Freely Choosing Love Over the World

My husband and I are on a little getaway while our children vacation with my parents this week. For Lauds today, I had this view instead of my usual altar.

It was so peaceful that I easily sailed through the usual 5 minutes of meditation on the reading for this morning with very little of the usual mind-going-into-rabbit-holes I struggle with daily.

Today’s Scripture for Lauds was this:

READING Ezekiel 36:25-27

I will sprinkle clean water upon you to cleanse you from all your impurities, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts. I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes, careful to observe my decrees. You shall live in the land I gave your fathers; you shall be my people, and I will be your God.

So often, I struggle with allowing God to do this with my heart: to take away my impurities and disordered desires and put in their place a holy zeal for Him and His Church. But again and again, God calls me back, promising that He will do this for me.

If only I allow Him to do it.

Jesus’ Sacred Heart

Taken by Fr. Lawrence Lew, O.P.

God has given us the great gift of free will, which allows us to truly love Him if we so choose. For true love cannot ever be forced upon someone or drawn out of them against their will. Love must be chosen willingly, without coercion. Coming just after the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, this is a pretty timely reading. Father Lawrence Lew, O.P., wrote this about the Sacred Heart and its founding as a feast:

As St Margaret Mary Alacoque, saint of the Sacred Heart said: “Showing me His Divine Heart, He said, ‘Behold this Heart which has so loved men and women that It has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming itself to prove to them its love. In return I receive from the greater number nothing but ingratitude, contempt, irreverence, sacrilege and coldness in this Sacrament of My love. But what I feel still more is that there are hearts consecrated to Me who use me thus.

Therefore I ask of you that… a special Festival [be kept] in honour of My Heart, to make reparation for the indignities offered to It and as a Communion day, in order to atone for the unworthy treatment It has received when exposed upon the altars. I also promise that my Heart shall shed in abundance the influence of Its Divine love on all those who shall honour It or cause It to be honoured’”.

So many of us turn from God’s love. But as I have been praying the Divine Office over the last year, I’ve seen a beautiful pattern in the readings from the prophets: God calls us back to Himself continually. Often, we see the people of God depicted as a bride, but Jesus also let us know that God is our Father. This was especially evident in the parable of the Prodigal Son:

Finally, I realized what it means to say that if we are unfaithful he will still remain faithful, for he cannot deny himself. No matter how much we might deny Him, God will always look for us, searching the horizon for his prodigal sons and daughters. He loves us, and will never give up hope that we will turn our hearts to Him again and come home. Like the father of the prodigal son, His desire is to have all of His children with him, happy and safe in His home. He seeks us out, calls to us from the distance, though we often ignore Him andpretend not to hear. He watches for us – how else could the father in the parable have seen his son “at a great distance” – and when we appear on the horizon, still a long way from being really, truly home, He runs to us and embraces us with the kind of love we can never truly understand in this life.

God seeks us out, and He waits patiently for us as any parent would, calling us back to Himself. He begs us to abandon the life we are leading that is hurting us in ways we cannot see, and He tells us again and again that we can come Home. He will forgive us.

He is waiting for us, searching for our silhouette against the setting sun, waiting for that moment when our figure will appear on the far horizon. When that happens, He will run to us and embrace us even as we weep and confess that we aren’t worthy to be His children any longer.

Because no sin is too great for Him to forgive when we ask Him for it.

Genius of the Church

Dominican Sisters Praying the Divine Office

I’ve started praying morning and evening prayers (Lauds and Vespers, respectively), and I’ve noticed a few things.

First, I noticed that they dovetail quite nicely with the day’s Mass readings, and when you start with Lauds, move to Mass later in the day, then finish with Vespers, you see a real pattern and are able to truly contemplate the Gospel and its ties to the Old Testament. It’s a way to contemplate the Bible in a very connected way. And when you must stop your day to read from Scripture again, you must slow down and meditate on the message imparted to us by Holy Mother Church.

