Monday, April 6, 2026
12.3 C
London
Home Blog Page 136

Offer your day through the Immaculate Heart of Mary with this prayer

Our Lady of Fatima asked for all Christians to devote themselves to her Immaculate Heart.

 

In the visions of Our Lady of Fatima, one of the requests she makes is for devotion to her Immaculate Heart to be spread around the world.After showing the visionaries an image of Hell, she said to them, “You have seen hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace.” It is a devotion that is not so much directed to her as to her Son, Jesus, for the closer one gets to Mary, the closer one gets to Jesus.

 

One way to do that is by offering our day to God, through the Immaculate Heart. A classic prayer that has been said by millions of souls around the world comes from the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Networkformerly known as the “Apostleship of Prayer.” It is a way to live your daily life consciously as an offering to God, calling upon Mary and the saints to accompany you throughout the day.

 

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer You my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world. I offer them for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart: the salvation of souls, reparation for sin, and the reunion of all Christians. I offer them for the intentions of our bishops and of all Apostles of Prayer, and in particular for those recommended by our Holy Father this month.

Read more:

5 Things to Know About First Saturdays

AND TODAY WE CELEBRATE… The Passion of Saint John the Baptist (SATURDAY, AUGUST 29)

The Story of the Martyrdom of John the Baptist

 

The drunken oath of a king with a shallow sense of honor, a seductive dance and the hateful heart of a queen combined to bring about the martyrdom of John the Baptist. The greatest of prophets suffered the fate of so many Old Testament prophets before him: rejection and martyrdom. The “voice crying in the desert” did not hesitate to accuse the guilty, did not hesitate to speak the truth. But why? What possesses a man that he would give up his very life?

 

This great religious reformer was sent by God to prepare the people for the Messiah. His vocation was one of selfless giving. The only power that he claimed was the Spirit of Yahweh. “I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matthew 3:11).

 

Scripture tells us that many people followed John looking to him for hope, perhaps in anticipation of some great messianic power. John never allowed himself the false honor of receiving these people for his own glory. He knew his calling was one of preparation. When the time came, he led his disciples to Jesus: “The next day John was there again with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God.’ The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus” (John 1:35-37).

 

It is John the Baptist who has pointed the way to Christ. John’s life and death were a giving over of self for God and other people. His simple style of life was one of complete detachment from earthly possessions. His heart was centered on God and the call that he heard from the Spirit of God speaking to his heart. Confident of God’s grace, he had the courage to speak words of condemnation, repentance, and salvation.

Each of us has a calling to which we must listen. No one will ever repeat the mission of John, and yet all of us are called to that very mission. It is the role of the Christian to witness to Jesus. Whatever our position in this world, we are called to be disciples of Christ. By our words and deeds, others should realize that we live in the joy of knowing that Jesus is Lord. We do not have to depend upon our own limited resources, but can draw strength from the vastness of Christ’s saving grace.

 

For prayer and reflection

 

Through his birth, preaching, and baptizing, he bore witness to the coming of birth, preaching, and baptism of Christ, and by his own suffering he showed that Christ also would suffer.”—Saint Bede the Venerable

 

Spiritual bonus

 

On this day, we also remember Saint Jeanne Jugan. After dedicating herself to caring for the sick and poor, she established the Little Sisters of the Poor to continue this good work. After years of service and suffering, she died on August 29, 1879, and was canonized in 2009.

 

Prayer

 

O God, who willed that Saint John the Baptist

should go ahead of your Son

both in his birth and in his death,

grant that, as he died a Martyr for truth and justice,

we, too, may fight hard

for the confession of what you teach.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

PRAYER FOR THIS MORNING (SATURDAY, AUGUST 29)

The Passion of Saint John the Baptist

 

Prayer for the Morning

 

Let us praise the Lord for John the Baptist,

herald and prophet of the Christ!

 

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,

and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning,

is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia!

 

HYMN

 

Once to every man and nation

Comes the moment to decide,

In the strife of truth and falsehood,

For the good or evil side;

Some great cause, some great decision,

Offering each the bloom or blight,

And the choice goes by forever

’Twixt that darkness and that light.

 

Then to side with truth is noble,

When we share her wretched crust,

Ere her cause bring fame and profit,

And ’tis prosp’rous to be just;

Then it is the brave man chooses

While the coward stands aside.

Till the multitude make virtue

Of the faith they had denied.

 

Though the cause of evil prosper,

Yet the truth alone is strong;

Though her portion be the scaffold,

And upon the throne be wrong;

Yet that scaffold sways the future,

And, behind the dim unknown,

Standeth God within the shadow,

Keeping watch above his own.

