Guidance In Prayer

I have been wondering how to pray for guidance during this political campaign in order to discern more effectively the candidates, and the answer came during my prayers this morning the form of Psalm 12.  I invite everyone to pray it with me until Election Day, 2016/.

Psalm 12

Help, O Lord, for good men have vanished:

truth has gone from the sons of men.

Falsehood they speak one to another, 

with lying lips, with a false heart.

May the Lord destroy all lying lips,

the tongue that speaks high-sounding words,

those who say: "Our tongue is our strength:

our lips are our own, who is our master?"

"for the poor who are oppressed and the needy who groan

I myself will arise," says the Lord.

"I will grant them the salvation for which they thirst.

The words of the Lord are words without alloy,

silver from the furnace, seven times refined.

It is you, O Lord, who will take us in your care

and protect us for ever from this generation.

See how the wicked prowl on every side,

See how the wicked prowl on every side,

while the worthless are prized highly by the sons of men.

I believe this prayer holds the answer as to how we are to pray.

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!!

Cathy

Consolation Through Prayer

Photo by Fr. Lawrence Lew, OP

Sometimes when I find myself spiritually in dryness so great that I cannot produce a single good thought I recite very slowly an Our Father or a Hail Mary.  These alone console me.  They nourish my soul.

~~~Saint Therese of Lisieux

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!

Cathy

Courage

Pray for me occasionally that I may not lose courage;

nay, more, that I may be brave enough

to hold up others who falter sometimes.

Saint Mother Theodore Gueren

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!

Cathy

Contemplation

Saint Mary-of-the-Woods

Mother House of the Sisters of Providence

and Shrine to Saint Mother Theodore Gueren

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!

Cathy

Thank You!!

"Prayer is an uplifting of the heart, a cry of gratitude and love."~~Saint Therese of Lisieux





During this Advent Season I don't think I take enough time to to this.  But it's not too late!!!  Relax and say, "Thank you!"

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!

Cathy

St. Thomas More

 

St. Thomas More, a photo by Fr. Peter on Flickr.

A simple prayer offered today by St. Thomas More:

Give me, good Lord, such a love for you that I will love nothing in a way that displeases you, and I will love everything for your sake.

To that I say a sincere, "Amen."

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!

Cathy

Miracles

"ANY ONE who likes, therefore, may call my belief in God merely mystical; the phrase is not worth fighting about. But my belief that miracles have happened in human history is not a mystical belief at all; I believe in them upon human evidences as I do in the discovery of America. Upon this point there is a simple logical fact that only requires to be stated and cleared up. Somehow or other an extraordinary idea has arisen that the disbelievers in miracles consider them coldly and fairly, while believers in miracles accept them only in connection with some dogma. The fact is quite the other way. The believers in miracles accept them (rightly or wrongly) because they have evidence for them. The disbelievers in miracles deny them (rightly or wrongly) because they have a doctrine against them." ~GKC: 'Orthodoxy,' IX.

As I was considering this morning how I should proceed today I was guided to the words of G.K. Chesterton on Facebook.  It's marvelous how the hand of God inserts into our lives just what we need when we need it.  

For today I am praying for a miracle.  There are hundreds today who will be praying for a specific miracle. 

I believe in miracles!!!  They happen everyday to everyone.  Just a short 5 years ago Ron was to have surgery on his back for a herniated disc with nerve impingement.  He suffered severe pain for nearly 18 months and though not looking forward to the surgery he was anticipating it with hope.  The morning of the surgery, after Mass, Father anointed him while family and friends laid hands on him.  Surgery was to be at 9:00 a.m.  The Dr. came in to see Ron before surgery and do what Dr.s do.   He looked at Ron and said, "I can't do the surgery today."  

I said, "I that's not a funny joke."

He said, "It's not.  I can't do the surgery, because I cannot illicit pain.  If he no longer has the pain and I do the surgery I could cause even more injury and pain that he would have the rest of his life."

Yes, that's what he said.  He told Ron that if he found that the condition returned he should call and he would make arrangements for the surgery.  Since that day Ron has had no pain in his back.  Yes, it was a miracle.

 So now I'm hoping you will join us in the prayer.

H is a young man in our parish who will be going yet again to Memphis for treatment of brain cancer.  He and his family have made the trips before and will again as long as they can.    Chris has touched the lives of many.  He is the son, grandson, brother, nephew, cousin, friend, student, former student, athlete, artist.  He is "everyman."  

A Mass for healing will be said in his honor tonight at 6:30 p.m. CDT at Saint John the Baptist Church here in Newburgh.  If you cannot join us physically please stop and pray for the healing of this young man an all who suffer and need a miracle.  

May God bless you all today with a miracle.  Yes, a miracle!

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!!!

Cathy

Sir Thomas More

Sir Thomas More, a photo by XhowidisappearX on Flickr.

Whatever our bodies may be doing, we should a the same time continually life up our minds to God which is the most acceptable form of prayer.  For no matter which way we may turn our steps, as long as our minds are turned to God, we clearly are not turned away from him who is present everywhere.  ~~Saint Thomas More~~

I find these words comforting today.  I often find myself busy and don't have or take the time for quiet reflection.  But reading these words of Saint Thomas More bring me consolation.  If the purpose of my action is done in conjunction with the love of God it is a prayer.  If anxiety or worry cause me discomfort, I can find consolation in the action of offering it to God in prayer.  Oh my, what treasure this is!

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!

The Rosary

The rosary is my favorite prayer.  A marvelous prayer!  Marvelous in its simplicity and in its depth.  In the prayer we repeat many times the words that the Virgin Mary heard from the Archangel, and from her kinswoman Elizabeth.  (Address, Rome, 1978) ~~Pope John Paul II, His Essential Wisdom, Edited by Carol Kelly-Gangi

