Love Within Us

 I was listening to a talk by Fr. John Riccardo on the Holy Spirit.  It was part of a series of talks titled RCIA for Catholics, although most of the talks could be titled “for Christians”.  I listened to the talk for discussion with a men’s group, but some points really hit home with me.

“The only thing that lasts is love.”  The Holy Spirit is the gift of God’s love within us, whether we perceive it or not, and the love we accept from Him is the only thing we will take with us into eternity.  That’s the thing about love so often forgotten, we yearn for love and want it desperately, but it is given.  We don’t take it; we can’t force it.  We’d like to feel we’re worth it, but regardless of what we feel about ourselves, we can be and are loved anyway.

“The cross manifests love.”  I was glad to hear those words because many do not perceive that, even if they might say they believe it.  Some people can’t bear to look at a crucifix, to see the body of Christ there.  They only see pain there.  I was reminded of my own gift of the Holy Spirit when I was challenged about the value of seeing Jesus on a cross.  “You know He’s not on the cross anymore,” the man said, reminding me of the Resurrection and Ascension.  But I was inspired to tell him a tale of how my own father once did an act of extraordinary love to get me a gift.  I told him how I tossed the gift down and hugged my father, well aware of the sacrifice he made to get me that gift.  His love was way more important than the gift.  “I look at the crucifix that way,” I told him.  Looking at it I see the tremendous act of love Jesus did, to give us eternal life.  Seeing Him on the cross, I don’t even think about the gift, only the love He had for me.

“I just want to love the one who loves me.”  The cross manifests love.  Fr. John’s talk gave many examples of the workings of love through the Holy Spirit.  He mentioned one point, however, which I guess hadn’t hit home before with such strength.  “There is one thing the three greatest saints in the Bible all have in common.  Moses, David and Paul all killed.”  The greatest sin of un-love they did, deliberately, yet through the love in them of the Holy Spirit, and God’s neve-ending mercy, they were forgiven.  There is no sin we could commit which would end God’s love for us.

If you wish, you can hear the hour-long podcast here: 

https://stanastasia.libsyn.com/rcia_for_catholics_session_4_the_holy_spirit

It is well worth the listen, and the possible opening of your heart to the Holy Spirit within you.

Prayer For the Election

I forwarded this prayer to friends, but I think it worth posting here:

Lord Jesus Christ, You told us to give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God. Enlighten the minds of our people [in] America. May we choose a President of the United States, and other government officials, according to Your Divine Will. Give our citizens the courage to choose leaders of our nation who respect the sanctity of unborn human life, the sanctity of marriage, the sanctity of marital relations, the sanctity of the family, and the sanctity of the aging. Grant us the wisdom to give You, what belongs to You, our God. If we do this, as a nation, we are confident You will give us an abundance of Your blessings through our elected leaders. Amen.

Composed by Father John Anthony Hardon, S.J.

 

    OUTLINE FOR CATHOLICS WHILE NONCATHOLICS DO WHAT YOU CAN

100DAYS OF FORMAL WORSHIP FROM JULY 26 THROUGH NOVEMBER 2 WHICH INCLUDES:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

1.       ATTEND MASS OR VIEW MASS ON EWTN

2.       RECEIVE ACTUAL OR SPIRITUAL COMMUNION FOR REPARATION OR REPENTANCE FOR THE SINS OF MAN

3.       PRAY THE ROSARY

4.       PRAY THE Fr. HARDON ELECTION PRAYER

5.       ADD FASTING, SACRIFICE OR OTHER PRAYERS IF YOU WANT TO OR CAN DO

 

 

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This prayer I also published here a while back, but it is one I pray daily now:

 

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Lord, I believe in You: increase my faith.
I trust in You: strengthen my trust.
I love You: let me love You more and more.
I am sorry for my sins: deepen my sorrow.

I worship You as my first beginning,
I long for You as my last end,
I praise You as my constant helper,
And call on You as my loving protector.

Guide me by Your wisdom,
Correct me with Your justice,
Comfort me with Your mercy,
Protect me with Your power.

