Our Morning Offering – 30 August – “Month of the Immaculate Heart”
O God of Love
Give me Your Love and Your Grace
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor
O God of Love,
You are
and shall be forever,
the only delight of my heart
and the sole object of my affections.
Sinee Jesus said,
‘Ask and you shall receive,’
I do not hesitate to say,
‘Give me Your Love and Your Grace.’
Grant that I may love You
and be loved by You.
I want nothing else.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 2 August – The Memorial of St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787) Most Zealous Doctor of the Church and a Catholic Monday of the Holy Ghost
Inflame our Hearts with Your Love
Prayer To the Holy Ghost
By St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor of the Church
You made Mary full of grace
and enflamed the hearts of the Apostles
with a holy zeal.
Inflame our hearts with Your love.
You are the Spirit of Goodness,
Give us the courage to confront evil
You are Fire, set us ablaze with Your love
You are Light, enlighten our minds,
that we may see what is truly important.
You are the Dove, give us gentleness.
You are a soothing Breeze, bring calm to the storms that rage within us.
You are the Tongue, may our lips ever sing God’s praises
You are the Cloud, shelter us under the shadow of Your protection
O Holy Ghost, melt the frozen,
warm the chilled and enkindle in us an earnest desire to please You.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen
One Minute Reflection – 19 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Readings: Exodus 14: 5-18; Exodus 15: 1bc-2, 3-4, 5-6; Matthew 12: 38-42
“They repented” – Matthew 12:41
REFLECTION – “Let us meditate on the Ninevites…, let us listen to what they did. After the terrifying proclamation made by Jonah before this gluttonous and drunken people…, like capable workmen they made hast to restore the City their evil deeds had destroyed, taking a sure rock for its foundation…: repentance. After washing away its filth in the floods of their tears, they adorned their Town with their prayer and, converted Nineveh, pleased the Merciful One. For she immediately showed forth the beauty of her heart to “he who searches the heart” (Ps 7,10)… rubbed with the oil of their good deeds, perfumed with fasting, she returned to the One who loves her… and He embraced her repentance.
Its king, a wise man,… prepared animals and flocks as if to bring them along in dowry, saying: “O God, my Saviour, I offer everything to You, only reconcile, bring back in grace, she who prostituted herself and betrayed… Your purity, for see how, in her love, she offers her repentance to You like a gift… If I, the sovereign king, have sinned then strike me alone and take pity on all these others. But if we have all fallen short, hear the voices of all… May Your help come upon us and all fear will be dissolved. Nothing will frighten us if You receive what we are offering You – our repentance…
Rebellious Nineveh throws herself at Your feet and I, a miserable king and Your wretched servant, I sit down in ashes since I am unworthy of my throne (Joh 3,6). Because I have scorned the crown, I throw dust on my head. Because I am not worthy of my purple, I have put on sackcloth and burst into lamentation. Therefore, do not despise me, cast a glance upon us, O my Saviour, and accept our repentance.”
Son of the One God, O only God, those who love You, wish to carry out Your Will; protect them in Your mercy… As in former days You took pity on the Ninevites… so today, release from judgement those who sing to You and grant me forgiveness in return for my confession… Since I have no works worthy of Your glory, at least save me, my Saviour, for my words of contrition – You Who love repentance.” – St Romanos Melodios (c 490-c 556) Monk, Poet, Hymnist – Hymn « Nineveh » § 4-17; SC 99
PRAYER – My Lord Jesus Christ,
You have made this journey
to die for me, with love unutterable
and I have so many times unworthily abandoned You
but now I love You with my whole heart
and because I love You,
I repent sincerely for having ever offended You.
Pardon me, my God
and permit me to accompany You on this journey.
You go to die for love of me,
I wish also, my beloved Redeemer,
to die for love of Thee.
My Jesus, I will live
and die always united to You.”
Amen – By St Alphonsus Mary Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor of the Church
Our Morning Offering – 14 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood”
Prayer for the Gift of Prayer
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor of the Church
O Incarnate Word,
You have given Your Blood and Your Life
to confer on our prayers that power by which,
according to Your promise,
they obtain for us all that we ask.
