Prayer to be Merciful to Others

This prayer gives us a true measure of our mercy, a mirror in which we observe ourselves as merciful Christs. We can make it our morning invocation and our evening examination of conscience.
O Most Holy Trinity! As many times as I breathe, as many times as my heart beats, as many times as my blood pulsates through my body, so many thousand times do I want to glorify Your mercy.
I want to be completely transformed into Your mercy and to be Your living reflection, O Lord. May the greatest of all divine attributes, that of Your unfathomable mercy, pass through my heart and soul to my neighbor.
Help me, O Lord, that my eyes may be merciful, so that I may never suspect or judge from appearances, but look for what is beautiful in my neighbors’ souls and come to their rescue.
Help me, that my ears may be merciful, so that I may give heed to my neighbors’ needs and not be indifferent to their pains and moanings.
Help me, O Lord, that my tongue may be merciful, so that I should never speak negatively of my neighbor, but have a word of comfort and forgiveness for all.
Help me, O Lord, that my hands may be merciful and filled with good deeds, so that I may do only good to my neighbors and take upon myself the more difficult and toilsome tasks.
Help me, that my feet may be merciful, so that I may hurry to assist my neighbor, overcoming my own fatigue and weariness. My true rest is in the service of my neighbor.
Help me, O Lord, that my heart may be merciful so that I myself may feel all the sufferings of my neighbor. I will refuse my heart to no one. I will be sincere even with those who, I know, will abuse my kindness. And I will lock myself up in the most merciful Heart of Jesus. I will bear my own suffering in silence. May Your mercy, O Lord, rest upon me.
You Yourself command me to exercise the three degrees of mercy. The first: the act of mercy, of whatever kind. The second: the word of mercy — if I cannot carry out a work of mercy, I will assist by my words. The third: prayer — if I cannot show mercy by deeds or words, I can always do so by prayer. My prayer reaches out even there where I cannot reach out physically.
O my Jesus, transform me into Yourself, for You can do all things (163).

Prayer for Priests

A PRAYER FOR PRIESTS
Keep them, I pray Thee, dearest Lord, keep them, for they are Thine -
Thy priests whose lives burn out before thy consecrated shrine.
Keep them, for they are in the world, though from the world apart;
When earthly pleasures tempt, allure, shelter them in Thy Heart.
Keep them, and comfort them in hours of loneliness and pain,
When all their life of sacrifice for souls seems but in vain.
Keep them, and O remember Lord, They have no one but Thee,
Yet they have only human hearts, with human frailty.
Keep them as spotless as the Host, that daily they caress;
Their every thought and word and deed, deign, dearest Lord, to bless. Amen

Let us NOT FORGET the MIRACLE IN MEXICO, Swine Flu under Control

On Sunday April 26th the Catholic Church took out in solemn procession throughout the streets of Mexico City the statue of the Christ of Health (El Cristo de la Salud). Sources indicated that the famous statue had not been taken to the streets for about 150 years, since a cholera outbreak scourged the Capital of Mexico in the 1850s. At that time Christ performed the miracle and stopped the outbreak. In a similar manner now in 2009, the MIRACLE has being performed once again by the same Jesus who is alive and risen. On April the 26th the city was overwhelmed with terror and fear, deaths were on the rise and the Church wisely asked the people to pray to the Lord of health for mercy and healing. After the procession, the statue of the Christ of Health was taken to the Cathedral of Mexico, where it was placed in a prominent place within it, at the Altar of Forgiveness, and invitation to the people of Mexico to seek reconciliation with God and implore His Mercy. The prayers of the people have been heard and the MIRACLE WAS PERFORMED by Jesus, and now the outbreak is under control and life in Mexico City is going back to normality. However, nobody seems to give credit to God for what has taken place, He who is the source of all life and healing, and people are simply going back to their lives without a real sense of understanding of the magnitude of the Miracle that has been accomplished in their midst, where the Mercy of God has been quickly showered upon the Mexican People and avoided a potentially tragic situation for Mexico and for the rest of the world. I must add that in addition to the procession of the Christ of Health, the Cardinal of Mexico also celebrated Mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe and asked her also to intercede for the people of Mexico and spare them from a tragedy. THANK YOU JESUS FOR SPARING THE PEOPLE OF MEXICO AND THE WHOLE WORLD from a potentially tragic situation. We pray for those who died, that God in His Mercy will grant them eternal rest. And THANK YOU also to Our Lady of Guadalupe for interceding for the people of Mexico and of the whole world and obtaining this amazing MIRACLE!!

