The Three Theological Virtues: Faith, Hope, & Love

CHRIST BEFORE ME  CHRIST RENEW ME

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The Three Theological Virtues:

Before any renewal can take place, there are these three theological virtues which we must begin with.  Before any renewal can take place in our souls, we must have faith in our triune God, we must have the hope of eternal salvation, hope of eternal union with God, and that faith with hope lead us to love of God.  Any renewal must begin with the three theological virtues.  Let us pray that they grow and deepen within us.

“The just live by faith.  You are the living temple of 

The three steps supporting this cross represent the three theological virtues.God.  Visit this interior sanctuary often, and see that the lamps--that is, faith, hope, and charity--are burning.” --Saint Paul of the Cross

Faith:

We need a reminder to have faith, to pray for the gift of faith.  We need to be aware of anything that holds our faith back.  We must begin with a belief that the triune God--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, wants to draw us near.

“We can’t have full knowledge all at once.  We must start by believing; then afterwards we may be led.”

--Saint Thomas Aquinas: 

 "Hope means hoping when things are hopeless, or it is no virtue at all. And faith means believing the incredible, or it is no virtue at all."   --G.K. Chesterton

Faith comes to us before hope and hope leads to love.  Saint Ignatius of Antioch taught us that “faith and love are the beginning and end of life.  The beginning is faith; the end is love.  Both, joined in unity, lead to God, and all the rest that attains perfection and holiness, follows from them.”  For more on this, read 2 Peter, 1:5-8.

Sometimes teachings are difficult to believe.  We don’t understand them; so we choose to ignore them or set them aside.  That is a great disservice to yourself.  You need to pray for understanding to come but have faith first.  In other words, have faith in your faith, that the teachings of the faith are true.  You may not understand them, but does a child understand a parent’s reasoning all the time?  We are even dumber compared to God than children are to their parents.  Saint Augustine advised, “Seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand.”  Believe first, and understanding will come.  This is hard to do but it does happen this way.  Just think of your early childhood--how little you understood anything and you just took your parents’ words for it and now you understand.  Understanding your faith happens after you believe.

Hope:

Faith is not enough.  Even the devil has faith that Jesus is God.  Believing is not enough, or we may fall into the snares of the devil.  We must have hope for an eternity with God in heaven.

“Most men need patience to die, but a man who understands what death admits him to should rather need patience to live.” --Peter Kreeft

“The Lord grants in a moment what we may have been unable to obtain in dozens of years.”

--Saint Philip Neri

Isn’t that what we really hope for?  For God to grant us what we are after?  That is the bottom line.  It doesn’t sound hard to understand or too complicated, does it?  

It seems easy to say we have hope and have not lost it.  But it happens to so many of us all the time.  When we force things to go the way we want them to, we have lost hope, hope that God would grant us what we are seeking.  We give up on His timing, or worry that he won’t actually do what we “know” to be best.  Hope is very closely tied with trust.  If we have true hope, then we have trust.  We must order our lives and our desires, fortifying our souls with proper hope, the hope of spending eternity in God’s presence.

Saint Padre Pio

“Pray, hope, and don’t worry.”

We have to be patient and cooperate with God’s plan and His timing.  When we do, we fi

Saint Padre Pio

“Pray, hope, and don’t worry.”nd that in the end, things just happen and fall right into place.  Prayers are answered in ways far superior to what we envisioned.  Things we try to do in our own ways, plans made with our own minds, understanding we seek by studying and reading--these don’t give us any success, wisdom, or peace because we attempt them without real cooperation with the Lord.  When we do let go and let God, the Lord fills our minds with His wisdom and we soon have deep love and union with God that we could never have obtained on our own efforts.

Hope is all about our future, and it orients our thinking now.  Hope leads us to really trust our lives to Christ.  We hope for heaven where we can permanently contemplate God.   Hope gives us proper focus on the mission of our life.  We know what we are hoping for and so we order everything about ourselves and our lives to get there.  That is why hope leads us to the third theological virtue of love.

Love (Charity):

Words of encouragement to develop the virtue of love:

St. Ephrem of Syria:  “Blessed the one who, exalted by Love, has become a city founded upon a mountain, from which the enemy, when he saw it, withdrew in fear, trembling at its security in the Lord.”  The city is you and the mountain is the cross.  Wouldn’t we all love to be so exalted by Love that the forces of Hell flee from us in fear?  We don’t need to fear evil.  Evil trembles at the sight of those full of love.

The One who is Love showed us the way, and the way is through the cross.

Please support your parish who provides you spiritual food and brings you to Jesus.  Support life by being there for desperate pregnant mothers & their children at Our Lady’s Inn www.ourladysinn.org & Good Council Homes www.goodcouncilhomes.org

O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you.

Pope Benedict XVI on Eucharistic Adoration & Public Benediction

In his homily the Pope recalled how today "the Blessed Sacrament is carried in procession along the streets of towns and villages to show that the risen Christ walks among us and guides us to the kingdom of heaven. What Jesus gave us in the Upper Room we openly display today, because the love of Christ is not reserved for the few but is intended for everyone".

   --Pope Benedict XVI, June 24, 2011

New Life in Christ

CHRIST BEFORE ME  CHRIST RENEW ME

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New Life in Christ:  

The petition “CHRIST RENEW ME” is an act of humility and a plea to be renewed by the One Who made us to begin with, our Creator.  Only in Jesus can we become renewed.  Renewal is continual and doesn’t stop in this lifetime.  We should meditate upon His most Sacred Heart and unite our hearts to His, so that our heart becomes more and more like His.

Psalm 51:10:  “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew in me a steadfast spirit.”

Reflection from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1691, which is a quote from St. Leo the Great, Sermon 21:  “Christian, recognize your dignity and, now that you share in God’s own nature, do not return to your former base condition by sinning.  Remember who is your head and whose body you are a member.  Never forget that you have been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the light of the Kingdom of God.”

Do you know who you are?  If you were baptized, you are part of Christ’s body.  That is some serious stuff!  You can’t just overlook that and blow it off.  It is huge!  You have dignity beyond comprehension.  Treat yourself that way.  He said that you share in God’s own nature, and the Church teaches that fact.  Your whole existence is totally awesome!  Do you realize that?  Do you even know who you are?  

We need Christ to help us know this in a real way.  That is why we ask Him to renew us, because we share in His nature and He is God.  He knows our struggles and He wants to renew us.  Christ renews us continually.  We try to stay on the right path, allowing Christ to transform us so that we may become more like Christ, from one degree of glory to another.  Yet we sin and screw things up and make dumb choices.  

“To reach something good it is very useful to have gone astray and thus acquire experience.” --St. Teresa of Avila

Thank God that even after we sin, we are renewed in confession through Christ.  God can even use our sins to teach us.  We will continue to be renewed and have joy as we grow in our new life in Christ.  No matter how we used to be, we can always be forgiven by God.  There is no limit to his mercy!  We are renewed by Christ.