And we, O God,
are so careless of our salvation,
that we will not even ask You for the graces
that we must have, if we should be saved!
In prayer You have given us the key
of all Your Divine treasures
and we, rather than pray,
choose to remain in our misery.
Alas! O Lord, enlighten us,
and make us know the value of prayers,
offered in Your name and by Your merits,
in the eyes of Your Eternal Father.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 4 July – “Month of the Precious Blood”
For those unable to attend Holy Mass today and for all of us, everyday!
Act of Spiritual Communion
By St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor
I desire, good Jesus,
to receive Thee in Holy Communion
and since I cannot now receive Thee
in the Blessed Sacrament,
I beseech Thee to come to me spiritually
and to refresh my soul with Thy sweetness.
Come, my Lord, my God and my All!
Come to me
and never let me ever again
be separated from Thee by sin.
Teach me Thy blessed ways,
help me with Thy grace to imitate Thy example,
to practise meekness, humility,
charity and all the virtues of Thy Sacred Heart.
My divine Master, my one desire is to do Thy will
and to love Thee, more and more.
Help me, that I may be faithful to the end, in Thy service.
Bless me in life and in death,
that I may praise Thee, forever in heaven,
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 24 April – Saturday of he Third Week of Easter
Mother of my God,
Lady Mary, Queen of Mercy
By St Alphonsus Ligouri (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor
Mother of my God and my Lady Mary,
as a beggar, all wounded and sore,
presents himself before a great Queen,
so do I present myself before you,
who are Queen of heaven and earth.
From the lofty throne on which you sit,
disdain not, I implore you,
to cast your eyes on me,
a poor sinner.
God has made you so rich
that you might assist the poor
and has made you Queen of Mercy,
that you might relieve the miserable.
Behold me then and pity me.
Behold me and abandon me not,
until you see me changed
from a sinner into a saint.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 2 March – Tuesday of the Second week of Lent
Prayer for the Gift of Prayer
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor
O Incarnate Word,
You have given Your Blood and Your Life
to confer on our prayers that power by which,
according to Your promise,
they obtain for us all that we ask.
And we, O God,
are so careless of our salvation,
that we will not even ask You for the graces
that we must have, if we should be saved!
In prayer You have given us the key
of all Your Divine treasures;
and we, rather than pray,
choose to remain in our misery.
Alas! O Lord, enlighten us,
and make us know the value of prayers,
offered in Your name and by Your merits,
in the eyes of Your Eternal Father.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 7 January – The Second Day within the Octave of Epiphany
O Child, So Worthy of Our Love,
I Offer You My Heart
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor
O Child so worthy of our love,
I see You lying on the straw in this cave,
so poor and despised.
Yet faith teaches me, that You are my God
come down from heaven for my salvation.
I acknowledge You as my Sovereign Lord and Saviour,
as such I proclaim You,
yet, I have nothing at all to offer You.
I am without love’s gold,
since I have given my love to the things of this world –
I have only loved my own whim, rather than loving You,
so infinitely worthy of love.
I am without prayer’s incense,
since I have lived wretchedly without thinking of You.
I have no myrrh of mortification since,
so as not to forsake some paltry pleasures,
I have so often saddened Your infinite goodness.
So what am I to offer You?
O my Jesus, I offer You my heart, soiled and naked as it is.
Take it and change it, for You have come down to us
to wash our guilty hearts with Your blood
and so transform us from sinners into saints.
O grant me that gold, incense and myrrh that I lack.
Grant me the gold of Your holy love;
grant me the incense that is the spirit of prayer;
grant me myrrh,
the willingness and strength to deny myself
in all that displeases You…
O holy Virgin, you welcomed those devout magi kings
with keen affection and satisfied them.
Deign to welcome and comfort me also,
I who come, following their example,
to visit and offer myself to your Son
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 28 December – The Feast of the Holy Innocents – The Fourth Day of the Christmas Octave.
