Do You Remember?

IF ONLY

I wish I'd been a child, dear God,
When You were little too!
O! Think of all the lovely things
We would have thought to do!
Perhaps I would have lived across
The street, and every day
Perhaps You would have asked me to
Come over, God, and play?
Perhaps You would have taught me how
To saw up wood or clean
The shop or build a little house?
What fun that would have been!
And then perhaps when we had worked
At that for quite a while,
Your Mother would have come right in
And kissed us with a smile!
O! If only I'd been a child
When You were little too!
Just think, dear God, of all the things
We would have thought to do!

Mary Dixon Thayer

Faith & Freedom , Ginn & Company, 1949
For use in Catholic Grade Schools

St. Michael Pray of Us!

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3. The Divine Perfections

Bee Keeping on the Farm, USA, 1951 - Photo by Nina Leen

INDEX

All this has proceeded from God in the first instance. He surpasses it all. It is the merest dim reflection of the unimaginable splendor of God. How magnificent will be the full revelation of God given to us in Glory! He contains all that we can desire. He alone can satisfy the immense cravings of human nature. Seek Him then above all things, and let nothing come between your soul and God to turn you from this wonderful treasure reserved for you. "O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God!" (Rom. xi. 33).
 

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Women Before God or Praying for Peace

Catholic Women Praying for Peace

Cuban Missile Crisis - 1962

Give Me Strength

Dear heavenly Father,
before I begin my day's work, I fold my hands in prayer. All the strength I need comes from you. The grace that helps me to be kind, patient, sympathetic, understanding―all comes from you.

You understand my life, O Lord. It's the same as that of thousands of other women. Yet it is still different, given especially to me. And since it comes from you, I shall never cease to believe in what is beautiful and to strive for what is good. Amen.

                   There is nothing small
                   in the service of God.

Francis de Sales

  

    ☼

Women Before God

Newman Press, 1961

2. The Existence of God

Tending the Rabbits, USA, 1950 - Photo by Nina Leen

INDEX

God exists.  This is the first truth of all truths;  it is eternally true, before all ages, without beginning;  it is a necessary truth, for the opposite is inconceivable; it is the most important of all truths, for all things affirm it, and all depend upon it; and it is for ever unchangeable.

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1. The Knowledge of God

INDEX

"All men are vain in whom there is not the knowledge of God" (Wisd. xiii. 1). Ignorance and want of reflection about divine things are two fruitful sources of anxiety, doubt, discontent, and sin in the world.

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Let Your Heart be on The Watch

You, who have had Him within you without knowing Him, and have possessed Him without relishing the sweetness of His presence, open your hearts to welcome Him, this time, with more care and love. He repeats His visit of this year with an untiring tenderness; He has forgotten your past slights; He would 'that all things be new.' Make room for the divine Infant, for He desires to grow within your soul. The time of His coming is close at hand; let your heart, then, be on the watch; and lest you should slumber when He arrives, watch and pray, yea, sing.

Dom Guéranger  abbot of Solesmes,

The Liturgical Year, 1867

More - Much More About the Jesus Prayer

“As you breathe in,” he told him, say, ‘Lord Jesus Christ,’ and as you breathe out, say, ‘Have mercy on me.”

More About the Jesus Prayer

By Bishop Robert Barron

I’m in the process of re-reading a spiritual classic from the Russian Orthodox tradition: The Way of a Pilgrim. This little text, whose author is unknown to us, concerns a man from mid-nineteenth century Russia who found himself deeply puzzled by St. Paul’s comment in first Thessalonians that we should “pray unceasingly.” How, he wondered, amidst all of the demands of life, is this even possible? How could the Apostle command something so patently absurd?

