Daily Examination of Conscience

 

During the month of August, I will be taking time off from blogging.  

I am looking forward to celebrating with Sr. Jordan Rose for her Final Profession! 

It will be a joyous occasion and one to share in a future blog! 

Today is the Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola. 

He was a man who wanted to do great things. 

St. Ignatius gave us a spiritual exercise to practice everyday. 

The Daily Examination of Conscience 

Give Thanks 

I begin by giving God thanks for all the things I’m grateful for today. I allow my mind to wander as I reflect on the ways God has blessed me on this particular day. I allow big things and small things to arise—everything from the gift of my faith, to the gift of my marriage, to the easy commute to work today.

Ask for the Spirit 

Next, I want to look at the moments in my day when I did not act so well. However, before doing so, I ask God to fill me with his Spirit so that the Spirit can lead me through this difficult soul-searching. Otherwise, I’m liable to hide in denial, wallow in self-pity, or seethe in self-loathing.

Review and Recognize Failures 

I look back at my day and ask the Lord to point out to me the moments when I have failed in big ways or small. I take a sobering look at the mistakes I’ve made this day. 

Ask for Forgiveness and Healing

If I have sinned, I ask God to forgive me and set me straight again. If I have not sinned but simply made a mistake, I ask for healing of any harm that might have been done. I ask for help to get over it and move on. I also ask for wisdom to discern how l might better handle such tricky moments in the future.

Pray About the Next Day

I ask God to show me how tomorrow might go. I imagine the things I’ll be doing, the people I’ll see, and the decisions I’ll be mulling over. I ask for help with any moments I foresee that might be difficult. I especially ask for help in moments when I might be tempted to fail in the way I did today.

To help me remember the five steps, I like to use a 5-Rs mnemonic:

Relish the moments that went well and all of the gifts I have today.

Request the Spirit to lead me through my review of the day.

Review the day.

Repent of any mistakes or failures.

Resolve, in concrete ways, to live tomorrow well.

https://www.loyolapress.com/catholic-resources/ignatian-spirituality/examen-and-ignatian-prayer/how-can-i-pray-try-the-daily-examen/

"Teach us, Good Lord, to give and not count the cost; to fight and not to heed the wounds; to toil and not to seek for rest; to labor and not to ask for any reward save that of knowing that we do thy will." 

St.  Ignatius of Loyola

Heart of Jesus

My mom shared this prayer today and I wanted to share it with my blog readers too. 

"Heart of Jesus, save me. 

Heart of my Creator, perfect me.

Heart of my Savior, deliver me. 

Heart of my Judge, forgive me.

Heart of my Father, govern me.

Heart of my Spouse, love me.

Heart of my Master, teach me. 

Heart of my King, crown me.

Heart of my Benefactor, enrich me.

Heart of my Pastor, defend me.

Heart of my Friend, embrace me.

Heart of my infant Jesus, draw me.

Heart of Jesus dying on the cross, pray for me.

Heart of Jesus, I greet you in all your states. 

Give yourself to me." 

- St. Margaret Mary

I don't know about you, but I needed this prayer as a reminder today.

A reminder that the Heart of Jesus never fails. 

He only loves.

Today especially I have noticed God reminding me of His love.

Just when I needed to be reminded, He would remind me. 

Some examples of this came from uplifting, encouraging, thoughtful messages and comments from friends. 

One of my friends, I hadn't spoken with in a while, outreached to me and told me she was praying for me.

This made my heart smile!

My blog followers comments on yesterday's post were very much needed and appreciated!  

I felt very loved by those close to me and my heart. 

God reminded me to focus on the good.

He reminded me of His love. 

His love never fails. 

Image from Museums Victoria 

Drops in the Ocean

The Greatness of Our Christian Vocation

What do my actions mean to anyone and what are they worth? They are little drops of water in a vast ocean, tiny grains of sand in an enormous desert! But an immense ocean is composed of countless drops of water, and a boundless desert of infinite grains of sand.

Am I not dust, which is destined to return to dust? Am I not less than dust because “I was taken from the ash heap”? He raises the poor out of the dust, and lifts the needy out of the ash heap, that he may seat him with princes, with the princes of his people (Ps 113:7-8).

