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Hello everyone,

Today, Thursday 22nd January we have 1927 people from all over the world and from many Christian and some non-Christian denominations joining together in prayer. Apologies for not sending out a reflection the last two weekends, we had storm-damaged phone lines which also seemed to cause me some internet or modem conflicts. They were only sorted out on Monday, by which time there were more than 150 prayer requests to catch up on and add to the site. Only get them all done last night. Anyhow - 'nuff guff, onto more interesting things.

There are just 12 weeks or so now until Easter Sunday and I thought it might be good to spend them reflecting on the Passion of Christ.

Recently one of the Prayer Warriors sent a beautiful little story that deserves to be shared with you all. It might set the tone for the coming weeks if we can try to see Jesus and His suffering through
the eyes of this little child.

Bailey's Jesus!

God recently allowed me to see Jesus through the eyes of someone seeing Him for the first time. Having the advantage of knowing how the story ends, we can easily forget the cost of our redemption and the love of our Saviour.

Every year we attend a local church pageant at Christmas time, which tells the story of Jesus from His birth through His resurrection.It is a spectacular event, with live animals and hundreds of cast members in realistic costumes. The magi enter the huge auditorium on llamas from the rear, descending the steps in pomp and majesty. Roman soldiers look huge and menacing in their costumes and makeup.

Of all the years we have attended, one stands out indelibly in my heart. It was the year we took our then three-year-old granddaughter, Bailey, who loves Jesus. She was mesmerized throughout the entire play, not just watching, but involved as if she were a player. She watches as Joseph and Mary travel to the Inn and is thrilled when she sees the baby Jesus in His mother's arms.

Later when Jesus, on a young donkey, descends the steps from the back of the auditorium, depicting His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Bailey was ecstatic. As he neared our aisle, Bailey began jumping up and down, screaming, "Jesus, Jesus! There's Jesus!"  Not just saying the words but exclaiming them with every fiber of her being. She alternated between screaming his name and hugging us.  "It's Jesus. Look!"  I thought she might actually pass out.

Tears filled my eyes as I looked at Jesus through the eyes of a child in love with Him, seeing Him for the first time. How like the blind beggar screaming out in reckless abandon, "Jesus, Jesus!" afraid he
might miss Him, not caring what others thought. This was so much fun.

Then came the arrest scene. On stage, the soldiers shoved and slapped Jesus as they moved Him from the Garden of Gethsemane to Pilate. Bailey responded as if she were in the crowd of women, with terror and anger.

"Stop it!" she screamed.  "Bad soldiers, stop it!"  As I watched her reaction, I wished we had talked to her before the play.  "Bailey it's OK. They are just pretending," but she shouted, "They are hurting Jesus! Stop it!"

She stood in her seat reacting to each and every move. People around us at first smiled at her reaction, thinking "How cute!"  Then they quit smiling and began watching her watch Him. In a most powerful scene, the soldiers lead Jesus carrying the cross down the steps of the auditorium from the back. They were yelling, whipping, and cursing at Jesus, who was bloodied and beaten. Bailey was now hysterical. "Stop it! Soldiers! Stop it," she screamed. She must have been wondering why all these people did nothing. She then began to cry instead of scream.

"Jesus, Oh, Jesus!" People all around us began to weep as we all watched this devoted little disciple see her Jesus beaten and killed as those first century disciples had. Now going back and forth between her mother's lap and mine for comfort, she was distraught. I kept saying, "Bailey, it's OK. Jesus is going to be OK. These are just people pretending to be soldiers." She looked at me like I was crazy.  In my lap, we talked through the cross and burial.  "Watch, Bailey, watch for Jesus!"

The tomb began to tremble and lightening flashed as the stone rolled away.

A super bowl touchdown cheer couldn't come close to matching this little one's reaction to the resurrection.  "Jesus!  He's OK.  Mommy, its Jesus!" "It's Jesus!"

I prayed that she wasn't going to be traumatized by this event, but that she would remember it. I shall never forget it. I shall never forget seeing Jesus' suffering, crucifixion, and resurrection through the eyes of an innocent child.

