Prayer of Praise...

God's strength will be poured out upon me.
His blessing will be joy.
His blessing will be trust.
His blessing will be strength.

Never more will I doubt.
Never more will I forget.
He is my Lord.
He is my God.

The Lord of Hosts is the Holy One,
The great I AM!
He is above all else.
Why should I fear?

He can do no wrong.
He is before at all times.
He strengths me and leads me.
Holy is His name.

15 Reasons Why I Love Beng Catholic!!!!

God, the Father: Creator of Heaven and Earth.  Father Almighty.  God of Love.  One of three Persons in the Trinity.  Through Him, all things were made.

Jesus: The Son of the Living God, Begotten not made, one if being with the Father.  Agreeing submitting His Will to the Father, Jesus suffered an horrific death for the sake of all humankind.  “Not my Will,” He said, “But Your Will be done.”

Holy Spirit:  The Third Person of the Trinity.  The Comforter.  The Guide.  The Paraclete

The Resurrection of the Body:  Jesus defeated death when He rose from the dead.  By His death we were saved.  By His Resurrection, we, too, will rise, one day.

The Truth - The Catholic Church speaks the truth, even if it’s not a popular truth to speak.  From the Catechism of the Catholic Church: Article 1: Section 1950: The Moral Law. 

“The moral law is the work of divine Wisdom. Its biblical meaning can be defined as fatherly instruction, God's pedagogy. It prescribes for man the ways, the rules of conduct that lead to the promised beatitude; it proscribes the ways of evil which turn him away from God and his love. It is at once firm in its precepts and, in its promises, worthy of love.”

The Mass:  The Mass is an encounter with Jesus, in which you pray with body, mind, and voice.  In the Mass we worship the Trinity.  We receive the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, which is Jesus, Himself.  We give thanks to God, and through the anointed hands of the priest, receive the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity  of Jesus. 

The Eucharist: Through the anointed and consecrated hands of the priest, the bread and wine offered at Mass become the person of Jesus, crucified on the cross for our sins. 

The Forgiveness of Sins:  Through the priest, in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, when we repent with sincere hearts, and confess our sins, the priest, acting in the place of Jesus, forgives us our sins. 

The Blessed Virgin Mary: The Mother of God.  While we, as Catholics, do not worship and adore our Lady, we have a strong devotion to her and her feminine role in the Church.  With her fiat, the final chapter of the salvation of mankind began.  Free to choose, she had only one question, “How can it be, since I do not know man?”  The angel assured her that the power of the Holy Spirit would come upon her and she would conceive and give birth to a Son who was the promised Messiah.  With that knowledge, Mary said yes, and her Son, our Lord and God, was conceived in the womb of the Virgin that God chose to be our Savior.
Forgiveness of sins

Pope Francis:  Our beloved Pontiff who has opened more doors in the faith to welcome those whom we might have shunned without his love.  I’m not sure I could love our dear Pontiff any more than I do at this moment, but I’m sure God will find a way to show me, I should love and pray for him even more.

Purgatory: God’s gift to us.  If the stain of sin is still upon us, and we are not yet ready for heaven, rather than being condemned to hell, God’s gift of love for His children is Purgatory, where we will be purified of our sin condition knowing that we will be allowed in the presence of the Beatific Vision of God when we are cleansed.  Hope, literally, spring eternal in Purgatory.


Sacred scripture: The Bible: The Words of God, contained in the Bible, are spoken and read at each Mass.  The Word of God is proclaimed at each Mass.  Catholics are encouraged to read the Bible daily and meditate on the Word of God.  Begin each reading with a prayer to the Holy Spirit.  Reflect on what God is saying to you in Scripture.  Use an approved Catholic Bible.  Using the prompts of the Holy Spirit, put into practice what you read.


The Communion of Saints: All the Faithful form one body, which is the Church with Christ as it’s head.  We are one body.  We are linked to each other through that which is holy from all that are holy.


The Rosary of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary:  The Rosary, in line after the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, is the second most powerful prayer to God.  Many graces are granted to the faithful who pray the Rosary.  The Rosary consists of:  The Apostles’ Creed, followed by and Our Father, Three Hail Marys, and one Glory Be.  After this the name of the Mystery is pronounced:  The Joyful, the Sorrowful, the Luminous, and the Glorious.  Each decade of the Rosary has a name in the mystery on which we meditate as we pray.  In each decade of the Rosary we recite: one Our Father, followed by 10 Hail Marys, followed by one Glory Be.  In between each decade we pray the Fatima Prayer, “Oh, my Jesus, forgive us our sins.  Save us from the fires of hell.  Lead all souls to heaven, especially those who are in most need of They Mercy.   To conclude the Rosary we pray the Hail Holy Queen.

If you don't yet know how to pray the Rosary,

or,

if you need a quick review, 

Click

HERE. 

My Guardian Angel:  The comfort of knowing that God appointed a heavenly being to be with me all the days of my life, from the moment of conception to the moment my soul leaves my body at death, a spiritual being who will protect and guide me in the ways of God, is overwhelming.  Each of us, in addition to the magnitude of the  gifts God has given us, has an angel who loves us almost as much as God does.  This angel seeks to bring us to the Throne of God one day, and present us to God with overwhelming joy! 

There are many more reasons why I love my faith!  God is good!  God is love!  God is all powerful!  I praise God for the gift of the Catholic Church!

The Litany of Humility

Photo Credit Dawn Hudson

The pastor at our local Newman Center takes Fridays off.

As a result, a group of young men from the Newman Center, attend Mass at our Church every Friday morning.

When we exit Mass,

the young men gather in a group,

cell phones in hand,

and together,

speak and respond to the 

Litany of Humility.

The Litany of Humility was written by 

Rafael Cardinal Merry Del Val

(1865-1930)

He was Secretary of State for

Pope Pius X.

Litany of Humility

O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,

Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being loved…  R. Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being loved...
From the desire of being extolled ...
From the desire of being honored ...
From the desire of being praised ...
From the desire of being preferred to others...
From the desire of being consulted ...
From the desire of being approved ...
From the fear of being humiliated ...
From the fear of being despised...
From the fear of suffering rebukes ...
From the fear of being calumniated ...
From the fear of being forgotten ...
From the fear of being ridiculed ...
From the fear of being wronged ...
From the fear of being suspected ...

That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be esteemed more than I … R. Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

From the desire of being loved...
From the desire of being extolled ...
From the desire of being honored ...
From the desire of being praised ...
From the desire of being preferred to others...
From the desire of being consulted ...
From the desire of being approved ...
From the fear of being humiliated ...
From the fear of being despised...
From the fear of suffering rebukes ...
From the fear of being calumniated ...
From the fear of being forgotten ...
From the fear of being ridiculed ...
From the fear of being wronged ...
From the fear of being suspected ...
That others may be esteemed more than I ...
That, in the opinion of the world,
others may increase and I may decrease …
That others may be chosen and I set aside ...
That others may be praised and I unnoticed ...
That others may be preferred to me in everything…
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should…

R. Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

May we all become as prayerful and humble as these young men.

Prayerful Weekend 2:: Prayer to My Guardian Angel

Prayerful Weekend:: 1 The Angelus

Give Thanks to the Lord for He is Good, His Mercy endures forever.

Attribution: This image was originally posted to Flickr by Camera on autopilot at http://flickr.com/photos/14168366@N08/3696773588

Praise God?  

Why?

He's God.  Does he need our praise?

 Does he need our thanksgiving?

Truthfully,

NO, 

God does not need our praise.

God does not need our thanksgiving.

However,

if someone gifted you with all you would or could ever need, wouldn't you, at least, write them a 

thank you note?

