A Little Prayer Goes a Long Way

"A little prayer goes a long way" 


I'd say this is a phrase I've learned to ring true throughout my few years as a Christian, and Catholic. This July I'll be heading to NYC for a mission trip as an adult chaperon with around 15 youth. I am beyond excited for this experience. But the reason I post today is to share a prayer with you. While prepping for this mission trip we were concerned with not having enough students sign up, but with a little faith and a little prayer the Lord has provided abundantly. For the next 6 weeks, the adult team is going to pray the Novena to the Sacred Heart that I included below. We chose this prayer because Mother Teresa frequently used to pray this prayer - and she also worked with the poor and the ill. So following the model of this saintly woman we will be praying for our time of service with this prayer. And I simply wanted to encourage all to pray everyday, even just a little. It will go a long way if we just have a little faith. 


NOVENA TO THE SACRED HEART

O Divine Jesus, who has said: Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you; behold us prostrate at Your feet. Animated with a lively faith and confidence in these promises, dictated by Your Sacred Heart and pronounced by Your adorable lips, we come to ask
(here mention the request.)

From whom shall we ask, O sweet Jesus, if not from You, whose Heart is an inexhaustible source of all graces and merits? Where shall we seek, if not in the Treasure which contains all the riches of your clemency and bounty? Where shall we knock, if it be not at the door of your Sacred Heart through which God Himself comes to us and through which we go to God? To You then, O Heart of Jesus, we have recourse.In You we find consolation when afflicted, protection when persecuted, strength when overwhelmed with trials, and light in doubt and darkness.

We firmly believe thatYou can bestow upon us the grace we implore, even though it should require a miracle. We confess we are most unworthy of Your favors, O Jesus, but this is not a reason for us to be discouraged. You are the God of Mercies and You will not refuse a contrite and humble heart.Cast upon us a look of pity, we beg of You and Your compassionate Heart will find in our miseries and weakness a
pressing motive for granting our petitions. But, O Sacred Heart, whatever may be Your decision with regard to our request, we will never cease to adore, love, praise, and serve You. Deign, Lord Jesus, to accept this, our act of perfect submission to the decrees of your adorable Heart, which we sincerely
desire may be fulfilled in and by us and all your creatures for ever and ever. Amen.

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, Your Kingdom come!

(To be prayed every day of the novena)

Be Satisfied with Me

A friend gave this to me this morning and I wanted to share it with you all! 

BE SATISFIED WITH ME

Everyone longs to give themselves completely to someone,
To have a deep soul relationship with another,
To be loved thoroughly and exclusively.
But God, to a Christian, says,
"No, not until you are satisfied, fulfilled and content
With being loved by Me alone,
With giving yourself totally and unreservedly to Me,
With having an intensely personal and unique relationship
With Me alone.
Discovering that only in Me is your satisfaction to be found,
Will you be capable of the perfect human relationship
That I have planned for you.
You will never be united with another until you are united
With Me alone,
Exclusive of anyone or anything else,
Exclusive of any other desires or longings.

I want you to stop planning,
Stop wishing,
And allow Me to give you the most thrilling plan existing,
One that you cannot imagine.
Please allow Me to bring it to you.
You just keep watching Me, expecting the greatest things.
Keep experiencing the satisfaction that I Am.
Keep listening and learning the things I tell you.
You just wait.
That's all.
Don't be anxious.
Don't worry.

-Anonymous

Monday Memo on Tuesday...

"Love for the Cross has always been the distinctive sign of chosen souls." St. Padre Pio

Consecrated to the Father

"Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth." Jn 17:17-19

In this Gospel reading Jesus is asking the Father to remain with us - with those of us who will be his followers here on this earth. He gives himself, he consecrates himself to the Father for our sake. He wants us to know truth. He wants us to know Love.

Jesus wants us to be one with the Holy Trinity. He consecrated himself to the Father, and in that he consecrates us to the Father as well. We must choose to consecrate ourselves - to give ourselves, our lives to the Father, and allow Jesus to work and move in our lives. When we give our lives to Christ, when we choose to be set apart because of our faith - we are then blessed to live in the glory of God's Love.

