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PRAYER FOR THIS MORNING (TUESDAY, AUGUST 25)

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PRAYER FOR THIS MORNING (TUESDAY, AUGUST 25)

Saint Louis; Saint Joseph Calasanz

 

Prayer for the Morning

 

Glorious is God’s name over all the earth:

come, let us sing praise!

 

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

 

Love divine, all loves excelling,

Joy of heaven to earth come down;

Fix in us thy humble dwelling;

All thy faithful mercies crown!

Jesus, thou art all compassion,

Pure unbounded love thou art;

Visit us with thy salvation;

Enter every trembling heart.

 

Finish, then, thy new creation;

Pure and spotless let us be.

Let us see thy great salvation

Perfectly restored in thee;

Changed from glory into glory,

Till in heaven we take our place,

Till we cast our crowns before thee,

Lost in wonder, love, and praise.

 

PSALM 8

 

Unless you become like little children, you shall not enter the kingdom of God. (cf. Mt 18:3)

 

Only the childlike retain the child’s gift of wonder. Wondering, we forget ourselves entirely, lost in what has provoked our awe. Wonder is the wellspring of praise. We have reason for our praise: we are God’s children, made in his image.

 

How great is your name, O Lord our God,

through all the earth!

 

Your majesty is praised above the heavens;

on the lips of children and of babes

you have found praise to foil your enemy,

to silence the foe and the rebel.

 

When I see the heavens, the work of your hands,

the moon and the stars which you arranged,

what is man that you should keep him in mind,

mortal man that you care for him?

 

Yet you have made him little less than a god;

with glory and honor you crowned him,

gave him power over the works of your hand,

put all things under his feet.

 

All of them, sheep and cattle,

yes, even the savage beasts,

birds of the air, and fish

that make their way through the waters.

 

How great is your name, O Lord our God,

through all the earth!

 

Glory to the Father….

 

Word of God (Genesis 1:27-28, 31a)

 

God created man in his image;/ in the divine image he created him;/ male and female he created them.

 

God blessed them, saying to them: “Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that move on the earth.” God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good.

 

What are we that you should care for us?

(cf. Ps 8:5)

 

CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH 

 

To which of the angels did God ever say:/ “You are my son; this day I have begotten you”? (Heb 1:5)

 

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 praise the God whose mystery fills the universe with wonder:

 

R/We praise and exalt you above all for ever!

 

Blessed are you, O Lord our God; you created all things and pronounced them good:

– fill us with reverence for the works of your hands. R/

 

Blessed is your holy and glorious name; you created male and female in your image:

– fill us with reverence for our brothers and sisters. R/

 

Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven; you reign over all creation:

– fill us with reverence for you, who alone are God. R/

 

(Personal intentions)

 

Our Father….

 

O God, you are over all, in all, beyond all. Open our eyes to see the wonders that surround us; open our hearts to know the wonders of our brothers and sisters; open our lips to sing your praise. Restore all peoples in your image, who is 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 (MONDAY, AUGUST 24)

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PRAYER FOR THIS EVENING (MONDAY, AUGUST 24)

Prayer for the Evening

 

Blessed be God in all his saints!

 

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

 

Great saint of God, Bartholomew,

Apostle now enthroned above,

Our lowly supplications hear,

Accept our hymn of praise and love.

 

With tender eyes Christ welcomed you.

Among his Twelve you would have part;

You wondered as he greatly praised

Your deep sincerity of heart.

 

He whom the prophets had foretold,

Foreshadowed, too, in many ways,

The great Messiah, come at last,

Smiled back to greet your joyous gaze.

 

Heart spoke to heart, and from that day,

Your faith and love in strength would gain,

For you would follow him in death

And then for ever with him reign.

 

Apostle and close friend of Christ

Who rules beyond the chain of time,

You share in joy your Master’s life,

And help us from that fount sublime.