Charles Cardinal Journet:  “God is constantly knocking at the gate of my heart to invite me to go beyond the state I have reached, because my whole life should be a journey on the way to Love.”

2 Corinthians, 3:14-18

But their minds were hardened; for to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away.  Yes, to this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds; but when a man turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.  Now the Lord is Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

Please support your parish who provides you spiritual food and brings you to Jesus.  
Support life by being there for desperate pregnant mothers & their children at Our Lady’s Inn www.ourladysinn.org & Good Council Homes www.goodcouncilhomes.org

O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you.

Living a Christian Life--A Call to Renewal & Evangelization

CHRIST BEFORE ME  CHRIST RENEW ME

HisNameIsMercy.com 

Living a Christian Life--A Call to Renewal & Evangelization

Christ sends you forth.  He sends you out to His lost sheep.  Every one of us is commanded by Jesus to go teach the ignorant, to bring His light to them.  Imagine the idea of leaving children to their own devices, never instructing them in school.  You wouldn’t have it!  It is an act of mercy to educate our children and bring them to a better life.  We all easily understand that but when it comes to teaching about real Truth, about He who is all-knowing, all-loving, and sharing that wisdom, we clam up.  

Why can’t we make the connection when one is so much more important than the other?  Our fear comes into play, fear from the evil one.  The devil wants to shut you up.  Don’t let him get in your way.  Tell him to “get behind you” as Jesus did.  We must evangelize others for their own benefit.  You wouldn’t want to be left in darkness if you didn’t know something that could bring you real joy.  So don’t do that to others.  Spread the good news.  And let others evangelize to you too.  We all need instruction and better understanding of God, our role in life, etc., and others are often sent by God to us at a specific moment of God’s choosing.

A way to evangelize is to simply wear a Christian message.  That is not to say you are a walking billboard, but in a sense you are.  Saint Francis of Assisi evangelized by walking and only using words when he had to.  Keep in mind, though, that he only wore a gray robe, and everyone knew him to be a bearer of Christ, living a life of poverty in his robe and helping those who couldn’t help themselves.  In a sense, his walking around was acting as a moving billboard.  Everyone knew he was Christian by his charitable work for others.

We can wear a Christian wristband, a medal, a ring, a logo’d shirt, something, anything that directs other people’s minds toward Christ when they see you.  Wear something.  Get people to think about Jesus.  Spread the good news.  Others will take notice and may not say anything, but their minds will be directed toward Christ.


We can't just be lazy about our Christianity.  Laziness is a sin.  Christ said to go and spread the good news to everyone.  We can't just be silent.  We must speak up for Christ.


"Not to oppose error is to approve it; and not to defend truth is to suppress it; and indeed to neglect to confound evil men, when we can do it, is no less a sin than to encourage them."  --Pope St. Felix III

James 5, 20:  “He should know that whoever brings back a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.”

When something great happens at work, we share it with others.  When our team makes a great play and does something amazing, we jump and shout and celebrate with friends.  These are so small compared to everything Christ is doing every minute.  He is making truly amazing plays all the time.  We should be celebrating that and high-fiving Jesus with everyone!  That may seem weird, and we’ll probably never do that, but I sometimes wonder, “What if I really felt that kind of excitement?  Would I share it with others?”

We should at least be joyful.  St. Faustina’s Confessor instructed her to, “Act in such a way that all those who come into contact with you go away joyful.”  If we all do that, we’ll be peacemakers and light fires in people’s hearts.

“To get up each morning with the resolve to be happy is to set our own conditions to the events of each day.  To do this is to condition circumstances instead of being conditioned by them.” “Wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of living.”  --Saint John Chrysostom

O Blood and Water which gushed forth from the heart of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us, I trust in You.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in You.

Our Lady's apparitions to Ivan will be streamed live from Medjugorje on June 23rd and June 26, 2011, at 12:00 Noon (EST) at www.marytv.tv.

Our Lady's apparitions to Ivan will be streamed live from Medjugorje on June 23rd and June 26, 2011, at 12:00 Noon (EST) at www.marytv.tv.  They will begin streaming the rosary before the apparition, and afterwards Ivan will graciously answer questions. We have been told that those connected through the internet are prayed over by Our Lady the same as those kneeling right next to the visionary...and the religious items they have with them that they would like Our Lady to bless are blessed the same as the religious items placed in front of her during the apparition!

Live Event English URL
http://marytv.tv/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12&Itemid=35

Live Event Spanish URL
http://marytv.tv/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=290&Itemid=36

A schedule of daily events being streamed June 23 through June 26, 2011 will be announced at www.marytv.tv

www.marytv.tv

St. John of the Cross: 10.6: … to be subject to the least discomfort and mortification, it follows that not finding them strong …

10.6: … to be subject to the least discomfort and mortification, it follows that not finding them strong …

27. And here it ought to be pointed out why so few reach this high state of perfect union with God. It should be known that the reason is not that God wishes only a few of these spirits to be so elevated; he would rather want all to be perfect, but he finds few vessels that will endure so lofty and sublime a work. Since he tries them in little things and finds them so weak that they immediately flee from work, unwilling to be subject to the least discomfort and mortification, it follows that not finding them strong and faithful in that little [Mt. 25:21, 23], in which he favored them by beginning to hew and polish them, he realizes that they will be much less strong in these greater trials. As a result he proceeds no further in purifying them and raising them from the dust of the earth through the toil of mortification. They are in need of greater constancy and fortitude than they showed. There are many who desire to advance and persistently beseech God to bring them to this state of perfection. Yet when God wills to conduct them through the initial trials and mortifications, as is necessary, they are unwilling to suffer them and they shun them, flee from the narrow road of life [Mt. 7:14] and seek the broad road of their own consolation, which is that of their own perdition [Mt. 7:13]; thus they do not allow God to begin to grant their petition. They are like useless containers, for although they desire to reach the state of the perfect they do not want to be guided by the path of trials that leads to it. They hardly even begin to walk along this road by submitting to what is least, that is, to ordinary sufferings.10 We can answer them with Jeremiah's words: If you have grown weary running with footmen, how will you contend with horses? And if you have had quiet in the land of peace, what will you do in the swelling of the Jordan? [Jer. 12:5]. This is like saying: If by the common trials (on foot) that form part of human life, it seemed to you that you were running because there were so many, and you took such short steps, how will you keep up with the horse's stride, which signifies more than ordinary trials for which human strength and speed is not enough? And if you have not wanted to forego the peace and pleasure of your earth, which is your sensuality, or contradict it in anything or stir up a war, I do not know how you will desire to enter the impetuous waters of spiritual tribulations and trials that are deeper.