Lord, you made me your child not only for my personal happiness, not for my own advancement, but to entrust me with a particular mission within your plan of salvation. Lord, help me to meditate unceasingly on the advice of Saint Leo the Great: “Christian, be aware of your dignity!”

Perhaps I am only a grain of sand, but every grain has its own place, its special role to carry out—the sole condition is my awareness of this reality and my unity with all others.

Venerable Francis Xavier Nguyên Văn Thuân

I thought this was worth sharing! 

Each of us is needed.

Each of us is necessary.

There is a purpose for our existence.

God has a plan.

In my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of His Body, that is, the Church.  CCC 1508 

He left space for us to do our part. 

Not  because God couldn't do it Himself, but because He wants us to be a part of His Body.

He wants us to say 'yes' to our vocation as Christians.

We are drops in the ocean!  

Image by Alex Perez 

Out There

For God has not given us a spirit of timidity but of power and love and discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7 

Do not be afraid to be the person God is calling you to be.

 Put yourself out there!

Be bold!

Someone I love very much chose to put herself out there before the Lord.

She gave Jesus her worry and her desire. 

 Then she waited with expectation and faith.

The prayer she prayed was answered! 

I would call it a miracle! 

All because she put herself out there. 

Most importantly she put her faith and trust out there.  

God is asking us to do the same. 

To put ourselves out there!

To place our hearts before Him. 

Sharing our faith and our love for Jesus without fear.

"Behold the Heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing in order to testify its love."

 The Sacred Heart to St. Margaret Mary

Image by Clay Banks 

Only Hope

"Do not lose hope; St. Joseph also experienced moments of difficulty, but he never lost faith and was able to overcome them, in the certainty that God never abandons us." Pope Francis 

This quote showed up in the mail today from the Sisters of Life.

It made me think of a friend who shared a difficult experience. 

All doors seemed closed for him. 

He said, "God was his only hope." 

God was with him. 

Closed doors couldn't stop God from opening something beautiful. 

 God opened His heart. 

He gave him grace to hope.  

 "One who has hope lives differently." Pope Benedict XVI 

God wants to do more than just open doors for us.

He wants to open our hearts.

Have faith. Have trust. Have hope! 

Image by Tony Eight Media 

Grandparents' Day

July 26th is the Feast of the Saints, Joachim and Anne!

Pope Francis declared the fourth Sunday of July as World Day for grandparents.

The Blessed Virgin Mary is their only child and Jesus is their only grandchild. 

They are the patron saints of grandparents, holy families and marriages. 

Bless all grandparents on this day

Thanks be for all they do and say

The Holy Family began

With Saints Joachim and Anne

They had only one child 

At their daughter they smiled

Mary and Joseph were married

The baby Jesus they carried

His grandparents He loved and knew 

Joseph's and Mary's hearts grew

And Joachim and Anne's hearts grew too

Image credit to Portraits of Saints 

No Effort Made

 "The seed is the word of God. As for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embraced it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance." Luke 8:11b, 15 

Persevere. 

Don't give up hope.

Have faith.

Embrace whatever comes your way with an open heart.

Hear the word and share it. 

Speak the truth with love.

Plant seeds to better the heart within you.

Allow something beautiful to grow.

 A heart that believes, hopes and loves. 

This is what we are persevering for.

To unite our hearts with God.

"No effort made with love and truth can be in vain." Pope Benedict XVI 

(Thanks for the quote, Fr. Bruce!) 

Image Credit Unknown 

Try to Love

 

"Say to yourself over and over again regardless of what happens: 'God loves me!' And then add: "And I will try to love Him.'" Fulton Sheen 

It's not about how successful we are in this life. 

It's about perseverance. 

All that matters is that we try. 

Try to love. 

It won't always be easy but that is why we persevere. 

Thank you, Fr. Bruce Wren for the motivational homily this morning. 

"God loves us; we have only to summon up the humility to allow ourselves to be loved." Pope Benedict XVI 

Image by Rod Long 

St. Mary Magdalene

Today is the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene!

My love for this saint has deepened since I began watching The Chosen. 

It continues to deepen as I admire her love for God. 

"I was one way...and now I am completely different. And the thing that happened in between... was Him." St. Mary Magdalene, The Chosen

Jesus.

He is the one who saves. 

He is the one who removes all of our fears and anxiety.