 

PSALM 78:1-7

 

We heard with our own ears, O God,/ our fathers have told us the story/ of the things you did in their days,/ you yourself, in days long ago. (Ps 44:2)

 

The Apostles are our living link to the exciting moment when the long history of God’s mighty deeds reached its climax in the great deeds of the Incarnation, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Through them, and through the communities of believers they served, the Good News continues to spread to all generations.

 

Give heed, my people, to my teaching;

turn your ear to the words of my mouth.

I will open my mouth in a parable

and reveal hidden lessons of the past.

 

The things we have heard and understood,

the things our fathers have told us,

these we will not hide from their children

but will tell them to the next generation:

 

the glories of the Lord and his might

and the marvelous deeds he has done,

the witness he gave to Jacob,

the law he established in Israel.

 

He gave a command to our fathers

to make it known to their children

that the next generation might know it,

the children yet to be born.

 

They too should arise and tell their sons

that they too should set their hope in God

and never forget God’s deeds

but keep every one of his commands.

 

Glory to the Father….

 

Word of God (Acts 13:32-33)

 

We ourselves are proclaiming this good news to you that what God promised our ancestors he has brought to fulfillment for us, [their] children, by raising up Jesus, as it is written in the second psalm, “You are my son; this day I have begotten you.”

 

The word of God continued to spread, and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly.

(Acts 6:7)

 

CANTICLE OF MARY

 

The word of God continued to spread and grow. (Acts 12:24)

 

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…

 

INTERCESSION

 

On the feast of Saint Bartholomew, let us draw strength from the faith that comes to us from the Apostles, and let us pray to God for his holy people:

 

R/Be mindful of your Church, O Lord.

 

You sent your Son to preach the Good News to the poor:

– give us the grace to proclaim the Gospel. R/

 

You sent your Son to sow the word through all the world:

– send workers into the harvest. R/

 

You seated your Son at your right hand in glory:

– gather our beloved dead into the joy of your
­

Kingdom. R/

 

(Personal intentions)

 

Our Father….

 

May the teaching of the Apostles strengthen our faith and lead us to our true and eternal home. 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.

Powerful Prayer to St. Joseph the Worker

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Powerful Prayer to St. Joseph the Worker

O Glorious St. Joseph,

model of all those who are devoted to labor,

obtain for me the grace to work conscientiously,

putting the call of duty above my natural inclinations,

to work with gratitude and joy,

in a spirit of penance for the remission of my sins,

considering it an honor to employ and

develop by means of labor the gifts received from God,

to work with order, peace, moderation and patience,

without ever shrinking from weariness and difficulties,

to work above all with purity of intention

and detachment from self,

having always death before my eyes

and the account that I must render of time lost,

of talents wasted, of good omitted,

of vain complacency in success,

so fatal to the work of God.

All for Jesus, all through Mary,

all after thine example, O Patriarch, St. Joseph.

Such shall be my motto in life and in death.

 

Amen.

AND TODAY WE CELEBRATE… Saint of the Day: St. Bartholomew the Apostle (MONDAY, AUGUST 24)

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AND TODAY WE CELEBRATE… Saint of the Day: St. Bartholomew the Apostle (MONDAY, AUGUST 24)

Patron Saint of Those with Neurological Disorders (First Century)

 

In the New Testament, Bartholomew is mentioned only in the lists of the apostles. Some scholars identify him with Nathanael, a man of Cana in Galilee who was summoned to Jesus by Philip. Jesus paid him a great compliment: “Here is a true Israelite. There is no duplicity in him” (John 1:47b). When Nathanael asked how Jesus knew him, Jesus said, “I saw you under the fig tree” (John 1:48b). Whatever amazing revelation this involved, it brought Nathanael to exclaim, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel” (John 1:49b). But Jesus countered with, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this” (John 1:50b).

 

Nathanael did see greater things. He was one of those to whom Jesus appeared on the shore of the Sea of Tiberias after his resurrection (see John 21:1-14). They had been fishing all night without success. In the morning, they saw someone standing on the shore though no one knew it was Jesus. He told them to cast their net again, and they made so great a catch that they could not haul the net in. Then John cried out to Peter, “It is the Lord.”