St. John of the Cross on Detachment, taking spirituality to its fullness; Prayer and Fasting are not enough; spiritual poverty

This passage from St. John of the Cross criticizes our conditional love for God, our desire to get good feelings from God, warm and fuzzies that make us feel like God is with us.  But true spiritual poverty, which we must have in order to be fully obedient to God, is to love God even without having those feelings, even if we don't feel His presence at all.  After reading this, I thought that all relationships are really this way.  Sometimes parents have to be absent from their children for the sake of the children's growth and benefit.  Many marriages end up in divorce when the good feelings are gone because the love for each other was only conditional love, due to their attachment to a false idea of what a marriage should be.  If marriage reflects God's relationship with us, then we should expect times when we don't sense comforting feelings from our spouses, periods of dryness, and we should know that these periods will pass but we have to wait patiently and trust in God's plan for us.  In the end, the joy is amazing!

St. John of the Cross, 3.8: … and continuing in prayer and pursuing mortification; but they attain not to detachment and …

5. Oh, that one could show us how to understand, practise and experience what this counsel is which our Saviour here gives us concerning self-denial,[246] so that spiritual persons might see in how different a way they should conduct themselves upon this road from that which many of them think proper! For they believe that any kind of retirement and reformation of life suffices; and others are content with practising the virtues and continuing in prayer and pursuing mortification; but they attain not to detachment and poverty or selflessness[247] or spiritual purity (which are all one), which the Lord here commends to us; for they prefer feeding and clothing their natural selves with spiritual feelings and consolations, to stripping themselves of all things, and denying themselves all things, for God's sake. For they think that it suffices to deny themselves worldly things without annihilating and purifying themselves of spiritual attachment. Wherefore it comes to pass that, when there presents itself to them any of this solid and perfect spirituality, consisting in the annihilation of all sweetness in God, in aridity, distaste and trial, which is the true spiritual cross, and the detachment of the spiritual poverty of Christ, they flee from it as from death, and seek only sweetness and delectable communion with God. This is not self-denial and detachment of spirit, but spiritual gluttony. Herein, spiritually, they become enemies of the Cross of Christ; for true spirituality seeks for God's sake that which is distasteful rather than that which is delectable; and inclines itself rather to suffering than to consolation; and desires to go without all blessings for God's sake rather than to possess them; and to endure aridities and afflictions rather than to enjoy sweet communications, knowing that this is to follow Christ and to deny oneself, and that the other is perchance to seek oneself in God, which is clean contrary to love. For to seek oneself in God is to seek the favours and refreshments of God; but to seek God in oneself is not only to desire to be without both of these for God's sake, but to be disposed to choose, for Christ's sake, all that is most distasteful, whether in relation to God or to the world; and this is love of God.

St. Jean-Marie Baptiste of Vianney on Temptation, fasting, and prayer: 3.6: … let us put our confidence in God; let us fast and pray; and the devil will not be able …

3.6: … let us put our confidence in God; let us fast and pray; and the devil will not be able …

CHAPTER 5: On Temptations

WE ARE all inclined to sin, my children; we are idle, greedy, sensual, given to the pleasures of the flesh. We want to know everything, to learn everything, to see everything; we must watch over our mind, over our heart, and over our senses, for these are the gates by which the devil penetrates. See, he prowls round us incessantly; his only occupation in this world is to seek companions for himself. All our life he will lay snares for us, he will try to make us yield to temptations; we must, on our side, do all we can to defeat and resist him. We can do nothing by ourselves, my children; but we can do everything with the help of the good God; let us pray Him to deliver us from this enemy of our salvation, or to give strength to fight against him. With the Name of Jesus we shall overthrow the demons; we shall put them to flight. With this Name, if they sometimes dare to attack us, our battles will be victories, and our victories will be crowns for Heaven, all brilliant with precious stones.

See, my children, the good God refuses nothing to those who pray to Him from the bottom of their heart. St. Teresa, being one day in prayer, and desiring to see the good God, Jesus Christ showed to the eyes of her soul His Divine hands; then, another day, when she was again in prayer, He showed her His face. Lastly, some days after, He showed her the whole of His Sacred Humanity. The good God who granted the desire of St. Teresa will also grant our prayers. If we ask of Him the grace to resist temptations, He will grant it to us; for He wishes to save us all, He shed His Blood for us all, He died for us all, He is waiting for us all in Heaven. We are two or three hundred here: shall we all be saved, shall we all go to Heaven? Alas! my children, we know nothing about it; but I tremble when I see so many souls lost in these days.

See, they fall into Hell as the leaves fall from the trees at the approach of winter. We shall fall like the rest, my children, if we do not avoid temptations, if, when we cannot avoid them, we do not fight generously, with the help of the good God--if we do not invoke His Name during the strife, like St. Antony in the desert.

This saint having retired into an old sepulchre, the devil came to attack him; he tried at first to terrify him with a horrible noise; he even beat him so cruelly that he left him half dead and covered with wounds. "Well," said St. Antony, "here I am, ready to fight again; no, thou shalt not be able to separate me from Jesus Christ, my Lord and my God. " The spirits of darkness redoubled their efforts, and uttered frightful cries. St. Antony remained unmoved, because he put all his confidence in God. After the example of this saint, my children, let us be always ready for the combat; let us put our confidence in God; let us fast and pray; and the devil will not be able to separate us from Jesus Christ, either in this world or the next.

St. Jean-Marie Baptiste Vianney on Fasting: 10.8: Everyone can Fast in some way.

10.8: But, you will say, there are plenty who cannot fast, others who are not able to give alms, …

68. PRAYING, FASTING, AND PLEASING OURSELVES

My dear brethren, we read in holy Scripture that the Lord, while speaking to His people of the necessity to do good works in order to please Him and to become included in the number of saints, said to them: "The things that I ask are not above your powers; to do them it is not necessary for you to lift yourselves to the clouds nor to cross the seas. All that I command is, so to speak, in your hands, in your hearts, and all around."

I can easily repeat the very same thing to you, my dear brethren. It is true that we shall never have the happiness of going to Heaven unless we do good works, but let us not be afraid of that, my dear children. What Jesus Christ demands of us are not the extraordinary things or those beyond our powers. He does not require that we should be all day in the church or that we should do enormous penances, that is to say, to the extent of ruining our health, or even to that of giving all our substance to the poor (although it is very true that we are obliged to give as much as we possibly can to the poor, which we should do both to please God, Who commands it, and also to atone for our sins). It is also true that we should practice mortification in many things to make reparation for our sins. There is no doubt but that the person who lives without mortifying himself is someone who will never succeed in saving his soul. There is no doubt but that, although we cannot be all day in the church, which yet should be a great joy for us, we do know very well that we should never omit our prayers, at least in the morning and at night.

But, you will say, there are plenty who cannot fast, others who are not able to give alms, and others who have so much to do that often they have great difficulty in saying their prayers in the morning and at night. How can they possibly be saved, then, if it is necessary to pray continuously and to do good works in order to obtain Heaven?

Because all your good works, my dear brethren, amount to prayer, fasting, and almsdeeds, which we can easily perform as you shall see.