O Dearest Infant
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor
O dearest Infant,
tell me what You came on earth to do.
Tell me whom You are seeking.
Ah, yes, I now understand…
You have come to die for me, a lost sheep,
in order that I may no more
hide from You but love You.
O Jesus, my treasure,
my life, my love, my all,
if I do not love You,
then whom shall I love?
Where can I find a mother or father,
a friend, or a spouse more loving than You?
And who has ever loved me more than You have?
I am sorry that I have lived so many years in this world
and yet still love You so little,
even having offended You
and sometimes forgotten You.
Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 14 September – Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
“Do not rejoice in the Cross only in times of peace,
preserve the same faith in times of persecution.
Do not be a friend to Jesus in times of peace alone,
only to become His enemy in times of war.
You are now receiving forgiveness for your sins
and the spiritual gifts lavishly bestowed by your King so,
when war breaks out, fight valiantly for your King.”
St Cyril of Jerusalem (315-387)
Father and Doctor of the Church
“The way to rest is through toil,
the way to life is through death.
Christ has taken on Himself
the whole weakness of our lowly human nature.
If then we are steadfast in our faith in Him
and in our love for Him,
we win the victory that He has won,
we receive what He has promised.”
St Pope Leo the Great (400-461)
Father and Doctor of the Church
“This is that enviable
and blessed Cross of Christ . . .
the Cross in which alone,
we must make our boast,
as Paul,
God’s chosen instrument,
has told us.”
St Raymond of Peñafort
(1175-1275)
“Whenever anything disagreeable
or displeasing happens to you,
remember Christ crucified
and be silent!”
St John of the Cross (1542-1591)
Doctor of the Church
“Act of Contrition
My Lord Jesus Christ,
You have made this journey
to die for me, with love unutterable
and I have so many times unworthily abandoned You
but now I love You with my whole heart
and because I love You,
I repent sincerely for having ever offended You.
Pardon me, my God
and permit me to accompany You on this journey.
You go to die for love of me,
I wish also, my beloved Redeemer,
to die for love of Thee.
My Jesus, I will live
and die always united to You.”
Amen
By St Alphonsus Mary Liguori (1696-1787)
Doctor of the Church
“Like Jesus, we must bow our heads
before our Cross
and embrace it,
with resignation and love.
We must unite our sufferings
with those of our Redeemer,
for the expiation of our sins.”
Antonio Cardinal Bacci
More here:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/09/14/quote-s-of-the-day-14-september-the-message-of-the-cross/
Our Morning Offering – 17 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Prayer for the Gift of Prayer
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Doctor of the Church
O Incarnate Word,
You have given Your Blood and Your Life
to confer on our prayers that power by which,
according to Your promise,
they obtain for us all that we ask.
And we, O God,
are so careless of our salvation,
that we will not even ask You for the graces
that we must have, if we should be saved!
In prayer You have given us the key
of all Your Divine treasures
and we, rather than pray,
choose to remain in our misery.
Alas! O Lord, enlighten us,
and make us know the value of prayers,
offered in Your name and by Your merits,
in the eyes of Your Eternal Father.
Amen
Sunday Reflection – 10 May – The Fifth Sunday of Easter
When I say, Domine, non sum dignus—”Lord, I am not worthy”—You whom I am addressing, alone understands in their fullness the words which I use. You see how unworthy so great a sinner is to receive the One Holy God, whom the Seraphim adore with trembling. You see, not only the stains and scars of past sins but the mutilations, the deep cavities, the chronic disorders which they have left in my soul. You see the innumerable living sins, though they be not mortal, living in their power and presence, their guilt and their penalties, which clothe me. You see all my bad habits, all my mean principles, all wayward lawless thoughts, my multitude of infirmities and miseries, yet You come. You see most perfectly how little I really feel what I am now saying, yet You come.
O my God, left to myself should I not perish under the awful splendour and the consuming fire of Your Majesty. Enable me to bear You, lest I have to say with Peter, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”
Act of Spiritual Communion
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) Most Zealous Doctor
I desire, good Jesus,
to receive Thee in Holy Communion
and since I cannot now receive Thee
in the Blessed Sacrament,
I beseech Thee to come to me spiritually
and to refresh my soul with Thy sweetness.