 

PSALM 118:2-15

 

Reprimand publicly those who do sin, so that the rest also will be afraid. (1 Tm 5:20)

 

John put his trust in the Word of God he had been sent to preach, and not in the princes, whom he offended by his commitment to the truth. He defeated the power of evil not by violence but by his self-surrender to God’s will.

 

Let the sons of Israel say:

“His love endures for ever.”

Let the sons of Aaron say:

“His love endures for ever.”

Let those who fear the Lord say:

“His love endures for ever.”

 

I called to the Lord in my distress;

he answered and freed me.

The Lord is at my side; I do not fear.

What can man do against me?

The Lord is at my side as my helper:

I shall look down on my foes.

 

It is better to take refuge in the Lord

than to trust in men:

it is better to take refuge in the Lord

than to trust in princes.

 

The nations all encompassed me;

in the Lord’s name I crushed them.

They compassed me, compassed me about;

in the Lord’s name I crushed them.

They compassed me about like bees;

they blazed like a fire among thorns.

In the Lord’s name I crushed them.

 

I was hard pressed and was falling

but the Lord came to help me.

The Lord is my strength and my song;

he is my savior.

There are shouts of joy and victory

in the tents of the just.

 

Glory to the Father….

 

Word of God (2 Timothy 4:1-2)

 

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingly power: proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching.

 

Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness;

rather expose them.

(Eph 5:11)

 

CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH 

 

It is better to suffer for doing good, if that be the will of God, than for doing evil. (1 Pt 3:17)

 

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;

he has come to his people and set them free.

He has raised up for us a mighty savior,

born of the house of his servant David.

 

Through his holy prophets he promised of old

that he would save us from our enemies,

from the hands of all who hate us.

 

He promised to show mercy to our fathers

and to remember his holy covenant.

 

This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:

to set us free from the hands of our enemies,

free to worship him without fear,

holy and righteous in his sight

all the days of our life.

 

You, my child, shall be called the prophet

of the Most High;

for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,

to give his people knowledge of salvation

by the forgiveness of their sins.

 

In the tender compassion of our God

the dawn from on high shall break upon us,

to shine on those who dwell in darkness

and the shadow of death,

and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

 

Glory to the Father…

 

INTERCESSIONS

 

Let us pray to the Lord whom John the Baptist served:

 

R/You are our Savior!

 

For those you have called to preach and teach the truth:

– grant them perseverance to the end. R/

 

For those whose lives are endangered by their ministry of evangelization:

– grant them courage and joy. R/

 

For those tempted to abandon the Gospel when it is inconvenient:

– grant them strength in their faith. R/

 

(Personal intentions)

 

Our Father….

 

O God of hope and glory, you sent John the Baptist to preach the Good News of salvation to those who received it with joy and to those who rejected its demands. By his example and intercession, grant your Church courage in proclaiming and living the Gospel, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

AND TODAY WE CELEBRATE… Saint of the Day: St. Augustine of Hippo (FRIDAY, AUGUST 28)

Author of Confessions and The City of God. Bishop and Doctor of the Church (354-430)

His life

 

+ Augustine was born in North Africa and was the son of Saint Monica and Patricius.

 

+ A lifelong learner, Augustine’s early life was marked by experimentation, speculation, and periods of sin and doubt. For a time he embraced the Manichean Heresy but through the prayers of his mother and the influence of Saint Ambrose, whom he met in Milan, Italy, Augustine was baptized in 387. He was ordained a priest in 391.

 

+ In 395, Augustine was named bishop of Hippo (modern-day Annaba, Algeria), becoming the spokesman of the Church in North Africa.

 

+ As bishop, Augustine guided his flock for 34 years, instructing them by his teaching and writing. He is especially honored for his highly developed, careful explanations of the Faith, as well as his ConfessionsThe City of God, and various treatises and sermons.

 

+ While bishop, Augustine imagined a way of life in which members of the clergy would live together in community, supporting one another in the common life of prayer and ministry. This prepared the way for a new religious order now known as the Augustinians.

 

+ Saint Augustine died in 430 and was honored as a saint immediately after his death.

 

For prayer and reflection

 

“If you should ask me what are the ways of God, I would tell you that the first is humility, the second is humility, and the third is humility.”—Saint Augustine of Hippo

 

Vocations

 

For men:

 

To learn about the Augustinian Province of St. Thomas of Villanova, visit: www.augustinian.org

To learn about the Augustinian Midwest Province, visit: www.midwestaugustinians.org

To learn about the Augustinian Province of St. Augustine, visit: www.osa-west.org

To learn about the priests and brothers of the Augustinians of the Assumption, visit: www.assumption.us

 

For women:

 

Augustinian Contemplative Nuns (New Lenox, IL), click here.