His botheration led him, finally, to a monastery and a conversation with an elderly spiritual teacher who revealed the secret. He taught the man the simple prayer that stands at the heart of the Eastern Christian mystical tradition, the so-called “Jesus prayer.” “As you breathe in,” he told him, say, ‘Lord Jesus Christ,’ and as you breathe out, say, ‘Have mercy on me.”  When the searcher looked at him with some puzzlement, the elder instructed him to go back to his room and pray these words a thousand times. When the younger man returned and announced his successful completion of the task, he was told, “Now go pray it ten thousand times!” This was the manner in which the spiritual master was placing this prayer on the student’s lips so that it might enter his heart and into the rhythm of his breathing in and out, and finally become so second nature to him that he was, consciously or unconsciously, praying it all the time, indeed praying just as St. Paul had instructed the Thessalonians.

In the power of the Spirit, the young man then set out to wander through the Russian forests and plains, the Jesus prayer perpetually on his lips. The only object of value that he had in his rucksack was the Bible, and with the last two rubles in his possession, he purchased a beat-up copy of the Philokalia, a collection of prayers and sayings from the Eastern Orthodox tradition. Sleeping outdoors, fending largely for himself, relying occasionally on the kindness of strangers, reading his books and praying his prayer, he made his way. One day, two deserters from the Russian army accosted him on the road, beat him unconscious and stole his two treasures. When he came around and discovered his loss, the man was devastated and wept openly: how could he go on without food for his soul? Through a fortuitous set of circumstances, he managed to recover his lost possessions, and when he had them once again, he hugged them to his chest, gripping them so hard that his fingers practically locked in place around them.

I would invite you to stay with that image for a moment. We see a man with no wealth, no power, no influence in society, no fame to speak of, practically no physical possessions—but clinging with all of him might and with fierce protectiveness to two things whose sole purpose is to feed his soul. Here’s my question for you: What would you cling to in such a way? What precisely is it, the loss of which would produce in you a kind of panic? What would make you cry, once you realized that you no longer had it? And to make the questions more pointed, let’s assume that you were on a desert island or that you, like the Russian pilgrim, had no resources to go out and buy a replacement. Would it be your car? Your home? Your golf clubs? Your computer? To be honest, I think for me it might be my iPhone. If suddenly I lost my ability to make a call, my contacts, my music, my GPS, my maps, my email, etc., I would panic—and I would probably cry for sheer joy once I had the phone back, and my fingers would close around it like a claw. What makes this confession more than a little troubling is that, ten years ago, I didn’t even own a cell phone. I lived my life perfectly well without it, and if you had told me then that I would never have one, it wouldn’t have bothered me a bit.

What I particularly love about the Pilgrim is that he was preoccupied, not about any of the passing, evanescent goods of the world, but rather about prayer, about a sustained contact with the eternal God. He didn’t care about the things that obsess most of us most of the time: money, power, fame, success. And the only possessions that concerned him were those simple books that fed his relationship to God. Or to turn it around, he wasn’t frightened by the loss of any finite good; but he was frightened to death at the prospect of losing his contact with the living God.

So what would you cling to like a desperate animal? What loss would you fear? What do you ultimately love?

He Reigns! The Solemnity of Christ The King

by BISHOP ROBERT BARRON

DAILY DAILY SING TO MARY 

When Israel begins to long for a new David, the true David and true king of the world, we witness the longing for God. Jesus Christ is precisely this king: the Davidic king, and God ruling his creation. His ministry reveals the nature of his kingship, from the manger to the cross.

Mass Readings

Reading 1 - Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17
Psalm - Psalm 23:1-2, 2-3, 5-6
Reading 2 - 1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28
Gospel - Matthew 25:31-46

Girl Scouts Morning Prayer

A Catholic Manual for Girl Scouts - 1958

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer You my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day, for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart, in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, in reparation for my sins, for the intentions of all our associates, and in particular for the general Intention recommended this month. (See video below for November Intentions).

O my God, I believe in You, because You are Truth itself. Hail Mary.

O my God, I hope in You, because of Your promises to me. Hail Mary.

O my God, I love You above all things, because You are infinitely good to me. Teach me to love You more and more. Hail Mary.

Today, with the help of Your divine grace, on my honor, I will try:

To do my duty to God and my country, To help other people at all times,To obey the Girl Scout Laws.

I renounce Satan and all his works and pomps; and I attach myself to Jesus Christ forever.  Amen.