Breviary of Franciscan Use (15th Century)

After all, it’s the Church who not only compiled what we now call The Bible, but also who set up the cycle of readings for both daily Mass (a two-year cycle) and Sunday Mass (a three-year cycle) – cycles that guide us through most of the Bible in that time, all the while showing us how the Old Testament points to the New, and the New Testament reflects upon the Old.

This alone ought to make people stop in wonder at the genius of the Church!

But there’s more. Lately, I’ve noticed that the prayers we pray in Lauds and Vespers could have been written last month in order to help us through the times we are in. Here’s a sample from today’s Lauds (Morning Prayer):

Psalm 108
Praise of God and a plea for help
Since the Son of God has been exalted above the heavens, his glory is proclaimed through all the earth (Arnobius).

My heart is ready, O God;
I will sing, sing your praise.
Awake, my soul;
awake, lyre and harp.
I will awake the dawn.

I will thank you, Lord, among the peoples,
among the nations I will praise you,
for your love reaches to the heavens
and your truth to the skies.
O God, arise above the heavens;
may your glory shine on earth!

O come and deliver your friends;
help with your right hand and reply.
From his holy place God has made this promise:
“I will triumph and divide the land of Shechem;
I will measure out the valley of Succoth.

Gilead is mine and Manasseh.
Ephraim I take for my helmet,
Judah for my commander’s staff.
Moab I will use for my washbowl,
on Edom I will plant my shoe.
Over the Philistines I will shout in triumph.”

But who will lead me to conquer the fortress?
Who will bring me face to face with Edom?
Will you utterly reject us, O God,
and no longer march with our armies?

Give us help against the foe:
for the help of man is vain.
With God we shall do bravely
and he will trample down our foes.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

And the Intercessions for today:

INTERCESSIONS

Christ, the splendor of the Father’s glory, enlightens us with his word. With deep love we call upon him:
– Hear us, King of eternal glory.

Blessed are you, the alpha and the omega of our faith,
for you called us out of darkness into your marvelous light.
– Hear us, King of eternal glory.

You enabled the blind to see, the deaf to hear,
help our unbelief.
– Hear us, King of eternal glory.

Lord, keep us in your love, preserve our community,
do not let us become separated from one another.
– Hear us, King of eternal glory.

Give us strength in temptation, endurance in trial,
and gratitude in prosperity.
– Hear us, King of eternal glory.

If I wanted to pray and ask God to help me in this Fortnight for Freedom, I would have written prayers that said similar things (though not as well) as these prayers that are set out for us by the Church. Not last week, not last month or even last year. This ancient form of prayer was set down long before our present troubles. And this fact gives me great hope and courage.

Our troubled times are not the first to be faced by Christians. While I know in my head that certainly the persecutions the Church faces in America today are by no means anywhere nearly as bad as the persecutions of the early Church, sometimes the shock that it’s happening here – in our land with religious freedom written into the law – causes me to forget how good our situation still is.  And reading and praying these prayers daily reminds me that, not only am I not the first one to face a government or society that hates me, I am also not alone in this matter on this day. In other countries, far worse happens to Christians daily. They cannot go to daily Mass without fear of being killed for doing so. They cannot openly talk about their faith or wear a Crucifix or even explain the faith to a friend.

Praying the Divine Office helps me remember this, and reminds me to pray for my brethren around the world who face persecution much worse than anything I experience.

And when I pray the Divine Office, I am also reminded that I am praying with other Christians around the world for the same intentions. We unite our prayers, we pray the same universal prayers. There’s real power in that.

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle…

There are some Christians who do not understand how Catholics can pray these written-down prayers. It seems formulaic, dry. But for someone who wants to pray in union with others, there’s nothing quite like being able to comfortably call up words to a prayer already written that perfectly sums up how you feel and what you need. It provides us with a real unity that freeform prayer does not give. When I pray the St. Michael Prayer with my family, we can all pray in unison the exact same sentiment – and vocalize it together. For me, there’s a palpable power when that happens. And I love the way we can succinctly pray for what we need at that moment. While some people might say it’s taking the easy way out, I see it more as a “why reinvent the wheel?” moment. If someone has written a beautiful prayer that says exactly what I want to say, and I know that prayer (and I mean what it says), why not reverently say those words?