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” Isaiah 43:1

Jesus healed Mary Magdalene from the seven demons within her. 

Jesus, the Healer.

He makes all things new! 

By His love, Mary Magdalene was healed and she remained close to Jesus, even to the very end. 

The end that led to the beginning on that glorious day in the garden!

St. Mary Magdalene, help us to recognize the Lord in the garden of our hearts. 

I ask my blog followers to please pray for one of my dear friends.

My friend has a small benign pituitary tumor located in her brain. 

We are seeking St. Mary Magdalene's intercession for the tumor to shrink and for her to be completely healed! 

 

Jesus, we trust in You! 

Image from The Chosen 

Be Happy

 

"Never let the sadness of your past and the fear of your future ruin the happiness of your present." unknown 

Don't worry, be happy! 

However, we're not always going to be happy all of the time.

Nor should we be.

There is a time to be sad and a time to mourn.

In these times of brokenness, loss and sorrow, Jesus is with us, His people.   

His heart breaks when our hearts break.

He doesn't want us to remain broken and sad. 

He wants to heal the broken hearted.

He wants us to be happy. 

"You will never be happy if your happiness depends on getting sorely what you want. Change the focus. Get a new center. Will what God wills, and your joy no man shall take from you." Fulton Sheen 

Don't worry... 

Image by Alex Block 

Lilies of the Field

 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:25-24 

 God put this reading in front of me this morning, after yesterday's blog about simplicity. 

Do not worry about your life. 

What you are to wear, eat or drink... 

Have faith!

He will take care of everything. 

God is in control. 

Do not be anxious.

Detach from these worldly things. 

Let go of what isn't eternal.

Strive for the Kingdom of God.  

Hold on to what God values. 

Faith. Hope. Love. Peace. 

"Try to preserve your heart in peace; let no event of this world disturb it." St. John of the Cross  

Image by Kristine Tanne 

Lasting Value

 "Distinguish between our busyness and God's business. God cares what we do with our time and why we do it. God wants us to give our time to things of lasting value." Touching the Divine  

I need to simplify.

I feel like I am running in circles every single day. 

What has to get done? What am I doing next? 

I am too preoccupied with things that have meaningless value. 

Things I think I have to do or have to be doing...  

I am tired of being too distracted and busy. 

Life is better when it's simple. 

Less is more. 

Figuring out how to begin simplifying is the difficult part.   

But haven't I tried this simplifying thing before? 

It's an ongoing process. 

Everyday it's a choice to choose between the things that will make me less or make me more of who God wants me to be. 

I have to remind myself that simplifying doesn't mean doing more but being more with less distraction.

Let go of things that hold no eternal value. 

"Jesus, help me to simplify my life by learning what you want me to be and becoming that person." St. Therese of Lisieux 

Image by Annie Spratt 

I

Branch Out

I have struck root among the glorious people,/ in the portion of the Lord, his heritage.

Like a cedar on Lebanon I am raised aloft,/ like a cypress on Mount Hermon,/ Like a palm tree in Engedi,/ like a rosebush in Jericho,/ Like a fair olive tree in the field,/ like a plane tree growing beside the water.

Sirach 24:12-14 

Roots are what ground trees and allow them to grow. 

Without growth there is no life in the tree. 

 Every tree is known by its own fruit. Luke 6:44

The same is with us. 

Our hearts need to be rooted in Jesus. 

Our faith in Him helps us to grow.

Our hope in Him helps us to love.  

"Love seeks no cause beyond itself and no fruit. It is its own fruit, its own enjoyment." St. Bernard of Clairvaux

It's time to branch out.

He is the vine and we are the branches. John 15:5 

Image by Marek Piwnicki 

Seek Hope

For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe! Plans to give you a future full of hope. When you call me, when you go to pray to me, I will listen to you. When you look for me, you will find me. Yes, when you seek me with all your heart, you will find me with you." Jeremiah 29:11-13  

The last verse spoke to me. 

"When you seek me with all your heart, you will find me with you."

Jesus gives us hope!

It's up to us to share! 

Do I seek Him with all of my heart? 

Do I look for Him? 

Do I listen for His voice? 

How can I expect to find Him if I do not direct my full attention to Him?

Knock, seek and ask. 

Make my heart completely Yours! 