Pray for Vocations to the Priesthood and Consecrated Life

Today as we celebrate Holy Saturday, our Lord asked St. Faustina to pray in the Novena of Divine Mercy for the souls of priests and religious:
"Today bring me the souls of Priests and Religious, and immerse them in My unfathomable mercy. It was they who gave me strength to endure My bitter Passion. Through them as through channels My mercy flows out upon mankind."
And thus we pray:
Most Merciful Jesus, from whom comes all that is good, increase Your grace in men and women consecrated to Your service,* that they may perform worthy works of mercy; and that all who see them may glorify the Father of Mercy who is in heaven.Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the company of chosen ones in Your vineyard -- upon the souls of priests and religious; and endow them with the strength of Your blessing. For the love of the Heart of Your Son in which they are enfolded, impart to them Your power and light, that they may be able to guide others in the way of salvation and with one voice sing praise to Your boundless mercy for ages without end. Amen.
* In the original text, Saint Faustina uses the pronoun "us" since she was offering this prayer as a consecrated religious sister. The wording adapted here is intended to make the prayer suitable for universal use.
This prayer is a great preparation for the upcoming world day of prayer for vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life to be celebrated on May 3rd. Here is the text of the Holy Father for that day:
http://www.zenit.org/article-25529?l=english

Walter Hoye is Free from Jail

Walter Hoye, a pastor at a Berkeley church was jailed for 30 days after unsuccessfully arguing that an order requiring him to stay 100 yards away from an Oakland abortion clinic violates his right to free speech. Walter Hoye is free now after being in jail only 18 days out of the 30 days he had originally been sentenced to. But the truth is that in that jail where he spent the last 18 days he was freer than his prosecutors and jailers, because he enjoyed the freedom of the children of God, he enjoyed the freedom of truth.

Walter Hoye of Union City was the first person convicted under an Oakland ordinance barring protesters from coming within 8 feet of anyone entering an abortion clinic. In February, Judge Stuart Hing of Alameda County Superior Court sentenced Hoye to three years' probation and 30 days in jail, and ordered him to pay $1,000 plus a $130 restitution fee. Hoye could have disposed of the jail time in a sheriff's work detail or by volunteering. But he balked at the judge's order to stay 100 yards from Family Planning Specialists Medical Group at Second and Webster streets. Hoye argued that the order was more severe than Oakland's ordinance and stifled his First Amendment rights. Judge Hing refused to budge at a hearing Friday at which Hoye's attorneys tried to stay the sentence pending an appeal. The judge asked Hoye to decide whether he wished to serve a month in jail or in an alternative program, and the pastor chose jail. Hoye was arrested May 13, 2008 at the Oakland clinic, carrying a sign that read, "Jesus loves you and your baby. Let us help you!"As women approached the door, he asked them, "May I talk to you about alternatives to the clinic?"

Now Walter is free from jail and we must continue to express our support for him. He is an awesome guy and a true witness of courage in the face of opposition. He has shown truly how silly our judicial system is, as Mark Shea said "sin makes you stupid," and we live in a very stupid society indeed, where the real criminals are allowed to walk free, where the real criminals are protected so that they can continue their criminal activity, this is absolute stupidity. The amazing thing is that the abortion center where Hoye used to go to counsel women has been shut down in Oakland during the time Hoye was in prison due to "financial hardships." To me the closing is a sign of the power of prayer and fasting. We must remember that before Hoye was sentenced last month, he has engaged himself in a 40 day campaign of prayer and fasting, and the results are obvious. In the end is one more abortion clinic that has been closed and no more babies will be killed there. Awesome!

