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Hello everyone, Today, Sunday, September 18th we have over 4600 people from all over the world, and from many Christian and some non-Christian denominations, joining together in prayer. Our reflection starts from now on with a prayer to the Holy Spirit that we may be receptive to His Truth, His Wisdom, His Guidance and His Courage so that our hearts may be open to conversion and our minds be open to all that God wills for us: "Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful. And kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your spirit, Lord, and they shall be created. And thou shalt renew the face of the earth. Let us pray, O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit did instruct the hearts of your faithful; grant that in the same Spirit we may be truly wise and ever rejoice in his consolation. Through the same Christ, our Lord. Amen." Many of you wrote to me during the week so may I say a quick thank you to everyone, your emails are always so encouraging. This week I thought we'd look at 'Holiness'. The famous words of St. Augustine: "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you." helps us reflect on how we can 'rest in the Lord' through our everyday activities. "The Lord wishes to spread His kingdom also by means of the laity, namely, a kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love and peace…. The faithful, therefore, must learn the deepest meaning and the value of all creation, as well as its role in the harmonious praise of God. They must assist each other to live holier lives even in their daily occupations." (Lumen Gentium 36) "The Lord Jesus, the divine Teacher and Model of all perfection, preached holiness of life to each and everyone of His disciples of every condition. He Himself stands as the author and consumator of this holiness of life: "Be you therefore perfect, even as your heavenly Father is perfect". (Lumen Gentium 40) There was a song in the sixties "What's it all about Alfie, is it just for the moment we live….?" I can't remember the rest of it but that line keeps coming to mind. Our time on this earth is just the blink of an eye, even for those of us who go the four score and ten or more. But after this short period living here we face an eternity where there is no time - no yesterdays, todays or tomorrows. Where we spend that eternity depends on what we do with our todays and tomorrows and what we have done with our yesterdays and whether we learned anything from them and repented for hurtful actions, poor attitudes or omissions. We have but one purpose here on earth and that is to be saints. That's what God made us all for - sainthood - and to spend eternity with Him! Sounds difficult eh? We imagine saints to be very holy people locked away in monastery cells in constant prayer. But the real saints, the unsung holy heroes are those who love God and live God in their everyday lives. Up until recently I used to denounce the organisation called Opus Dei (The Work of God). This attitude was based on ignorance, I was putting down something I knew nothing about and based on media reports - how foolish! Two weeks ago I picked up a little booklet of testimonies from folk who are members of Opus Dei. They were from all over the world, all lay people and from all walks of life. Some were single, some married, some were professional people, some laboured with their hands, some had large families, some had no children. The one thing they all had in common was to follow the teachings of a recently made saint - St. Josemaría Escrivâ (October 6, 2002). Below is a little about him and some of his sayings taken from the website dedicated to him: http://www.josemariaescriva.info/index.php He had this to say about life: "Saints are men and women of God, souls identified with Jesus Christ. But saints are not supermen, nor are they people out of the ordinary, whom it is impossible to capture in words. Let's not deceive ourselves: in our life we will find vigour and victory and depression and defeat. This has always been true of the earthly pilgrimage of Christians, even of those we venerate on the altars. Do you remember Peter, Augustine, or Francis? I have never liked biographies of saints which naïvely - but also with a lack of sound doctrine - present their deeds as if they had been confirmed in grace from birth. No. The true life stories of Christian heroes resemble our own experience: they fought and won; they fought and lost. And then, repentant, they returned to the fray. The struggle to identify ourselves with Christ, however, is a difficult, sincere, joyful, and persevering endeavour. But, above all, it is a work of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Love, which makes us into children of God in his Son." "Saint Josemaría must certainly have recalled his own family's experience when, teaching the spirit of Opus Dei, he encouraged Christian parents to make their homes into bright and cheerful ones. Matrimony, he said, is "a divine pathway, a vocation, and this has many consequences for personal holiness and for apostolate." The first and principal field of sanctification and apostolate is precisely the family. "Christian couples should be aware that they are called to sanctify themselves and to sanctify others, that they are called to be apostles and that their first apostolate is in their home. They should understand that founding a family, educating their children, and exercising a Christian influence in society, is a supernatural task. The effectiveness and the success of their life - their happiness - depend to a great extent on their awareness of their specific mission." It was October 2, 1928, the feast of the Guardian Angels, that Father Josemaría, then a 26 year old Priest, experienced a divine inspiration of his life's mission. We are told: "What did he see? In an ineffable way, he saw people of every nation and race, of every age and culture, seeking and finding God right in the middle