Silence of Mary

Holy Mary, Mother of God, you who treasured all things and pondered them carefully in your heart, teach us that deep, interior silence which enfolded you throughout your lifetime --

the silence of the Annunciation, of faith, mission and obedience;

the silence of the Visitation, of humility, service and praise;

the silence of Bethlehem, of birth, incarnation and wonder;

the silence of the flight into Egypt, of perseverance, hope and trust;

the silence of Nazareth, of simplicity, intimacy and communion;

the silence of Mt. Calvary, of courage, death and abandonment;

the silence of Easter, of resurrection, jubilation and glory;

the silence of Ascension, of fulfillment, transformation and new creation;

the silence of Pentecost, of peace, power and love.

Mary, in your wisdom, teach us that silence which enables us to listen to the small, still voice of our God; which compels us to worship Him alone in spirit and in truth; which empowers us to acknowledge our nothingness and exult confidently in our Savior; which frees us to lose ourselves in unceasing adoration of the God who is Infinite Love.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us now and always, that we may enter into that silence of yours which unites us to Jesus,your Son, in the mystery of His silence before the Father of mercies.

AMEN.

Peace of Christ to ALL

Prayer to St. Pius X

Glorious Pope of the Eucharist, Saint Pius X, you sought "to restore all things in Christ." Obtain for me a true love of Jesus so that I may live only for Him. Help me to acquire a lively fervor and a sincere will to strive for sanctity of life, and that I may avail myself of the riches of the Holy Eucharist in sacrifice and sacrament. By your love for Mary, mother and queen of all, inflame my heart with tender devotion to her.

Blessed model of the priesthood, obtain for us holy, dedicated priests, and increase vocations to the religious life. Dispel confusion and hatred and anxiety, and incline our hearts to peace and concord. so that all nations will place themselves under the sweet reign of Christ.

Saint Pius X, pray for me

Amen.

Peace of Christ to ALL

Give Thanks

Autumn leaves are falling,

Pretty colors everywhere.

Thanksgiving day is almost here,

Another day that we may share.

The things we take for granted

Are blessings from above.

The needs He has provided,

Were given to us in love.

Let's give thanks for what we have,

Bow our heads and together pray.

As we join our friends and family,

On this Thanksgiving Day.

Amen.

Peace of Christ to ALL

Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin

November 21

THE BLESSED VIRGIN was presented in the temple at Jerusalem by her pious parents, Joachim and Ann, there to be educated in the service and the law of the Lord in order that she might be guarded against the defilements of the world. From this we learn:

1. Joachim and Ann offered to the Lord their only and most beloved child, and gave her up entirely to His service. Great as the sacrifice was, they yet made it. The preservation of the innocence of their daughter was to them above all else. Parents, God requires of you that you should not merely offer your children to Him in the temple, but that you should take care to keep them pure and holy, as living temples which have been consecrated in Baptism.

2. Mary gives and dedicates herself to God as soon as she is capable of serving Him, and that without any reservation, for all time, and irrevocably. When, then, shall we give ourselves in earnest to God? True, we have been given to Him in holy Baptism, we have been consecrated as His temples, we have renounced the devil and the world, we have vowed to live only for God, and this vow we have, perhaps, often renewed; but have we kept it? What we gave with one hand, have we not taken it away with the other? Have we not defiled the temple of our hearts by shameful lusts, lived for the world and vanity more than for God? Ah, when shall we give ourselves up to God sincerely and forever? Perhaps when we are old! But will God accept our offering then? Will He be pleased that we begin to serve Him only when we can no longer serve the world? that we first begin to live for Him when our life is soon to cease? No; God is a jealous Lord, and is not pleased with a heart divided between Him and creatures. He requires us to love Him with all our heart and all our soul, and to serve Him with all our powers. Let us, then, do this, and do it from our youth; let us keep ourselves in body and soul undefiled for the Lord; such love, and such love only, will He reward as perfect.

Prayer

O God, Who wast pleased that the blessed Mary, ever virgin, the habitation of the Holy Ghost, should on this day be presented in the temple, grant, we beseech Thee, that by her intercession we may deserve to be presented in the temple of Thy glory. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

Epistle: Ecclesiasticus 24:14-16

From the beginning, and before the world, was I created, and unto the world to come I shall not cease to be, and in the holy dwelling-place I have ministered before Him. And so was I established in Sion, and in the holy city likewise I rested, and my power was in Jerusalem. And I took root in an honorable people, and in the portion of my God His inheritance, and my abode is in the full assembly of saints.

Gospel: Luke 11:27, 28

And it came to pass, as He spoke these things, a certain woman from the crowd lifting up her voice said to Him: Blessed is the womb that bore Thee, and the paps that gave Thee suck. But He said: Yea rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it.

Explanation

By His answer Jesus would have us understand that His Mother was not to be blessed merely because she bore Him, the Son of God, but rather because she at all times endeavored to keep the word of God in her heart and to observe it in her life. If you would be blessed, learn to be not only a hearer, but a doer, of the word of God.

Goffine's Devout Instructions

PRAYER TO CHRIST THE KING

O Christ Jesus,
I acknowledge You as King of the universe.
All that has been created has been made for You.
Exercise over me all Your rights.
I renew my baptismal promises,
Renouncing Satan and all his work and pomps.
I promise to live a good Christian life
And to do all in my power to procure
The triumph of the rights of God and Your Church.