St. Teresa of Avila and Spiritual Growth

St. Teresa of Avila one of the greatest mystics in the Catholic Church left us a profound treasure of spiritual heritage regarding the ways to grow in the spiritual life. For those whom Teresa considered beginners she always warned them about the necessity to grow in prayer and self-knowledge. St. Teresa likens the prayer life to tending a garden. The garden represents the heart, planted by the Lord but tended by us. Service for the Master is a great honour and delight. He walks there often and delights in the flowers which symbolize our developing virtues. Developing our prayer life is not easy, and Teresa acknowledges that the beginning stages require some hard labour, which she likens to watering a garden by drawing buckets from a well. We need to train ourselves in the ways of prayer but, just as in any discipline, rewards are sure to follow as we build upon sound instruction. With growth the required labour progressively lessens until, in the highest form of prayer, God pours out blessings as the rain falls from heaven, requiring no effort at all from the gardener.
Regarding self-knowledge she speaks about the need for humility in the First Mansion of the Interior Castle, Chapter 2, she says "(First Mansion, Chapter 2): "I do not know whether I have put this clearly; self-knowledge is of such consequence that I would not have you careless of it, though you may be lifted to heaven in prayer, because while on earth nothing is more needful than humility. Therefore, I repeat, not only a good way, but the best of all ways, is to endeavour to enter first by the room where humility is practised, which is far better than at once rushing on to the others. This is the right road;—if we know how easy and safe it is to walk by it, why ask for wings with which to fly? Let us rather try to learn how to advance quickly. I believe we shall never learn to know ourselves except by endeavouring to know God, for, beholding His greatness we are struck by our own baseness, His purity shows our foulness, and by meditating on His humility we find how very far we are from being humble."

Inauguration Day

As we approach inauguration day I experience a certain feeling of dread. Perhaps I am one of the few that is not so enthused with Obama becoming president. I am amazed to read about the numbers that are expected for his inauguration, it is something amazing, if we talk about popularity, this is perhaps the most popular president in the history of the US at least at the beginning of his presidency. And I give him credit for that, he is certainly charming and that has attracted a lot of people, who have prefered charm to values. But as the day approaches I am reminded of the stark reality that is approaching all of us, the people of this country, and in fact the rest of the world. If he stands on his word, and follows through with his proposed policies to promote legalized abortion and fund all efforts to promote it, then we will be facing one of the darkest periods in human history. I have offered all sorts of prayers for him, one never knows, conversions are possible, but there is always that mystery called free will, and God will never force anybody to love Him or to love somebody else including the unborn. That is a mystery! Yes, I continue to pray, I also know that I need God's mercy as much or more than Obama does, we are all in need of Christ's grace to rescue us from the power of darkness. So I do not judge him, that is God's job, but I cannot remain silent before his proposed plans to continue to eliminate the most vulnerable in our society. God as always is triumphant no matter what happens, yet we invoke His mercy on us and on the whole country!

Miracle in the Hudson

Reports arrive that about 155 passengers and crew included survived the landing of flight 1549 in the Hudson River. The passengers, the authorities and all those involved in the rescue refer to it as a miracle. And it is indeed a miracle. A miracle for several reasons: first, because when they struck the group of geese, the pilot realized that the engines were dead and asked the passengers to brace for a crash, but according to some passengers, they began to PRAY, I guess there are no atheists in foxholes. Second, the pilot in a miraculous way was able to place the plane on the river without breaking the plane, or submerging the plane, in fact he was able to put it almost perfectly close to land preserving the integrity of the aircraft. Third, people were able to leave the plane in a relative orderly manner, and even those who had to stand on the wings that were submerged, were able to do so without suffering from hypothermia since the freezing waters only covered their ankles. Fourth, due to the intense commercial traffic in the river, it was a perfect spot to place the plane since immediately many of the vessels navigating the Hudson river came to the rescue and were able to remove all the passengers to safety in a prompt manner. Miracle? You bet. And remember the basic definition of miracle as given in wikipedia: A miracle is a visible interruption of the laws of nature, such that can only be explained by DIVINE INTERVENTION! Yeap, Divine intervention, thus, the credit goes primarily to God and also to the pilot that allowed himself to be guided by the HOLY ONE in this amazing adventure. What is amazing is that even the newscasters cannot avoid being reminded that there is indeed a God who is over all and in all :-)

Worldwide conflicts

As most of the attention in the news goes to the conflicts in the middle East, Israel, Gaza, Afghanistan, and Irak, there is the risk of forgetting about the many other major conflicts going on throughout the world. The following link provides a great summary of other worldwide conflicts, and reminds us of our duty to pray for peace and to strive for justice, solidarity and charity.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28584056/