 

When they brought the boat to shore, they found a fire burning, with some fish laid on it and some bread. Jesus asked them to bring some of the fish they had caught, and invited them to come and eat their meal. John relates that although they knew it was Jesus, none of the apostles presumed to inquire who he was. This, John notes, was the third time Jesus appeared to the apostles.

 

Bartholomew or Nathanael? We are confronted again with the fact that we know almost nothing about most of the apostles. Yet the unknown ones were also foundation stones, the 12 pillars of the new Israel whose 12 tribes now encompass the whole earth. Their personalities were secondary—without thereby being demeaned—to their great office of bearing tradition from their firsthand experience, speaking in the name of Jesus, putting the Word Made Flesh into human words for the enlightenment of the world. Their holiness was not an introverted contemplation of their status before God. It was a gift that they had to share with others. The Good News was that all are called to the holiness of being Christ’s members, by the gracious gift of God.

 

The simple fact is that humanity is totally meaningless unless God is its total concern. Then humanity, made holy with God’s own holiness, becomes the most precious creation of God.

 

For reflection

 

“We can say that despite a scarcity of information about him, Saint Bartholomew stands before us to tell us that attachment to Jesus can also be lived and witnessed to without performing sensational deeds. Jesus himself, to whom each one of us is called to dedicate his or her own life and death, is and remains extraordinary.”—Pope Benedict XVI

 

Prayer

 

Strengthen in us, O Lord, the faith,

by which the blessed Apostle Bartholomew

clung wholeheartedly to your Son,

and grant that through the help of his prayers

your Church may become for all the nations

the sacrament of salvation.

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 any need to Our Lady of Perpetual Help

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Prayer for any need to Our Lady of Perpetual Help

Whatever need you have, take it to the Virgin Mary, who daily intercedes for us before her Son, Jesus.

 

Among the many titles of the Virgin Mary, one of the most popular and effective is Our Lady of Perpetual Help. The title itself reveals Our Lady as a mother who always helps and comes to our aid.Here is a prayer that is for any need, and while we may not always get what we want, God will answer your prayer and give to us what we need the most.

 

Most holy Virgin Mary, Mother of God, whom I love to honor under the lovely title of Mother of Perpetual Help, I, N., although most unworthy to be your servant, yet moved by your wonderful compassion, and by my desire to serve you, now choose you, in presence of my guardian angel and of the whole celestial court, for my queen, advocate, and mother: and I firmly purpose always to love and serve you for the future, and to do whatever I can to induce others to love and serve you also. I beseech you, O Mother of God, and my most compassionate and loving Mother, by the blood which your Son shed for me, to receive me into the number of your servants, to be your child and servant forever. Assist me in my thoughts, words, and actions every moment of my life, so that all may be directed to the greater glory of my God; and through your most powerful intercession, may I never more offend my beloved Jesus, but may I glorify Him, and love Him in this life, and love you also, my most tender and dear Mother, so that I may love you and enjoy you in heaven and bless God for all eternity. Amen.

PRAYER FOR THIS MORNING (MONDAY, AUGUST 24)

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PRAYER FOR THIS MORNING (MONDAY, AUGUST 24)

Saint Bartholomew

Prayer for the Morning

 

God’s majesty is praised above the heavens:

in the faith of the Apostles, come let us worship!

 

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

 

By all your saints still striving,

For all your saints at rest

Your holy name, O Jesus,

For evermore be blessed.

You rose, our King victorious,

That they might wear the crown

And ever shine in splendor

Reflected from your throne.

 

Praise for your blest apostle

Surnamed Bartholomew;

We know not his achievements

But know that he was true,

For he at the Ascension

Was an apostle still.

May we discern your presence

And seek, like him, your will.

 

CANTICLE (Philippians 2:6-11)

 

Jesus said to them, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the ­gospel to every creature.” (cf. Mk 16:15)

 

Bartholomew is one of the “anonymous” Apostles: all the personal details of his life have disappeared behind the Gospel he proclaimed. Like John the Baptist, he decreased to nothing so that Christ might increase.