So it is with the Divine Office. It’s a way for me to pray the Psalms in a structured way, to center my day around the Lord by beginning my day with prayers asking for His assistance throughout the day, and for asking His protection through the night as I end my day with Vespers.

The Divine Office is a way for me to pray for intentions I, frankly, might not be thinking of because I’m too wrapped up in my own selfish little world. It reminds me to look to God throughout the day and rest in Him throughout the night.

And all of these are good things.

Perfect Intellect and the Blessed Virgin Mary

Our family prayed the Rosary last night, and while meditating on the Sorrowful Mysteries, I tried to ask God to help me develop certain qualities – ones that would help me be a better imitator of our Lord and His Blessed Mother.

I was meditating on the Agony in the Garden, and I thought about how I need to learn to submit to God’s Will in my life. I need to be less selfish – less of a control freak – and trust God. This is what Jesus did during His Agony; He submitted Himself to the Will and the Plan of the Father.

As I meditated more, I thought of His Blessed Mother’s submission to the Will of God. Her assent – her fiat – was perfect. Her will was in union with God’s. Submission was a pleasure for her, and this was helped by the fact that her soul did not carry the scars of Original Sin. For an explanation of this important doctrine of the Catholic Church (called the Immaculate Conception), Catholic Answers offers, in part, the following:

The Immaculate Conception

It’s important to understand what the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception is and what it is not. Some people think the term refers to Christ’s conception in Mary’s womb without the intervention of a human father; but that is the Virgin Birth. Others think the Immaculate Conception means Mary was conceived “by the power of the Holy Spirit,” in the way Jesus was, but that, too, is incorrect. The Immaculate Conception means that Mary, whose conception was brought about the normal way, was conceived without original sin or its stain—that’s what “immaculate” means: without stain. The essence of original sin consists in the deprivation of sanctifying grace, and its stain is a corrupt nature. Mary was preserved from these defects by God’s grace; from the first instant of her existence she was in the state of sanctifying grace and was free from the corrupt nature original sin brings.

When discussing the Immaculate Conception, an implicit reference may be found in the angel’s greeting to Mary. The angel Gabriel said, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you” (Luke 1:28). The phrase “full of grace” is a translation of the Greek word kecharitomene. It therefore expresses a characteristic quality of Mary.

The traditional translation, “full of grace,” is better than the one found in many recent versions of the New Testament, which give something along the lines of “highly favored daughter.” Mary was indeed a highly favored daughter of God, but the Greek implies more than that (and it never mentions the word for “daughter”). The grace given to Mary is at once permanent and of a unique kind. Kecharitomene is a perfect passive participle of charitoo, meaning “to fill or endow with grace.” Since this term is in the perfect tense, it indicates that Mary was graced in the past but with continuing effects in the present. So, the grace Mary enjoyed was not a result of the angel’s visit. In fact, Catholics hold, it extended over the whole of her life, from conception onward. She was in a state of sanctifying grace from the first moment of her existence. …

(For the exact definition, broken down bit-by-bit with explanations, see the Catholic Encyclopedia at the New Advent site.)

Because Mary was conceived without Original Sin, she was in a better position to accept God’s Divine Will and to align her own desires with His. Instead of her judgement being clouded by the aftereffects of The Fall, she was able to remain without sin throughout her life.

Which led me to ponder further…

When Adam and Eve were created, they had an enlightened intellect. In other words, they had innate knowledge of God and His Will. They could freely choose to accept or reject this (and we all know how that ended up), but they knew full well what that Will was. It was the sin of Pride that led to the Fall, hence “Pride comes before the Fall.” But, make no mistake, they were smart enough to know what they were doing. Our intellects are not clear, they are not complete. Our intellects are like broken bones that are not quite healed properly. We are weak, our souls are weak, and our wills are weak. Anyone who thinks they are different is wrong, for even Saint Paul lamented that he was unable to avoid sinning (Romans 7:15).

