Come with us and put God’s light and grace into our darkened world tonight.

Colettine Night Litany

Lord Jesus, we hold before you all those who are in special need of your
mercy and our prayers.

On those who cannot sleep tonight.
R/ Lord have mercy.
On the sick and those terminally ill.
On those tempted to suicide.
On the homeless with nowhere to go.
On the mentally sick.
On those who live in fear and anxiety.
On victims of addiction of any kind.
On those who sell themselves.
On women seeking an abortion.
On those who suffer domestic violence of mind or body.
On those tempted to do evil.
On those imprisoned in lies and wrong choices.
On those who cannot forgive and carry the burden of
resentment towards others.
On those who are dying tonight.

For those who have accepted terrorism as their creed.
R/ Lord, enlighten and change their hearts.
For those who promote war.
For those who profit by war.
For those who commit acts of violence in God's name.
For those in the grip of hatred.
For those who commit acts of violent abuse against children.

For those in situations of violence and war.
R/Lord, be their strength and protection.
For refugees driven from their homelands.
For children separated from their parents by war.
For child soldiers.
For vulnerable children.
For the victims of abuse or trafficking.
For hostages who wait in fear.
For illegal immigrants.
For those suffering from epidemic diseases.
For those without recourse to adequate medical help.
For doctors and nurses on duty.
For all who will give birth tonight.
For all those who will go to the help of others tonight.
For all who witness to the Gospel in alien or hostile
surroundings.

For all the children of God.
R/Lord, we give you thanks and praise.
For all who live the covenant of marriage in joy.
For all new life conceived tonight.
For all who keep vigil in your presence this night.
For those who support us [Poor Clare Colettines] in our [their] life of prayer.
For all those who have responded to the call of your love.
For your Holy Church spread throughout the world.
For your holy angels whom you send to protect us.
For the prayers of your saints in heaven.
For Mary our Mother.
For those who this night will come before your throne.
For those waking to a new day on other shores.
For the gift of your love which can never be defeated.

Let us pray.
Heavenly Father,
we hold before you those for whom we have prayed,
have mercy on those who suffer,
protect the helpless,
convert to your love all who do evil.
and may your sun rise on a new world.
Through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

* * * * * *  

Source:  Ty Mam Duw [House of the Mother of God] Poor Clare Colettine Community, Wales, UK.  http://www.poorclarestmd.org/

The Little Sisters of Ty Mam Duw use the following format for their night prayer:  (1) Chaplet of Divine Mercy (2) Matins of the Divine Office (Office of the Readings) and (3) The Poor Clare Colettine Night Litany.

St. Colette is the patron saint of expectant mothers,
of those who long to conceive a child and of sick children.
 She is a healer of the sick.

St. Teresa of Avila - The Prayer of Recollection

Much to Mourn For

Although my heart goes out to all involved, the tragedy of Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman dwarfs alongside the deaths in bigger and more heartbreaking tragedies present in Black America.  There is a very high death rate among the Black population, especially the young, because of abortion, drugs, aids, and Black on Black murders.  Search pbs.org for aids in Black America and watch online "The House I Live In," for a start.  Please pray – there is much to mourn for. 

A Christmas Prayer

A Christmas Prayer

from Max Lucado

Dear Jesus,

It’s a good thing you were born at night. This world sure seems dark. I have a good eye for silver linings. But they seem dimmer lately.

These killings, Lord. These children, Lord. Innocence violated. Raw evil demonstrated.

The whole world seems on edge. Trigger-happy. Ticked off. We hear threats of chemical weapons and nuclear bombs. Are we one button-push away from annihilation?

Your world seems a bit darker this Christmas. But you were born in the dark, right? You came at night. The shepherds were nightshift workers. The Wise Men followed a star. Your first cries were heard in the shadows. To see your face, Mary and Joseph needed a candle flame. It was dark. Dark with Herod’s jealousy. Dark with Roman oppression. Dark with poverty. Dark with violence.

Herod went on a rampage, killing babies. Joseph took you and your mom into Egypt. You were an immigrant before you were a Nazarene.

Oh, Lord Jesus, you entered the dark world of your day. Won’t you enter ours? We are weary of bloodshed. We, like the wise men, are looking for a star. We, like the shepherds, are kneeling at a manger.

This Christmas, we ask you, heal us, help us, be born anew in us.