 ~~~^j^~~~

My favorite prayer too.  

Thanks be to God!

Healing...

When I hear the phrase, “Jesus saves,” I think of poorly lettered billboards on many a country road. I also remember an unpleasant incident when I was buttonholed by a street evangelist who asked: “Are you saved, brother?” But these unhappy experiences of insensitivity cannot change what is central for me, as for every Christian: Jesus does save. (Francis McNutt, The Word Among Us)

This article, Savior and Healer, is wonderful and I ask you all to visit The Word Among Us and read it.  I can personally attest the work of healing in my own family, spiritual and physical. 

The most dramatic case of physical healing came after Ron suffered from severe back pain for 18 months.  During that time he also underwent two upper endoscopy procedures, one to diagnose an ulcer and to rule out pancreatic cancer, the other to check the healing process of the ulcer.  It was finally determined that he should undergo a discectomy to remove the cause of the nerve impingement caused by the bulging disc.  For months friends and family had prayed for Ron.  After Mass the morning of the surgery,  Fr. Joe administered the Anointing of the Sick to Ron, while friends, Margaret and Bill, and I  laid hand on him.  That in itself is a moving and spiritual experience.

 While preparations were being made to begin the surgery, the surgeon came in to do the obligatory history and physical.  During the physical the Dr. tried to elicit pain from Ron.  He did all the neurological testing.  When all was done he said. "I can't do the surgery."  (I thought that was a poor joke to say to someone about to have major surgery!)  He indeed was serious!  He told us that since he couldn't cause Ron to have pain he couldn't in good conscience do the surgery because he could do more harm that good, should he have the surgery anyway.  He told Ron to call again when he was having the pain and he would reschedule the surgery.

To date, 3 years later, Ron as had no more pain or even slight discomfort.  Needless to say there was jubilation and exultation among family and friends as well as Ron himself.  There is healing!!!  It is here everyday and everywhere!!!

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!

Kinship

Kinship

Family ties
Common ground for living
Compassion, sharing, nurturing love
Family

Today is my scheduled day for Spiritual Direction with Sister Dorothy. As part of my Reflections for the Journey, I have been asked to reflect on kinship and those who nurture that kinship.

Family can comes in many forms. There is my biological family. I have a work family. There is my cherished church family. And then there is my dedicated and diligent prayer family. And now as an Associate of the Sisters of Providence, I find I have another family in which I can rely for support and to which I can offer support. In other words, I see kinship as an extension of who I am. I am part of the whole that has many parts.

Along the way there are those who have guided, formed and gently "tweaked" me into being, a progress that continues until I am called home to the Father. I have had loving and assertive mentors who sometimes found my laziness and diligence lacking in zeal and have nudged me firmly along the way. There are those at times who had to temper the zeal because it was out of control. I am a person of two extremes with the middle road sometimes less worn than the gullies on both sides of the road.

To those who have tried to keep me from the ditches I am eternally grateful for without you I would have long ago failed to get up and try again.