Our hope is in You alone! 

 "There is a battle raging in each and every human heart This battle is between hope and despair  and we can tip the balance by embracing the call to become ambassadors of hope."  Life is Messy, Matthew Kelly  

Image by Ron Smith 

Jesus Overcomes

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 

The world doesn't promise peace. 

There are going to be times when we struggle and fear.

We cannot face these challenges on our own. 

We need Jesus. 

 "Lean on Me as you struggle, fearing nothing." Jesus to St. Faustina

He tells us to Take Heart and to have courage! 

Not in ourselves but in Him alone. 

 “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me."

2 Corinthians 12:9

Jesus overcomes! 

Ask Him to help you do the same. 

Image by Priscilla Du Preez 

One in Christ

May all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. John 17:21

Let us pray according to Christ's will: Make us one in mind and heart. The Magnificat  

Lord, make us one in your body the Church.

Send forth your Spirit to unite us and open our hearts.

Strengthen us with the Eucharist. 

Lord, You make us whole. 

You make us one.

May we all come together to do Your will.

We pray:

 The Universal Prayer Attributed to Pope Clement XI

I will whatever you will, 

I will it because you will it, 

I will it in the way you will it, 

I will it as long as you will it. 

"To do and to be the will of God." 

15 Days of Prayer with Blessed Chiara Badano 

Then the world will know we are one Body in Christ.

Image of the Laura Allen 

The Chosen

Have you seem The Chosen, yet? 

"If not now, when?" 

I watched Season Two's final episode today. 

Tears streamed down my face as I watched this episode for the second time. 

I cannot begin to describe how powerful this series is! 

My heart has grown in ways I didn't imagine possible. 

He is calling us to more.

Us! 

We are The Chosen! 

In him we were also chosen,  destined in accord with the purpose of the One

who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will,

so that we might exist for the praise of his glory,

we who first hoped in Christ. 

Ephesians 1:11-12  

With All My Heart

My fellow blogger inspired today's post.

There are going to be things in life that I cannot control.

There are going to be times when it is difficult to forgive and forget. 

"Do not lose heart!" Stranded on the Mainland 

Take Heart! 

"He who knows how to forgive prepares for himself many graces from God. As often as I look upon the cross, so often will I forgive with all my heart." St. Faustina  

I want to take heart and give Jesus these crosses.

I want to give Him control.

I cannot forgive and forget without His help. 

He gave us the saints to remind us not to lose heart.

Jesus, please help me to forgive, forget and to love with all my heart

Prayer For The Glorification Of Alessandro Serenelli 

Prayer For Private Devotion

Most loving and merciful God,

Who patiently offers mercy to every sinner,

so that none may be lost; 

I thank You for the life of Alessandro Serenelli,

the repentant murder os St. Maria Goretti.

I praise You for the way he was converted 

by the heroic forgiveness that

St. Maria extended towards him,

which he accepted,

and through which he discovered You.

Humbly I ask that Your Church 

raise to the glory of her altars Alessandro Serenelli,

who lived the holy life of a penitent,

and through his intercession You would grant 

the following petitions

if they be in accord with Your Most Holy Will:

(here mention your petitions). 

Through Christ Our Lord.

Amen. 

The repentant Murderer of St. Maria Goretti, 

pray for us! 

"Yes, I too, for the love of Jesus, forgive him... and I want him to be with me in Paradise. May God forgive him, because I have already forgiven him." St. Maria Goretti  

https://mariagoretti.com/the-murderer/

Steadfast Heart

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 51:10 

"A person with steadfast spirit is aware of what they can and cannot control, but finds ways to influence situations others would leave to chance. ... The steadfast spirit appears confident but not arrogant. It means to always be appreciative of others' time and always make people feel important." Google Search 

Lord, help me to be aware of what I can and cannot do. 

I give you control of my heart. 

Help me to trust You.

Let your heart shine within me. 

"Silence of Mary, speak to me, teach me how with you and like you I can learn to keep all things in my heart as you did. to pray always in the silence of my heart as you did." St. Mother Teresa  

May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ 

enlighten the eyes of our hearts, 

that we may know what is the hope that belongs

to our call 

Alleluia 

Image from Catholic Charismatic Renewal 

Empty Me

 

I went to Adoration this past week and heard this song. 