The Augustinian Recollect Sisters (Belvidere, NJ), click here.

St. John’s Convent (Augustinian Sisters, Brandenburg, KY), click here.

 

Prayer

 

Renew in your Church, we pray, O Lord,

the spirit with which you endowed

your Bishop Saint Augustine

that, filled with the same spirit,

we may thirst for you,

the sole fount of true wisdom,

and seek you, the author of heavenly love.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

PRAYER FOR THIS EVENING (FRIDAY, AUGUST 28)

Prayer for the Evening

 

Let us praise the Lord,

we who seek him!

 

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,

and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning,

is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia!

 

HYMN

 

Word made flesh, your heart inflaming,

Mother’s tears, your own tears claiming,

Showed you God, the good, the true.

Late you loved his ancient splendor,

Late you found in love’s surrender

Beauty old, yet ever new.

 

Rapt in loving contemplation,

With new eyes you saw creation,

Bathed with glory from above.

Deep you drank from Wisdom’s fountain,

High you climbed the mystic’s mountain

To the vision of God’s love.

 

PSALM 22:26-32

 

You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you. (Saint Augustine)

 

Saint Augustine sought truth and found God, in whom the great saint’s restless, questing heart found peace. In return, Augustine devoted his life to proclaiming in praise the One whose faithfulness had redeemed him.

 

You are my praise in the great assembly.

My vows I will pay before those who fear him.

The poor shall eat and shall have their fill.

They shall praise the Lord, those who seek him.

May their hearts live for ever and ever!

 

All the earth shall remember and return to the Lord,

all families of the nations worship before him

for the kingdom is the Lord’s; he is ruler of the nations.

They shall worship him, all the mighty of the earth;

before him shall bow all who go down to the dust.

 

And my soul shall live for him, my children serve him.

They shall tell of the Lord to generations yet to come,

declare his faithfulness to peoples yet unborn:

“These things the Lord has done.”

 

Glory to the Father….

 

Word of God (1 Chronicles 16:8-11)

 

Give thanks to the Lord, invoke his name;/ make known among the nations his deeds./ Sing to him, sing his praise,/ proclaim all his wondrous deeds./ Glory in his holy name;/ rejoice, O hearts that seek the Lord!/ Look to the Lord in his strength;/ seek to serve him constantly.

 

The favoring hand of our God is

upon all who seek him.

(Ezr 8:22)

 

CANTICLE OF MARY

 

Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new! (Saint Augustine)

 

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,

my spirit rejoices in God my Savior

for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

 

From this day all generations will call me blessed:

the Almighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his Name.

 

He has mercy on those who fear him

in every generation.

 

He has shown the strength of his arm,

he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

 

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,

and has lifted up the lowly.

 

He has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent away empty.

 

He has come to the help of his servant Israel

for he has remembered his promise of mercy,

the promise he made to our fathers,

to Abraham and his children for ever.

 

Glory to the Father…

 

INTERCESSIONS

 

O Lord, you have guided your Church through the minds and hearts of your holy Doctors. With them, we now pray:

 

R/Make known your ways; teach us your paths.

 

O Lord, you filled Saint Augustine with the spirit of ­wisdom and understanding:

– pour out your Spirit on all those you have called to leadership. R/

 

O Lord, you sent Saint Augustine to teach the wisdom he had learned through prayer and study:

– send us wise teachers in our day. R/

 

O Lord, you brought Saint Augustine at last to contemplate you in your glory at the right hand of the Father:

– gather into your presence all our dead. R/

 

(Personal intentions)

 

Our Father….

 

May the Lord help us to seek him with all our hearts and to receive what he promises. Amen.

 

MARIAN ANTIPHON

 

Antiphon for the Solemnity

of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary,

August 15

 

Virgin most prudent, where do you go forth,

shining exceedingly as the dawn?

Daughter of Zion, you are all beautiful and gracious,

fair as the moon, bright as the sun.

 

 

Salve, Regina, mater misericordiae;

vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve.

Ad te clamamus, exsules filii Evae.

Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes

in hac lacrimarum valle.

 

Eia ergo, advocata nostra,

illos tuos misericordes oculos

ad nos converte.

Et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui,

nobis post hoc exsilium ostende.

O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria.