Yes, my dear brethren, even though we may have poor health or even be infirm, there is a fast which we can easily perform.

Let us even be quite poor; we can still give alms. And however heavy or demanding our work, we can still pray to Almighty God without interfering with our labours; we can pray night and morning, and even all day long, and here is how we can do it. All the time that we deprive ourselves of anything which it gives us pleasure to do, we are practicing a fast which is very pleasing to God because fasting does not consist solely of privations in eating and drinking, but of denying ourselves that which pleases our taste most. Some mortify themselves in the way they dress; others in the visits they want to make to friends whom they like to see; others in the conversations and discussions which they enjoy. This constitutes a very excellent fast and one which pleases God because it fights self-love and pride and one's reluctance to do things one does not enjoy or to be with people whose characters and ways of behaving are contrary to one's own. You can, without offending God, go into that particular company, but you can deprive yourself of it to please God: there is a type of fasting which is very meritorious.

You are in some situation in which you can indulge your appetite? Instead of doing so, you take, without making it obvious, something which appeals to you the least. When you are buying chattels or clothes, you do not choose that which merely appeals to you; there again is a fast whose reward waits for you at the door of Heaven to help you to enter. Yes, my dear brethren, if we want to go about it properly, not only can we find opportunities of practicing fasting every day, but at every moment of the day.

Tell me, now, is there any fasting which would be more pleasing to God than to do and to endure with patience certain things which often are very disagreeable to you? Without mentioning illness, infirmities, or so many other afflictions which are inseparable from our wretched life, how often do we not have the opportunity to mortify ourselves in putting up with what annoys and revolts us? Sometimes it is work which wearies us greatly; sometimes it is some person who annoys us. At another time it may be some humiliation which is very difficult to endure. Well, then, my children, if we put up with all that for God and solely to please Him, these are the fasts which are most agreeable to God and most meritorious in His eyes. You are compelled to work all the year round at very heavy and exacting labor which often seems as if it is going to kill you and which does not give you even the time to draw your breath. Oh, my dear children, what treasures would you be storing up for Heaven, if you so desired, by doing just what you do and in the midst of your labours having the wisdom and the foresight to lift up your hearts to God and say to Him: "My good Jesus, I unite my labours to Your labours, my sufferings to Your sufferings; give me the grace to be always content in the state in which You have placed me! I will bless Your holy Name in all that happens to me!" Yes, my dear children, if you had the great happiness to behave in this way, all your trials, all your labours, would become like most precious fruits which you would offer to God at the hour of your death. That, my children, is how everyone is his own state in life can practice a kind of fasting which is very meritorious and which will be of the greatest value to him for eternal life.

I have been telling you, too, that there is a certain type of almsgiving which everyone can perform. You see quite well that almsgiving does not consist solely in feeding those who are hungry and giving clothes to those who have none. It consists in all the services which one renders to a neighbour, whether of body or soul, when they are done in a spirit of charity. When we have only a little, very well, let us give a little; and when we have nothing, let us lend if we can. If you cannot supply those who are sick with whatever would be good for them, well then, you can visit them, you can say consoling words to them, you can pray for them so that they will put their illness to good use.

Yes, my dear children, everything is good and precious in God's sight when we act from the motives of religion and of charity because Jesus Christ tells us that a glass of water would not go unrewarded. You see, therefore, my children, that although we may be quite poor, we can still easily give alms.

I told you that however exacting our work was, there is a certain kind of prayer which we can make continually without, at the same time, upsetting our labours, and this is how it is done.

It is seeking, in everything we do, to do the will of God only.

Tell me, my children, is it so difficult to seek only to do the will of God in all of our actions, however small they may be? Yes, my children, with that prayer everything becomes meritorious for Heaven, and without that will, all is lost. Alas! How many good things, which would help us so well to gain Heaven, go unrewarded simply by not doing our ordinary duties with the right intention!

Christian Quotes on Love and Works, a Parable on Redistribution or Government Social Justice

Without love, deeds, even the most brilliant, count as nothing."
- St. Therese of Lisieux


"It is not the magnitude of our actions but the amount of love that is put into them that matters."
- Mother Teresa

A Parable on non-Catholic Social Justice (i.e. Government Redistribution of Wealth):It is not love that makes one decide it is good to take money from someone and give it to another. Nor does that count as being good to the poor.  Be generous yourself and bless your own gift with God's love, who will then multiply its effects, like He did with the loaves. Without Love, there is no real charity.


A group of neighbors decided that a less fortunate neighbor needed some help. They had a vote among all the neighbors to decide if they should take some of the belongings from a wealthier neighbor and give them to the poor neighbor.  The vote was in favor of the idea and some belongings were taken from the wealthier neighbor.  While receiving the objects was helpful for the poor individual, he felt no charity and was unmoved by the generosity because there was no charity involved in the transaction. He actually felt worse by seeing how it all happened but the majority told him he deserved those belongings and assured him it was all good. The rich person was personally moved away from a sense of dignity and honest charity since the redistribution was not of his free will and not a gift. Instead, his heart became hardened and indifferent towards the majority of his neighbors as he feared more would be taken from him.  He began to store and stash away more than he did beforehand, in places the neighbors couldn't get to it.  The poor neighbor accepted the idea that this redistribution was a fair way of balancing things out and continued to rely on frequent gifts, gifts he said were from the majority. He thanked the majority for doing this for him and the majority felt good and proud about themselves and the good they had done.


There was not one act of Love in this whole transaction.  There was sympathy, followed by a desire to remediate the poor man's condition, followed by collective sin so that the sin wouldn't feel like the stealing that it is, followed by pride.  The end goal that the majority had in mind is desirable but the means makes all the difference. Re-distribution and generosity must be voluntary; otherwise it is extortion and agreed upon robbery, and its effects are similar to these crimes.

--Christopher Majella Paul

Muslim Woman Seeks to Revitalize the Institution of Sex-Slavery | FrontPage Magazine

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> http://frontpagemag.com/2011/06/06/muslim-woman-seeks-to-revitalize-the-institution-of-sex-slavery/

Many State Legislators Lack College Degrees - NYTimes.com

> http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/13/education/13legis.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha23
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> I am glad that there still are non-degree'd politicians! If California has the most college educated electorate, then I say that is a good reason to go for an electorate with less college education and more common sense.
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> They say Arkansas has the least educated electorate. I don't hear of government bankruptcy in Arkansas, no immigration problems, no gay marriage issues/court cases, no gangs and thugs running parts of their cities, no problems that make national attention because common sense people take care of problems in a common sense way.

