WHAT IT MEANS TO PRAY 'OUR FATHER' by St. Catherine of Siena

I want your security to be in Christ gentle Jesus. He has clothed us in the sturdiest garment there is, a garment of love, fastened with the clasp of free choice, so we can take it off or put it on as we wish. If we want to throw away this garment of charity we can, and if we want to keep it we can do that too. Just think! The very first garment we ever had was love, for it was only by love that we were created in God's image and likeness. So we cannot exist without love since we are made of nothing less than love. Whatever we have, physically or spiritually, we have because of love — for it is by love alone, with the help of God's grace, that a mother and father give their child existence (I mean bodily existence). This is why a son is so obligated to his father. Even more: because he loves him (by natural inclination), he cannot, if he is a true son, bear to see his father offended in any way. But look out when a son because of his selfishness comes to hate his father — such a son is not acting naturally; in his blindness he has gone against his own nature. . . 

WHAT IT MEANS TO PRAY 'OUR FATHER' by St. Catherine of Siena

PRAYER TO JESUS AND MARY FOR THE POOR SOULS IN PURGATORY

O most loving Jesus, I humbly beseech Thee that Thou wouldst Thyself offer to Thine eternal Father, on behalf of the Holy Souls in Purgatory, Thy Most Precious Blood, which poured forth from the Sacred Wounds of Thine adorable Body, together with Thine agony and death. And do thou likewise, O sorrowful Virgin Mary, present unto the Heavenly Father, together with the dolorous passion of thy dear Son, Thine own sighs and tears, and all the sorrows thou didst suffer in His suffering, in order that, through the merits of the same, refreshment may be granted to the souls now suffering in the fiery torments of Purgatory, so that, being delivered from that painful prison, they may be clothed with glory in Heaven, there to sing the mercies of God for ever and ever. Amen.

PRAYER TO JESUS AND MARY FOR THE POOR SOULS IN PURGATORY

APOSTOLIC LETTER SALVIFICI DOLORIS OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF JOHN PAUL II ON THE CHRISTIAN MEANING OF HUMAN SUFFERING

TO THE BISHOPS, TO THE PRIESTS, TO THE RELIGIOUS FAMILIES AND TO THE FAITHFUL OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH


Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate and dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

I
INTRODUCTION
1. Declaring the power of salvific suffering, the Apostle Paul says: "In my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church"(1).
These words seem to be found at the end of the long road that winds through the suffering which forms part of the history of man and which is illuminated by the Word of God. These words have as it were the value of a final discovery, which is accompanied by joy. For this reason Saint Paul writes: "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake"(2). The joy comes from the discovery of the meaning of suffering, and this discovery, even if it is most personally shared in by Paul of Tarsus who wrote these words, is at the same time valid for others. The Apostle shares his own discovery and rejoices in it because of all those whom it can help—just as it helped him—to understand the salvific meaning of suffering.

APOSTOLIC LETTER SALVIFICI DOLORIS OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF JOHN PAUL II ON THE CHRISTIAN MEANING OF HUMAN SUFFERING

PRAYER FOR PEACE

Lord Jesus, we come to You in our need.
Create in us an awareness of the massive forces
that threaten our world today.
And grant us a sense of urgency to activate the forces
of goodness, of justice and of peace.
Where there is armed conflict,
let us stretch our arms to our brother and sisters.
Where there is abundance,
let there be simple lifestyle and sharing.
Where there is poverty, let there be dignified living
and constant striving for just structures.
Where there is selfish ambition, let there be humble service.
Where there is injustice, let there be atonement.
Where there is despair, let there be hope in the good news.
Where there are wounds of division,
let there be unity and wholeness.

PRAYER FOR PEACE

FEAST DAY OF OUR LADY OF LOURDES - February 11

One of the most renowned apparitions of Mary began on February 11, 1858. The Blessed Mother appeared to a girl named Bernadette Soubrious.

Bernadette, a 14 year-old peasant girl and was the oldest daughter among the six children of Francois Soubrious and Louise Casterot. Her family was one of the poorest in town. Her father had no work so she had to exert extra effort for her family even though she was sickly.

FEAST DAY OF OUR LADY OF LOURDES - February 11

HOME REMEDIES

For natural home remedies, the kitchen is a great place to start. It has almost all the medicine you would need to deal with common ailments and to serve as first aid relief. All this at no negligible cost and without the side effects of conventional medicine. 


Download my version of HOME REMEDIES now.

HOME REMEDIES

OUR LADY OF GOOD SUCCESS

One day in the year 1582, a young nun prayed before the Blessed Sacrament in the choir of her convent in Quito. Suddenly, she heard a terrifying rumble and saw the church enveloped in a thick, smoke-filled darkness. The main altar alone remain illuminated, as if in broad daylight. There, the tabernacle door swung open and our crucified Lord came forth, nailed to a life-size cross. The Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist, and Saint Mary Magdalen stood by, as on Calvary. Our Lord was agonizing.


The young nun heard a voice: “This punishment is for the twentieth century.” Then she saw three swords hanging over Our Lord’s head, each with an inscription. On the first was written, “I shall punish heresy”; on the second, “I shall punish blasphemy”; and on the third, “I shall punish impurity.”

OUR LADY OF GOOD SUCCESS

ALONE WITH GOD...Prayer for a Visit to the Blessed Sacrament

I humbly kneel in silence before You, O my God, present on this altar. I thank You for inviting me into Your house. Lord, it is good to be here.

  
During this visit, O my Saviour, I want to isolate myself with You,  think of no one but You, love no one but You, with my mind and senses silent, contact with the world of business and war and community troubles severed - not solicitous for anything, high or low, near or far.

Alone with You, O my God, let me honor You with all my heart and mind, and with my body too.

ALONE WITH GOD...Prayer for a Visit to the Blessed Sacrament