 

 

Hail, holy Queen, mother of mercy,

our life, our sweetness, and our hope.

To you do we cry,

poor banished children of Eve.

To you do we send up our sighs,

mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.

Turn then, O most gracious advocate,

your eyes of mercy toward us,

and after this our exile

show unto us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus.

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

 

V/ Pray for us, O holy Mother of God,

R/ That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

•••

PRAYER FOR THIS EVENING (THURSDAY, AUGUST 27)

Prayer for the Evening

 

Let us thank the Lord

with all our hearts for all his saints.

 

Glory to the Father…. Alleluia!

 

HYMN

 

Faith of our mothers, living yet

In cradle song and bedtime prayer,

In nurs’ry love and fireside love,

Thy presence still pervades the air:

Faith of our mothers, living faith,

We will be true to thee till death.

 

Faith of our mothers, lavish faith,

The fount of childhood’s trust and grace,

O may thy consecration prove

The wellspring of a nobler race:

Faith of our mothers, lavish faith,

We will be true to thee till death.

 

PSALM 138

 

At night there are tears,/ but joy comes with dawn. (Ps 30:6)

 

Saint Augustine is said to be the son of his mother’s tears. His conversion to holiness, inspired by her example and sought by her ­tireless prayer, was the joy that rewarded her long night of faith.

 

I thank you, Lord, with all my heart,

you have heard the words of my mouth.

In the presence of the angels I will bless you.

I will adore before your holy temple.

 

I thank you for your faithfulness and love

which excel all we ever knew of you.

On the day I called, you answered;

you increased the strength of my soul.

 

All earth’s kings shall thank you

when they hear the words of your mouth.

They shall sing of the Lord’s ways:

“How great is the glory of the Lord!”

 

The Lord is high yet he looks on the lowly

and the haughty he knows from afar.

Though I walk in the midst of affliction

you give me life and frustrate my foes.

 

You stretch out your hand and save me,

your hand will do all things for me.

Your love, O Lord, is eternal,

discard not the work of your hands.

 

Glory to the Father….

 

Word of God (Jeremiah 31:16-17)

 

Thus says the Lord:/ Cease your cries of mourning,/ wipe the tears from your eyes./ The sorrow you have shown shall have its reward,/ says the Lord,/ they shall return from the enemy’s land./ There is hope for your future, says the Lord;/ your sons shall return to their own borders.

 

Yes, I hear the moaning, as of a woman in travail,/ like the anguish of a mother with her first child.

(Jer 4:31)

 

CANTICLE OF MARY

 

You have kept a record of my tears;/ are they not written in your book? (Ps 56:9)

 

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,

my spirit rejoices in God my Savior

for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

 

From this day all generations will call me blessed:

the Almighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his Name.

 

He has mercy on those who fear him

in every generation.

 

He has shown the strength of his arm,

he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

 

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,

and has lifted up the lowly.

 

He has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent away empty.

 

He has come to the help of his servant Israel

for he has remembered his promise of mercy,

the promise he made to our fathers,

to Abraham and his children for ever.

 

Glory to the Father…

 

INTERCESSIONS 

 

Through the intercession of Saint Monica and all the holy women of faith, let us pray for the Church:

 

R/Answer on the day we call!

 

For all parents who suffer anxiety because of their ­children’s decisions:

– strengthen them in prayer and hope. R/

 

For all who have abandoned the Catholic faith of their childhood:

– lead them into the light of your truth. R/

 

For all who have died far from family and loved ones:

– bring them into the joy of your household in

heaven. R/

 

(Personal intentions)

 

Our Father….

 

May the holiness of the saints turn our thoughts to ­service of God and neighbor. Amen.

 

MARIAN ANTIPHON

 

Antiphon for the Solemnity

of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary,

August 15

 

Virgin most prudent, where do you go forth,

shining exceedingly as the dawn?

Daughter of Zion, you are all beautiful and gracious,

fair as the moon, bright as the sun.

 

 

Salve, Regina, mater misericordiae;

vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve.

Ad te clamamus, exsules filii Evae.

Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes

in hac lacrimarum valle.

 

Eia ergo, advocata nostra,

illos tuos misericordes oculos

ad nos converte.

Et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui,

nobis post hoc exsilium ostende.

O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria.

 

 

Hail, holy Queen, mother of mercy,

our life, our sweetness, and our hope.

To you do we cry,

poor banished children of Eve.

To you do we send up our sighs,

mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.

Turn then, O most gracious advocate,

your eyes of mercy toward us,

and after this our exile

show unto us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus.