THE GIRL SCOUT LAWS

The reason for any law is to further my well-being. The laws of God and the Church are signposts to eternal happiness; the laws of the state are signposts to temporal happiness; the Girl Scout Laws are rays of light shedding their luster through the corridors of time to the portal of eternity. The Girl Scout Laws are signposts showing me the true way of life. 

A Girl Scout's honor is to be trusted.

"We are ready to die rather than to transgress the laws of God, received from our fathers."

―2 Machabees 7:2

When a Girl Scout says a thing, she means it. She will not tell a lie which aims to deceive God, who can neither deceive nor be deceived. She will not tell a lie which aims to deceive her neighbor because her honor is to be trusted. The little children for whom she cares, the money, belongings, and most important, the reputations of others are safe with her.

"An honest Scout is the noblest work of God."

Girl Scouts Evening Prayer

A Catholic Manual for Girl Scouts - 1958

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

O my God, I thank You for all the graces and blessings bestowed on me during this day. Give me light to see what sins I have committed this day through thought, word, deed, or omission; that I may be truly sorry for them and "be prepared" to avoid sin and it occasions on the morrow.

Examination of Conscience

An Act of Contrition

O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended You, and I detest all of my sins, because of Your just punishments, but most of all, because they offend You, my God, who are all-good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Your grace, to sin no more and to avoid the near occasions of sin.

Then say:

Dear Jesus, bless and love me.

Holy Mary, be a Mother to me.

Angel Guardian, watch over me and protect me.

May my patron saint pray for me.

May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.  Amen.

Saints, Satellites and Mary

O God of wisdom and goodness! Grant, we beseech You, as we acclaim Mary's Queenship that she may show forth the power of her intercession before the Throne of her divine Son and obtain for us the graces ever to do your holy Will so that we may be made worthy of Your earthly blessings and heavenly rewards. Through Christ, our lord, Amen.  

How Prayer Works

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Sneak Away

The Bells of St. Mary's is a 1945 American drama film produced and directed by Leo McCarey and starring Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman.

To Begin Click on the Movie Below.  😇😇

Golden Pull Apart Butter Buns or Me & My Mom

  At last The quintessential soft, buttery dinner roll. Nestled - we might even say "crowded" - into a couple of 8" round pans, the shaped buns rise into one another as they bake. The result? Soft-sided pull apart buns, ready for melting pats of soft butter.
  Here's how I did it!

INGREDIENTS.
 

• 3 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 2 tablespoons potato flour or 1/4 cup instant potato flakes
• 3 tablespoons Baker's Special Dry Mild or nonfat dry milk
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 4 tablespoons soft butter
• 2/3 cup luke warm water
• 1/2 cup lukewarm milk

Combine all of the dough ingredients in a large bowl, and mix and knead — using your hands, a stand mixer, or a bread machine set on the dough cycle — to make a soft, smooth dough.

Place the dough in a lightly greased container — an 8-cup measure works well here. Cover the container, and allow the dough to rise for 60 to 90 minutes, until it's just about doubled in bulk.
Gently deflate the dough, and transfer it to a lightly greased work surface.

Divide the dough into 16 equal pieces, by dividing in half, then in halves again, etc. Round each piece into a smooth ball.

Lightly grease two 8" round cake pans. Space 8 buns in each pan. 
Can you use 9" round cake pans, or a 9" x 13" pan? Sure; the buns just won't nestle together as closely, so their sides will be a bit more baked.

Cover the pans, and allow the buns to rise till they're crowded against one another and quite puffy, about 60 to 90 minutes. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.

Uncover the buns, and bake them for 22 to 24 minutes, until they're golden brown on top and the edges of the center bun spring back lightly when you touch it. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the middle of the center bun should register at least 190°F.

Remove the buns from the oven, and brush with the melted butter. After a couple of minutes, turn them out of the pan onto a cooling rack.
Serve warm. Store leftovers well-wrapped, at room temperature.

We wish you a very happy Thanksgiving day. Enjoy the bounty!