Come, my Lord, my God and my All!
Come to me
and never let me ever again be separated from Thee by sin.
Teach me Thy blessed ways,
help me with Thy grace to imitate Thy example,
to practise meekness, humility,
charity and all the virtues of Thy Sacred Heart.
My divine Master, my one desire is to do Thy will
and to love Thee more and more.
Help me that I may be faithful to the end in Thy service.
Bless me in life and in death,
that I may praise Thee forever in heaven, Amen.
Lenten Reflection – 1 April – Wednesday of the Fifth week of Lent, Readings: Daniel 3:14-20, 91-92, 95, Responsorial psalm Daniel 3:52-56, John 8:31-42
“If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples
and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free.”…John 8:31-32
Daily Meditation:
Enlighten our minds and sanctify our hearts.
“God could give no greater gift to men than to make His Word, through whom He created all things, their head and to join them to Him as His members, so that the Word might be both Son of God and son of man, one God with the Father and one man with all men. The result is that when we speak with God in prayer, we do not separate the Son from Him and when the body of the Son prays, it does not separate its head from itself, it is the one Saviour of His body, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who prays for us and in us and is Himself the object of our prayers.
He prays for us, as our priest, He prays in us, as our head, He is the object of our prayers, as our God.
Let us then recognise both our voice in His and His voice in ours. When something is said, especially in prophecy, about the Lord Jesus Chris,t that seems to belong to a condition of lowliness, unworthy of God, we must not hesitate to ascribe this condition to one who did not hesitate to unite Himself with us. Every creature is His servant, for it was through Him that every creature came to be.” … Saint Augustine (354-430) Bishop and Great Western Father of the Church
Intercessions:
Blessed be God, the giver of salvation,
who decreed that mankind should become a new creation in Himself,
when all would be made new.
With great confidence let us ask Him:
Lord, renew us in Your Spirit.
Lord, You promised a new heaven and a new earth,
renew us daily through Your Spirit,
– that we may enjoy Your presence forever in the heavenly Jerusalem.
Help us to work with You to make this world alive with Your Spirit,
– and to build on earth a city of justice, love and peace.
Free us from all negligence and sloth,
– and give us joy in Your gifts of grace.
Deliver us from evil,
– and from slavery to the senses,
which blinds us to Your love, freedom and truth.
Closing Prayer:
Grant that I may love You
and be loved by You
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
O God of love,
You are
and shall be forever,
the only delight of my heart
and the sole object of my affections.
Since Jesus said,
‘Ask and you shall receive,’
I do not hesitate to say,
‘Give me Your love
and Your grace.’
Grant that I may love You
and be loved by You.
I want nothing else.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 1 April – Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
The One Thing Necessary
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor
O my God,
help me to remember,
that time is short, eternity long.
What good is all the greatness of this world
at the hour of death?
To love You, my God
and save my soul is the one thing necessary.
Without You, there is no peace of mind or soul.
My God, I need fear only sin
and nothing else in this life,
for to lose You, my God, is to lose all.
O my God, help me to remember,
that I came into this world with nothing,
and shall take nothing from it when I die.
To gain You, I must leave all.
But in loving You,
I already have all good things,
the infinite riches of Christ and His Church in life,
Mary’s motherly protection and perpetual help
and the eternal dwelling place Jesus has prepared for me.
Eternal Father, Jesus has promised
that whatever we ask
in His Name will be granted us.
In His Name, I pray,
give me a burning faith,
a joyful hope,
a holy love for You.
Grant me perseverance in doing Your will
and never let me be separated from You.
My God and my All,
make me a Saint.
Amen
Lenten Reflection – 27 March – Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Readings: Wisdom 2:1, 12-22, Psalm 34:17-21, 23, John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30
“You know me and you know where I come from?
But I have not come of my own accord;
he who sent me is true and him you do not know.”…John 7:28
Daily Meditation:
May we reach out with joy to grasp Your hand.