 

Though he was in the form of God,

Jesus did not deem equality with God

something to be grasped at.

 

Rather, he emptied himself

and took the form of a slave

being born in the likeness of men.

 

He was known to be of human estate

and it was thus that he humbled himself,

obediently accepting even death,

death on a cross!

 

Because of this,

God highly exalted him

and bestowed on him the name

above every other name,

 

So that at Jesus’ name

every knee must bend

in the heavens, on the earth,

and under the earth,

and every tongue proclaim

to the glory of God the Father:

Jesus Christ is Lord!

 

Word of God (Isaiah 43:10-12)

 

You are my witnesses, says the Lord,/ my servants whom I have chosen/ To know and believe in me/ and understand that it is I./ Before me no god was formed,/ and after me there shall be none.

It is I, I the Lord;/ there is no savior but me./ It is I who foretold, I who saved;/ I made it known, not any strange god among you;/ You are my witnesses, says the Lord.

 

To whomever I send you, you shall go;/

whatever I command you, you shall speak./

Have no fear before them,/ because I am with you

to deliver you, says the Lord.

(Jer 1:7b-8)

 

CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH

 

I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” “Here I am,” I said; “send me!” (Is 6:8)

 

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

 

We have received a great spiritual heritage from the Apostles; let us give thanks to God our Father for the good he has done for us.

 

R/Blessed are you, O Lord!

 

Blessed are you for your holy Church, built upon the foundation of the Apostles:

– make us strong and living stones within it. R/

 

Blessed are you for baptism and penance, given to us through the Apostles:

– through the sacraments, renew us in faith, hope, and love. R/

 

Blessed are you for the Eucharist, handed down to us through the Apostles:

– feed your people always at the banquet table of life. R/

 

(Personal intentions)

 

Our Father….

 

Pour forth upon your Church, O Lord, the gift of your Holy Spirit, that our love for one another and for your Word may set fire to our world as the Apostles set fire to theirs, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

PRAYER FOR THIS EVENING (SUNDAY, AUGUST 23)

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PRAYER FOR THIS EVENING (SUNDAY, AUGUST 23)

Prayer for the Evening

 

The Lord is close to the broken-hearted:

let us give him thanks and praise.

 

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

 

O Love, who drew from Jesus’ side

One Body freed from Adam’s shame,

One Church sent forth to serve and guide,

One faith confirmed by gifts of flame:

When empty words our hopes assail,

Your kingdom come, your truth prevail.

 

Round Peter’s chair may all unite;

From blinded eyes the veil withdraw;

The minds of rulers set aright

Who bind your Church beneath their law:

Where faith grows dim and hearts are frail,

Your kingdom come, your truth prevail.

 

While Christians pray for unity,

Pour forth the light your saints have seen;

Dispel the dark of enmity:

Make known to all what love can mean.

Where brooding minds old wounds bewail,

Your kingdom come, your truth prevail.

 

Spoiled children, we, so blest with sight,

Redeemed by love surpassing all;

Lest we who glory in your light

Share not our gift, heed not your call:

In Christian hearts that faint and fail,

Your kingdom come, your truth prevail.

 

PSALM 34:12-19

 

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways! (Rom 11:33)

 

Christ chose to build his Church upon a rock that broke in time of temptation. In healing the broken and repentant shepherd, Christ demonstrated his desire and ability to forgive and mend all the weaknesses that beset and divide the flock even now. Peter is our sign of hope.

 

Come, children, and hear me

that I may teach you the fear of the Lord.

Who is he who longs for life

and many days, to enjoy his prosperity?

 

Then keep your tongue from evil

and your lips from speaking deceit.

Turn aside from evil and do good;

seek and strive after peace.

 

The Lord turns his face against the wicked

to destroy their remembrance from the earth.

The Lord turns his eyes to the just

and his ears to their appeal.