This could have been me and my mom.  She was always working and my eyes were always fixed on her.  She taught me how to give and how to live! And I'm missing her today. . . 

The Novice Prayer

MY MOTHER

                  I put my trust forever,
                  O Mary, pure, in thee.

                  Then show thyself a mother,

                  And daily succour me.

                  And when death's hand shall touch me,

                  Thy pity I implore; 

                  Oh, lead me, dearest Mother,

                  To God―for evermore!

Prayers of an Irish Mother

Brian O'Higgins

38 UP, O'Connell Street, Dublin

1934

   

                                                                                                                                                      

Our Lady Appears in Zeitoun

A bus mechanic named Farouk Mohammed Atwa was working at a Public Transport garage across the street from the Virgin Mary Orthodox Coptic Church in Zeitoun, Egypt (a suburb of Cairo) after sunset on the evening of April 2, 1968 when the figure of a woman standing on top of one of the church’s domes caught his attention. Alarmed because he saw the woman moving and thought she was preparing to commit suicide by jumping off the church’s roof, Farouk alerted two of his coworkers, and they all shouted at the woman to be careful so she wouldn’t fall. Their shouting attracted the attention of many people passing by on Tumanbay Street, who also saw the glowing white female figure when they looked up. 

(Continued in the Video at the top of this page.)

The Official Video of Ave Maria by Celine Dion

Begin Ave Maria by Clicking Below.
Sweet Dreams. . .

Make this an endless loop by putting the pointer on the video, press your mouse or finger pad with two fingers, choose loop from the drop down list - then Click the Red Play button in the center of the video.

Here I am Lord

The Sunday Homily by Bishop Robert Barron

PARABLE OF THE TALENTS

CYCLE AORDINARY TIMEWEEK 33

by  Bishop Robert Barron  November 19, 2017

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Your being increases in the measure that you give it away. That's the law of the gift, and it can be found from end to end of the Bible. One application of this law has to do with faith itself. Your faith will grow only in the measure that you give it away, sharing it with others.

Mass Readings

Reading 1 - Proverbs 31:10-31
Psalm - Psalm 128:1-5
Reading 2 - 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6
Gospel - Matthew 25:14-30

Write Down a Prayer for Holy Communion 😇😇

BEFORE HOLY COMMUNION

Prayer for Help

O my God help me to make a good Communion. Mary, my dearest Mother, pray to Jesus for me. My dear Angel Guardian, lead me to the Altar of God.

Act of Faith

O God, because Thou hast said it, I believe that I shall receive the Sacred Body of Jesus to eat, and His precious Blood to drink. My God, I believe that with all my heart.

Act of Humility

My God, I confess that I am a poor sinner; I am not worthy to receive the Body and Blood of Jesus on account of my sins. Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldest enter under my roof; say but the word, and my soul shall be healed.

Act of Sorrow

My God, I detest all the sins of my life. I am sorry for them, because they have offended Thee, my God who art so good. I resolve never to commit sin any more. My good God, pity me, have mercy on me, forgive me. Amen.

Act of Adoration

O Jesus great God, present on the Altar, I bow down before Thee, I adore Thee.

Act of Love and Desire

Sweet Jesus, I love Thee. I desire with all my heart to receive Thee. Most sweet Jesus, come into my poor soul, and give me Thy Flesh to eat and Thy Blood to drink. Give me Thy whole self, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, that I may live forever with Thee.

O most sweet Virgin Mary, Mother of God and my Mother, lend me, I beseech thee, thy Immaculate Heart to receive my Jesus: that so I may receive Him by thee, by  whom the world received Him.

O Jesus, I offer Thee Thy sinless Mother's Heart, with its perfect dispositions at the moment of Thy Incarnation and all her communions. Come to me now by her, as I came to Thee by her. With her heart let me receive Thee.

AFTER HOLY COMMUNION

O my Queen, thou hast given me Jesus in thy heart, therefore, now, with the same true heart, entertain Him for me. Adore Him, thank Him, and implore Him for the graces thou knows me to need-in particular . . . . .