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

 

V/ Pray for us, O holy Mother of God,

R/ That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

AND TODAY WE CELEBRATE… Saint of the Day: St. Monica (THURSDAY, AUGUST 27)

Patron Saint of Mothers, Widow (331-387)

 

Saint Monica’s Story

 

The circumstances of Saint Monica’s life could have made her a nagging wife, a bitter daughter-in-law, and a despairing parent, yet she did not give way to any of these temptations. Although she was a Christian, her parents gave her in marriage to a pagan, Patricius, who lived in her hometown of Tagaste in North Africa. Patricius had some redeeming features, but he had a violent temper and was licentious. Monica also had to bear with a cantankerous mother-in-law who lived in her home. Patricius criticized his wife because of her charity and piety, but always respected her. Monica’s prayers and example finally won her husband and mother-in-law to Christianity. Her husband died in 371, one year after his baptism.

 

Monica had at least three children who survived infancy. The oldest, Augustine, is the most famous. At the time of his father’s death, Augustine was 17 and a rhetoric student in Carthage. Monica was distressed to learn that her son had accepted the Manichean heresy—”all flesh is evil”—and was living an immoral life. For a while, she refused to let him eat or sleep in her house. Then one night she had a vision that assured her Augustine would return to the faith. From that time on, she stayed close to her son, praying and fasting for him. In fact she often stayed much closer than Augustine wanted.

 

When he was 29, Augustine decided to go to Rome to teach rhetoric. Monica was determined to go along. One night he told his mother that he was going to the dock to say goodbye to a friend. Instead he set sail for Rome. Monica was heartbroken when she learned of Augustine’s trick, but she still followed him. She arrived in Rome only to find that he had left for Milan. Although travel was difficult, Monica pursued him to Milan.

 

In Milan, Augustine came under the influence of the bishop, Saint Ambrose, who also became Monica’s spiritual director. She accepted his advice in everything and had the humility to give up some practices that had become second nature to her. Monica became a leader of the devout women in Milan as she had been in Tagaste.

 

She continued her prayers for Augustine during his years of instruction. At Easter 387, Saint Ambrose baptized Augustine and several of his friends. Soon after, his party left for Africa. Although no one else was aware of it, Monica knew her life was near the end. She told Augustine, “Son, nothing in this world now affords me delight. I do not know what there is now left for me to do or why I am still here, all my hopes in this world being now fulfilled.” She became ill shortly after and suffered severely for nine days before her death.

 

Almost all we know about St. Monica is in the writings of Saint Augustine, especially his Confessions.

 

Today, with Google searches, online shopping, text messages, tweets, and instant credit, we have little patience for things that take time. Likewise, we want instant answers to our prayers. Monica is a model of patience. Her long years of prayer, coupled with a strong, well-disciplined character, finally led to the conversion of her hot-tempered husband, her cantankerous mother-in-law and her brilliant but wayward son, Augustine.

 

For prayer and reflection

 

“She had a woman’s weak body but a man’s strong faith, the composure appropriate for her years, a mother’s love for her son, and a Christian’s devotion.”—Saint Augustine of Hippo

 

Prayer

 

O God, who console the sorrowful

and who mercifully accepted

the motherly tears of Saint Monica

for the conversion of her son Augustine,

grant us, through the intercession of them both,

that we may bitterly regret our sins

and find the grace of your pardon.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

PRAYER FOR THIS MORNING (THURSDAY, AUGUST 27)

Saint Monica

 

Prayer for the Morning

 

May the name of the Lord be blessed

both now and for evermore!

 

Glory to the Father…. Alleluia!

 

HYMN

 

For all the saints, who from their labors rest,

Who thee by faith before the world confessed,

Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blessed.

Alleluia, Alleluia!

 

Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress and their Might;

Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well fought fight;

Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true Light.

Alleluia, Alleluia!

 

The golden evening brightens in the west;

Soon, soon to faithful warriors comes their rest;

Sweet is the calm of paradise the blessed.

Alleluia, Alleluia!

 

PSALM 113

 

Her children rise up and praise her;/ her husband, too, extols her. (Prv 31:28)

 

When Augustine left his mother in search of truth among philosophies far from her devout Christian faith, she never ceased to weep and to pray until her son gladdened her heart with his conversion to ardent faith and became one of the princes among the Church’s theologians.

 

Praise, O servants of the Lord,

praise the name of the Lord!

May the name of the Lord be blessed

both now and for evermore!

From the rising of the sun to its setting

praised be the name of the Lord!

 

High above all nations is the Lord,

above the heavens his glory.