“In His Resurrection Christ has revealed the God of merciful love, precisely because He accepted the Cross as the way to the Resurrection. And, it is for this reason, that, when we recall the Cross of Christ, His passion and death, our faith and hope are centred on the Risen One – on that Christ who “on the evening of that day, the first day of the week, . . .stood among them” in the upper Room, “where the disciples were, …breathed on them and said to them: ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained’ ” (Jn 20:19).
Here is the Son of God, who in His Resurrection, experienced in a radical way, mercy shown to Himself, that is to say the love of the Father which is more powerful than death. And it is also the same Christ, the Son of God, who… reveals Himself as the inexhaustible source of mercy, of the same love… more powerful than sin.” … St Pope John Paul (1920-2005) – Encyclical « Dives in Misericordia » # 8
When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears,
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit.
Psalm 34:17-18
Intercessions:
Let us pray to Christ our Saviour,
who redeemed us by His Death and Resurrection:
Lord, have mercy on us.
You went up to Jerusalem to suffer and so enter into Your glory,
– bring Your Church to the Passover feast of heaven.
You were lifted high on the cross and pierced by the soldier’s lance,
– heal our wounds.
You made the Cross the Tree of Life,
– give its fruit to those reborn in baptism.
On the Cross You forgave the repentant thief,
– forgive us our sins.
Closing Prayer:
Act of Contrition
By St Alphonsus Mary Liguori (1696-1787)
Doctor of the Church
My Lord Jesus Christ,
You have made this journey
to die for me, with love unutterable
and I have so many times unworthily abandoned You
but now I love You with my whole heart
and because I love You,
I repent sincerely for having ever offended You.
Pardon me, my God
and permit me to accompany You on this journey.
You go to die for love of me,
I wish also, my beloved Redeemer,
to die for love of Thee.
My Jesus, I will live
and die always united to You.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 23 March – Monday of the Fourth week of Lent
Grant That I May Love You
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Doctor of the Church
O God of love,
You are
and shall be forever,
the only delight of my heart
and the sole object of my affections.
Since Jesus said,
‘Ask and you shall receive,’
I do not hesitate to say,
‘Give me Your love
and Your grace.’
Grant that I may love You
and be loved by You.
I want nothing else.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 19 February – Wednesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time, Year A
Prayer for the Gift of Prayer
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Doctor of the Church
O Incarnate Word,
You have given Your Blood and Your Life
to confer on our prayers that power by which,
according to Your promise,
they obtain for us all that we ask.
And we, O God,
are so careless of our salvation,
that we will not even ask You for the graces
that we must have, if we should be saved!
In prayer You have given us the key
of all Your Divine treasures;
and we, rather than pray,
choose to remain in our misery.
Alas! O Lord, enlighten us,
and make us know the value of prayers,
offered in Your name and by Your merits,
in the eyes of Your Eternal Father.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 8 February – Saturday of the Fourth Week of Ordinary Tme, Year A
Jesus, my Saviour, Help me
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor
Jesus, my Saviour, help me.
I am resolved truly to love You
and to leave all to please You.
Help me to free myself from everything
that hinders me from belonging wholly to You,
who have loved me so much.
By your prayers, O Mother Mary,
which are so powerful with God,
obtain for me this grace
to belong wholly to God.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 13 December – Friday of the Second week of Advent, Year A
Jesus, my Saviour, Help me
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor
Jesus, my Saviour, help me.
I am resolved truly to love You
and to leave all, to please You.
Help me to free myself from everything,
that hinders me, from belonging wholly to You,
who have loved me so much.
By your prayers, O Mother Mary,
which are so powerful with God,
obtain for me this grace
to belong wholly to God.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 30 October – Wednesday of the Thirtieth week in Ordinary Time, Year C
You are the Giver of all Heavenly Gifts
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor
You are fire, enkindle in me Your love.
You are light, enlighten my mind
with the knowledge of eternal things.
You are the Dove, give me innocence of life.
