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Hello everyone,

Today, Sunday March 6th, we have over 4250 people from all over the world (haven't had a chance to add in all the new Prayer Warriors yet this week), and from many Christian and some non-Christian denominations, joining together in prayer.

This week's reflection is short and sweet - it's just been one of those weeks where I've been meeting myself coming around corners! The additional little reflection from the Word for Today this week is called 'Mercy'

Some of you have 'met' Dumbag before so here's a little cracker of a reflection to make you all think a wee bit. Fr. McKevitt is a Dominican based in Dublin and he publishes a monthly freebie called 'Alive', a great little newspaper with its finger well and truly on the pulse of all things religious, liturgical, economic and political, particularly how each affects us as Christians in our daily lives. Each month he includes a little snippet called Dumbag. It's real 'tongue in cheek' stuff and I think they are just great. Here's some of the 'blurb' from the back cover and the preface of the recently published collection of some of the 'letters', available in a book at just EUR 10 (email me for more details if interested): 

"The Dumbag Letters offer a fresh view of important issues today in spirituality, theology, ethics and apologetics. 

Some years ago C.S. Lewis published a collection of letters from a senior devil to a junior one, under the title, The Screwtape Letters. When Screwtape retired, applications were invited for the job of training the apprentice tempters. The job was open to both sexes, due to the new equal opportunities policy in the underworld. Eventually the interview board chose Dumbag rather than Nickolette, the other demon on the short list. No reason was given for the choice. 

A bundle of Dumbag's letters to Nettles, one of the trainees, has been discovered. Dumbag may not have Screwtape's flair for writing, nevertheless, we think his letters are informative and thus, worth publishing. 

Unfortunately the letters from Nettles to Dumbag were burnt by accident. Of course, the wonder is that any writings . at all have escaped the Fire. We must be grateful for small mercies.

Despite Dumbag's wishes, the letters in this collection radiate the joy, the hope, the breadth of vision and the meaning in life which comes from the "Catholic faith. They touch on a wide range of topics, from the Resurrection to 'choice', from the right to life to original sin, from conscience to the sacrifice of the Mass, from the common good to evangelisation, from Christ's divinity to human dignity, from marriage to the existence of God, from Mary's motherhood to Peter's betrayal. 
 
Written in a simple style, the letters will be helpful to parents, teachers, teenagers, college students, indeed, to all who want a deeper understanding of the riches of the Catholic faith." 

It may seem I have placed much emphasis lately on my own Catholicity but, you know, all our needs are the same, all our hopes are the same, all our worries are the same, regardless of our religious denomination. We all pray to the same God, it's just that, as divided Christians, we all do things a little differently. But the issues affect us all in the same way so maybe it's no harm to share these with you. I'm a firm believer in sharing what we hold dear and perhaps in the sharing there may come understanding and a degree of acceptance, removing the often judgemental attitudes we may have of each other. 

God's plan for each and every one of His children, every single human being ever born and even those not allowed to be born, is to become saints (but that's a reflection for another day). So it makes sense to share and defend our own beliefs - the journey's the same for us all, the travelling of it is just as difficult, and the final destination is the same goal we all seek - that place in Heaven with our name on it and mapped out for us all since the beginning. 

So here we go then, a snippet called "Soon the word won't even be in the dictionary!" in which Dumbag offers guidance from a Master to a trainee Tempter called Nettles: 

"Dear Nettles,
 
You ask me what our greatest achievement has been in the past sixty years or so. It's a hard question to answer, because we've achieved so much. But I think the 'Eclipse of Sin' project was definitely one of our biggest successes. 
Put very simply the plan said, "Wipe all thought of sin from the minds of the human creatures, and all mention of sin from their mouths." I wasn't the one to come up with the idea, but I'm proud to say I was one of its strongest supporters when it was proposed.
 
It all started when some demons got worried about the rapid spread of Christianity in the world. Missionaries were going in every direction. From a little place like Ireland alone, thousands of men and women were giving their lives to spread the Good News. ('Good' my tail!)
 