Current rules on Fasting for U.S. Catholics

1983 Code of Canon Law: "All Fridays through the year and the time of Lent are penitential days and times throughout the universal Church. Abstinence from eating meat . . . is to be observed on Fridays throughout the year unless they are solemnities; abstinence and fast are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and [Good] Friday. All adults who have completed their fourteenth year are bound by the law of abstinence; all adults [from age 18] are bound by the law of fast up to the beginning of their sixtieth year." The Episcopal Conference can modify these general rules.
In the United States: "Catholics are obliged to abstain from the eating of meat on Ash Wednesday and all Fridays during the season of Lent. They are also obliged to fast on Ash Wednesday and on Good Friday. Self-imposed observances of fasting on all weekdays of Lent is strongly recommended. Abstinence from flesh meat on all Fridays of the year is especially recommended to individuals and to the Catholic community as a whole.

Introduction the the Devout Life on the sweetness of Fasting & Mortification: 2.3: The world, looking on, sees that devout persons fast, watch and pray, endure injury patiently, …

2.3: The world, looking on, sees that devout persons fast, watch and pray, endure injury patiently, …



The world, looking on, sees that devout persons fast, watch and pray, endure injury patiently, minister to the sick and poor, restrain their temper, check and subdue their passions, deny themselves in all sensual indulgence, and do many other things which in themselves are hard and difficult. But the world sees nothing of that inward, heartfelt devotion which makes all these actions pleasant and easy. Watch a bee hovering over the mountain thyme;--the juices it gathers are bitter, but the bee turns them all to honey,--and so tells the worldling, that though the devout soul finds bitter herbs along its path of devotion, they are all turned to sweetness and pleasantness as it treads;--and the martyrs have counted fire, sword, and rack but as perfumed flowers by reason of their devotion. And if devotion can sweeten such cruel torments, and even death itself, how much more will it give a charm to ordinary good deeds? We sweeten unripe fruit with sugar, and it is useful in correcting the crudity even of that which is good. So devotion is the real spiritual sweetness which takes away all bitterness from mortifications; and prevents consolations from disagreeing with the soul: it cures the poor of sadness, and the rich of presumption; it keeps the oppressed from feeling desolate, and the prosperous from insolence; it averts sadness from the lonely, and dissipation from social life; it is as warmth in winter and refreshing dew in summer; it knows how to abound and how to suffer want; how to profit alike by honour and contempt; it accepts gladness and sadness with an even mind, and fills men's hearts with a wondrous sweetness.

Introduction to the Devout Life on Fasting & Abstinence on Wed, Fri, Sat. : 4.24: If you are able to fast, you will do well to observe some days …

4.24: If you are able to fast, you will do well to observe some days …



If you are able to fast, you will do well to observe some days beyond what are ordered by the Church, for besides the ordinary effect of fasting in raising the mind, subduing the flesh, confirming goodness, and obtaining a heavenly reward, it is also a great matter to be able to control greediness, and to keep the sensual appetites and the whole body subject to the law of the Spirit; and although we may be able to do but little, the enemy nevertheless stands more in awe of those whom he knows can fast. The early Christians selected Wednesday, Friday and Saturday as days of abstinence. Do you follow therein according as your own devotion and your director's discretion may appoint.

Introduction to the Devout Life on Fasting: 4.24: … prescribed fasts. One man finds it hard to fast, another finds it as hard to attend …

4.24: … prescribed fasts. One man finds it hard to fast, another finds it as hard to attend …



Fasting and labour both exhaust and subdue the body. If your work is necessary or profitable to God's Glory, I would rather see you bear the exhaustion of work than of fasting. Such is the mind of the Church, who dispenses those who are called to work for God or their neighbour even from her prescribed fasts. One man finds it hard to fast, another finds it as hard to attend the sick, to visit prisons, to hear confessions, preach, minister to the afflicted, pray, and the like. And the last hardship is better than the other; for while it subdues the flesh equally, it brings forth better fruit. And as a general rule it is better to preserve more bodily strength than is absolutely necessary, than to damage it more than is necessary. Bodily strength can always be lowered if needful, but we cannot restore it at will. It seems to me that we ought to have in great reverence that which our Saviour and Redeemer Jesus Christ said to His disciples, "Eat such things as are set before you." To my mind there is more virtue in eating whatever is offered you just as it comes, whether you like it or not, than in always choosing what is worst; for although the latter course may seem more ascetic, the former involves greater submission of will, because by it you give up not merely your taste, but your choice; and it is no slight austerity to hold up one's likings in one's hand, and subject them to all manner of accidents. Furthermore, this kind of mortification makes no show, inconveniences no one, and is admirably adapted to social life. To be always discarding one dish for another, examining everything, suspicious as to everything, making a fuss over every morsel--all this to my mind is contemptible, and implies too much thought of meats and platters. To my mind there was more austerity in S. Bernard's drinking oil by mistake for wine or water than if he had deliberately drunk wormwood, for it showed that he was not thinking of what he drank. And the real meaning of those sacred words, "Eat such things as are set before you," lies in such an indifference to what one eats and drinks.

St. Louis de Montfort on Presumption 3.13: … for granted because they say the Rosary, fast on Saturdays, are enrolled in the …

3.13: … for granted because they say the Rosary, fast on Saturdays, are enrolled in the …



97. Presumptuous devotees are sinners who give full rein to their passions or their love of the world, and who, under the fair name of Christian and servant of our Lady, conceal pride, avarice, lust, drunkenness, anger, swearing, slandering, injustice and other vices. They sleep peacefully in their wicked habits, without making any great effort to correct them, believing that their devotion to our Lady gives them this sort of liberty. They convince themselves that God will forgive them, that they will not die without confession, that they will not be lost for all eternity. They take all this for granted because they say the Rosary, fast on Saturdays, are enrolled in the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary or the Scapular, or a sodality of our Lady, wear the medal or the little chain of our Lady.

St. Louis de Montfort on Friend of the Cross/Suffering : 11.3: … "Let us suffer, let us weep, let us fast, let us pray, let us hide, let us humble …

11.3: … "Let us suffer, let us weep, let us fast, let us pray, let us hide, let us humble …



9. To the right, the little flock that follows Jesus can speak only of tears, penance, prayer and contempt for worldly things. Sobbing in their grief, they can be heard repeating: "Let us suffer, let us weep, let us fast, let us pray, let us hide, let us humble ourselves, let us be poor, let us mortify ourselves, for he who has not the spirit of Christ, the spirit of the Cross, is none of Christ's. Those who are Christ's have crucified their flesh with its concupiscence. We must be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ or else be damned!" "Be brave, " they keep saying to each other, "be brave, for if God is for us, in us and leading us, who dare be against us? The One Who is dwelling within us is stronger than the one who is in the world; no servant is above his master; one moment of light tribulation worketh an eternal weight of glory; there are fewer elect than man may think; only the brave and daring take heaven by storm; the crown is given only to those who strive lawfully according to the Gospel, not according to the fashion of the world. Let us put all our strength into the fight, and run very fast to reach the goal and win the crown. " Friends of the Cross spur each other on with such divine words.