Following the pageant the actors all assembled in the foyer to be greeted by the audience. As we passed by some of the soldiers Bailey screamed out, "Bad soldier, don't you hurt Jesus."  The actor who portrayed Jesus was some distance away surrounded by well-wishers and friends. Bailey broke away from us and ran toward Him, wrapping herself around His legs, holding on for dear life. He hugged her and said, "Jesus loves you." He patted her to go away. She wouldn't let go. She kept clinging to Him, laughing and calling His name. She wasn't about to let go of her Jesus.

I think God in heaven stopped what ever was going on that day and made all the angels watch Bailey.  "Now, look there!  You see what I meant when I said:

"LET THE LITTLE CHILDREN COME TO ME, AND DO NOT HINDER THEM, FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN BELONGS TO SUCH AS THESE."  Amen!  (MATTHEW 19:14)

God Bless,

Jeff and Gina Jischke
His Hands Extended Ministries Inc.

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The Catholic Church has many beautiful traditions of prayer forms and one of these is the Stations of the Cross. It is following The Way of the Cross in prayer, and in almost every Catholic Church and every Shrine  we have the aid of images around the walls, the Stations of the Cross,  to help us reflect and meditate on the various stages of that 'Sacrificial  Journey'.

Promotion of the devotion to the Stations began in earnest with the Franciscans, who were given custody of the Holy Places in the Holy Land in the 1300s, although pilgrims have visited the Sacred Places of the Holy Land since the very early days of the Church.

New Advent tells us:

"The earliest use of the word Stations, as applied to the accustomed halting-places in the Via Sacra at Jerusalem, occurs in the narrative of an English pilgrim, William Wey, who visited the Holy Land in 1458 and again in 1462, and who describes the manner in which it was then usual to follow the footsteps of Christ in His sorrowful journey. During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries several reproductions of the holy places were set up in different parts of Europe."

Today, the Church meditates on 14 Stations. Each week for the next twelve weeks perhaps we can 'walk the walk' like Bailey. Let us accompany Jesus, along with Mary and Saint John the Apostle as they followed Jesus to Calvary. They are the only ones mentioned after Peter's denial until after the Crucifixion.

The 14 Stations are as follows:

1. Jesus is Condemned to Death
2. Jesus Takes up His Cross
2. Jesus Falls the First Time
4. Jesus Meets His Blessed Mother
5. Simon of Cyrene Helps to Carry the Cross
6. Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus
7. Jesus Falls the Second Time
8. Jesus Consoles the Women of Jerusalem
9. Jesus Falls the Third Time
10. Jesus is Stripped of His Garments
11. Jesus is Nailed to the Cross
12. Jesus Dies on the Cross
13. Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross
14. Jesus is Laid in the Tomb

For our Catholic readers may I suggest aiming to do the Stations once a week from now until Easter. Our non-Catholic readers might like to join in too, either by popping quietly into a Church where the Stations of the Cross are available or to a Shrine that has outdoor Stations. For those of you who might feel uncomfortable about this is a page with all the smaller images linked to the larger ones in a pop-up window and an image of each Station on the reflection page each week with a link to
the larger image so you can meditate online. (Isn't technology great when it works properly!)

http://www.circleofprayer.com/way-of-the-cross.html

Here's how Catholics generally 'Pray the Stations' - If doing them in a Church we genuflect at each Station saying the following prayer:

"We Adore You O Christ and we Praise You, 
Because by Your Holy Cross You have Redeemed the World".

Some might read a meditation or prayer, some just prayer the Our Father, a Hail Mary and a Glory Be. Some just meditate quietly for a minute or so on that particular Station using the Scriptures where available. A nice way to do the Stations is to pray for particular groups of people or situations at each one.

The first Station is Jesus is Condemned to Death.

"When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. "I am innocent of this man's blood," he said. "It is your responsibility!" 
All the people answered, "Let his blood be on us and on our children!" 
Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. "Hail, king of the Jews!" they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him." Matt;27:24-31 

Perhaps at the first Station we could pray for all those who have been killed for their Faith, for all those Christians who are persecuted for their Faith in the world today and for those 'underground' Churches around the world, particularly those in communist countries, or under fundamentalist regimes, and the Church in China in particular. Throughout the world there were 29 Catholic Missionaries alone slain for their Faith in 2003 and numerous others imprisoned or under house 
arrest.