I offer you, Lord, my thoughts: to be fixed on You;
My words: to have You for their theme;
My actions: to reflect my love for You;
My sufferings: to be endured for Your greater glory.

I want to do what You ask of me:
In the way You ask,
For as long as You ask,
Because You ask it.

Lord, enlighten my understanding,
Strengthen my will,
Purify my heart, and make me holy.

Help me to repent of my past sins
And to resist temptation in the future.
Help me to rise above my human weaknesses
And to grow stronger as a Christian.

Let me love You, my Lord and my God,
And see myself as I really am:
A pilgrim in this world,

A Christian called to respect and love
All whose lives I touch, those in authority over me or
Those under my authority,
My friends and my enemies.

Help me to conquer anger with gentleness,
Greed by generosity,
Apathy by fervor.
Help me to forget myself and reach out toward others.

Make me prudent in planning,
Courageous in taking risks.
Make me patient in suffering,
Unassuming in prosperity.

Keep me, Lord, attentive at prayer,
Temperate in food and drink,
Diligent in my work,
Firm in my good intentions.

Let my conscience be clear,
My conduct without fault,
My speech blameless,
My life well-ordered.

Put me on guard against my human weaknesses.
Let me cherish your love for me,
Keep Your law,
And come at last to Your salvation.

Teach me to realize that this world is passing,
That my true future is the happiness of heaven,
That life on earth is short,
And the life to come eternal.

Help me to prepare for death,
With a proper fear of judgment,
But a greater trust in your goodness.
Lead me safely through death
To the endless joy of heaven.

Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

Consecration to the Sacred Heart

As a result of looking at old books, in my spare time, I found these prayers which I picked up when I was in Medjugorje, on the pilgrimage which changed my life.  I now pray these prayers each morning, at the start of my day.  They touch my heart, and I thought they might yours also.

Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus:

Oh, Jesus, we know that You love us so much that You
have given Your Sacred Heart to us for our salvation.

You have been crowned with thorns because of our sins.
We know that You implore us to have hope in You.
Jesus remember us when we fall into sin.

Through Your most Sacred Heart, make us love all men.

Show us your love, Oh Lord. 
We all love You and ask You to protect us
with Your shepherd’s Heart from any sin.

Knock, keep knocking at the door of our hearts, Oh Lord!
Be patient and persevering with us, Oh Lord!

Our hearts are still closed to You because we
have not understood Your wishes.

Knock continuously!

Oh, Good Jesus, make us open our hearts to You,
and remember how much You have suffered for us.

 

Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary:

Oh, Immaculate Heart of Mary,
filled with kindness, show us your love.

May the flame of your heart, Oh, Mary, descend upon mankind.
We love you with infinite affection.

Imprint into our hearts true love,
so that we may always seek your love.

Oh, Mary, meek and humble of heart,
remember us when we have sinned.
Grant us through your motherly and Immaculate Heart
a healing of all spiritual illness.

Grant that we may always retain the goodness
of your motherly heart; may our hearts be converted to
the love of Jesus through the intercession of the
flame of love that radiates from your heart to us.

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I also might as well share another of the wonderful daily meditations, from Wilfrid Stinissen.

Ask for the Very Best

At times we look like monkeys jumping back and forth from branch to branch, without ever coming to rest.  God doesn’t intend for us to act in this way.  If God were to give in to your wishes and immediately satisfy our desires, we would continue to jump around from one thing to another our whole lives.

God takes his time and waits.  God lets us mature and gain insight into what is most essential.  God knows how much we would lose were he to constantly fulfill our wishes.

Perhaps you ask God to release you from bad habits that you find humiliating.  But God doesn’t want just to cure you from some symptom.  He cuts deeper to find the causes.

God has infinite patience and leads you, step by step, to where he wants you.  With a quiet whisper deep inside, he helps you to discover new dimensions.  Tenderly, God shows just as much as you are presently able to receive.  God always wants more than what you can wish for.  The energy you spend formulating and shaping your own wishes could be used so much more fruitfully by opening yourself up to receive whatever it is God wishes to give.

You have the chance to transform these wishes into prayer.  “Father, you know what is best for me.  Fill my longing with your Holy Spirit.”