St. Teresa of Avila on empathy, devotion and works : 17.3: … you should feel pain too; if necessary, fast so that she may have your food, not so …

17.3: … you should feel pain too; if necessary, fast so that she may have your food, not so …
When I see people very diligently trying to discover what kind of prayer they are experiencing and so completely wrapt up[144] in their prayers that they seem afraid to stir, or to indulge in a moment's thought, lest they should lose the slightest degree of the tenderness and devotion which they have been feeling, I realize how little they understand of the road to the attainment of union. They think that the whole thing consists in this. But no, sisters, no; what the Lord desires is works. If you see a sick woman to whom you can give some help, never be affected by the fear that your devotion will suffer, but take pity on her: if she is in pain, you should feel pain too; if necessary, fast so that she may have your food, not so much for her sake as because you know it to be your Lord's will. That is true union with His will. Again, if you hear someone being highly praised, be much more pleased than if they were praising you; this is really easy if you have humility, for in that case you will be sorry to hear yourself praised. To be glad when your sisters' virtues are praised is a great thing, and, when we see a fault in someone, we should be as sorry about it as if it were our own and try to conceal it from others.

Medjugorje - 30th Anniversary Novena Starts June 15, 2011

Medjugorje 30th Anniversary Novena Link with audio.

Sent from www.medjugorje.org:

30th Anniversary Novena to Our Lady
The Queen of Peace

On June 15, 2011, begins the Novena in thanksgiving for 30 years of the apparitions of the Queen of Peace. In Medjugorje, they will pray the rosary at Apparition Hill every day at 4 pm, and we unite with all our friends and with all the pilgrims all over the world through this Novena. The Novena ends on June 23, and on June 24, at 6 am, we pray for peace in the “Peace March” which leads us in a Eucharistic procession from Humac to Medjugorje. We invite all Our Lady’s pilgrims, wherever they may be, to unite in a joyful prayer!


1st day: We pray for the Visionaries

(See end for prayers) 
1. Prayer to the Queen of Peace 
2. Veni Creator Spiritus 
3. Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary

Texts for Meditation

Jesus said to his disciples: "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures. And he said to them: "thus it is written that the Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold I am sending the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city until you are clothed with the power from on high." (Lk 24,44-49)

"Dear children! Today I thank you for living and witnessing to my messages with your life. Little children, be strong and pray so that prayer may give you strength and joy. Only in this way will each of you be mine and I will lead you on the way of salvation. Little children, pray and with your life bear witness to my presence here. May each day be a joyful witness for you of God's love. Thank you for having responded to my call." (Message, June 25, 1999)

"Prayer is the raising of one's mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God." But when we pray, do we speak from the height of our pride and will, or "out of the depths" of a humble and contrite heart? He who humbles himself will be exalted; humility is the foundation of prayer, only when we humbly acknowledge that "we do not know how to pray as we ought," are we ready to receive freely the gift of prayer. "Man is a beggar before God." (2559)

4. The Litany of the Blessed Virgin

Concluding prayer: Lord, You call all Christians to be real witnesses of Your life and of Your love. Today, we thank You in a special way for the visionaries and for their mission in witnessing to the messages of the Queen of Peace. We present to You all of their needs. We pray for each one of them personally, that You may be near them, so that they may grow unceasingly in the experience of Your strength. We pray that You guide them to a deeper and more humble prayer in further witnessing to the presence of Our Lady in Medjugorje. Amen.


2nd day: We pray for all Priests who Minister at the Sanctuary

1. Prayer to the Queen of Peace 
2. Veni Creator Spiritus 
3. Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary

Texts for Meditation

Jesus said to his disciples: "Amen, amen I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father. And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it." (Jn 14,12-14)

"Dear children! Today I am with you in a special way and I bring you my motherly blessing of peace. I pray for you and I intercede for you before God, so that you may comprehend that each of you is a carrier of peace. You cannot have peace if your heart is not at peace with God. That is why, little children, pray, pray, pray, because prayer is the foundation of your peace. Open your heart and give time to God so that He will be your friend. When true friendship with God is realized, no storm can destroy it. Thank you for having responded to my call." (Message, June 25, 1997)

"If you knew the gift of God!" The wonder of prayer is revealed beside the well where we come seeking water: there, Christ comes to meet every human being. It is he who first seeks us and asks us for a drink. Jesus thirsts; his asking arises from the depths of God's desire for us. Whether we realize it or not, prayer is the encounter of God's thirst with ours. God thirsts that we may thirst for him. "You would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." Paradoxically our prayer of petition is a response to the plea of the living God: "They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water!" Prayer is the response of faith to the free promise of salvation and also a response of love to the thirst of the only Son of God. (2560 2561)

4. The Litany of the Blessed Virgin

Concluding prayer: Lord, You are the only source of life, the only One who can quench our thirst for love and friendship. We thank You for Your humility in working through a simple man, a priest, giving Yourself to Your people in Holy Mass, in the Sacraments, in Benedictions… Today, we invoke in a special way Your blessing on all priests who minister at the Sanctuary of the Queen of Peace. May they further discover the power of faith through which You grant them whatever they ask of You. May they also become true carriers of peace, fruits of their deeply felt friendship with You. Amen.


3rd day: We pray for all Parishioners

1. Prayer to the Queen of Peace 
2. Veni Creator Spiritus 
3. Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary

Texts for Meditation

Jesus said to his disciples: "I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you. By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. As the Father loves me, so also I love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete." (Jn 15,5-8)

"Dear children! Today I thank you for all the sacrifices you have offered me these days. Little children, I invite you to open yourselves to me and to decide for conversion. Your hearts, little children, are still not completely open to me and therefore, I invite you again to open to prayer so that in prayer the Holy Spirit will help you, that your hearts become of flesh and not of stone. Little children, thank you for having responded to my call and for having decided to walk with me toward holiness." (Message, June 25, 1996)

Where does prayer come from? Whether prayer is expressed in words or gestures, it is the whole man who prays. But in naming the source of prayer, Scripture speaks sometimes of the soul or the spirit, but most often of the heart (more than a thousand times). According to Scripture, it is the heart that prays. If our heart is far from God, the words of prayer are in vain. (2562)

4. The Litany of the Blessed Virgin

Concluding prayer: Thank You, Lord, for Your love, thank You for the call to remain with the heart in Your love and to bear much fruit. Thank You for having chosen this parish in a special way, by giving it to Your Mother, the Queen of Peace, with the mission to call the world to peace and reconciliation, to conversion through the renewal of fasting and prayer… Thank You for the openness of each heart, which knew how to receive Her, and allowed Her to make each of them a visible sign for those who come here. Today we pray to You, o Lord: make this parish an even greater sign of the Kingdom of God, and help the parishioners to become joyful and holy fruits of the presence of Our Lady. Amen.