Who is like the Lord, our God,

who has risen on high to his throne

yet stoops from the heights to look down,

to look down upon heaven and earth?

 

From the dust he lifts up the lowly,

from his misery he raises the poor

to set him in the company of princes,

yes, with the princes of his people.

To the childless wife he gives a home

and gladdens her heart with children.

 

Glory to the Father….

 

Word of God (Ezekiel 19:2-3a)

 

What a lioness was your mother,/ a lion of lions!/ Among young lions she couched/ to rear her whelps./ One whelp she raised up,/ a young lion he became.

 

Give her a reward of her labors,/ and let her works praise her at the city gates. (Prv 31:31)

 

CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH 

 

Can a mother forget her infant,/ be without tenderness for the child of her womb?/ Even should she forget,/ I will never forget you. (Is 49:15)

 

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;

he has come to his people and set them free.

He has raised up for us a mighty savior,

born of the house of his servant David.

 

Through his holy prophets he promised of old

that he would save us from our enemies,

from the hands of all who hate us.

 

He promised to show mercy to our fathers

and to remember his holy covenant.

 

This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:

to set us free from the hands of our enemies,

free to worship him without fear,

holy and righteous in his sight

all the days of our life.

 

You, my child, shall be called the prophet

of the Most High;

for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,

to give his people knowledge of salvation

by the forgiveness of their sins.

 

In the tender compassion of our God

the dawn from on high shall break upon us,

to shine on those who dwell in darkness

and the shadow of death,

and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

 

Glory to the Father…

 

INTERCESSIONS 

 

Saint Monica’s holiness shines as a light among women. Through her intercession, let us pray in faith:

 

R/Lift up the lowly, O Lord.

 

For all Christians married to nonbelievers, as Saint Monica was:

– keep them firm in faith and make them strong in ­holiness. R/

 

For all parents who seek to raise their children in the faith of Jesus Christ:

– grant that their love may bear fruit. R/

 

For all who devote themselves to a life of prayer and good works:

– sustain them in zeal and contentment. R/

 

(Personal intentions)

 

Our Father….

 

O God of all kindness, strength of those who weep, you gathered up with love Saint Monica’s tears for the conversion of her son Augustine; through the power of their prayer, grant to us all the grace to know how to weep for our sins, to seek out those who stray with our prayers, and to come before you as one in the Kingdom won for us by your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Send your love to Jesus in the Eucharist with this morning prayer

Start your day by sending a dart of your love to Jesus in the tabernacle.

 

One of the best ways to start your day is to begin with prayer. It is a way to set the tone for the rest of the day and remember your love of God before doing anything else.Here is a short prayer from My Prayer Book that directs your morning prayer to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, sending your love to him who waits for you in the tabernacle.

 

Sweetest Jesus, you have been waiting patiently all through the night, watching for the moment which should find me once more at your blessed feet. And now, dearest Jesus, I have come with my heart full of thanks to you for having spared me during the night past, and for having given me another day to labor for your greater honor and glory, and the salvation of my soul. I offer myself entirely to you. Make my heart like yours, meek and humble; let me resemble you in charity and kindness to all; make me resigned to your holy will, and grant that I may be worthy of that reward which you have promised to those who love you faithfully here upon earth. Amen. 

A Powerful Novena Prayer to Mary against Coronavirus

Patron Saint of knots and difficult problems

 

Day 1 – Mary Undoer of Knots Novena

 

Let us begin, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

Virgin Mary, Mother of fair love, Mother who never refuses to come to the aid of a child in need, Mother whose hands never cease to serve your beloved children because they are moved by the divine love and immense mercy that exists in your heart, cast your compassionate eyes upon me and see the snarl of knots that exist in my life. You know very well how desperate I am, my pain and how I am bound up by the Knots. Mary, Mother to whom God entrusted the undoing of the knots in the lives of his children, I entrust into your hands the ribbon of my life. No one, not even the Evil One himself, can take it away from your precious care. In your hands there is no knot that cannot be undone. Powerful Mother, by your grace and intercessory power with Your Son and My Liberator, Jesus, take into your hands today this knot… I beg you to undo it for the glory of god, once and for all. You are my hope. O my Lady, you are the only consolation God gives me, the fortification of my feeble strength, the enrichment of my destitution and with Christ the freedom from my chains. Hear my plea Keep me, guide me, protect me, o safe refuge.