Hopefully,

Your Children

HHS Mandate: The strongest weapon we have is prayer.

HHS Mandate is a violation to the Constitution of the U.S., Bill of Rights, Article 1. DO NOT BE FOOLED BY THE PRESS AND THOSE WITH OTHER AGENDAS. Keep your eye on the ball, folks. The issue for all citizens of the United States concerning HHS is NOT contraception. The issue is NOT women’s health. The issue is Constitutional rights – specifically Article 1 of the Bill of Rights to the Constitution. Anything that you hear or read (particularly from the Obama administration or the liberal press) trying to make this other than a Constitutional issue is a lie. Article 1 of the Bill of Rights states:

Article [I]

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The strongest weapon we have is prayer.

Fr. Frank Pavone of Priests for Life has composed an ecumenical Novena for the defeat of the HHS Mandate, which began on Wednesday, March 14th. (Begin your novena when received, even though beginning late.) You may find the novena online. It is also pasted below.

NOVENA - http://standupforreligiousfreedom.com/2012/novena/#more-737

LOCATIONS FOR NATIONAL RALLY - http://standupforreligiousfreedom.com/locations/

WEBSITE FOR NATIONAL RALLY - http://standupforreligiousfreedom.com/

MORE INFORMATION

1. March 14 Statement on Religious Freedom and HHS Mandate.  Link to statement from United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, March 14, 2012 

2. On February 5, 2012 Father Sammie Maletta delivered a Homily at St. John the Evangelist Parish in St. John, Indiana. This Homily addressed how President Obama is threatening our Religious Freedom and declaring war with the Catholic Church. Please take a few moments to listen. No one sums it up quite like Father Maletta. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ltTd81XpDnc
3. But this is not just a Catholic issue. The issue is for all faiths, including Jews, Muslims. The issue is for all citizens of our country. The greater good of this suffering and evil is that it has brought about unity in Christian faiths and unity of God’s people in this country. I’ve read articles and listened to videos from leaders of all faiths - from Baptists, Lutherans, Jews and others – in opposition to the HHS Mandate and support of the Catholic Church’s stand. For example, this weekend, Anglican pastor Fr. Kevin Miller preached a home run of a homily, lighting a fire under his congregation at Church of the Resurrection in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. Listen here: http://www.churchrez.org/sermon/the-wrecking-ball/

4. The eroding of our Constitutional rights goes beyond this country. The eyes of the world are upon us. I truly believe our country was called by God to greatness and to live more perfectly, as a nation, his plan for all peoples. We are another Promised Land. President Regan said that we are the last best hope of mankind on earth. In the same speech, President Regan quoted John Winthrop (1630), saying “We will be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us, so that if we deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a byword throughout the world.”

5. Regan also said: We cannot escape our destiny, nor should we try to do so. The leadership of the free world was thrust upon us two centuries ago in that little hall of Philadelphia. In the days following World War II, when the economic strength and power of America was all that stood between the world and the return to the dark ages, Pope Pius XII said, “The American people have a great genius for splendid and unselfish actions. Into the hands of America God has placed the destinies of an afflicted mankind.” http://www.originofnations.org/books,%20papers/quotes%20etc/Reagan_The%20Shining%20City%20Upon%20A%20Hill%20speech.htm

The strongest weapon we have is prayer.

Morning Offering

It Is Love That Makes A Prayer Well Done

"Prayer is the effusion of our heart into God's. . . . When it is well done, it moves the Divine Heart and makes Him always more inclined to grant our requests.  Let us pour out our whole soul to God in prayers.  He is captivated by our prayers and comes to our aid."  - Padre Pio

I Place My Trust In You

Oh Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you, knowing that you love me, care for me and will never abandon me.  Help me to know that my suffering and pain too will pass, as you guide me along the right path and that only goodness and kindness will follow me all the days of my life.

Mother of Millions

Mother of Millions

This song is dedicated to the Catholic Bishop of Zhengding, China, Julius Jia Zhiguo, who, twenty years ago found an abandoned handicapped baby on his door step. In between prison and re-education camp, and usually under house arrest with 24 hour surveillance, he has cared for the hundred or so handicapped orphans that followed the first with the aid of a community of religious sisters. The Chinese authorities now demand that the Bishop should sign over the children or spend the rest of his life - he is 75 - in re-education camp.