of their ordinary life, their work, their family, their friendships. People who looked for Jesus in order to love him and to live his holy life until they were completely transformed and made into saints. Saints in the world. A tailor saint, a baker saint, an office saint, a factory worker saint. A saint, seemingly like everyone else around him, but deeply identified with Jesus Christ. A person who directs all his activity to God, who sanctifies his work, who sanctifies himself in his work and sanctifies others through it. A person who christianises his surroundings, who with warm simple friendships also helps his neighbour to come closer to Jesus - someone whose Christian faith is contagious. It was an overwhelming vision, a vision of the baptismal vocation lived to the full. Ordinary Christians, the laity, becoming apostles, who speak of God with naturalness, who raise Christ to the peak of every human activity. Everyday people who assume in all its depth a participation in the priesthood of Christ by offering the sanctifying sacrifice of their entire lives every day. He envisioned a way of holiness and apostolate to serve the Church, for all of this was the Church and nothing but the Church. The will of God was clear: open up to persons of any age, civil status, and social condition a new possibility of vocation for the Church right in the middle of the street. It was a vision of the Church that promised to bear abundant fruit of holiness and apostolate the whole world over. This would come about because Christians in the world would be able to renew the world without separating themselves from it in the least." For the next few weeks I hope to look at our call to holiness, and at the work of Saint Josemaría Escrivä and how it has affected the lives of so many people the world over, and not just Catholics, or other Christians, but those of other faiths too. His simple message can help to make us all saints. The reflection this week comes from some of his sayings and the name and page of the book where they can be found. They sound easy but putting them into practice will take some perseverance. However, we must keep in mind that we are apprentices at the job and so, today, together, we are invited to start our apprenticeship towards sainthood. The extraordinary in one's ordinary life "Let
me stress this point: it is in the simplicity of your ordinary work, in
the monotonous details of each day, that you have to find the secret, which
is hidden from so many, of something great and new: Love."
"Anything
done out of love is important, however small it might appear. God has come
to us, even though we are miserable creatures, and he has told us that
he loves us: "My delight is to be among the sons of men." Our Lord tells
us that everything is valuable - those actions which from a human point
of view we regard as extraordinary and those which seem unimportant. Nothing
is wasted. No man is worthless to God. All of us are called to share the
kingdom of heaven - each with his own vocation: in his home, his work,
his civic duties and the exercise of his rights."
"How
many mothers have you known who have been the heroines of some epic or
extraordinary event? Few, very few. Yet you and I know many mothers who
are indeed heroic, truly heroic, who have never figured in anything spectacular,
who will never hit the headlines, as they say. They lead lives of constant
self-denial, happy to curtail their own likes and preferences, their time,
their opportunities for self-expression or success, so that they can carpet
their children's lives with happiness."
"Have
you seen how that imposing building was built? One brick upon another.
Thousands. But, one by one. And bags of cement, one by one. And blocks
of stone, each of them insignificant compared with the massive whole. And
beams of steel. And men working, the same hours, day after day... Have
you seen how that imposing building was built?... By dint of little things!"
That
big young man wrote to me saying: "My ideal is so great that only the sea
could contain it." I answered: "And what about the Tabernacle, which is
so 'small'; and the 'common' workshop of Nazareth?" It is in the greatness
of ordinary things that He awaits us!
"When
Herod heard this," (that the King had come to this earth), "he was troubled,
and all Jerusalem with him." This is an every day occurrence. We see the
same thing happening now. In the face of God's greatness, which shows itself
in a thousand ways, there are always some people-sometimes even in positions
of authority-who are troubled. It's because they do not love God; because
they have no real wish to meet him; because they don't want to follow his
inspirations, and so they become obstacles in God's path. Be forewarned;
carry on working and don't worry. Seek the Lord and pray - he will triumph.
************************************************** God Bless you all till next time, Mary in Galway ************************************************** 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
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 ************************************************** 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
"Breathe
in me O Holy Spirit that my thoughts may all 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,
"Mercy,
my God, for the scandal in the world,
"Mercy,
my God, on those who run away from You
"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.
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,
Through
Your Nativity,
Through
Your Baptism and Holy Fasting,
Through
Your Cross and Passion,
Through
Your Death and Burial,
Through
Your Holy Resurrection,
Through
Your Admirable Ascension,
Through
the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete,
Through
Him whose Name reigns eternal,
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 ************************************************** 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) |
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