 

(Mention your request here…)

 

Say 1: Our Father… Say 1: Hail Mary… Say 1: Glory Be…

 

Day 2 – Mary Undoer of Knots Novena

 

Let us begin, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

Virgin Mary, Mother of fair love, Mother who never refuses to come to the aid of a child in need, Mother whose hands never cease to serve your beloved children because they are moved by the divine love and immense mercy that exists in your heart, cast your compassionate eyes upon me and see the snarl of knots that exist in my life. You know very well how desperate I am, my pain and how I am bound up by the Knots. Mary, Mother to whom God entrusted the undoing of the knots in the lives of his children, I entrust into your hands the ribbon of my life. No one, not even the Evil One himself, can take it away from your precious care. In your hands there is no knot that cannot be undone. Powerful Mother, by your grace and intercessory power with Your Son and My Liberator, Jesus, take into your hands today this knot… I beg you to undo it for the glory of god, once and for all. You are my hope. O my Lady, you are the only consolation God gives me, the fortification of my feeble strength, the enrichment of my destitution and with Christ the freedom from my chains. Hear my plea Keep me, guide me, protect me, o safe refuge.

 

(Mention your request here…)

 

Say 1: Our Father… Say 1: Hail Mary… Say 1: Glory Be…

 

Day 3 – Mary Undoer of Knots Novena

 

Let us begin, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

Virgin Mary, Mother of fair love, Mother who never refuses to come to the aid of a child in need, Mother whose hands never cease to serve your beloved children because they are moved by the divine love and immense mercy that exists in your heart, cast your compassionate eyes upon me and see the snarl of knots that exist in my life. You know very well how desperate I am, my pain and how I am bound up by the Knots. Mary, Mother to whom God entrusted the undoing of the knots in the lives of his children, I entrust into your hands the ribbon of my life. No one, not even the Evil One himself, can take it away from your precious care. In your hands there is no knot that cannot be undone. Powerful Mother, by your grace and intercessory power with Your Son and My Liberator, Jesus, take into your hands today this knot… I beg you to undo it for the glory of god, once and for all. You are my hope. O my Lady, you are the only consolation God gives me, the fortification of my feeble strength, the enrichment of my destitution and with Christ the freedom from my chains. Hear my plea Keep me, guide me, protect me, o safe refuge.

(Mention your request here…)

 

Say 1: Our Father… Say 1: Hail Mary… Say 1: Glory Be…

 

Day 4 – Mary Undoer of Knots Novena

 

Let us begin, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

Virgin Mary, Mother of fair love, Mother who never refuses to come to the aid of a child in need, Mother whose hands never cease to serve your beloved children because they are moved by the divine love and immense mercy that exists in your heart, cast your compassionate eyes upon me and see the snarl of knots that exist in my life. You know very well how desperate I am, my pain and how I am bound up by the Knots. Mary, Mother to whom God entrusted the undoing of the knots in the lives of his children, I entrust into your hands the ribbon of my life. No one, not even the Evil One himself, can take it away from your precious care. In your hands there is no knot that cannot be undone. Powerful Mother, by your grace and intercessory power with Your Son and My Liberator, Jesus, take into your hands today this knot… I beg you to undo it for the glory of god, once and for all. You are my hope. O my Lady, you are the only consolation God gives me, the fortification of my feeble strength, the enrichment of my destitution and with Christ the freedom from my chains. Hear my plea Keep me, guide me, protect me, o safe refuge.

 

(Mention your request here…)

 

Say 1: Our Father… Say 1: Hail Mary… Say 1: Glory Be…

 

Day 5 – Mary Undoer of Knots Novena

 

Let us begin, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

Virgin Mary, Mother of fair love, Mother who never refuses to come to the aid of a child in need, Mother whose hands never cease to serve your beloved children because they are moved by the divine love and immense mercy that exists in your heart, cast your compassionate eyes upon me and see the snarl of knots that exist in my life. You know very well how desperate I am, my pain and how I am bound up by the Knots. Mary, Mother to whom God entrusted the undoing of the knots in the lives of his children, I entrust into your hands the ribbon of my life. No one, not even the Evil One himself, can take it away from your precious care. In your hands there is no knot that cannot be undone. Powerful Mother, by your grace and intercessory power with Your Son and My Liberator, Jesus, take into your hands today this knot… I beg you to undo it for the glory of god, once and for all. You are my hope. O my Lady, you are the only consolation God gives me, the fortification of my feeble strength, the enrichment of my destitution and with Christ the freedom from my chains. Hear my plea Keep me, guide me, protect me, o safe refuge.