ACT OF FAITH

O Jesus, I believe that I have received Thy Flesh to eat and Thy Blood to drink, because Thou hast said it, and Thy word is true.

ACT OF ADORATION

O Jesus, my God, my Creator, I adore Thee, because from Thy Hands I came and with Thee I am to be happy forever.

ACT OF HUMILITY

O Jesus, I am but dust and ashes, and yet Thou hast come to me, and my poor heart may speak to Thee.

ACT OF LOVE

Sweet Jesus, I love Thee; I love Thee with all my heart. Thou knows that I love Thee, and wish to love Thee daily more and more.

ACT OF THANKSGIVING

My good Jesus, I thank Thee with all my heart. How good, how kind Thou art to me, sweet Jesus. Blessed be Jesus in the most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.

ACT OF OFFERING

O Jesus, receive my poor offering. Jesus Thou hast given Thyself to me, and let me give myself to Thee:

I give Thee my body, that it may be chaste and pure.

I give Thee my soul, that it may be free from sin.

I give Thee my heart, that it may always love Thee.

I give Thee every breath that I shall breathe. and especially my last; I give Thee myself in life and in death, that I may be Thine for ever and ever.

O Jesus, wash away my sins with Thy precious Blood.

O Jesus, the struggle against temptation is not yet finished. My Jesus, when temptation comes near me, make me strong against it. In the moment of temptation may I always say, "Jesus, mercy! Mary, help!"

O Jesus, may I lead a good life; may I die a happy death. May I receive Thee before I die. May I say when I am dying, "Jesus, Mary, Joseph, I give you my heart and my soul."

Listen now for a moment to Jesus Christ; perhaps He has something to say to you. There may be some promise you have made and broken, which He wishes you to make again and keep. Answer Jesus in your heart, and tell Him all your troubles. Then pray for others.

O Jesus, have mercy on Thy Holy Church; take care of it.

O Jesus, have pity on poor sinners, and save them from hell.

O Jesus, bless my father, my mother, my brothers and sisters, and all I ought to pray for, as Thy Heart knows how to bless them.

O Jesus, have pity on the poor souls in Purgatory, and give them eternal rest.

Sweet Jesus, I am going away for a time, but trust not without Thee. Thou are with me by Thy grace. I will never leave Thee by mortal sin. I do not fear to do so, though I am so weak, because I have such hope in Thee. Give me grace to persevere. Amen.

Back to Home.

    

Ave Maria - A rare recording from 1911.

Be Prepared for Thanksgiving

Already the morning sun has risen.
We beg that in all we do this day,
You will keep us free from sin and harm.

Curb our tongues that discord may never rise.
Cover our eyes before all vain delusion.

Let the inward depths of our heart be pure and free from all evil.

In food and drink, let us moderate our senses.

And then when the day has spent itself,
And night has gently embraced us,
May we with pure and happy heart
dedicate to you, our God, a hymn of thanks.

Praise be to God on high and to His only-begotten Son and to the Holy Spirit at all times, now and forever.  Amen.

Women Before God

Newman Press, 1961

Graces

Most families come together at least once a day to have the family meal. This is often the only opportunity for family prayer. It is a chance to thank God as a family for the blessings of the home. The father, as head of the family, should lead the graces. But it is the task of the mother to see that graces at table are not forgotten.

before meals:

     Bless us, O Lord, and these Thy gifts

     which we are about to receive from Thy

     bounty through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

after meals:

     We give Thee thanks, almighty God, for

     these and all Thy gifts which we have

     received from Thy bounty through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Women Before God

Newman Press, 1961

Have a Blessed Day!

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Madonna and Child or Keeping Watch

Alesso Baldovinetti (1427-1499) • Madonna and Child

Louvre Museum, Paris

 

"Blessed is the man who keeps watch at my gates every day and who is watching at my door post." (Prov. 8). As the poor wait at the doors of the rich, so blessed is the man who waits at the gate of Mary's mercy, seeking for alms which come in the form of graces; but even more blessed still is the man who tries to imitate the virtues which he learns from Mary, particularly the virtues of purity and humility.

Aspiration—My Hope, help me.