But Mary – she was preserved from Original Sin, pre-emptively given the very Salvation that Christ Jesus would offer to us all. This is a basic belief that the Church has held since the earliest days of Christianity. Catholic Answers points to St. Irenaeus’ writings in the Second Century:

“Consequently, then, Mary the Virgin is found to be obedient, saying, ‘Behold, O Lord, your handmaid; be it done to me according to your word.’ Eve, however, was disobedient, and, when yet a virgin, she did not obey. Just as she, who was then still a virgin although she had Adam for a husband—for in paradise they were both naked but were not ashamed; for, having been created only a short time, they had no understanding of the procreation of children, and it was necessary that they first come to maturity before beginning to multiply—having become disobedient, was made the cause of death for herself and for the whole human race; so also Mary, betrothed to a man but nevertheless still a virgin, being obedient, was made the cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race. . . . Thus, the knot of Eve’s disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary. What the virgin Eve had bound in unbelief, the Virgin Mary loosed through faith” (Against Heresies 3:22:24 [A.D. 189]).

“The Lord then was manifestly coming to his own things, and was sustaining them by means of that creation that is supported by himself. He was making a recapitulation of that disobedience that had occurred in connection with a tree, through the obedience that was upon a tree [i.e., the cross]. Furthermore, the original deception was to be done away with—the deception by which that virgin Eve (who was already espoused to a man) was unhappily misled. That this was to be overturned was happily announced through means of the truth by the angel to the Virgin Mary (who was also [espoused] to a man). . . . So if Eve disobeyed God, yet Mary was persuaded to be obedient to God. In this way, the Virgin Mary might become the advocate of the virgin Eve. And thus, as the human race fell into bondage to death by means of a virgin, so it is rescued by a virgin. Virginal disobedience has been balanced in the opposite scale by virginal obedience. For in the same way, the sin of the first created man received amendment by the correction of the First-Begotten” (ibid., 5:19:1 [A.D. 189]).

So if the Blessed Virgin Mary was without sin – and without the broken-ness that comes from being born with Original Sin on one’s soul, does this mean that she, too, had a perfect intellect, as Eve did before the Fall?

If you know, please, point me towards some information on this. It’s fascinating to me that Mary might have had the same perfect intellect that our First Parents had!

Anniversaries and Times and Seasons and Prayers

This Saturday is our anniversary: 17 years! My sweet husband likes to add, “16 of them happy,” with a wink, making a reference to my two agonizing pregnancies.

It’s hard to believe we’ve really been married for 17 years now. December will mark 20 years of being together as a couple. That is half my life.

Time is a funny thing. When we’re young, it crawls by so slowly, you wish for Superman to come along and speed things up a bit. A school year to a first grader is an eternity. And that’s not surprising since one year is 1/5 of his life! As a child in elementary school, going from Christmas to Christmas takes forever (especially when the purple and pink candles come out – it’s doubly slow then!), but as adults, it seems to sneak up on us a little faster each year. My anniversary seems to be just a few weeks back, but here it is, mid-August again!

If we think back on our lives as children, we see how hard it was to wait for anything we

wanted. We looked forward to being older, getting to do more things, and those years of waiting were dreadfully long. Big Girl, for example, is one of the few children in her age group at church who doesn’t have a cell phone. She’s been asking again and again when she can get one. Now this is a topic Travel Man and I talked about when we first started seeing teens with cell phones. We had decided that until the girls are working, they don’t need one. Scratch that. Make it this: Until they are DRIVING, they don’t need one. Period. And even then, maybe they only need to borrow it sometimes.

So our answer was this, “When you turn 16, we’ll start talking about it.” (Notice that independent clause: start talking about it.)