We could also remember in our prayers those who are ridiculed for being believers and followers of Christ, especially the younger generations who have the courage to announce and defend their
Christianity. Just as Jesus was condemned as an innocent man, so too are all of the above killed, condemned or persecuted just because of their Faith.

Let us meditate on the suffering and Passion of Christ, bringing all our own sufferings, fears, loneliness, depression and worries to the Foot of the Cross. Perhaps, if we 'walk' with Mary and Saint John, we will be able to share our sorrows with theirs and by doing so lighten the burden Christ carried for us. He took on the sins of the whole world - those committed yesterday, today and tomorrow. By offering Him our sufferings we appease Him for all of His sufferings for us, we become 'Salve to His Sacred Wounds', 'Water to His Parched Lips'.

Our suffering given to Jesus in atonement for the sins of the world or for the salvation of a soul in need is called Redemptive Suffering and really is a powerful prayer form. Strangely enough, when we
give our sufferings to Christ, they somehow seem to diminish or not seem so bad.

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Two little reminders again for this week - Eucharistic Adoration for Vocations now stands at over 130,000 hours. Let's try and make it 1,000,000 in 2004! You can log in your hours online at their own
website below or do as we did here in our Perpetual Adoration Chapel, print off the poster and the forms and leave them in your own Chapel of Adoration, sending in the numbers every week via the website below.

http://www.circleofprayer.com/vocations-poster.html
http://www.circleofprayer.com/vocations-form.html

Here's the Vocations website:

http://www.vocation.com

And don't forget those prayers for the Holy Souls, there are some below. Please keep your deceased relatives, friends, neighbours and especially those who have no one to pray for them, in your prayers and at Masses you attend.

Here's the Holy Souls Crusade website:

And below is a great little morning prayer to start the day off and help us to keep focused on the Lord.

May God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit bless you and yours and may Mary keep you in Her heavenly mother's care.

Mary Mullins in Galway, Ireland

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Morning Offering

Lord Jesus, I give You my hands to do Your work
I give You my feet to go Your way.
I give You my eyes to see as You do.
I give You my tongue to speak Your words.
I give You my mind that You may think in me.
I give You my spirit that You may pray in me.
Above all, I give You my heart that You may love in me, Your Father, and all mankind.
I give You my whole self that You may grow in me, so that it is You, Lord Jesus, who live and work and pray in me. Amen.

Chaplet of the Holy Souls

This Chaplet can be prayed on a set of Rosary Beads.

Begin with: The Creed, then 1 Our Father, 3 Hail Marys, 1 Glory Be for the Pope’s intentions.

On Large Beads Pray: 

O holy souls draw the fire of God’s Love into my soul to reveal Jesus crucified in me, here on earth, rather than hereafter in Purgatory.

On Small Beads Pray:

Crucified Lord Jesus have mercy on the souls in Purgatory

End with: Glory Be three times

Cardinal Newman’s Prayer for the Holy Souls

O most gentle heart of Jesus, ever present in the Blessed Sacrament, ever consumed with burning love for the poor captive souls in Purgatory, have mercy on the souls of Your servants. Bring them from the shadows of exile to Your bright home in Heaven, where we trust You and Your Blessed Mother have woven for them a crown of unfolding bliss. Amen.

Prayer of St. Gertrude for the Holy Souls

Eternal Father, I offer you the Most Precious Blood of your Divine Son, 
Jesus, in union with all 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."

Prayer for Your Family

"O Dear Jesus, I humbly implore You to grant Your special graces to our family this day. In Your Divine Mercy make our home a shrine of peace, love and faith. I beg You, Dear Jesus, to protect and bless all of us and our families absent and present, living and dead. O Mary loving Mother of Jesus and our Mother, pray to Jesus the Divine Mercy for our family, and for all the families of the world. Ask Him to guard the tiny infant in the womb, the cradle of the newborn, the young in the schools and those about to start their vocations in life. Amen"

Prayer for Your Adult Children

"Heavenly Mother, keep us always in mind of Your Son's great mercy and understanding as we pray for our children. They are grown up now and have left us and are living their own lives according to their own ideals. We feel anxious and worried because they do not seem to feel the need for Christ. to understand the wisdom of His ways, or to be fully at ease with us or themselves. Intervene, dearest Mother, in their lives at the moment You know to be right and help them to understand the things that lead to their peace. Help them to see the need of Christ and to experience the greatness of His love, so that we may all proclaim as You did, that His mercy truly is from generation to generation. Amen"