If you were granted an audience with the Pope,

wouldn't you write a thank you note to the person who arranged the meeting with the Pope?

Wouldn't you write a thank you note to Pope Francis?

 Of course, you would!

God being greater,

shouldn't we praise Him and Thank Him for all His wondrous gifts to us?

When you have no words,

there are some beautiful psalms.

Here's one of them.

O come, let us sing to the Lord;
    let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! 

 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
    let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! 

 For the Lord is a great God,
    and a great King above all gods. 

 In his hand are the depths of the earth;
    the heights of the mountains are his also.

The sea is his, for he made it,
    and the dry land, which his hands have formed.

 O come, let us worship and bow down,
    let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!

Psalm 96: 1-6

Think about your day.

Name 3 things for which you can praise and thank the Lord!

 

Tammy and Our Lady of Guadalupe

I had a friend who was diagnosed with advanced stage lung cancer at age 45.  She had never smoked, not even once, and when she was diagnosed, all of us cringed.  Her diagnosis was a shock to everyone.  She suffered greatly through her cancer journey, yet, even in her days of greatest sufferings, Tammy was consoled by her faith. 

Tammy had been an adult convert to Catholicism.  Like so many who have been received into the church at a later age, her faith was strong.  She was tested, but she was not found wanting.  Her faith was firm.   Her faith was unwavering.  She trusted God completely.  She gave strength to her family and friends. 

As her cancer progressed, she had one wish, and that was to go to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico.  The doctors advised against traveling.  She was very weak.  Tammy spent a lot of time in a wheel chair now, and her family was concerned.  They felt that the trip might adversely affect her precarious health. 

Tammy was not to be discouraged.  Along with her family, Tammy boarded an airplane that would take them to Mexico City.  Once there, she felt a surge of strength to the point where she was able to climb the stairs without help.  Her strength was remarkable!  She was keeping everyone moving, and she was happy.  Tammy prayed many times at the shrine of Our Lady.
Her family prayed for her physical healing.  Tammy also prayed.  As she prayed, she became more peaceful.  Her greatest sorrow was that she would not be able to see her son grow up to be a man.  Yet even in this sadness, an aura of peace surrounded her.  She surrendered all to God.  Her healing became deeper than flesh.  Her healing was in her soul.

As much as her family would have liked to have seen a physical healing for Tammy, Tammy’s cancer continued to spread in her body.  Lesions were found in her brain, and she acknowledged that this was the beginning of the end of her life.  The last time I saw Tammy, she was watching TV in a nursing home.   I came into the room, and her back was to me.  She was sitting directly in front of the television set.  I said, “Hi, Tammy.”  She turned her head and looked at me.  She didn’t know who I was.  She smiled and turned back to the program on EWTN.  She loved watching EWTN.  I tried to engage her, but her God was so much more important than I was.  I don’t blame her.  She was Mary to my Martha at that moment.  Even as her brain was affected by the rapidly growing  tumors, her God was there with her, and she knew it! 

A few weeks later, I received the call that Tammy had died earlier that morning.  She left this earth surrounded by love and she leapt into the arms of Love.  Her faith was her fortress.  Her God was her strength and her love.

I don’t know why I’m thinking about Tammy today.  I do miss her.  Her son is now in college.  I know she’d be proud of him!  It's been 8 years since she died.

Tammy reminded me that our Catholic faith is precious, and that our God is trustworthy and full of love.  Tammy understood the wonders of our God, the God who never gives up.  The God who gives strength.  The great I AM.  The cross became her crown. 

Miss you, Tammy! 

Saint Gertrude Prayer

Said to release 1,000 souls from Purgatory each time it is prayed.

Eternal Father, 

I offer you the most precious blood of your Son Jesus,

in union with all of the Masses said throughout the world,

In reparation for sins,

for the Holy Souls in Purgatory,

for sinners everywhere,

for sinners in the Universal Church,

those within my home and within my family.

Amen.