I really liked the lyrics. 

Empty Me by Jeremy Camp 

Holy Fire, burn away

My desire, for anything

That is not of You

And is of me

I want more of You

And less of me

Empty me

Let us bring to the Father our empty hands and hearts. 

"In the evening of this life I shall appear before you with empty hands. It is just this - to find myself at my death with empty hands - that gives me joy, for having nothing I shall receive everything from God."

 St. Therese

Take heart and joy in your emptiness. 

It will be worth everything! 

Less of me and more of God. 

More time to pray! 

Prayer is a gift that we are given to share.  

"We must empty Purgatory with our prayers." St. Padre Pio 

Prayer for the Holy Souls in Purgatory by St. Gertrude 

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family.

Amen.  

Image by  Vaishakh Pillai 

Blood of Jesus

July is the Month of the Most Precious Blood of our Lord. 

Jesus gave us His body and His blood at the Last Supper.

Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. John 6:56

As Catholics we believe that the bread and wine are truly turned into His body and blood. 

When we eat this bread and drink this cup we proclaim your death, O Lord, until you come again.  

 Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” 

Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life.

John 6:67-68 

We can go to Jesus!

His blood is outpoured. 

Remain in me, Jesus! 

Precious Blood, Ocean of Mercy Prayer

by St. Catherine of Siena 

Precious Blood,

ocean of divine mercy:

Flow upon us! 

Precious Blood, 

most pure offering: 

Procure us every grace! 

Precious Blood,

hope and refuge of sinners: 

Atone for us! 

Precious Blood,

delight of holy souls: 

Draw us! Amen.

Image by James Coleman 

Nothing But The Blood of Jesus by Anthem Lights 

Forgive and Forget

 Yesterday I blogged about forgiveness. 

Today I am blogging about the second part of forgiving. 

Forgetting.

Forgive and forget. 

It's easier to forgive than it is to forget.  

 Forgetting is the harder of the two in my opinion. 

Both are a constant practice. 

"To forgive takes love, to forget takes humility." St. Mother Teresa 

Lord, make me humble! 

Let me forget You not, Jesus!  

I want to forgive and forget.

Humble my heart and fill me with Your love, O Lord! 

I want to be love. 

 "Then and there she made the decision: to love those who are annoying to me." 15 Day of Prayer with Blessed Chiara Badano 

Forgive and Forget.

Image by Noah Silliman 

Forgiveness

Today is the Feast of St. Maria Goretti. 

She is the patron saint of purity, rape victims and forgiveness. 

She was only eleven when she was attacked. 

Maria begged Alessandro not to commit a mortal sin. 

She even told him she would rather die than commit a mortal sin. 

St. Maria Goretti was stabbed fourteen times. 

She forgave Alessandro before she died. 

He did not want her forgiveness. 

He was sentenced to thirty years in prison. 

St. Maria Goretti appeared to him in a dream while he was still in prison. a

He repented and then prayed to St. Maria Goretti everyday.

St. Maria Goretti, patron saint of Forgiveness, pray for us! 

When I struggle to forgive, remind me of how St. Maria forgave. 

Thanks be to God for the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Forgiveness. 

Open our hearts to forgive! 

Heal our hearts to desire forgiveness!  

Dear St. Maria Goretti, 

your heart was so full of mercy, 

that you gladly forgave your assassin,  

and prayed that he might be saved; 

intercede for me before the Lord,

Whom you behold face to face. 

Ask Him to pour His grace into my soul

so that I may always be ready to imitate Jesus as you did.

I choose you as my friend this day 

and I ask you to accompany me my whole life long.

In honor of the Most Holy Name of Jesus,

and in imitation of your example,

I forgive all who have ever hurt me

or who desired my suffering,

and I ask pardon of all against whom I have sinned, 

Through Christ Our Lord.

Amen.

Relic of St. Maria Goretti at the Sisters of Life Convent 

Satisfaction

"Reminder: that even if you check everything off your to-do list, you won't feel satisfied unless you connect with Christ." 

Touching the Divine

Anyone else needing this reminder? 

Satisfaction doesn't come from what we do. 

Satisfaction comes from Jesus. 