The Mother of Millions of the refrain is St Colette, the Poor Clare patron saint of children. Haizi is mandarin for child. The words and music were created by the little sisters of the Poor Clare Colettine Community of Ty Mam Duw Wales, who also sing it on this track.

If you want to know more about Bishop Jia and his children please visit
http://www.cardinalkungfoundation.org/

Haizi, Haizi
In the dawn, upon the doorstep,
lies a naked new born child
with a torn and twisted shoulder
and an unsuspecting smile.

Haizi, Haizi
Child conceived without permission,
with no license to arrive,
with no Yuan to buy exemption,
with no leave to be alive.

Haizi, Haizi
You tell no one where you came from,
laid before the Bishop’s door
in your silent pain you whimper
like the hundred other more.

Mother of millions,
who carried no child of her own,
pray for the orphan, the wounded, the unborn;
take the child rejected
neglected and alone.

Haizi, Haizi
From the poor and humble Bishop
who spent twenty years in jail,
from the thirty little sisters.
from the shelter of the veil -

Haizi, Haizi
- they will take you. And your Bishop,
‘neath interrogation lamps,
still cant read the lies writ backwards
in Re-education Camps.

Mother of millions,
who carried no child of her own,
pray for the orphan, the wounded, the unborn;
take the child rejected
neglected and alone.

Ty Mam Duw Poor Clare Colettine Community
Upper Aston Hall Lane
Hawarden
North Wales
CH5 3EN
GB

You Raise Me Up

When I am down, and oh my soul, so weary.
When troubles come, and my heart burdened be.
Then I am still and wait here in the silence.
Until You come and sit awhile with me.

You raise me up so I can stand on mountains.
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas.
I am strong when I am on your shoulders.
You raise me up to more than I can be.

There is no life no life without its hunger.
Each restless heart beats so imperfectly.
But when you come and I am filled with wonder.
Sometimes I think I glimpse eternity.

You raise me up so I can stand on mountains.
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas.
I am strong when I am on your shoulders.
You raise me up to more than I can be.

Source

You Raise Me Up

Source: Rob 'n Nancy Pollett

This Blessing Is For You

This blessing is for you. (click)

Oil Spill Petitions

(Click for more pictures.)

Nature reveals God’s power, and history reveals God’s providence; in this historical crisis of the Gulf oil spill may God provide us the power to halt destruction and reform the way we live.

May those whose livelihoods have been destroyed by the oil spill find dignified ways to provide for their families.

For those with power in business and government: may they humbly place their power at the service of the common good.

That all who feel powerless may experience through the compassion of others that the Lord hears the cry of the poor and is close to the broken-hearted.

For the health and safety of those directly involved in oil spill recovery efforts: may God grant them success.

May those aware of negligence or injustice in the management of natural resources have the courage to proclaim the truth, and may we all accept responsible for our use of petroleum.

For those who struggle with addiction, including our nation’s addiction to lifestyles dependent on oil; in discovering new ways of living that care for creation, may we know the freedom of the children of God.

Source: Franciscan Action Network

Send Forth Your Spirit to Renew the Face of the Earth

Father of light, from whom every gift comes,
send your Spirit into our lives
with the power of a mighty wind,
and by the flame of your wisdom
open the horizons of our minds.
Loosen our tongues to sing your praise
in words beyond the power of speech,
for without your Spirit
we could never raise our voices
in words of peace
or announce the truth that Jesus is Lord,
who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.


Alternative option for closing prayer of Pentecost Morning Prayer

The Lord's Prayer

A Prayer by Saint Pio of Pietrelcina

May Jesus comfort you
in all your afflictions.
May He sustain you in dangers,
watch over you always with His grace,
and indicate the safe path
that leads to eternal salvation.
And may He render you always
dearer to His Divine Heart
and always more worthy of Paradise.
Amen

The Work of God Precedes and Exceeds Us

"Instead, action that stems from charity
introduces us in the work of God,
who precedes and exceeds us."
Father Massimo Camisasca

In these times, too many of us are too busy doing what WE PERCEIVE as God's work. We are too busy doing to sit and spend time with Him, to pray and to listen. The active life must be balanced with the contemplative life or else we burn out and fail to follow the desires of our Lord because we have not taken the time to hear him speaking to our hearts. It is in the silence that Elijah heard the still small voice of the Lord, not in the wind, the earthquake or the fire.

