December 25, 2024

ourlady

A Prayer Before the Reading of Any Part of the Holy Scriptures

Mother & Refuge01 mins

Come, O Holy Spirit, fill the hearts and minds of thy faithful servants, and inflame them with the fire of thy divine love. Let us pray O God, who by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, didst instruct the hearts of thy faithful servants; grant us in the same Spirit, to discern what is right, and enjoy his comfort for ever, Through our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth one God, with thee and the same Spirit, world without end. Amen.

Read More

Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Mother & Refuge03 mins

O Jesus, Divine Saviour, deign to cast a look of mercy upon Your children, who assemble in the same spirit of faith, reparation, and love, and come to deplore their own infidelities, and those of all poor sinners, their brethren. May we touch Your Divine Heart by the unanimous and solemn promises we are about to make and obtain mercy for ourselves, for the world, and for all who are so unhappy as not to love You. We all promise that for the future: For the forgetfulness and ingratitude of men, we will console You, O Lord.For the way You are deserted in Your holy tabernacle,For the crimes of sinners,For the hatred of the impious,For the blasphemies uttered against You,For the sacrileges that profane Your Sacrament of Love,For the outrages against Your divinity,For the injuries of which You are the adorable Victim,For the coldness of the greater part of your children,For the contempt of your loving invitation,For the infidelity of those who called themselves Your friends,For the abuse of Your grace,For our own unfaithfulness,For the incomprehensible hardness of our hearts,For our long delay in loving You,For our tepidity in Your holy service,For Your bitter sadness at the loss of souls,For Your long waiting at the door of our hearts,For the heartless scorn that grieves You,For Your loving sighs,For Your loving tears,For Your loving imprisonment,For Your loving death, Let us pray O Jesus! Divine Saviour, from whose Heart comes forth this bitter complaint, “I looked for one that would comfort me, and I found none,” graciously accept the feeble consolation we offer You, and aid us so powerfully by your grace, that we may, for the time to come, shun more and more all that can displease You, and prove ourselves in everything, and everywhere, and forever Your most faithful and devoted servants. We ask it through Your Sacred Heart, O Lord, who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit one God, forever and ever.

Read More

5 Benefits of the Entire Rosary

Mother & Refuge01 mins

When you pray the Holy Rosary, you have Our Lady’s hand in your hand. When you pray the Holy Rosary, you have the power of God in your hands. “Consueverunt Romani Pontifices” is a papal bull by Pope Pius V issued on September 17th, 1569 on the power of the Holy Rosary, even before the great Catholic victory at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. The darkness of heresy began to be dispelled, and the light of the Catholic Faith to be revealed. Sodalities for this form of prayer began to be instituted in many places by the Friars of the same [St. Dominic] Order … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVzFNHopaPA

Read More

Universal Prayer for All Things Necessary for Salvation | by Pope Clement XI., A.D. 1721

Mother & Refuge02 mins

Composed by Pope Clement XI., A.D. 1721 O My God, I believe in thee; do thou strengthen my faith. All my hopes are in thee; do thou secure them. I love thee; teach me to love thee daily more and more. I am sorry that I have offended thee; do thou increase my sorrow. I adore thee as my first beginning; I espouse after thee as my last end. I give thee thanks as my constant benefactor; I call upon thee as my sovereign protector. Vouchsafe, O my God, to conduct me by thy wisdom, to restrain me by thy justice, to comfort me by thy mercy, to defend me by thy power. To thee I desire to consecrate all my thoughts, works, actions, and sufferings; that henceforward I may think of thee, speak of thee, refer all my actions to thy greater glory, and suffer willingly whatever thou shalt appoint. Lord, I desire that in all things thy will may be done, because it is thy will, and in the manner that thou willest. I beg to thee to enlighten my understanding, to inflame my will, to purify my body, and to sanctify my soul. Give me strength, O my God, to expiate my offences, to overcome my temptations, to subdue my passions, and to acquire the virtues proper for my state. Amen

Read More

Come as You Are to Jesus!