"In the spiritual life you cannot settle back and enjoy the gratification of having reached yesterday's goals. We should never stop pressing onward until we have made Jesus our own, just as we have been made his own." Bl. Chiara Badano 

 "Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead." Phil 3:13  

He alone will satisfy our hearts. 

Image by Maria Oswalt  

Freedom

Happy Independence Day, America!  

Christmas is my favorite holiday but the Fourth of July is my close second favorite!  

I love fireworks and I love celebrating our country's freedom! 

Thanks be to God for that! 

 "Freedom is a gift, yet we find it difficult to accept, making compromises or preferring the status quo rather than trying to free ourselves from what oppresses us." Bl. Chiara Luce Badano 

God gave us free will. 

By this gift of free will we experience freedom.

 "Freedom consists not in doing what we like but in having the right to do what we ought." 

St. Pope John Paul II 

Freedom to choose the right thing! 

This is what true freedom feels like. 

Doing what is right and putting our trust in God. 

In God We Trust! 

"He who trusts in himself is lost. He who trusts in God can do all things." St. Alphonsus Liguori 

The Universal Prayer

 Today during my Adoration hour, I read this prayer.

It is long, so today I will share just the prayer. 

The Universal Prayer attributed to Pope Clement XI  

 I believe, O Lord, but may I believe more firmly; 

I hope, but may I hope more securely; 

I love, but may I love more ardently; 

I sorrow, but may I sorrow more deeply. 

I adore you as my first beginning; 

I long for you as my last end; 

I praise you as my constant benefactor;

 I invoke you as my gracious protector. 

By your wisdom direct me, 

By your righteousness restrain me, 

By your indulgence console me, 

By your power protect me. 

I offer you, Lord, my thoughts to be directed to you, 

my words, to be about you, 

my deeds, to respect your will, 

my trials, to be endured for you. 

I will whatever you will, 

I will it because you will it, 

I will it in the way you will it, 

I will it as long as you will it. 

Lord, enlighten my understanding, 

I pray: arouse my will, 

cleanse my heart, 

sanctify my soul. 

May I weep for past sins, 

repel future temptations, 

correct evil inclinations,

 nurture appropriate virtues. 

Give me, good God, love for you, 

hatred for myself, 

zeal for my neighbor, 

contempt for the world. 

May I strive to obey my superiors, 

to help those dependent on me, 

to have care for my friends, 

forgiveness for my enemies.

May I conquer sensuality by austerity, 

avarice by generosity, 

anger by gentleness, 

lukewarmness by fervor. 

Render me prudent in planning, 

steadfast in dangers, 

patient in adversity, 

humble in prosperity. 

Make me, O Lord, attentive at prayer, 

moderate at meals, 

diligent at work, 

steadfast in intent. 

May I be careful to maintain interior innocence, 

outward modesty, 

exemplary behavior, 

a regular life. 

May I be always watchful in subduing nature, 

in nourishing grace, 

in observing your law, 

in winning salvation. 

May I learn from you how precarious are earthly things, 

how great divine things, 

how fleeting is time, 

how lasting things eternal. 

Grant that I may prepare for death, 

fear judgment, 

flee hell, 

gain paradise. 

Through Christ our Lord. 

Amen. 

Image by Rachel Moore 

Be Love

 "The person next to me was created as a gift for me and I was created as a gift for the person next to me. On earth all stands in a relationship of love with all: each thing with each thing. We have to be Love, however, to discover the golden thread among all things that exist." Chiara Lubich  

We have to be love.

Just as faith has to have works, love has to be proved. 

Yesterday we were reminded to live moment by moment.

In each moment, take heart!

Love the person in front of you or next to you.

Friend, family, stranger... 

Be love for that person, in that moment. 

These moments are precious.

"Chiara Luce understood that we can act according to this plan of love; we can correspond to it by loving  others. She realized that we cannot waste even a tiny piece of this plan, which is fulfilled in the very smallest things. She strove always to abide in love but, like the rest of us, sometimes forgot. Then she would regain control of herself and begin again, without delay." 15 Days of Praying with Blessed Chiara Luce Badano 

Blessed Chiara, we ask for your intercession to help us be love in the world. 

Help us to remember that each moment is a gift. 

When we forget, remind us to begin loving again. 

Moment by moment. 

"It is by living the present moment that crosses become bearable." Chiara Lubich     

Be love.

Image by Mayur Gala