Some demons claimed we had become too complacent, that we had to do something about the situation. A few suggested we use persecution, pointing out how well it had worked in the Roman Empire, in England under Hemy VIII and his henchmen, and in Russia under the Communists. 

Then, out of the red, a young demon said we should try a new approach, one that would have more appeal for the younger tempters. Some of the old boys bristled at that, but they listened anyway.
 
The young fellow was a real bright spark (get it?) and he had thought the thing out carefully. He reminded us that the Son of G-d had made a big thing of sin when he was on earth. He mixed with sinners; he was always telling them to turn back to G-d, to repent; he praised the big guy who hung around the back of the temple saying, "Lord, be merciful to me a sinner." , He told his followers the yarn about the no-good son who squandered everything and then returned home, muttering "Father, I have sinned against Heaven and against you." 

The little demon had us all on the edge of our seats by now, but he kept at it. He pointed out that the Son of G-d said he didn't come to call "the virtuous, but sinners." He even went so far as to say his blood would be shed "so that sins may be forgiven." Then he gave his Church the authority to forgive sins. 

We knew all this before, of course, but it's startling when you hear it all together. Then the young demon spat out what he had in mind. "The Son of G-d came to call sinners," said he, "but if the human creatures don't think they are sinners they won't realise that he came to call them." 

It was brilliantly simple, but he explained it further. "If the wretches don't see that they need to be saved, they won't see that they need a Saviour. In that case they'll move to treating Jesus like any other great hero, and in time they'll forget all about him. He'll end up completely irrelevant to their lives." 

Everyone at the meeting agreed it would be a great idea getting rid of the notion of sin (but not sin itself, of course!). The old fellows, however, said we wouldn't be able to pull it off. Eventually we reached a compromise: we would keep up the persecution wherever it was working, but we'd try the new approach as well.
 
And did we pull it off? Well, does anyone ever talk about sin today? Soon it won't be mentioned even in the dictionary! And how did we do it? It's a long story, but I'll tell you a bit about it next time. 

Yours arrogantly, 

Dumbag" 

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Mercy

...'HIS COMPASSIONS NEVER FAIL...THEY ARE NEW EVERY MORNING;' LAMENTATIONS 3:22 -23

Each day when you wake up, be like the lady who said, 'It is a good thing God's mercy is new every morning because I used up all of yesterday's supply!' Webster's Dictionary defines mercy as 'tenderness of heart that disposes a person to overlook injuries or to treat an offender better than he deserves.' That is a picture of God's mercy toward you!

David was a man who loved God very much, yet lust overcame him causing him to commit adultery; then have the woman's husband killed. The reason David talked about God's mercy is because he needed so much of it! Only a person who is gut-level honest in their evaluation of themselves can say, 'O GIVE thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever' (Psalm 107:1 AMP).

If you think you are solely responsible for your success, think again. Paul, the greatest of the Apostles wrote: '...I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing...' (Romans 7:18). It is impossible to be merciful until we have thoroughly come to terms with our own need for mercy - and learned to receive it from the Lord. The truth is, if any of us were 'perfect,' nobody could stand us because we would expect the same of others. Every time we have a memory lapse concerning our own faults, we end up being hard to live with. At such times God reminds us again of our flawed condition. He allows us to get into just enough trouble to need His mercy, to keep us humble, and therefore useable. 

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Don't forget that special prayer for conversion which can be said at three o'clock, for oursleves, our families and friends and especially for those who are dying and in most need of God's great Mercy. Beg Jesus at this hour to have mercy on all the poor souls who are about to die and are on their way to eternal damnation. You can pray and offer no greater act of mercy than to think of others:

"You expired, O Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls and an ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us. O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us, I trust in You. Amen"

Or another little one is:

"O my God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love You; and I beg pardon for all those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love You. Amen"

God Bless till next time,

Mary in Galway

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Two little reminders again for this week - Eucharistic Adoration for Vocations, let's try and make it 1,000,000 hours of Adoration 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:

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 Offerings

Our Father Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen

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.

"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 may always 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"

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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The Current Reflection and all of the Reflections to date are available to read in the Archives on the website for anyone who's interested.

The Prayer Intentions are available in the prayer book on the website 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!"

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.' (Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta)