we obey his precepts, since he applies his mighty power to raising the dead with more ease than we rouse those who are asleep.

This is what we say; and yet, I don't know through what feeling, we take refuge in tears and a feeling of regret compromises our faith. Alas! How pitiable man's condition is, and without Christ how empty our life is! But you, O Death, who are cruel enough to break the union between spouses and separate those whom friendship unites, from henceforth your power has been shattered. From now on your pitiless yoke has been crushed by him who threatened you through the words of the prophet Hosea: “O death, I will be your death”. That is why we hurl our challenge together with the apostle Paul: “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”. He who vanquished you has redeemed us; he has delivered his beloved soul into the hands of sinners that he might make them his beloved friends.

It would take too long to call to mind everything in Holy Scripture that should bring us all consolation. It is enough to hope in the resurrection and raise our eyes to the glory of our Redeemer since it is in him that we are already raised, as our faith gives us to believe, according to the apostle Paul's words: “If we have died with Christ we believe that we shall also live with him”.

Saint Braulion of Saragossa

PRAYER – Remember Lord, Your solemn Covenant, renewed and consecrated by the Blood of the Lamb, so that Your people may obtain forgiveness for their sins and continued growth by grace. May the Blessed Virgin, the Sorrowful Mother of Christ, our Treasure, intercede for our salvation. We make our prayer through Jesus Christ Your Son, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God with You Father, now and forever, amen.

Posted in Our MORNING Offering

Our Morning Offering – 10 September – I Rise – An Old Morning Prayer

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I Rise – An Old Morning Prayer – Excerpt
From The Blossoms of the Cross — 1894
The Sisters of St Joseph

I rise In God’s strength,
In God’s power,
In the Agony of Christ,
In the Cross of Christ,
In Christ’s Precious Blood,
These will sustain me against my enemies,
visible and invisible.
I rise in the blessing of Christ
which my dearest Jesus left to the whole world.
Protect me, All-Holy Trinity,
God the Father, Who created me,
God, the Son, Who redeemed me in His Precious Blood,
God, the Holy Ghost, Who sanctified me in Holy Baptism.
God, the Father, I give myself to Thee!
God, the Son, I commend myself to Thee!
God, the Holy Ghost, teach me!
Mary, Mother of God, assist me!
All you Saints of God, pray for me!
All you Holy Angels, protect me!
The Cross of Christ preserve me!
Amen

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One Minute Reflection – 10 September – “Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God”

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One Minute Reflection – 10 September – “Month of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – Readings: Ps 91:13-14, Ps 91:2, 1 Cor. 4:9-14, Luke 12:32-34

For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

Luke 12:32-34

REFLECTION – “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”. The beginning of the New Testament is altogether joyful and full of fresh grace. It even nudges the unbeliever and sluggish to pay heed and, more to the point, to act by promising happiness to the unfortunate and the Kingdom of heaven to those in exile, those in any kind of distress. The beginning of the new Law is pleasant to hear and starts off under happy auspices since the Legislator follows on from this beginning by giving so many assurances of beatitude. In this way those who have been attracted by them will go from one virtue to the next, climbing the eight steps that this Gospel has set up and placed within our hearts. For it is clear that what it is all about is the ascent of the heart and of the progress of merit through eight steps of virtue, leading men gradually from the lowest to the highest levels of evangelical perfection. In this way they will at last enter and see the God of gods in Zion, in his Temple, of which the prophet has said: “It had a stairway of eight steps,”.

The first virtue of the beginner is to renounce the world, through which we become poor in spirit; the second is gentleness, by which we submit ourselves and become accustomed to obedience; then the grief with which we lament our sins or with weeping beg for the virtues. These we certainly enjoy wherever we have the greatest hunger and thirst for justice, as much for ourselves as for others, and begin to be stirred by zeal against sinners. Yet, lest immoderate fervour turn into fault, the mercy by which it is tempered follows after. Through putting this into practice and training ourselves, when we have learnt how to be just and how to be merciful, then we may, perhaps, be capable of entering into contemplation and giving ourselves to the purification of our hearts so as to see God.

Blessed Guerric of Igny

PRAYER – Lord God, in Your wisdom, You created us, in love. By Your providence, You rule us, in love. Penetrate our inmost being with the holy light of Your Son. Penetrate our hearts with the overwhelming love for Your love, so that we may weep in consolation. May the Light that is Jesus Christ our Lord, enlighten our hearts that we may see clearly the way we should tread. May the prayers of Your holy Angels, Martyrs, Saints and our Sorrowful Martyr Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, be our guiding inspiration. Through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever amen.