Mother & Refuge03 mins

By Ignatian Spirituality When I was preparing for First Communion, I remember Sister telling our class that when we go to Mass, we are going before a king—the King of all Creation—so we had better be prepared and presentable. I took her words to heart, always wanting to be “prepared and presentable” when I went to Mass. I wanted to be so perfect for the King. The fact was, though, I wasn’t perfect. What’s worse, I knew I was never going to be perfect. Fast forward ten years to my first year of college. The church was full of students; it was 11 p.m.—the “last-minute Mass,” as the students fondly called it. They piled into the church, overflowing the pews out to the walls. It was the first Sunday of Lent. That evening, the Jesuit homilist spoke words that would forever change my spiritual life: “Come, come as you are, just come. Jesus is your friend; he is here for you. He is waiting for you.” The words echoed in my head for days. They cleared up the misunderstanding that had formed in my eight-year-old brain. I didn’t have to be perfect—perfectly prepared, perfectly dressed, perfectly anything—to go to Mass or to pray. I just had to go into the presence of the Lord. How freeing! This homily inaugurated a pivotal time in my spiritual journey. It also opened the door for a personal relationship with Jesus—a friendship that would grow over the years. Because, the fact is, few people are really best friends with kings. However, if I simply thought of Jesus as my friend, it would be a lot easier to go to him, even if he were a king. And, if I didn’t have to be perfect all the time, I could talk with him any time. Read more…

Read More

8 Easy Steps to be a Good Catholic

Mother & Refuge08 mins

1. Be a Catholic of prayer We should be Catholics of prayer. St. Augustine affirmed that prayer is the key that opens the gates of heaven and offers us all of God’s treasures. Just as bread is beneficial for the body, so also prayer is beneficial for the soul. If we do not dedicate ourselves to God and the Queen of Heaven through prayer, we will never be able to keep the Ten Commandments faithfully. 2. Always go to Mass The Holy Mass is the queen of prayers and the highest form of praise, for in it God offers himself on the Cross. When our body is weak and debilitated by some sickness, we find time to go to a doctor to be cured, don’t we? We seek adequate treatment. Well, we find at Mass He who is the doctor and remedy for souls waiting to cure our weaknesses. At Mass, the Passion of Jesus Christ is renewed upon the altar, just as at Calvary. Would we dare leave Jesus alone and suffering, and go have fun at the shopping center on a Sunday or a holy day of obligation? 3. Flee from sin: confession and Easter communion every year Queen Blanche, the mother of St. Louis IX, said, “My son, I prefer to see you dead rather than having stained yourself with mortal sin.” The pious queen’s desire so pleased God that it is said that St. Louis IX never committed a mortal sin in his life. We should pray like this and ask to avoid not only mortal sins, but to flee even from venial, sins so often committed during our lives. However, if we fall, we can go to confession, just as the prodigal son returned to his father’s house. In the Catechism, we learn that one of the commandments of the Church is the obligation of Catholics to go to confession and receive communion at least once a year at Easter. 4. Attend daily mass, when possible As Catholics, we should go to Mass on Sundays. Nevertheless, it is very profitable to visit God in His house every day if possible. Besides ordinary everyday meals for the body, we also have feasts and banquets. In a similar way for the spirit, it is beneficial to have spiritual feasts and banquets during the week besides Sunday Mass. Thus, attending daily Mass is a joyful nourishment and a powerful remedy for us. 5. Pray the Rosary daily with your family St. John Paul II tells us: “The family that prays together stays together. The Rosary is my favorite prayer. A marvelous prayer! Marvelous in its simplicity and its depth. In this prayer we repeat many times the words that the Virgin Mary heard from the Archangel, and from her kinswoman Elizabeth.” Our Lady is ready to grant our petitions! The Rosary is the means to obtain everything we need, including union in our families, the solution to our problems and even our material necessities. 6. Read a pious book and meditate frequently Pious reading is the sister of prayer and a great help for us. St. Paul recommended Timothy to do so regularly. Reading spiritual literature is so important, that when we wish to help someone who is distant from religion, we normally counsel him or her to read a religious book. Many saints affirmed that spiritual reading is a special nourishment for the soul. It produces good thoughts and desires for heaven, and frees our understanding. Pious literature inflames and enlightens our will, soothing our sadness, and causes true spiritual happiness. Now, let me ask you something: What book are you currently reading to progress spiritually? 7. You are the average of the 5 people closest to you Certainly, you have heard the saying: “You are the average of the five people closest to you.” There is another saying with a similar lesson: “Tell me who your friends are and I will tell you who you are.” If you wish to be a good Catholic, examine your companions and evaluate your five best friends… Are they the measure of what you wish to be as a good Catholic? If they are, congratulations! You will have great allies to reach your goal. If they are not, your journey on the path to sanctity may be much more difficult. 8. Have a designated confessor and spiritual director We should have a confessor and spiritual director, to whom we give an account of our conscience, our inclinations, our passions, our affections and bad habits, without hiding anything. Actually, a confessor and spiritual director are like gardeners. If we cut the roots of a bad plant or tear out a weed, they soon wither away. But, if we tear them out leaving the roots in the earth, the harmful plant soon starts growing again. So, we should have confidence in our confessor that he can help us definitively to weed out our vices and bad habits. Read more…

Read More