 

They call and the Lord hears

and rescues them in all their distress.

The Lord is close to the broken-hearted;

those whose spirit is crushed he will save.

 

Glory to the Father….

 

Word of God (1 Corinthians 1:26-29)

 

Consider your own calling, brothers. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, so that no human being might boast before God.

 

Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.

(cf. 1 Cor 1:24)

 

CANTICLE OF MARY 

 

From Christ and through him and for him are all things. To him be glory forever. (cf. Rom 11:36)

 

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 

 

In peace let us pray to the Lord:

 

R/Hear your people, Lord!

 

For our holy father and all our bishops:

– make them strong, loving, and wise. R/

 

For all pastors who grow disheartened with their own failings:

– give them the humble courage of Saint Peter. R/

 

For all Christians:

– heal our divisions. R/

 

(Personal intentions)

 

Our Father….

 

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant us to think in harmony with one another, in keeping with Christ Jesus, that with one accord we may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (cf. Rom 15:5-6)

 

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.

Ask God for help to imitate the Holy Family with this prayer

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Ask God for help to imitate the Holy Family with this prayer

Imitating the Holy Family is not easy, which is why we need to pray daily for added grace.

 

Family life is not always easy, yet each family is challenged to imitate the Holy Family. As sinful humans, we can never reach the level of sanctity that was achieved by the Immaculate Virgin Mary, or Jesus, the Son of God.However, we can strive daily to imitate their virtues and ask for their help to bring peace and harmony into the home.

 

Here is a prayer from the early 20th-century My Prayer Book that asks for God’s grace to imitate the Holy Family.

 

Grant us, Lord Jesus, always to follow the example of your holy family, that at the hour of our death your glorious Virgin Mother with blessed Joseph may come to meet us, and so we may deserve to be received by you into your everlasting dwelling place.

Read more:

A prayer to the Holy Family of Nazareth to bring love to your own family

Read more:

Why St. Joseph kept the Holy Family in isolation

AND TODAY WE CELEBRATE… Saint of the Day: St. Rose of Lima (SUNDAY, AUGUST 23)

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AND TODAY WE CELEBRATE… Saint of the Day: St. Rose of Lima (SUNDAY, AUGUST 23)

Patron Saint of Latin and South America, Dominican Tertiary (1586-1617)

Saint Rose of Lima’s Story

 

The first canonized saint of the New World has one characteristic of all saints—the suffering of opposition—and another characteristic which is more for admiration than for imitation—excessive practice of mortification.

 

She was born to parents of Spanish descent in Lima, Peru, at a time when South America was in its first century of evangelization. She seems to have taken Catherine of Siena as a model, in spite of the objections and ridicule of parents and friends.

 

The saints have so great a love of God that what seems bizarre to us, and is indeed sometimes imprudent, is simply a logical carrying out of a conviction that anything that might endanger a loving relationship with God must be rooted out. So, because her beauty was so often admired, Rose used to rub her face with pepper to produce disfiguring blotches. Later, she wore a thick circlet of silver on her head, studded on the inside, like a crown of thorns.

 

When her parents fell into financial trouble, she worked in the garden all day and sewed at night. Ten years of struggle against her parents began when they tried to make Rose marry. They refused to let her enter a convent, and out of obedience she continued her life of penance and solitude at home as a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic. So deep was her desire to live the life of Christ that she spent most of her time at home in solitude.

 

During the last few years of her life, Rose set up a room in the house where she cared for homeless children, the elderly, and the sick. This was a beginning of social services in Peru. Though secluded in life and activity, she was brought to the attention of Inquisition interrogators, who could only say that she was influenced by grace.

 

What might have been a merely eccentric life was transfigured from the inside. If we remember some unusual penances, we should also remember the greatest thing about Rose: a love of God so ardent that it withstood ridicule from without, violent temptation, and lengthy periods of sickness. When she died at 31, the city turned out for her funeral. Prominent men took turns carrying her coffin.