 

(Mention your request here…)

 

Say 1: Our Father… Say 1: Hail Mary… Say 1: Glory Be…

 

Day 6 – Mary Undoer of Knots Novena

 

Let us begin, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

Virgin Mary, Mother of fair love, Mother who never refuses to come to the aid of a child in need, Mother whose hands never cease to serve your beloved children because they are moved by the divine love and immense mercy that exists in your heart, cast your compassionate eyes upon me and see the snarl of knots that exist in my life. You know very well how desperate I am, my pain and how I am bound up by the Knots. Mary, Mother to whom God entrusted the undoing of the knots in the lives of his children, I entrust into your hands the ribbon of my life. No one, not even the Evil One himself, can take it away from your precious care. In your hands there is no knot that cannot be undone. Powerful Mother, by your grace and intercessory power with Your Son and My Liberator, Jesus, take into your hands today this knot… I beg you to undo it for the glory of god, once and for all. You are my hope. O my Lady, you are the only consolation God gives me, the fortification of my feeble strength, the enrichment of my destitution and with Christ the freedom from my chains. Hear my plea Keep me, guide me, protect me, o safe refuge.

 

(Mention your request here…)

 

Say 1: Our Father… Say 1: Hail Mary… Say 1: Glory Be…

 

Day 7 – Mary Undoer of Knots Novena

 

Let us begin, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

Virgin Mary, Mother of fair love, Mother who never refuses to come to the aid of a child in need, Mother whose hands never cease to serve your beloved children because they are moved by the divine love and immense mercy that exists in your heart, cast your compassionate eyes upon me and see the snarl of knots that exist in my life. You know very well how desperate I am, my pain and how I am bound up by the Knots. Mary, Mother to whom God entrusted the undoing of the knots in the lives of his children, I entrust into your hands the ribbon of my life. No one, not even the Evil One himself, can take it away from your precious care. In your hands there is no knot that cannot be undone. Powerful Mother, by your grace and intercessory power with Your Son and My Liberator, Jesus, take into your hands today this knot… I beg you to undo it for the glory of god, once and for all. You are my hope. O my Lady, you are the only consolation God gives me, the fortification of my feeble strength, the enrichment of my destitution and with Christ the freedom from my chains. Hear my plea Keep me, guide me, protect me, o safe refuge.

 

(Mention your request here…)

 

Say 1: Our Father… Say 1: Hail Mary… Say 1: Glory Be…

 

Day 8 – Mary Undoer of Knots Novena

 

Let us begin, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

Virgin Mary, Mother of fair love, Mother who never refuses to come to the aid of a child in need, Mother whose hands never cease to serve your beloved children because they are moved by the divine love and immense mercy that exists in your heart, cast your compassionate eyes upon me and see the snarl of knots that exist in my life. You know very well how desperate I am, my pain and how I am bound up by the Knots. Mary, Mother to whom God entrusted the undoing of the knots in the lives of his children, I entrust into your hands the ribbon of my life. No one, not even the Evil One himself, can take it away from your precious care. In your hands there is no knot that cannot be undone. Powerful Mother, by your grace and intercessory power with Your Son and My Liberator, Jesus, take into your hands today this knot… I beg you to undo it for the glory of god, once and for all. You are my hope. O my Lady, you are the only consolation God gives me, the fortification of my feeble strength, the enrichment of my destitution and with Christ the freedom from my chains. Hear my plea Keep me, guide me, protect me, o safe refuge.

 

(Mention your request here…)

 

Say 1: Our Father… Say 1: Hail Mary… Say 1: Glory Be…

 

Day 9 – Mary Undoer of Knots Novena

 

Let us begin, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

Virgin Mary, Mother of fair love, Mother who never refuses to come to the aid of a child in need, Mother whose hands never cease to serve your beloved children because they are moved by the divine love and immense mercy that exists in your heart, cast your compassionate eyes upon me and see the snarl of knots that exist in my life. You know very well how desperate I am, my pain and how I am bound up by the Knots. Mary, Mother to whom God entrusted the undoing of the knots in the lives of his children, I entrust into your hands the ribbon of my life. No one, not even the Evil One himself, can take it away from your precious care. In your hands there is no knot that cannot be undone. Powerful Mother, by your grace and intercessory power with Your Son and My Liberator, Jesus, take into your hands today this knot… I beg you to undo it for the glory of god, once and for all. You are my hope. O my Lady, you are the only consolation God gives me, the fortification of my feeble strength, the enrichment of my destitution and with Christ the freedom from my chains. Hear my plea Keep me, guide me, protect me, o safe refuge.

 

(Mention your request here…)

 

Say 1: Our Father… Say 1: Hail Mary… Say 1: Glory Be…