You are the gentle Breeze,
disperse the storms of my passions.
You are the Tongue,
teach me how to bless You always.
You are the Cloud,
shelter me under the shadow of Your protection.
And lastly, You are the Giver of all heavenly gifts,
animate me,
I beseech You, with Your grace, sanctify me
with Your charity, enlighten me
with Your wisdom, adopt me by Your goodness as Your child
and save me in Your infinite mercy,
so that I may ever bless You, praise You and love You,
first during this life on earth,
and then in heaven for all eternity.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 23 October – Wednesday of the Twenty Ninth Week in Ordinary Time, Year C and the Feast of the Most Holy Redeemer celebrated today by the Redemptorists
Jesus, My Saviour, Help Me
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor
Jesus, my Saviour, help me.
I am resolved truly to love You
and to leave all to please You.
Help me to free myself
from everything that hinders me
from belonging wholly to You
who have loved me so much.
By your prayers, O Mother Mary,
which are so powerful with God,
obtain for me this grace
to belong wholly to God.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 16 October – Wednesday of the Twenty-eighth week in Ordinary Time, Year C and the Memorial of St Gerard Majella (1726-1755), Redemptorist Brother
The One Thing Necessary
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor
Founder of the Redemptorists
O my God,
help me to remember,
that time is short, eternity long.
What good is all the greatness of this world
at the hour of death?
To love You, my God
and save my soul is the one thing necessary.
Without You, there is no peace of mind or soul.
My God, I need fear only sin
and nothing else in this life,
for to lose You, my God, is to lose all.
O my God, help me to remember,
that I came into this world with nothing,
and shall take nothing from it when I die.
To gain You, I must leave all.
But in loving You,
I already have all good things,
the infinite riches of Christ and His Church in life,
Mary’s motherly protection and perpetual help
and the eternal dwelling place
Jesus has prepared for me.
Eternal Father, Jesus has promised
that whatever we ask
in His Name will be granted us.
In His Name, I pray,
give me a burning faith,
a joyful hope,
a holy love for You.
Grant me perseverance in doing Your will
and never let me be separated from You.
My God and my All,
make me a saint.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 1 August – Thursday of the Seventeenth week in Ordinary Time, Year C and the Memorial of St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) Doctor of the Church
Prayer of Saint Alphonsus to the Holy Spirit
You made Mary full of grace
and inflamed the hearts of the apostles
with a holy zeal.
Inflame our hearts with Your love
You are the spirit of goodness,
Give us the courage to confront evil
You are fire,
Set us ablaze with Your love
You are light,
Enlighten our minds,
that we may see what is truly important.
You are the dove,
Give us gentleness
You are a soothing breeze,
Bring calm to the storms that rage within us.
You are the tongue,
May our lips ever sing God’s praises
You are the cloud,
Shelter us under the shadow of Your protection
O Holy Spirit,
melt the frozen,
warm the chilled
and enkindle in us an earnest desire to please You.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 27 July – Saturday of the Sixteenth week in Ordinary Time, Year C – a “Marian Saturday”
Shelter Me Under Your Mantle
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Doctor of the Church
Most holy Virgin Immaculate, my Mother Mary,
to you who are the Mother of my Lord,
the Queen of the Universe, the Advocate,
the hope, the refuge of sinners,
I, who am the most miserable of all sinners,
have recourse this day.
I venerate you, great Queen
and I thank you for the many graces
you have bestowed upon me even unto this day,
in particular for having delivered me from the hell
which I have so often served by my sins.
I love you, my dearest Lady
and because of that love,
I promise to serve you willingly forever
and to do what I can,
to make you loved by others also.
I place in you all my hopes for salvation,
accept me as your servant
and shelter me under your mantle,
you who are the Mother of Mercy.
And since you are so powerful with God,
deliver me from all temptations,
or at least obtain for me the strength
to overcome them until death.
From you I implore a true love for Jesus Christ.
Through you I hope to die a holy death.
My dear Mother, by your love for Almighty God,
I pray you to assist me always
but most of all, at the last moment of my life.