This elicited the following reaction:

“WHAT????!!!!????” (Please imagine it starting at a high pitch and rising as the one-syllable word becomes something more like a long note sung.)

See, Big Girl is nearly 12, and four years before the discussion even starts is 1/4 of her life. To us, it seems like it’s just around the corner. To her, it’s NEVER GOING TO GET HERE.

About the only way that helps me understand this idea of time when I’m dealing with little girls – or, really, not-so-little girls – is to think about being with my husband.

It’s been 20 years since we started dating. Half my life. And, frankly, I barely remember what it was like without him. A little bit, but not a lot.

Basically, it’s like … forever. It’s as though he’s never not been such an intregal part of my life.

Imagine how much more our little annoyances with waiting amuse God, who is Eternal. No beginning, no end. A day is like a thousand years. How He must chuckle at our indignant answer when He tells us to wait before He answers a prayer.

“WHAT????!!!!????“

I’m sure that Him asking us to wait for something is in our best interest, but we are like children: we can’t see it.

When I pray, I must remember that there are three answers to my prayers:

1. Yes. We like this best. It is when we pray for something that is beneficial to us – to our souls, especially – that we get this answer. Of course, being our Father in Heaven, God also likes to give good gifts to His children. Not all “Yes” answers are purely for our spiritual benefit. Some are just because we’re getting a nice present from Daddy.
2. Wait. We like this, but not nearly as much as “Yes.” After all, we’re like our own children, who when they are told they must wait until Christmas morning to open presents Grandma sent last week (and Christmas is three weeks away), sit and stare longingly at the presents under the tree, occasionally begging again to open it now. But sometimes, the wait is worth it. And sometimes, we aren’t really ready for that “Yes.” Oh, we think we are. We’re very grown-up, you know. But what we are, sometimes, is that 12 year old asking for permission to drive the car. The 12 year old thinks she’s a great driver. We happen to know a bit better.
3. No. This is the answer that so few people like to talk about, and none of us really like. Oh, sure, deep down we understand that God has other things in store for us. Better things. But no child likes being told no. Even if you’re asking for a pony and you live in the middle of suburbia. Even if you’re asking if you can bring home the baby bear you found rummaging in the trashcan outside your rural mountain home. But God, being a Good Father, knows what’s best for us. He has to tell us “No” sometimes.

What’s really tough for us, as His children, is seeing the difference between God’s “Wait,” and His “No.” Sometimes we are certain that He’s said no. And we whine about it. We cease actually praying for our intention, but instead complain. Now, if it’s a “wait,” often there is a reason, like Christ perfecting the Samaritan woman’s request, testing her motives and faith. As a mother, I do this sometimes, making sure that my children have good intentions behind a request, or even that they really do want the thing they’re asking for.

God is the perfect Father! He will do the same for us. However, just as I will know the girls really want what they’re asking for by listening to them ask (politely) again, God will also allow us to ask him repeatedly for our intentions.

However, if instead of polite requests I get whining and complaints, I am WAY less inclined to give in. Ever. Can our reaction to our children be that vastly different than God’s?

So, I remind myself here that I must approach my petitions to God with reverence. I must always remember to take a good look at my own motivation for asking. Is it for good reasons? Am I asking for something that will be spiritually beneficial, or am I asking for the equivalent of a pet bear cub?

And, when God’s answer seems to be “no,” I must also re-evaluate and see if my petition is, indeed, appropriate. If I’m asking Jesus for a pony while I’m living in an apartment or for a pet cat that I’m terribly allergic to, I need to accept His “no” and move on. But if it is, I should do as Jesus instructed and persist, purifying my motivations and faith along the way. And I need to remember that just like it’s 1/4 of Big Girl’s life before we even begin discussing a cell phone, God’s time is not my time, and His ways are not my ways. I might have a bit of a wait until I hear “Yes” from my Father in Heaven.

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Gave Me the Shivers

Do you pray for priests? Especially the ones who seem to struggle with their vows or the Church?

You should.