Prayer to Saint Joseph, Patron Saint of Families

"Good Saint Joseph, Your life and love protected and nourished the Mother of God and Jesus Christ, her son. Your fatherly care led to maturity He through whom all creation began. Through your
intercession, may God guide and protect all human life from conception to natural death, and lead our nation in the ways of truth and love. Pray for us, good Saint Joseph, that joined with Christ Jesus, we might give praise to God forever.  Amen"

ACT OF CONSECRATION TO THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS & THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary, I consecrate myself and my whole family to You. We consecrate to You our very being and all our life, all that we are, all that we have and all that we love. To you we give our bodies, our hearts and our souls. To You we dedicate our home and our country.

Mindful of this consecration we now promise you to live the Christian way by the practice of Christian virtues without regard for human respect. O most Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary accept our humble confidence and this act of consecration by which we entrust ourselves and our family to you. In you we put all our hope, we shall never be confounded. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus have mercy on us. Immaculate Heart of Mary pray for us.

Prayer for the World

"JESUS of NAZARETH has triumphed over Death. His Reign is Eternal. He is coming to conquer the
world and the time.

"Mercy, my God on those who blaspheme You,
Forgive them, they know not what they do.

"Mercy, my God, for the scandal in the world,
Deliver them from the spirit of Satan.

"Mercy, my God, on those who run away from You
Give them an appreciation for the Holy Eucharist.

"Mercy, my God, on those who come to repent at the foot of the Glorious Cross. May they find Peace and Joy in God our Saviour.

"Mercy, my God, so that Your Kingdom may come, but save souls, there is still time; for the time is near, behold, I am coming. Amen

Come, Lord Jesus."

Recite one decade of the Rosary

"Lord, pour out on the whole world the treasures of Your Infinite Mercy."

"Through the Mystery of Your Holy Incarnation,
deliver us from all evil, Lord.

Through Your Nativity,
deliver us from all evil, Lord.

Through Your Baptism and Holy Fasting,
deliver us from all evil, Lord.

Through Your Cross and Passion,
deliver us from all evil, Lord.

Through Your Death and Burial,
deliver us from all evil, Lord.

Through Your Holy Resurrection,
deliver us from all evil, Lord.

Through Your Admirable Ascension,
deliver us from all evil, Lord.

Through the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete,
deliver us from all evil, Lord.

Through Him whose Name reigns eternal,
deliver us from all evil, Lord."

Prayer of Protection

Blessed Michael the Archangel, protect us in the hour of conflict. Be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God restrain him, we humbly pray, and do thou, Oh Prince of the Heavenly Hosts, by the Power of God, thrust satan down to hell and with him all the wicked spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen

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All of the Reflections to date are available to read in the Archives on the website for anyone who's interested.

The Weekly Intentions are available on a plain page to be able to print off and kept to hand for your own prayer time. The list has become too long now to include each week but please say the
two wee prayers below. The Loving Father knows the heart of each person requesting prayer.

"Father, bless all those who have requested prayers in whatever it is that You know they may be needing this day! Father, we ask You to heal the broken bodies, broken minds, broken spirits, broken hearts and broken marriages and may all their lives be full of Your peace, prosperity, and power as they seek to have a close relationship with You. Amen."

"Thank You Jesus for answering our prayers because we know You hear every prayer and never refuse to answer. You are providing answers and healings from the prayers of all these wonderful people. Praise God!"

"Breathe in me O Holy Spirit that my thoughts may all be holy;
Act in me O Holy Spirit that my work, too, may be holy;
Strengthen me O Holy Spirit to defend all that is holy;
Guard me then O Holy Spirit that I always may be holy."

"O Holy Spirit, beloved of my soul, I adore You. Enlighten me, guide me, strengthen me, console me, tell me what I should do. Give me Your orders. I promise to submit myself to all that You desire of me and to accept all that You permit to happen to me. Let me only know Your will. Amen"

May God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit bless and guide you and yours and may Mary keep you in Her heavenly mother's care.

Mary in Galway

'The fruit of silence is prayer; the fruit of prayer is faith; the fruit of faith is love; the fruit of love is service; the fruit of service is peace.'