Saint Mother Theodore Guerin said:

To write requires time; but to love, to cherish, to pray for, through that desire we have for the happiness of our friends, time is not needed.

~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God!!

Blessed New Year

This is a lovely and loving way to bring in the New Year. Yes, understanding and knowing we are in the care of our loving God. Wishing you all the very best!

In The Cradle Of His Knowing

I am a child of God
Placed in the
cradle of his knowing

No matter what stage I am at
In life

There is a part of me
That has not yet reached its prime

Like the bed of a river
That is composed of histories
Laid down
by flowing water

Impressed upon my soul is
A story all its own
A tale of dying to the old world
Of not yet being born into the new

Riddling and sifting
His journeying through.

Poem by
Ann Murry at Poetry,
Prayer, and Praise.

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!!!

God Calling

I have been reintroduced to God Calling edited by A. J. Russell. I used this book some thirty years ago when we lived in Oklahoma. A friend offered it to me then and now Norma has offered it to me again. I think God did hear my plea. This book as again offered me solace and encouragement in prayer. For several months it seems I have only been treading water. Today with both feet wet I have begun to wade with the Lord in comfortable waters, with less fear of drowning.

Today's reflection:

Learn of no one but Me. Teachers are to point the way to Me. After that you must accept Me, the Great Teacher.

The words of Eternal Life are all the words controlling your being, even controlling your temporal life. Take these too from Me. Have no fear. Abide in Me and accept My ruling.