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Saint Patrick’s Breastplate

New Advent has a lot of information on Saint Patrick, as well as this prayer.  I love the entire thing.  What a beautiful way to pray!

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of the Invocation of the Trinity:
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the Incarnation of Christ with His Baptism,
The virtue of His crucifixion with His burial,
The virtue of His Resurrection with His Ascension,
The virtue of His coming on the Judgement Day.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the love of seraphim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the hope of resurrection unto reward,
In prayers of Patriarchs,
In predictions of Prophets,
In preaching of Apostles,
In faith of Confessors,
In purity of holy Virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I bind to myself today
The power of Heaven,
The light of the sun,
The brightness of the moon,
The splendour of fire,
The flashing of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of sea,
The stability of earth,
The compactness of rocks.

I bind to myself today
God’s Power to guide me,
God’s Might to uphold me,
God’s Wisdom to teach me,
God’s Eye to watch over me,
God’s Ear to hear me,
God’s Word to give me speech,
God’s Hand to guide me,
God’s Way to lie before me,
God’s Shield to shelter me,
God’s Host to secure me,
Against the snares of demons,
Against the seductions of vices,
Against the lusts of nature,
Against everyone who meditates injury to me,
Whether far or near,
Whether few or with many.

I invoke today all these virtues
Against every hostile merciless power
Which may assail my body and my soul,
Against the incantations of false prophets,
Against the black laws of heathenism,
Against the false laws of heresy,
Against the deceits of idolatry,
Against the spells of women, and smiths, and druids,
Against every knowledge that binds the soul of man.

Christ, protect me today
Against every poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against death-wound,
That I may receive abundant reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort,
Christ in the chariot seat,
Christ in the poop [deck],
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of an invocation of the Trinity,
I believe the Trinity in the Unity

The Creator of the Universe.

Misc.

~Class is nearly over, homework had lightened up, and now I need to do roleplaying calls with class members for two hours each day so I can get familiar enough with the system that I don’t freak out and mess up next week. (Next week is certification week on the phone – real customers placing real orders.) I am a wreck about it.

~Big Girl’s soccer team is having team pictures today (God willing, if the weather holds out). I found this out last night at 8:45 p.m. Her shirt is in the laundry right now. And then I’ll have to wash it again by Friday. That goes great with the above-mentioned item, huh?

~I feel like I need to be cloistered with all the prayers I’ve been asked to send up. (And I am happy to pray for everyone, mind you!) For instance:

• Today, my friend is back in court with her husband, who is pushing for custody. And making her go to work to support him. And putting their heretofore homeschooled children in public school. I am praying that the judge can make a right decision, for God’s will, and that God’s will be that my friend retain custody of her children. Oh, and that the children are protected in body, mind, and soul during this horrible ordeal.
• Another friend is buying her first home this week, and has asked for prayers that all goes well. Her husband has been working like mad since they moved here, and he’s got a bad cold. It’d be nice if he wasn’t sick when the start actually moving at the end of the week!
• Another friend is entering the third year since she and her husband started adoption proceedings. Their son is in Guatamala, and we all pray that he will be allowed to come home (meaning here) soon. (I’ve seen pictures – what a cutie!)
• Another of my friends has asked for prayers for her unborn baby, who doesn’t seem to be doing well. I have been praying fervently for her child, especially since she lost a baby last summer. Lord, please allow the baby to grow healthy and to live with her family here on earth!
• Of course, there’s my aunt, whose tumor has shrunk a little but who is now running a high fever and has a respiratory infection. (Yikes!)
• And then there’s the usual stuff: that Soccer Dad is safe when he transforms to Travel Man on Sunday morning in the wee hours, that the girls are safe at their activities, that I am able to accomplish what I need to in this class while still performing my duties as a wife and mother, etc. Plus those prayers for the Holy Father: that he is safe during his journey here to America, that the Church listens – really listens - to him and heeds his message. (And that includes me, my friends.)