Forsake me not then,
until you shall see me safe in heaven,
there to bless you
and sing of your mercies through all eternity.
Such is my hope.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 2 July – Tuesday of the Thirteenth week in Ordinary Time, Year C
Prayer for the Gift of Prayer
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Doctor of the Church
O Incarnate Word,
You have given Your Blood and Your Life
to confer on our prayers that power by which,
according to Your promise,
they obtain for us all that we ask.
And we, O God,
are so careless of our salvation,
that we will not even ask You for the graces
that we must have, if we should be saved!
In prayer You have given us the key
of all Your Divine treasures;
and we, rather than pray,
choose to remain in our misery.
Alas! O Lord, enlighten us,
and make us know the value of prayers,
offered in Your name and by Your merits,
in the eyes of Your Eternal Father.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 27 April – Saturday of Easter week – Marian Saturdays
My Lady Mary
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor
Mother of my God
and my Lady Mary;
as a beggar,
all wounded and sore,
presents himself before a great Queen,
so do I present myself before you,
who are Queen of heaven and earth.
From the lofty throne on which you sit,
disdain not, I implore you,
to cast your eyes on me,
a poor sinner.
God has made you so rich
that you might assist the poor,
and has made you Queen of Mercy
in order that you might
relieve the miserable.
Behold me then and pity m,
behold me and abandon me not,
until you see me changed
from a sinner into a saint.
Amen
The Stations of the Cross – 19 April – Friday of the Passion of the Lord, 3 p.m.
Begin with an Act of Contrition
V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemisti mundum.
V. We adore You, O Christ and we bless You.
R. Because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.
You hang on a cross like a criminal, a few faithful gather at Your feet. Your mother is there as her Son drips to death for His human creatures.
Yet, even nailed to a cross and dying from the torture, there is no mercy for You.
You ask for a small compassion and are given gall to drink.
There is no mercy for You, yet You constantly plead for mercy for me.
You even give me the Mother that You chose for Yourself.
And in Your passion, without solace, alone in the midst of the crowd, cut off from everyone, You are utterly alone.
Defiled even as You die, cursed and ignored with no possibility of human comfort, You cry out Your agony from the cross and at that moment tear, any barrier, between Your Father and me.
I should be the one hanging on that cross, guilty with all my sin but out of love, You have taken my place.
You give your last drop of precious blood and then looking at me, You breathe Your last, bow Your head, and die…for me.
V. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
R. Have mercy on us.
I love You, Lord Jesus,
my love above all things,
I repent with my
whole heart for having
offended You.
Never permit me
to separate myself
from You again
grant that I may love always
and then do with me
what You will.
(St Alphonsus Liguori)
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be
The Stations of the Cross – 15 April – Monday of Holy Week
Begin with an Act of Contrition
V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemisti mundum.
V. We adore You, O Christ and we bless You.
R. Because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.
At length His strength fails utterly and He is unable to proceed. The executioners stand perplexed. What are they to do? How is He to get to Calvary? Soon they see a stranger who seems strong and active—Simon of Cyrene. They seize on him and compel him to carry the Cross with Jesus. The sight of the Sufferer pierces the man s heart. Oh, what a privilege! O happy soul, elect of God! he takes the part assigned to him with joy.
This came of Mary’s intercession. He prayed, not for Himself, except that He might drink the full chalice of suffering and do His Father’s will but she showed herself a mother by following Him with her prayers, since she could help Him in no other way. She then sent this stranger to help Him. It was she who led the soldiers to see that they might be too fierce with Him. Sweet Mother, even do the like to us. Pray for us ever, Holy Mother of God, pray for us, whatever be our cross, as we pass along on our way. Pray for us and we shall rise again, though we have fallen. Pray for us when sorrow, anxiety, or sickness comes upon us. Pray for us, when we are prostrate under the power of temptation and send some faithful servant of thine to succour us. And in the world to come, if found worthy to expiate our sins in the fiery prison, send some good Angel to give us a season of refreshment. Pray for us, Holy Mother of God.
V. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
R. Have mercy on us.
I love You, Lord Jesus,
my love above all things,
I repent with my whole heart
for having offended You.
Never permit me to separate myself
from You again grant that I
may love always
and then do with me what You will.
(St Alphonsus Liguori)
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be
The Stations of the Cross – 13 April – Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent, Year C
Begin with an Act of Contrition, this one by St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787).
My Lord Jesus Christ,
You have made this journey
to die for me, with love unutterable
and I have so many times unworthily abandoned You
but now I love You with my whole heart
and because I love You,
I repent sincerely for having ever offended You.
Pardon me, my God
and permit me to accompany You on this journey.
You go to die for love of me,
I wish also, my beloved Redeemer,
to die for love of Thee.
My Jesus, I will live
and die always united to You.
Amen
V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemisti mundum.
V. We adore You, O Christ and we bless You.
R. Because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.
JESUS, bowed down under the weight and the length of the unwieldy Cross, which trailed after Him, slowly sets forth on His way, amid the mockeries and insults of the crowd. His agony in the Garden itself was sufficient to exhaust Him but it was only the first of a multitude of sufferings. He sets off with His whole heart but His limbs fail Him and He falls.
Yes, it is as I feared. Jesus, the strong and mighty Lord, has found for the moment our sins stronger than Himself. He falls—yet He bore the load for a while, He tottered but He bore up and walked onwards. What, then, made Him give way? I say, I repeat, it is an intimation and a memory to thee, O my soul, of thy falling back into mortal sin. I repented of the sins of my youth and went on well for a time but at length, a new temptation came, when I was off my guard and I suddenly fell away. Then all my good habits seemed to go at once, they were like a garment which is stripped off, so quickly and utterly did grace depart from me. And at that moment I looked at my Lord and lo! He had fallen down and I covered my face with my hands and remained in a state of great confusion.
V. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
R. Have mercy on us.
I love You,
Lord Jesus,
my love
above all things,
I repent
with my
whole heart
for having
offended You.
Never permit me
to separate myself
from You again
grant that I
may love always
and then do with me
what You will.
(St Alphonsus Liguori)
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be
The Stations of the Cross – 11 April – Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent, Year C
Meditations on the Stations of the Cross
By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
Begin with an Act of Contrition, this one by St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
My Lord Jesus Christ,
You have made this journey
to die for me, with love unutterable
and I have so many times unworthily abandoned You
but now I love You with my whole heart
and because I love You,
I repent sincerely for having ever offended You.
Pardon me, my God
and permit me to accompany You on this journey.
You go to die for love of me,
I wish also, my beloved Redeemer,
to die for love of Thee.
My Jesus, I will live
and die always united to You.
Amen
V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemisti mundum.
V. We adore You, O Christ and we bless You.
R. Because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.
LEAVING the House of Caiphas and dragged before Pilate and Herod, mocked, beaten, and spit upon, His back torn with scourges, His head crowned with thorns, Jesus, who on the last day will judge the world, is Himself condemned by unjust judges to a death of ignominy and torture.
Jesus is condemned to death. His death-warrant is signed and who signed it but I, when I committed my first mortal sins? My first mortal sins, when I fell away from the state of grace into which You did place me by baptism; these it was that were Your death-warrant, O Lord. The Innocent suffered for the guilty. Those sins of mine were the voices which cried out, “Let Him be crucified.” That willingness and delight of heart with which I committed them was the consent which Pilate gave to this clamorous multitude. And the hardness of heart which followed upon them, my disgust, my despair, my proud impatience, my obstinate resolve to sin on, the love of sin which took possession of me—what were these contrary and impetuous feelings but the blows and the blasphemies with which the fierce soldiers and the populace received You, thus carrying out the sentence which Pilate had pronounced?
V. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
R. Have mercy on us.
I love You,
Lord Jesus,
my love above all things,
I repent with my whole heart
for having offended You.
Never permit me to separate myself
from You again.
Grant that I may love always
and then do with me
what You will.
(St Alphonsus Liguori)
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be
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