Weekly Reflections
Current Reflection
Archived Reflections

Hello everyone,

Today, Sunday, September 25th 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 opens, as usual, 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."

Last week I mentioned that I had come across a little book of testimonies from members of the lay apostolate of Opus Dei. Well, two things came about from that wee book. My prayer partner for Eucharistic Adoration is also a member of Opus Dei and often spoke to me about it but I hadn't shown much interest. I knew she had some reading material so phoned her during the week to see if I could borrow whatever she had so that I could find something to share with you all during our 'holiness apprenticeship'. She must have smiled at the end of the phone and provided me with two very well read books.

Last night I went to the website where I'd found the sharings for last week's reflection and lo and behold ….. there's every book Saint Josemaria had written and a collection of material from his sermons, meditations and talks. So, as I quote some of his little sayings I'll link to that particular book so that you too can go read them all, if you wish. There really are some very down-to-earth little gems of teachings to be found.

Below is the one little testimony that made me sit up and take note of Opus Dei, the spirituality of its founder and a way to learn from a master who has earned his stripes - a man teaching us all how to become everyday saints and who ended up being declared one himself! The closing reflection is another little collection of his sayings.

This time next week I'll be on pilgrimage in Bosnia-Herzegovina, with God's good help. You will all be with me in my heart and if I manage to make it up the mountains you'll be carried up too. If I don't, you will still be with me at every Mass, every hour of Eucharistic Adoration, during every Rosary and on every journey around the Stations of the Cross. If I can I'll pop a quick reflection 'into the post' on Friday and on the Monday after my return - I can't default on our apprenticeship by 'mitching' (being absent) so early in our journey, now can I?

Continuing on our theme of 'Holiness' and the road to saintliness Saint Josemaria had this to say in a collection of his sayings called 'Meditations':

"…..after fifty years I am like a babbling child. I am beginning and beginning again every day. And so it will be until the end of my days: always beginning over. The Lord knows this so well, for it keeps us from having any reason to be proud of ourselves, or entertaining foolish vanities. We have to be concentrating on Him, on His every word, our ears attentive, and with a ready will to follow the divine inspirations."

Isn't there something very consoling to know that even saints feel they have to keep starting over. Or perhaps it is because they recognise their human weaknesses and endeavour to correct them day in and day out that they actually become saints! 

Now here's that testimony that made such an impression on me:

******************************************************

"I resolved to smile more" 

26 April 2004. Interview with Roger Bissonnette, car mechanic and school bus driver, Besner & Bissonnette Inc. He is married with two adult children and lives and works in Côteau-du-Lac, Québec, Canada.

'How and when did you come to know about Saint Josemaria? 

"My daughter became a member of the Work in 1980, and my wife followed a few years later. They attended activities for ladies at the Manoir de Beaujeu. I had been a mechanic with my own garage for many years and I attended Mass regularly every Sunday. My wife was involved in the parish, particularly with the catechism of the altar boys. I practiced, but it never occurred to me that a layman like me could strive after sanctity. That, I thought was only for priests and nuns. But when my wife had me read some of the homilies of Saint Josemaria, I found out that I too could be a saint. This was new to me."

'What impact did the teachings of Saint Josemaria have on your work?

"Well I had always offered my work to God, as this is what I had been taught at school and by my parents. But after knowing more about the life of Saint Josemaria, I got more specific, and I offered my work for the people in my apostolate, for my family, my co-workers, my friends. I had the habit of swearing occasionally when something went wrong, but now I realised I had to give a good example, so I changed that… Like in many garages around here we used to have certain inappropriate calendars on the wall. I realised that they had to go, so I took them down and placed a prayer card of our Founder instead. It helped to keep presence of God and was occasionally a subject of conversation with customers." 

'What other characteristic were you struck by in Saint Josemaria?

"One thing that struck me in those filmed get-togethers is that he was always cheerful, with a radiant and contagious smile. Then I noticed that all the members of the Work always wore authentic smiles. So I resolved to smile more too, regardless of the snags and setbacks I might encounter in the garage. A friend came to me once and asked me how come I was never in a bad mood… I didn't quite know what to tell him. So I told him I learned this from our Father. Hearing Saint Josemaria speak made me think and be more reflective. My wife even says my character got smoother, with less of those hard edges. 

At first I must admit that it was not easy to put into practice all the things I was learning. It was pretty tough to smooth away those hard edges, but then I was told that I should always have an attitude of beginning and beginning again, and I learned that God was a loving Father who loves us always despite our weaknesses."

**************************************************
Holiness

The great secret of sanctity comes down to becoming more and more like Him, the only and most lovable Model. 
The Forge, 752

You and I belong to Christ's family, for he himself has chosen us before the foundation of the world, to be saints, to be blameless in his sight, for love of him, having predestined us to be his adopted children through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his Will (Eph 1:4-5). We have been chosen gratuitously by Our Lord. His choice of us sets us a clear goal. Our goal is personal sanctity, as St. Paul insistently reminds us, haec est voluntas Dei: sanctificatio vestra (1 Thess 4:3), this is the Will of God: your sanctification. Let us not forget, then, that we are in our Master's sheepfold in order to achieve that goal. 
Friends of God, 2

Just as the clamour of the ocean is made up of the noise of each one of its waves, so the sanctity of your apostolate is made up of the personal virtues of each one of you. 
The Way, 960

Sanctity is made up of heroic acts. Therefore, in our work we are asked for the heroism of finishing properly the tasks committed to us, day after day, even though they are the same tasks. If we don't, then we do not want to be saints. 
Furrow, 529

Sanctity without prayer? I don't believe in such sanctity. 
The Way, 107

'Great' holiness consists in carrying out the 'little' duties of each moment. 
The Way, 817

Personal sanctity is not an abstruse theory, but a specific reality, which is both divine and human. And it manifests itself constantly in daily acts of Love. 
The Forge, 440

All for Love! This is the way of holiness, the way of happiness. Face up to your intellectual tasks, the highest things of the spirit and also those things that are most down to earth, the things we all of necessity have to do, with this in mind; and you will live joyfully and with peace.
The Forge, 725

Certainly our goal is both lofty and difficult to attain. But please do not forget that people are not born holy. Holiness is forged through a constant interplay of God's grace and the correspondence of man. As one of the early Christian writers says, referring to union with God, "Everything that grows begins small. It is by constant and progressive feeding that it gradually grows big". So I say to you, if you want to become a thorough-going Christian - and I know you are willing, even though you often find it difficult to conquer yourself or to keep climbing upwards with this poor body of ours - then you will have to be very attentive to the minutest of details, for the holiness that Our Lord demands of you is to be achieved by carrying out with love of God your work and your daily duties, and these will almost always consist of small realities. 
Friends of God, 7

**************************************************

Keep smiling, despite any hardships, worries or woes, and God Bless you all till next time,

Mary in Galway

**************************************************

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
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

**************************************************

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

**************************************************

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)