I was reflecting on this the other day, and was convicted to consecrate myself, once again to God, in my heart, in my quiet personal prayer, to proclaim Jesus as Lord of my life. I have done the Marian Consecration three or four times now, but for the first time since making that consecration - I felt convicted on my own accord, in my own timing to truly give myself to God. It was a really neat experience to simply be convicted to give my life to Christ again - so that I may be able to carry him into my daily tasks, in the work place, in the home, and wherever I may go.

Here's the little prayer I wrote during this time of prayer and reflection:

 Father, I consecrate myself to you. I give myself to you. Do with me what you will. I am yours. Make me a humble servant of your love. Amen.

I want to encourage you to continue to seek God each day, in some seek him so that he may flood your heart with his peace, fill it with his joy, and overflow with his love. In his time, he will convict you to give yourself entirely to him, but we must simply continue to seek him each day, and know that even in all our imperfections and flaws, he loves us still!

A Reflection on Communion

For the last four months I have been to attend mass daily, except for Saturdays (mainly because I was too lazy to get up...) and this has been such a beautiful blessing - to receive the body, blood, soul, and divinity of our Lord and Savior every day. I saw a transformation in myself, in my love, in my joy, and much needed healing. However, life has now picked up again, and last week I wasn't able to make it mass everyday. I actually went 4 full days without receiving the Eucharist. Come Sunday morning mass, I was so excited to receive Jesus. And upon receiving the Eucharist, I was so filled with joy. I could truly say my heart was exalting in the love of the Lord, in which I had been immersed. 

It is so important to receive the Lord as often as possible, which I knew. But now I have experienced the effects, and felt a difference in my heart - a true, deeper longing for Christ when not able to receive him. Brothers and sisters, I encourage you to seek Christ as much as you can in the Eucharist. Seek his love, his mercy, his kindness, gentleness, and healing power. He is the end all, be all, he is everything. Make him your everything. Allow yourself to fall so in love with the Lord, you cannot go a day without seeking him. 

Monday Memo: Mama T

"We may spend time in chapel- but have you seen with the eyes of your soul how He looks at you with love? Do you really know the living Jesus- not from books but from being with Him in your heart? Have you heard the loving words He speaks to you? Ask for the grace; He is longing to give it. Until you can hear Jesus in the silence of your own heart, you will never be able to hear Him saying "I thirst" in the hearts of the poor."
-Mother Teresa

St. Catharine of Siena

This is an excerpt from a book I'm reading. I love this book because the chapters are just 2 pages long and beautiful, inspirational messages that remind of the duty which has been given us by God. 

"We ought to be servants because we are bought with his blood. However, I do not see how our service can be profitable to him; therefore, we should be of profit to our neighbor, because the neighbor is the means by which we test and gain virtue. You know that every virtue receives life from love, and love is gained in love, that is, by raising the eye of our mind to behold how much we are beloved of God. Seeing ourselves loved, we cannot do otherwise than love. Loving him, we shall embrace virtue through the force of love, and shall hate vice and turn from it. 

So you see that we conceive virtues through God, and bring them to birth from our neighbor. You are well aware that for the needs of your neighbor you bring forth the child charity from your soul, along with patience with whatever wronds your neighbor does to you. You pray, especially for those who have done you wrong. And this we should do; even if people are untrue to us, we should be true to them, and faithfully seek their salvation; loving them by grace, and not for personal gain. In other words, do not love your neighbor for your own profit, for that would not be faithful love, and you would not be responding to the love God has for you. For as God has loved you by grace, so he wills that since you are unable to return this love to him, you return it to your neighbor, loving him by grace and not, as I already pointed out, as part of a deal. So whether you are wronged or should see that love is withheld or your joy is lessened, you must not be stingy or withhold love toward your neighbor. Instead you should love him tenderly, bear with and endure his faults. Always be reverent toward God's servants and find consolation in them. 

Take care not to behave like mad or foolish people who pretend to investigate and judge the actions and habits of God's servants. Anyone who acts this way deserves a severe rebuke. This would be the same as trying to rein in the Holy Spirit as if we could make all the servants of God walk in our own way - an impossible feat to achieve."