Divine Heart of Jesus,
I offer you my poor actions
In order to obtain that all hearts
May acknowledge Your Sacred Royalty,
And that thus the reigh of Your peace
May be established throughout the universe.

Amen.

Peace of Christ to ALL

Shine Through Me

Dear Jesus, help me to spread Your Fragrance everywhere I go. Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly that all my life may only be a radiance of Yours. Shine through me and be so in me, that every soul I come in contact with may feel Your Presence in my soul: let them look up and see no longer me--but only Jesus.

Amen

Saint John Neuman

Peace of Christ to ALL

Prayers for Grandparents

Heavenly Father, I know that every period of our lives hasits responsibilities as well as its joys. Today, it seems that grandparents

have either too little use or too much---either we are shunted aside to do nothing or we are called upon to do everything.

Help me to know just where my duties lie in my particular situation and to carry them out as best I can.

Take care of my family---my children and their children.Inspire them all to follow your Son and lead truly Christian lives.

Keep all of us in your loving care, never let us turn away from You,and help us in the end to receive the joy of entering into your glorious presence forever.

Amen.

Peace of Christ to ALL

Greeting Mary

Hail Mary, hello, how are you? I greet you with love, And I thank you for being available. Deeply, I breathe your roses, The twelve fresh roses you place in my spirit Every morning when I say hello to you.

Full of grace are you, Grace spilling over Heaven's boundaries Into my world, living water, bread and wine, The unmerited favor of God That you come carrying to me, Your arms always full of gifts.

The Lord is with thee, Jesus Christ the Messiah is with you, And you teach me how to recognize That the Lord is with me.

Blessed art thou amoung women, Glowing with love for Jesus, Pure blessedness never tainted But alive with holy beauty.

And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus, The most blessed of humanity, Delivered through you, Virgin Mary. Jesus, the most cursed of humanity, Who became a curse for me So that I might be blessed With his resurrection life.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, Teach me to value motherhood, Help me pray for mothers and fathers To love and support each other. Show me how God loves you.

Pray for us sinners now And at the hour of our death. Pray that I can live each moment Consecrated to love, to Christ, That I recognize each now As the moment of salvation So that I die prepared for eternal life. Pray that I can crucify my passions, Those passions that make me a sinner, And that I can die to sin on the cross with Jesus As you look on weeping and praying But joyous, knowing that resurrection follows.

Hail Mary, full of grace, The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us sinners Now and at the hour of our death.

Amen.

Peace of Christ to ALL

Prayer to The Sacred Heart of Jesus

From the depth of my nothingness, I prostrate myself before Thee, O Most Sacred, Divine and Adorable Heart of Jesus, to pay Thee all the homage of love, praise and adoration in my power.

Amen.

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

Peace of Christ to ALL

Psalm 100

1 A psalm of thanksgiving. Shout joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;

2 worship the LORD with cries of gladness; come before him with joyful song.

3 Know that the LORD is God, our maker to whom we belong, whose people we are, God's well-tended flock.

4 Enter the temple gates with praise, its courts with thanksgiving. Give thanks to God, bless his name;

5 good indeed is the LORD, Whose love endures forever, whose faithfulness lasts through every age.

Prayer for the Preservation of the Faith

O my Redeemer, will that dreadful time ever come, when but few Christians shall be left who are inspired by the spirit of faith, that time when Thine anger shall be provoked and Thy protection shall be take away from us? Have our vices and our evil lives irrevocably moved Thy justice to take vengeance, perhaps this very day, upon Thy children? O Thou, the beginning and end of our faith, we conjure Thee, in the bitterness of our contrite and humbled hearts, not to suffer the fair light of faith to be extinguished in us.

Remember Thy mercies of old, turn Thine eyes in mercy upon the vineyard planted by Thine own right hand, and watered by the sweat of the Apostles, by the precious blood of countless Martyrs and by the tears of so many sincere penitents, and made fruitful by the prayers of so many Confessors and innocent Virgins. O divine Mediator, look upon those zealous souls who raise their hearts to Thee and pray ceaselessly for the maintenance of that most precious gift of Thine, the true faith.

We beseech Thee, O God of justice, to hold back the decree of our rejection, and to turn away Thine eyes from our vices and regard instead the adorable Blood shed upon the Cross, which purchased our salvation and daily intercedes for us upon our altars. Ah, keep us safe in the true Catholic and Roman faith. Let sickness afflict us, vexations waste us, misfortunes overwhelm us! But preserve in us Thy holy faith; for if we are rich with this precious gift, we shall gladly endure every sorrow, and nothing shall ever be able to change our happiness. On the other hand, without this great treasure of faith, our unhappiness would be unspeakable and without limit!

O good Jesus, author of our faith, preserve it untainted within us; keep us safe in the bark of Peter, faithful and obedient to his successor and Thy Vicar here on earth, that so the unity of Holy Church may be maintained, holiness fostered, the Holy See protected in freedom, and the Church universal extended to the benefit of souls.

O Jesus, author of our faith, humble and convert the enemies of Thy Church; grant true peace and concord to all Christian kings and princes and to all believers; strengthen and preserve us in Thy holy service, so that we may live in Thee and die in Thee. O Jesus, author of our faith, let me live for Thee and die for Thee.

Amen.

Peace of Christ to ALL