 

It is easy to dismiss excessive penances of the saints as the expression of a certain culture or temperament. But a woman wearing a crown of thorns may at least prod our consciences. We enjoy the most comfort-oriented life in human history. We eat too much, drink too much, use a million gadgets, fill our eyes and ears with everything imaginable. Commerce thrives on creating useless needs on which to spend our money. It seems that when we have become most like slaves, there is the greatest talk of “freedom.” Are we willing to discipline ourselves in such an atmosphere?

 

For prayer and reflection

 

“God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something.”—1 Corinthians 1:27-28

 

Prayer

 

O God, you set Saint Rose of Lima on fire with your love,

so that, secluded from the world

in the austerity of a life of penance,

she might give herself to you alone;

grant, we pray, that through her intercession,

we may tread the paths of life on earth

and drink at the stream of your delights in heaven.

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 (SUNDAY, AUGUST 23)

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PRAYER FOR THIS MORNING (SUNDAY, AUGUST 23)

Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

 

Prayer for the Morning

 

Come, let us worship the Lord,

our rock, our fortress, our deliverer.

 

Glory to the Father…. Alleluia!

 

HYMN

 

O where are kings and empires now

Of old that went and came

But, Lord, thy Church is praying yet,

Two thousand years the same.

 

We mark her goodly battlements,

And her foundations strong:

We hear within the solemn voice

Of her unending song.

 

For not like kingdoms of the world,

Thy holy Church, O God:

Though earthquake shocks are threat’ning her,

And tempests are abroad;

 

Unshaken as eternal hills,

Immovable she stands,

A mountain that shall fill the earth,

A house not made by hands.

 

PSALM 18:2-7, 32-34, 36, 47-48

 

I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. (Mt 16:18)

 

The Church stands firm upon the rock of Peter. Peter’s faith stands firm upon the rock of God’s Word made flesh in Jesus Christ.

 

I love you, Lord, my strength,

my rock, my fortress, my savior.

My God is the rock where I take refuge;

my shield, my mighty help, my stronghold.

The Lord is worthy of all praise:

when I call I am saved from my foes.

 

The waves of death rose about me;

the torrents of destruction assailed me;

the snares of the grave entangled me;

the traps of death confronted me.

 

In my anguish I called to the Lord;

I cried to my God for help.

From his temple he heard my voice;

my cry came to his ears.

 

For who is God but the Lord?

Who is a rock but our God?

The God who girds me with strength

and makes the path safe before me.

 

My feet you made swift as the deer’s;

you have made me stand firm on the heights.

You gave me your saving shield;

you upheld me, trained me with care.

 

Long life to the Lord, my rock!

Praised be the God who saves me,

the God who gives me redress

and subdues people under me.

 

Glory to the Father….

 

Word of God (Isaiah 28:16)

 

See, I am laying a stone in Zion,/ a stone that has been tested,/ A precious cornerstone as a sure foundation;/ he who puts his faith in it shall not be shaken.

 

Come to the living stone, precious in God’s eyes.

(cf. 1 Pt 2:4)

 

CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH 

 

Peter, I have prayed that your own faith may not fail; and once you have turned back, you must strengthen your brothers. (cf. Lk 22:32)

 

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

 

As members of Saint Peter’s flock, we pray:

 

R/In your kindness, be mindful of your people.

 

On the night before you were betrayed, you prayed that Peter’s faith would not fail;

– strengthen today the faith of your people. R/

 

After your Resurrection, you showed yourself to Peter;

– enlighten our hearts so that we may own you as the Living One. R/

 

In your mercy, you forgave Peter his betrayal;

– forgive us our sins also. R/

 

(Personal intentions)

 

Our Father….

 

Lord Jesus Christ, you have built your Church upon the rock of Saint Peter’s faith. Grant that nothing may cause our faith to waver or to fail, for you live and reign with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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We accept and share ALL God has revelead and try to explain them to others. We will never go against the Church now or in the future because we know She is Mother and Teacher. Thank You, Jesus!!!

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