4th day: We pray for all Leaders in the Church

1. Prayer to the Queen of Peace 
2. Veni Creator Spiritus 
3. Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary

Texts for Meditation

Jesus said to his disciples: "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (Jn 8,12)

"Dear Children! Today I am happy to see you in such great numbers, that you have responded and have come to live my messages. I invite you, little children, to be my joyful carriers of peace in this troubled world. Pray for peace so that as soon as possible a time of peace, which my heart waits impatiently for, may reign. I am near to you, little children, and intercede for every one of you before the Most High. I bless you with my motherly blessing. Thank you for having responded to my call." (Message, June 25, 1995)

The heart is the dwelling-place where I am, where I live; according to the Semitic or Biblical expression, the heart is the place "to which I withdraw." The heart is our hidden centre, beyond the grasp of our reason and of others; only the Spirit of God can fathom the human heart and know it fully. The heart is the place of decision, deeper than our psychic drives. It is the place of truth, where we choose life or death. It is the place of encounter, because as image of God we live in relation: it is the place of covenant. (2563)

4. The Litany of the Blessed Virgin

Concluding prayer: Thank You, O Lord, for giving us the Church as Mother and Spouse, to lead us in our earthly life on a path of light towards You. Thank You, because in the Church we are all brothers and sisters, and members of one Mystical Body. Today we pray for those who lead the Church: may they unceasingly renew within themselves their covenant with You, the One and Only True Head, so as to become faithful and joyful carriers of peace and truth in this troubled world. Amen.


5th day: We pray for all Pilgrims who already came to Medjugorje

1. Prayer to the Queen of Peace 
2. Veni Creator Spiritus 
3. Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary

Texts for Meditation

Jesus said to his disciples: "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? (Mk 8,34-38)

"Dear children! Today I am happy, even if in my heart there is still a little sadness for all those who have started on this path and then have left it. My presence here is to take you on a new path, the path to salvation. This is why I call you, day after day to conversion. But if you do not pray, you cannot say that you are on the way to being converted. I pray for you and I intercede to God for peace; first peace in your hearts and also peace around you, so that God may be your peace. Thank you for having responded to my call." (Message, June 25, 1992)

Christian prayer is a covenant relationship between God and man in Christ. It is the action of God and of man, springing forth from both the Holy Spirit and ourselves, wholly directed to the Father, in union with the human will of the Son of God made man. (2564)

4. The Litany of the Blessed Virgin

Concluding prayer: Our lives, O Lord, are in Your hands. You alone know what we need to be saved. Thank You for teaching us this here in Medjugorje for 20 years through Your Mother, who came to lead us on the way of salvation. Bless and strengthen all those who have started to walk on the way of conversion and prayer here in Medjugorje. Strengthen their faith, their hope and their charity and never let them betray their covenant with You. Amen.


6th day: We pray for all Pilgrims who will come to Medjugorje

1. Prayer to the Queen of Peace 
2. Veni Creator Spiritus 
3. Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary

Texts for Meditation

At that time Jesus said: "I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him. Come to me, all you who labour and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light." (Mt 11,25-30)

"Dear children! Today I also rejoice at your presence here. I bless you with my motherly blessing and intercede for each one of you before God. I call you anew to live my messages and to put them into life and practice. I am with you and bless all of you day by day. Dear children, these are special times and, therefore, I am with you to love and protect you; to protect your hearts from Satan and to bring you all closer to the heart of my Son, Jesus. Thank you for having responded to my call." (Message, June 25, 1993)

In the New Covenant, prayer is the living relationship of the children of God with their Father who is good beyond measure, with his Son Jesus Christ and with the Holy Spirit. The grace of the Kingdom is "the union of the entire holy and royal Trinity . . . with the whole human spirit." Thus, the life of prayer is the habit of being in the presence of the thrice-holy God and in communion with him. This communion of life is always possible because, through Baptism, we have already been united with Christ. Prayer is Christian insofar as it is communion with Christ and extends throughout the Church, which is his Body. Its dimensions are those of Christ's love. (2565)

4. The Litany of the Blessed Virgin

Concluding prayer: We have not chosen You, O Lord, but You have chosen us. You alone know all the little ones who will receive the grace of the revelation of Your love through Your Mother, here in Medjugorje. We pray for all pilgrims who will come to Medjugorje: protect their hearts from all satanic attacks and open their hearts to all inspirations coming from Your Heart and from the Heart of Mary. Amen.


7th day: We pray for all the Medjugorje Prayer Groups and Centres in the Whole World

1. Prayer to the Queen of Peace 
2. Veni Creator Spiritus 
3. Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary

Texts for Meditation

Jesus said to his disciples: "Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets. Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow is the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few." (Mt 7,12-14)

"Dear children! I am calling you to that love which is loyal and pleasing to God. Little children, love bears everything bitter and difficult for the sake of Jesus who is love. Therefore, dear children, pray that God come to your aid, not however according to your desire, but according to His love. Surrender yourself to God so that He may hear you, console you and forgive everything inside you which is a hindrance on the way of love. In this way God can move your life, and you will grow in love. Dear children, glorify God with a hymn of love so that God's love may be able to grow in you day by day to its fullness. Thank you for having responded to my call." (Message, June 25, 1988)

In prayer the Holy Spirit unites us to the person of the only Son, in his glorified humanity, through which and in which our filial prayer unites us in the Church with the Mother of Jesus. Mary gave her consent in faith at the Annunciation and maintained it without hesitation at the foot of the Cross. Ever since, her motherhood has extended to the brothers and sisters of her Son "who still journey on earth surrounded by dangers and difficulties." Jesus, the only mediator, is the way of our prayer; Mary, his mother and ours, is wholly transparent to him: she "shows the way" (hodigitria), and is herself "the Sign" of the way, according to the traditional iconography of East and West. (2673 2674)

4. The Litany of the Blessed Virgin

Concluding prayer: Love is the sign of recognition to Your disciples, O Lord. We thank You for every response of love given through service and gifts to others. We pray for all members of the Medjugorje Prayer Groups and Centres in the whole world. Together with Your Mother, may they more courageously and resolutely, within their families and wherever they live, always show this narrow way, the only one that leads to You. Help them to grow day by day in the fullness of Your Love. Amen.


8th day: We pray for the realization of all fruits and Messages of Medjugorje

1. Prayer to the Queen of Peace 
2. Veni Creator Spiritus 
3. Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary

Texts for Meditation

Jesus said to his disciples: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come towards the light, so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God." (Jn 3,16-21)

"Dear children! Today, on this great day, which you have given to me, I desire to bless all of you and to say: these days while I am with you are days of grace. I desire to teach you and help you to walk the way of holiness. There are many people who do not desire to understand my messages and to accept with seriousness what I am saying. But you I therefore call and ask that by your lives and by your daily living you witness my presence. If you pray, God will help you to discover the true reason for my coming. Therefore, little children, pray and read the Sacred Scriptures so that through my coming you discover the message in Sacred Scripture for you. Thank you for having responded to my call." (Message, June 25,1991)

Mary is the perfect Orans (pray-er), a figure of the Church. When we pray to her, we are adhering with her to the plan of the Father, who sends his Son to save all men. Like the beloved disciple we welcome Jesus' mother into our homes, for she has become the mother of all the living. We can pray with and to her. The prayer of the Church is sustained by the prayer of Mary and united with it in hope. (2679)

4. The Litany of the Blessed Virgin

Concluding prayer: We thank You, O Father, for having given us Your Son and His Mother, so that none of those who believe in them and listen to them may be lost. Thank You for caring for each person and, in Your mercy, for condemning no one. We pray today for all that Our Lady has prayed for here in Medjugorje, and for every grace that has been poured out here into the world. May it bring the fruit of holiness and serve You in Your plan of salvation. Amen.