Be full of gratitude. Wing up your prayers on Praise to Heaven. Take all that happens as My planning. all is well. I have all prepared in My love. Let your heart sing.

~~~^j^~~~
And so I say,
Thanks be to God!!!

Empty Space for God

What do you do when someone comes right out and says to you, "You're selfish." That's just what this reflection said to me.

Empty Space for God
Sister Genevieve Glen, O.S.B.

"For in [Christ] dwells the whole fullness of the deity bodily,
and you share in this fullness in him, who is the head of every
principality and power." (Col 2:9-10)

To be filled, something must first be empty, as anyone knows who has started to fill a water glass at table, gotten distracted by conversation, and gone on "filling" the glass when there was no empty space left for the water. Saint Paul writes elsewhere about Christ's self-emptying. What he calls to our attention here is the need for our own. We cannot share in the fullness of the deity that fills us as Christ's Body unless we make room by emptying ourselves of anything that offers no space for God. Saint Paul's words call to mind the holy of holies, the room at the heart of the Jerusalem temple kept all but empty to receive God. We sometimes build other rooms in our inmost self and furnish them for other gods. The prophet Ezekiel described an "idol room" in the much desecrated Jerusalem of his day. Do we have an idol room, where we keep all the false gods whom we honor with our obedience and our sacrifices? Their name is legion: public opinion, unnecessary financial gain, self-satisfaction, pleasure, comforts of all sorts. They are all demanding of our time, our attention, our energy. We recognize them best when they decree that we have no time to pray, no time for Mass, no time to do the kindness, no time because we must be at the beck and call of a TV program, an exercise class, a golf game, overtime work to pay for things we don't need...you know then. There is room for only one God in the inner temple of the Christian self - the one "who is the head of every principality and power. " With his help, let us drive out that other crowd, with all its demands, so that our inner emptiness may be filled not with their clutter but with the fullness of God in which we share through Christ.

O God, empty my heart of everything that crowds you out of my awareness and out of my desires. fill my emptiness with the fullness or your presence in and through Jesus Christ, so that he may rule my mind and heart with your love.

from Praying With Saint Paul
Edited by Father Peter John Cameron, O.P.

*****

This is where I am right now. I have too much outside distraction. There has been too much FUN. I know that God does not begrudge me the wonderful things that I have been able to see and do this summer. It has been grand and I have thanked him for this in all sincerity. But right now I need to be grounded in him! Because of our weekly travels myI have neglected the time set aside for prayer and thanksgiving for laundry, cleaning, and shopping for the next adventure. I should have spent more time in prayer. 'Tis nearly the beginning of a new season. Before that season arrives I hope to be back in the "room" where my Lord and I visit. The "room" where we pray. And to do that I need to rid the "room" of clutter that has filled it these last few months. I must invite the Lord to his proper home again and remember to give more than I take! I need to put away selfish and bring out selfless again. And it can be done!!!

~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God!

Prayer

We believe that God is present everywhere and that
the eyes of the Lord gaze everywhere on the good and bad.
We should, though, be totally convinced that this is so
when we are present at the Divine Office.

Saint Benedict

The Gift of Saint Benedict
by
Verna A. Holyhead, SGS
Lynne Muir

And so if gazing on the good and the bad the eyes of the Lord are gazing, they must ALWAYS be on me. This requires conviction on my part. And the question for me is, "Am I present to Him?"

Yesterday, was a taxing day at work. We were really short handed as we have never been before. There was only the two of us to take care of the patients, take phone calls and make referrals for two doctors and the nurse practitioner.

Calling on the presence of God was a constant prayer it seemed yesterday. I prayed to the Holy Spirit for guidance and courage. I invoked the name of the Lord to help me with the most difficult patients. And on a number of instances I truly did invoke, "Glory be to God!" in sincere thanksgiving.

Yes, indeed yesterday was a day FULL of prayer! I believe that I can say with all sincerity that yesterday was one of those days when we were in real communion, God and me.

~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God!!!

Awareness of Prayer

Picture by Marie Rose Ferron

I awoke this morning saying the Hail Mary, even before I got out of bed and the Our Father soon after. I closed the dishwasher this morning and thought, "Thanks be to God." I find that wherever I turn I am often "turning" in prayer. I think of my children and offer a prayer. I think of my mother and offer a prayer. When I spoke to Rita last night, for the first time in a long time, I was joy-filled and thanked God again.

I realize that my life is a prayer. Sometimes I am aware of it more than I am at other times, but a prayer none-the-less. If only I could avoid those times when my life is void of prayer for that is the time when temptation and sin intrude. Oh, that they might go away!!!!!

I am encouraged by the words of Saint Faustina.

...Today, I was undergoing the Passion of Jesus for a longer time, and thus I saw that many souls were in need of prayer. I feel that I am being completely transformed into prayer in order to beg God's mercy for every soul. O my Jesus, I am receiving You into my heart as a pledge of mercy for souls. [996]

I can only pray that my humble prayers will be of value to those who receive them whether they know it or not. I can only show my sincere gratitude to my Savior in prayer and deed, and when the deeds fail then only in prayer!

~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God!

Strength In Numbers

There is an old saying that there is strength in numbers. To stand alone for a cause is hard, but to stand with a group gives us bravado, purpose and identity. Jesus knew that. He knew that his mission would be accomplished more easily if many individuals banded together as one body to give strength and support to one another.

3-Minute Retreat
Loyola Press

As I listened to the web cast last night on Stop the Abortion Mandate, I became very aware that I was part of a larger group of people whose voice is being heard by those who will formulate a health care plan that will serve all people of this nation. While I was listening to the speakers it became clear that if 36,000 people can gather in prayer in their homes to promote LIFE then we can touch others in the same manner by gathering together in the name of God to prevent any further causes that would diminish the value of human life.

It was clear in what was said that if the health care plan succeeds, not only will the unborn be allowed to die through INCREASED funding, the elderly will be allowed to die due to LACK of funding. And all because there is no statement in the health care law that will make it understood that abortion will not be funded through the plan. Omission of these words, in the law, by not specifically saying "No abortion funding" will make it so.

Certainly, in many aspects life is not fair as some claim. But we are those with a voice who can speak out. Maybe because we care for others we can make life more fair for those in need. If, through the voice of many, we can stop the funding of abortion then we will also be able to promote a better quality of life for the aging.

It seems that the health care plan is not focused on improving the quality of life. It appears to be more intent and funding death. The focus is on terminating the life of an innocent before it is born and extinguishing the light of those who are still able to contribute but are older. If you allow enough people to die, unborn and born, there will be no one left to support and pay for the health care of the rest.

If we do not stand up for those who need us to defend them because they have no voice then we have failed as believers in Christ. God creates us, and in his time, not ours, he will bring us home. We have no right to end lives before they are destined for God.

The voices of many can make a difference. I truly believe this. Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God we will prevail. I really have hope that diligence will win out. For 30+ years the road has been long but perhaps this peaceful uprising will bring the importance of life for EVERYONE to bear and LIFE will WIN!!!

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~~+++~~
+
+
Thanks be to God,
Through the power of the Holy Spirit
In Christ Jesus!

Rainy Days and Mondays

Today is gloomy, gray and rainy. Sadly, that is how I felt when I got up, gloomy and gray. It seems the environment had encouraged these feelings. You know, I have no reason to feel this way. I have no feelings of anxiety, tension, or sadness. In fact, the opposite is true. Life is good! The grass is green and the roses are blooming. Duchess is napping at my feet and Sam is asleep in his favorite chair. It's quiet and peaceful in this rain, yet I feel "gloomy."

And so in seeking consolation in this "rainy world" I'm in, I picked up Pope John Paul II: His Essential Wisdom, edited by Carol Kelly-Gangi.

And he said to me,

In prayer we express to God our feelings, our thought, our sentiments. We wish to love and to be loved, to be understood and to understand. Only God loves us perfectly, with an everlasting love. In prayers, we open our hearts and our minds to this God of love. And it is prayer that makes us one with the Lord. Through prayer we come to share more deeply in God's life and in his love.

Speech to Youth
New Orleans, 1987

And so with this encouragement and incentive I will attend to the projects of this seemingly gloomy day with prayer and thanksgiving. It is certain to brighten my corner of the world. I prayer your corner of the world is brightened by the love of God!

~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God!

Cherish Memories

Spring, 2009
Newburgh, IN

Rosary

How sweet it is, out in the field, at the end of the long summer afternoons! The sun is no longer raging at you; and the woods are beginning to throw long blue shadows over the stubble fields where the olden shocks are standing. The sky is cool, and you can see the pale half-moon smiling over the monastery in the distance.

And you take your rosary out of your pocket, and get in your place in the long file, and start swinging homeward along the road with your boots ringing on the asphalt and deep, deep peace in your heart! And on your lips, silently, over and over again, the name of the Queen of Heaven, the Queen also of this valley: "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with Thee..." And the Name of her Son for Whom all this was made in the first place, for Whom all this was planned and intended, for Whom the whole of creation was framed, to be His Kingdom. "Blessed it the fruit of Thy womb, Jesus!"

"Full of grace!" The very thought, over and over, fills our own hearts with more grace: and who know what grace overflows into the world from that valley, from those rosaries, in the evenings when the monks are swinging home from work!

Mornings with Thomas Merton
Readings and Reflections
Selected by John C. Blattner

~*~~*~~*~

Often when I am saying my rosary I call to mind the times, as a family, we would say the Rosary while traveling. There was music and rhythm in the words. Each of us in our own voice in harmony with the other. It truly was the music of heaven. From the smallest child to the baritone of Dad, our voices were singing the praises of God, with His and our Holy Mother.

