Posted in JESUIT SJ, LENT 2019, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The WORD

Thursday after Ash Wednesday – 7 March -“Let him take up his cross daily and follow Me”

Thursday after Ash Wednesday – 7 March

“Let him take up his cross daily and follow Me”lent-thursday-after-ash-wed-15-feb-2018

Lord, help us to see in Your Crucifixion and Resurrection an example of how to endure and seemingly to die in the agony and conflict of daily life, so that we may live more fully and creatively.   You accepted patiently and humbly the rebuffs of human life, as well as the tortures of your Crucifixion and Passion.   Help us to accept the pains and conflicts that come to us each day, as opportunities to grow as people and become more like You. Enable us to go through them patiently and bravely, trusting that You will support us. Make us realise that it is only by frequent deaths of ourselves and our self-centred desires, that we can come to live more fully,
for it is only, by dying with You, that we can rise with You.

Saint Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)

(A Gift for God – prayers and meditations)it is only by dying with christ - mother teresa - 7 march 2019.jpg

Daily Meditation:
The Journey Begins

God has revealed Himself in Christ.   Let us praise His goodness and ask Him from our hearts:
Remember us, Lord, for we are Your children.

Teach us to enter more deeply into the mystery of the Church,
– that it may be more effective for ourselves and for the world as the sacrament of salvation.
Lover of mankind, inspire us to work for human progress,
– seeking to spread Your kingdom in all we do.
May our hearts thirst for Christ,
– the fountain of living water.
Forgive us our sins,
– and direct our steps into the ways of justice and sincerity.

Closing Prayer:
Lord,
Let everything I do this day and in this season of Lent
come from You, be inspired by You.

I long to be closer to You.
Help me to remember, that nothing is important in my life
unless it glorifies You in some way.

It’s so easy to get caught up in the day to day of my life and keep saying,
“Tomorrow, I will spend more time in prayer”
but now my longing meet Your love and I want to do it now.
Help me to rely on You for help.

Please, Lord, remind me that “perfection”
isn’t the crazy, “successful” way I try to live my life
but a perfection of my most authentic, real self.
My “perfection” might be holding my many flaws in my open hands,
asking You to help me accept them.

Make me whole Lord and help me to find You in the darkness of my life.
Let me reach out in this darkness and feel Your hand and love, there to guide me.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.luke 9 23 thurs after ash wed - if any man will come after me - 7 march 2019.jpg

Posted in FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MORNING Prayers, SAINT of the DAY, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 18 October – The Feast of St Luke the Evangelist

One Minute Reflection – 18 October – The Feast of St Luke the Evangelist

“If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”…Luke 9: 23.

REFLECTION – “To be a Christian for Luke means to follow Jesus on the path that he takes.  It is Jesus Himself who takes the initiative and calls us to follow Him and He does it decisively, unmistakably, thus showing His extraordinary identity,   His mystery of being the Son who knows the Father and reveals Him.   At the origin of the decision to follow Jesus lies the fundamental option in favour of His person.   If we have not been attracted by the face of Christ, it is impossible to follow Him with fidelity and constancy. This is also because Jesus walks a difficult road;  He lays down extremely demanding conditions and heads for a paradoxical destiny, that of the Cross. Luke emphasises that Jesus does not like compromises and requires a commitment of the whole person, a decisive detachment from any nostalgia for the past, from family demands, from material possessions (cf. Lk 9: 57-62; 14: 26-33).”….St John Paul 18 Oct 2000at the origin of the decision - st john paul - feat of st luke 18 oct 2017

PRAYER – Lord God, You chose St Luke to reveal the mystery of Your love in his preaching and his writings. Grant, we pray, that we may grow in love for the Holy Face of Christ, His words and His directions, revealed to us in the Gospels, in the example of your saints. Today, on his feast, we especially look to St Luke, to guide, teach and pray for us. We make our prayer through our Lord Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, one God with You, forever and ever, amen.st luke pray for us 18 oct 2017

Posted in FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 28 Februa

One Minute Reflection – 28 February

Whoever wishes to be my follower
must take up his cross each day
and follow in my footsteps…………..Luke 9:23

REFLECTION – Let the primary desire of your heart be to stir up in yourselves an ardent and affectionate desire to imitate Jesus in all your works.
Strive to do everything as the Lord Himself would do……………St John of the Cross

PRAYER – Lord Jesus, help me to pattern my life after You.  Grant that I may imitate You completely – in all my thoughts, words and deeds.  May Your Holy Face be before my eyes in every moment, in every word, in every deed.    Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner!  Amen

luke-9-23

let-the-primary-desire-of-your-heart-stjohnofthecrossmay-your-holy-face-be-before-my-eyes