9th day: We pray for the Intentions of the Queen of Peace

1. Prayer to the Queen of Peace 
2. Veni Creator Spiritus 
3. Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary

Texts for Meditation

At that time Jesus said: "Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world. Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you sent me. I made known to them your name and I will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them." (Jn 17,24-26)

"Dear children! Today I thank you and I want to invite you all to God's peace. I want each one of you to experience in your heart that peace which God gives. I want to bless you all today. I am blessing you with God's blessing and I beseech you, dear children, to follow and to live my way. I love you, dear children, and so not even counting the number of times, I go on calling you and I thank you for all that you are doing for my intentions. I beg you, help me to present you to God and to save you. Thank you for having responded to my call." (Message, June 25, 1987)

Mary's prayer is revealed to us at the dawning of the fullness of time. Before the incarnation of the Son of God, and before the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, her prayer cooperates in a unique way with the Father's plan of loving kindness: at the Annunciation, for Christ's conception; at Pentecost, for the formation of the Church, his Body. In the faith of his humble handmaid, the Gift of God found the acceptance he had awaited from the beginning of time. She whom the Almighty made "full of grace" responds by offering her whole being: "Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be [done] to me according to your word." "Fiat": this is Christian prayer: to be wholly God's, because he is wholly ours. (2617)

4. The Litany of the Blessed Virgin

Concluding prayer: We thank You, O Father, for the gift of prayer which allows us to touch Your heart; prayer in which You give Yourself entirely to us and in which You teach us to give ourselves entirely to You. We pray today for all intentions of the Queen of Peace and for all that is necessary so that the whole world, through Mary, may enter into Your glory, the glory of the Most Holy Trinity. Amen.


Prayers

Prayer to the Queen of Peace

Mary, Mother of God and Our Mother, Queen of Peace! 
You came to us to lead us to God. 
Obtain for us the grace not only to say: 
"Be it done to me according to Your will!", but to live it, as You did.

Into Your hands we put our hands, so that You may lead us to Him amidst these afflictions and woes. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Creed, 7 Our Father's, 7 Hail Mary's, 7 Glory Be's...


Veni Creator Spiritus - Come Holy Spirit

Come Holy Spirit, Creator, come 
best gift of God above, 
the living spring, the living fire, 
sweet unction and true love.

Thou Who are called the Paraclete, 
from Thy bright heavenly throne, 
come, take possession of our souls, 
and make them all Thine own.

Thou who are sevenfold in Thy grace, 
finger of God's right hand, 
His promise, teaching little ones 
to speak and understand.

O guide our minds with Thy blest light, 
with love our hearts inflame; 
and with Thy strength, which never decays, 
confirm our mortal frame.

Far from us drive our deadly foe, 
true peace unto us bring, 
and through all perils lead us safe 
beneath Thy sacred wing.

Through Thee may we the Father know, 
through Thee the eternal Son, 
and Thee the Spirit of them both, 
thrice-blessed Three in One.

All glory to the Father be, 
with his co-equal Son: 
the same to Thee, great Paraclete, 
while endless ages run. Amen.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful, and enkindle in them the fire of Your love.

- Send forth Your Spirit and they shall be created. 
- And You shall renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray: God, who taught the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant that by the gift of the same Spirit we may be always truly wise and ever rejoice in His consolation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.


The Litany of the Blessed Virgin

Lord, have mercy. 
Christ, have mercy. 
Lord, have mercy. 
Christ, hear us. 
Christ, graciously hear us.

God, our heavenly Father, have mercy on us. 
God, the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us. 
God, the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us. 
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us. 
Holy Mary, .............................. pray for us. 
Holy Mother of God, 
Holy Virgins of virgins, 
Mother of Christ, 
Mother of Divine Grace, 
Mother, most pure, 
Mother most chaste, 
Mother inviolate, 
Mother most undefiled, 
Mother most amiable, 
Mother most admirable, 
Mother of good counsel, 
Mother of our Creator, 
Mother of our Saviour, 
Mother of the Church, 
Our Mother, 
Virgin most prudent, 
Virgin most venerable, 
Virgin most renowned, 
Virgin most powerful, 
Virgin most merciful, 
Virgin most faithful, 
Mirror of justice, 
Seat of wisdom, 
Cause of our joy, 
Spiritual vessel, 
Vessel of Honour, 
Singular vessel of devotion, 
Mystical rose, 
Tower of David, 
Tower of ivory, 
House of gold, 
Ark of the covenant, 
Gate of Heaven, 
Morning Star, 
Health of the sick, 
Refuge of sinners, 
Comforter of the afflicted, 
Help of Christians, 
Queen of angels, 
Queen of patriarchs, 
Queen of prophets, 
Queen of martyrs, 
Queen of confessors, 
Queen of virgins, 
Queen of all saints, 
Queen conceived without sin, 
Queen assumed into Heaven, 
Queen of the most holy Rosary, 
Queen of the families, 
Queen of peace,

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord! 
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord! 
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us, O Lord!

Pray for us, o holy Mother of God, 
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ! 
Let us pray: Pour forth, we beseech you, O Lord, your grace into our hearts, that we, to whom the Incarnation of Christ, your Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by his passion and cross be brought to the glory of his Resurrection, through Christ, our Lord. Amen.


Hail Holy Queen

Hail! Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, O most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us; and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus, O clement! O loving! O sweet Virgin Mary! Pray for us O Holy Mother of God that we may be worthy of the promises of Christ.


The Medjugorje Hymn
To the Mother and Queen of Peace

We come to you, dearest Mother, 
from all quarters, from all nations; 
bringing to you all our troubles 
ardent wishes, aspirations.

Look upon us and console us, 
lay your gentle hands upon us; 
intercede with Jesus for us, 
Mother of Peace, do pray for us.

All the faithful look up to you, 
you the lodestar of salvation; 
cleanse, embrace us, we pray to you, 
bless all in the congregation.

Bijakovo, Medjugorje, 
little hamlets spread the story, 
bearing witness to your beauty 
to your name and to your glory.

For all your love, dearest Mother 
all the wonders that we have seen, 
we give to you solemn promise 
to be better than we have been.