Sometimes I see the attraction of cloistered life: time to pray for everyone, give each prayer the time it deserves, and really focus on God. I know that God called me to be a wife and mother, but that stop-all-things-and-pray is so attractive. If I could just discipline myself to do this in my own life (like some people have done)…

~On a lighter note, though, I finally got word of my high school reunion. (20 years!) Toms River High School South’s graduating class of 1988 will be having a reunion on November 29. (Hooray!) I’m relatively sure I will need to work for Apple on Black Friday, so it’s probably going to be a very quick trip up and back for the reunion. I’ll be sure to make time this summer to visit with my Nana (same town) this summer and go swimming at IBSP while I’m there.

Please browse my eBay items. Thank you.

A Prayer for Priests

O Jesus,
I pray for Your faithful and fervent priests;

for Your unfaithful and tepid priests;

for Your priests labouring at home
or abroad in distant mission fields;

for Your tempted priests;

for Your lonely and desolate priest;

for Your young priests;

for Your dying priests;

for the souls of Your priests in purgatory.

But above all I recommend to You the priests dearest to me;

the priest who baptized me;

the priests who absolved me from my sins;

the priests at whose Masses I assisted
and who gave me Your Body and Blood in Holy communion;

the priests who taught and instructed me;

all the priests to whom I am indebted in any other way.

O Jesus, keep them all close to Your heart,

and bless them abundantly in time and in eternity.

Amen.

[prayer source]

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Please browse my eBay items. Thank you.

A Prayer for My Friend and Her Family

A mutual friend passed this on and suggested that our co-op pray it on behalf of the family for whom I’ve been requesting prayers. Please pray it with me now.

PRAYER TO DEFEAT THE WORK OF SATAN

O Divine Eternal Father, in union with your Divine Son and the Holy Spirit, and through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg you to destroy the power of Your greatest enemy-the evil spirits.

Cast them into the deepest recesses of hell and chain them there forever! Take possession of Your kingdom which You have created and which is rightfully Yours.

Heavenly Father, give us the reign of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

I repeat this prayer out of pure love for You, with every beat of my heart and with every breath I take, Amen.

She then wrote (emphasis mine):

This is a prayer we pray every night and I think it would do good if we all said it for the *********** family, now more than ever. As I write this I have felt the presence of the devil just trying to keep me from doing this, his power is very strong and we need to join together now more than ever just to put him in his place!

Please keep my friend and her children in your prayers. I beg you, please pray for them!

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Forty Hours Devotion

Tonight, beginning immediately after the vigil Mass for the Immaculate Conception, our parish will have forty hours of Adoration, with intentions for the Pro Life movement. It’s an annual event at our parish, and our whole family is participating this year. The first shift is only about half an hour, lasting from the end of Mass until 9:00, and the girls and I will stay for that. Tonight, when Soccer Dad gets back from his business trip, he’ll stay in adoration from midnight until 1:30. (The usual shift is one hour, but the Knights have asked for volunteers because there’s been trouble filling those early morning slots between midnight and four.) Tomorrow night, after Little Girl is finished dancing and both girls are on their way to dreamland, I’ll go back to the church for another hour alone.

I cannot even say just how very much I need this time. How totally desperate I am right now. It’s unreal, and I’m hoping that I don’t just sit there for an hour and cry.

I’ll try to remember the intentions I’ve been given tonight, and tomorrow, I’ll especially remember my aunt, who has only been given “a handful of months” to live. (Thank you to those who have promised to help me with the spiritual bouquet. Even my mother-in-law, who is Methodist, has sent me a lovely note with what she’ll do in prayer.)

One last thing: In preparation for tonight, I purchased this book at our parish bookstore.

You can get those at Aquinas and More, if you don’t have one. It’s really handy, and has a whole section on prayers before the Blessed Sacrament. And I’ll tell you what, it’s awfully nice to have prayers that say just what you want to say when you are having trouble praying. It’s a relief to know that our prayers are not new, and that we don’t have to pray extemporaneously. We can use these pre-written prayers.

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