As Secular Franciscans, we also remember that we go from gospel to life and life to the gospel, embracing both the active and contemplative life and following the example of Saint Francis, who followed the footsteps of Jesus. From the gospel writings, we know that Jesus often withdrew to spend time alone, in silence and in prayer.

Below is a quote from a writing by Father Massimo Camisasca. These are words that all of us, not just priests, should consider. Father Camisasca writes:

"Today many priests lose themselves in action, in the infinite number of activities and preoccupations that entrap them. For the action of each one of us to always be a source of nourishment, it must be constantly redirected to our relationship with Christ. And the place of our relationship with Christ is prayer, inseparable from silence.

"Silence, prayer, reflection and study are the answer to one of the evils that afflict the figure of the priest: activism, which remains on the surface of things and absorbs the time of our energies and our feelings.

"Instead, action that stems from charity introduces us in the work of God, who precedes and exceeds us."


The Value of Silence.

Give Silence a Chance

Prayer of Pope Benedict XVI for Haiti

Prayer

God of all creation, as we weep with our family in Haiti, console us. In this time of crisis, open our eyes to look beyond the disaster to see Christ in our brothers and sisters in Haiti, as Christ sees us. Be with us as we stand in solidarity with those living and working in Haiti. Be with us in our mourning and guide our efforts to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, comfort the grieving and stand for justice. With your mercy, sustain us at this time as we continue to work for peace and justice. Amen.

For the Haitian people, that help comes to them quickly and comfort comes to those who hurt. Lord, hear our prayer.

For the lost or buried, that they are found and reunited with their loved ones. Lord, hear our prayer.

For the relief workers, that they have the tools they need, the courage and the strength to respond fully. Lord, hear our prayer.

For the families in Haiti and in the United States who are waiting to hear from loved one, that good news comes to them. Lord, hear our prayer.

For those who have perished, may their souls rest with you, oh Lord, where they will find eternal love. Amen.

Source

We Adore You O Christ

“The moment when the Lord comes down and transforms bread and wine to become his Body and Blood cannot fail to stun, to the very core of their being, those who participate in the Eucharist by faith and prayer. When this happens, we cannot do other than fall to our knees and greet him. The Consecration is the moment of God’s great action in the world for us. It draws our eyes and hearts on high. For a moment the world is silent, everything is silent, and in that silence we touch the eternal – for one beat of the heart we step out of time into God’s being-with-us.” (Source: Ratzinger, The Spirit of the Liturgy)

“Do I realize that by the power of the Holy Spirit, in the reiteration of Christ’s words, the greatest miracle in the world is taking place? I may not realize that at this moment the very posture of bending the knee is a special prayer of adoration. Yet this gesture helps make me small not just in the gesture but within. The liturgical sign of kneeling can prompt my consciousness, inspiring ever deepening Faith.” (Source: The Mystery of Faith by Father Tadeusz Dajczer)

“Fatima means much more than Marian apparitions. The extraordinary message included in Eucharistic visions is paramount, namely the big Host from which drops of blood are flowing down into the cup. The mighty Angel bows deeply before the Host, touches the ground with his forehead in deepest worship. His whole attitude expresses the most profound adoration. The children of Fatima, shaken by the force of God’s presence, so intense that it almost consumes and annihilates them, receive God – the Body of Christ. The majestic might of God present in the Eucharist lasts for so long that their senses become as if suspended.” (Source: Fatima in Lucia’s Own Words – Sister Lucia’s Memoirs, Vol. 1, Fatima 2002, 4th Memoir.)

“As I realise all this, I’m speechless seeing the inadequacy of my adoration before God’s grandeur coming down onto the altar. He who governs this world is actually present. He who is Alpha and Omega of human history wants to unite Himself with me in a measure that’s beyond my normal capacity. This God adored by multitudes of angels comes to me as Love, the Redeeming One, the Eucharistic One to give me everything, to fulfill me abundantly. Infinity embracing finitude so that I, the very worldly I, become utterly fulfilled in and through this Eucharistic Love.” (Source: The Mystery of Faith by Father Tadeusz Dajczer)

The Door of Humility

To enter the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, you have to stoop. The door is too low to enter without bending over. It is called the Door of Humility. Likewise, to see the Savior with your heart, you have to get on your knees. It is a humbling experience, while in prayer, to kiss the feet of the baby in Bethlehem, to kiss the feet of Jesus dying on the cross and then to remember that he was God and did this all for us because God is love.