~~~^j^~~~

Cherished Memories!
Thanks be to God!!

Been There Done That...

[David ordered a census of Israel.]
But after David had taken the census,
his conscience began to hurt, and he said
to the Lord,"I have committed a terrible sin
in doing this! Please forgive me."
1Samuel 24:10

~~~~~~~

A favorite saying of Carlos Romulo, the great Philippine leader, was Bahala na ("Put your trust in God'). In today's Bible reading, David shows a lack of "Bahala na." The reason he took the census was to see how many men were available for military service. In the religious Hebrew, such a census reflected an insufficient trust in God. It showed a reliance on human resources for protection, rather than on God.

Mission 2000
Cycle B

***

I learned a long time ago that not trusting in God is far more painful than placing my trust in Him. Impatience is one of my flaws. When I want something I want it yesterday, especially if it's something important. You know like, money to cover a bill that was acquired when I GREEDILY wanted (not needed) something. Then when the time comes to pay up it REALLY HURTS.

"Please, God, help me NOW!"

And as any good parent would do, teaches the lesson by waiting.

On the other hand I can pray diligently for an answer to a prayer for years if need be or if I think it will take that long.

Example:

Wes, was diagnosed with Type I diabetes mellitis when he was 9 years old. I began praying for healing...Yes, healing. For YEARS I prayed for this!!!! I kept praying and TALKING about this to God day in and day our for years! Not listening, just talking. Finally, in a dream, I had a visitor with a voice so tender and soft, I had to listen.

"If I heal him, he will die"

It was as simple as that. Indeed Wes would die. No one would know he'd been healed. He'd still take his insulin and then with an overdose, he would die.

"Oh, ye of little faith!"

An so every time I get impatient (and I still do) or want an answer RIGHT NOW to those URGENT prayers, I stop and try to listen. He will tell me. And though I still am impatient in prayer at times, (Okay, A LOT of the time.) I am reminded that perseverance and listening is still the BEST way to pray!

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!