Here is a helpful article on keeping the right internal dispositions to profit from penance.
We encourage everyone to make a specific Pledge and not just to plan on saying some prayers. Why? Have a look…
May God bless you and your loved ones for your prayers and sacrifices.
We encourage everyone to make a specific Pledge and not just to plan on saying some prayers. Why? Have a look…
May God bless you and your loved ones for your prayers and sacrifices.
“Finally, draw your strength from the Lord and from His mighty power. Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens.
Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground. So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace. In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all (the) flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
~ Ephesians 6:10-17
We are enabled to make our lives (and each moment of our lives) a prayerful sacrifice by understanding that God reveals Himself through the daily events, possibilities, restrictions, cares and sufferings of our ordinary life, and striving more and more to fully recognize and accept His merciful will in every situation.
This fundamental truth of the Catholic Faith is present in both the foundation and the soaring heights of sanctity. As God is both the source and the final purpose of our lives, so in this practical spirituality, we are assisted in making each choice an offering that draws its strength from Him (it’s source) and offers Him back a loving sacrifice (it’s final purpose).
All prayer is implicitly a petition for the light to know God’s will and the strength to put it into action. This hidden and beautiful practice is a living out of that prayer in each moment.
An Aspiration prayer is a secret and sudden lifting up of the soul’s desires to God, upon any emergency that may occur in Providence. One may engage in this prayer by a simple thought darted up to heaven or by words uttered in the mind. It helps us to maintain fellowship with God, without any interruption of our daily tasks. It is also a means to repel sudden temptations, and to dispose our hearts to a more solemn performance of our duties.
Aspirations of Love to Jesus Christ:
Spiritual Practice: Cultivate the habit of often using the name “Jesus,” in silent prayer. When you get up in the morning and retire at night, invoke His Holy Name. During the day, learn to associate whatever you are doing with a moment’s prayerful aspiration, pronouncing the word “Jesus.”
If you do this, you will not only grow in your belief that Jesus is indeed God who became man, you will experience the spiritual power that is available to those who call upon Him in faith.
–Saint Alphonsus De Liguori, Doctor of the Church
My Jesus, Thou alone art sufficient for me. My love, do not permit me to separate myself from Thee. When shall I be able to say, “My God, I cannot lose thee any more?”
“All for Thee, dear Lord.”
‘My Jesus, have mercy!’
‘The Word was made flesh.’
‘My Jesus, my Love! Let Your will be done in me.’
‘Jesus, help me.’
‘Sacred Heart of Jesus, I have confidence in Thee, boundless confidence for everything.’
General Aspirations:
‘Jesus, Mary, Joseph, be my Salvation.’
‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ (known as The Jesus Prayer)
‘My God & my all!’
‘Jesus, Mary, I love You. Save souls.’
‘God, come to my assistance; Lord, make haste to help me.’
‘May the Holy Cross be my light.’ (Jubilee Medal of St. Benedict)
‘Be gone, Satan! Suggest not to me thy vain things. The cup thou profferest me is evil; drink thou thy poison.’ (Jubilee Medal of St. Benedict)
‘Comfort me, Mother of God !’
‘May each created object, O Lord, be to my eyes a glass, wherein I may behold Thy countenance, and be admonished of Thy presence.’
‘Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us sinners!’
‘Jesus, I trust in thee.’
‘Make me all Thine before I die.’
‘Stay with us, O Lord.’
‘May, O Lord, the light of Thy countenance shine upon us.’
‘My God, I offer you all my work.’
‘My God, I love you.’
‘My God, I wish for Thee alone, and nothing more.’
‘May my only happiness be to please Thee, O Infinite Goodness.’
‘I give You my will, my liberty; dispose of me as You please.’
‘Thou art omnipotent; make me a Saint.’
‘May I die rather than ever offend Thee again.’
‘O God of love, give me love.’
‘Lord, who am I, that Thou shouldst desire so much to be loved by me?’
‘Thou didst give Thyself all to me; I give myself all to Thee.’
The Pilgrim Queen of the Family is a network of Catholic families united by the desire to live and share the Gospel and to promote the devotion of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The importance of praying together, especially the Holy Rosary, is paramount in our lives now. Our world and our individual lives need Our Lady’s intercession, always united in praying for the Church and Pope’s intentions, vocations, families and friends.
Sacrifice in the context of Catholic spirituality can be understood as the voluntary offering of something precious to God. The Most precious thing that we possess is our own self-will. Understanding this can have a profound effect on spiritual progress in our day to day lives.
We all make countless choices every day. Most of them are influenced by our own preferences and dispositions and they become choices of self-will. This is not necessarily bad (so long as those choices aren’t immoral), but we can offer these little choices to God as a sacrifice.
What does this look like? It starts with considering the little choices we make. We can ask ourselves questions throughout the day like, “What will I drink at this meal?” or, “What will I wear today?” We can then choose that which both God and I know I do not enjoy or prefer. Again we could ask, “What will I do after work?” Perhaps I can choose that little task I have been avoiding because I find it disagreeable.
All of this done with a heart of devotion to God leads one to live a more prayerful and charitable life. During these nine days prayerfully offer the little choices of self-denial you make for the conversion of America and of our world. These little offerings to God are humble and pleasing to Him and will draw down His mercy upon our country and upon the world.
God has made us to know and to love. Because of this, we have been given a deep desire for knowledge and the communion of shared understanding. We speak that we may be known, that our ideas and thoughts might be understood. This desire is powerful and constant, but this capacity can be deeply misused.
Words can destroy by cruelty and can darken by deceit. Much evil in the world has been the result of words that should have been left unspoken, and God is offended by sins of the unrestrained tongue.
Because the impulse to speak is so powerful in most people, we are enabled to make a special sacrifice of self-denial in restraining our speech. This does not mean that we are always silent, but rather that we offer all useless speech.
This means asking oneself throughout the day, “Am I helping this person by saying what I am about to say?” If the answer is no, remain silent. In this way, we are enabled to edify our neighbor, grow in virtue by self-denial, and please our Lord by offering him something very dear to us.
Here is a helpful article on keeping the right internal dispositions to profit from penance.
The Catholic Gentleman offers a helpful guide to help men start fasting.
August Queen of the Heavens, Heavenly Sovereign of the Angels, Thou who from the beginning hast received from God the power and the mission to crush the head of Satan, we humbly beseech Thee to send thy holy legions, so that under Thy command and through Thy power, they may pursue the demons and combat them everywhere, suppress their boldness, and drive them back into the abyss.
O good and tender Mother, Thou wilt always be our love and hope! O Divine Mother, send Thy Holy Angels to defend us and to drive far away from us the cruel enemy. Holy Angels and Archangels, defend us, guard us. Amen.
Join a community of prayer warriors and stand in the breach in this time of crisis!
The International Week of Prayer & Fasting is a global movement focused on converting the world, saving families, and restoring the culture by answering Heaven’s call for prayer, fasting and conversion.