Prayer: Bernard Haring

Teach us, Lord, to pray truthfully in your name. Free us from out foolish trust in ourselves and in the works of our hands and minds. Help us to pray in absolute trust that whatever you send us is for our good; and help us to accept the surprising things for which we have not prayed. Give us the trust that all events, even suffering and death, are for us occasions to glorify you, and, with you, the One who sent you. 

Photo: Arabic Sweets: Pistachio and Honey

 

Photo: Baghdad, Iraq

 

Novena to St. Ignatius of Loyola

                                Novena to St. Ignatius of Loyola

Pray each day at home from July 23rd to July 31st

 

 

 

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

 

Opening Prayer (ALL): Lord, teach us to be generous. Teach us to love you and serve you as you deserve; to give and not to count the cost; to fight and not to heed the wounds; to toil and not to seek for rest; to labor and not to look for reward, except to know that we seek your will.

 

 

 

Lord Jesus, Eternal King, I feel your gaze on me. With the angels and powers martyrs and saints, I stand before you to heed your call. You have blessed me with holy desires, and I come before you to make my offering. Let it be my desire and my choice, if you want it, too, to live my life as you lived yours. You understand our joys and our suffering, and you call me to choose your Greater Glory. I will labor to bring God’s reign if you will give me the gift to do it. Here is the grace I seek from you today: 

 

 

(Mention your request here…)

 

(ALL): Father in heaven; give us today the same grace that Ignatius received – to know Jesus intimately – to love him more dearly – and to follow him more closely. Help us to remember that with Jesus as our model – we may be able to reveal him – in all we say and all we do. This we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With St. Ignatius we pray:

 

Soul of Christ, sanctify me.
Body of Christ, save me.
Blood of Christ, inebriate me.
Water from the side of Christ, wash me.
Passion of Christ, strengthen me.
O Good Jesus, hear me.
Within Your wounds hide me.
Never let me be separated from you.
From the malevolent enemy defend me.
In the hour of my death call me.
And bid me come unto You,
That with Your saints,
I may praise You forever and ever. Amen. 

 

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, and we forgive those who trespass against us. Do not let us be led into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen. 

 

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

 

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. 

 

Pray: The Suscipe

 

Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty,
my memory, my understanding, and my entire will,
All I have and call my own.
You have given all to me.
To you, Lord, I return it.
Everything is yours; do with it what you will.
Give me only your love and your grace, that is enough for me.

Novena Prayer to St. Ignatius of Loyola

To be prayed during Mass following the Intercessory Prayers.

July 23^rd to July 31st

 

 

Lord Jesus, Eternal King, I feel your gaze on me. With the angels and powers martyrs and saints, I stand before you to heed your call. You have blessed me with holy desires, and I come before you to make my offering. Let it be my desire and my choice, if you want it, too, to live my life as you lived yours. You understand our joys and our suffering, and you call me to choose your Greater Glory. I will labor to bring God’s reign if you will give me the gift to do it. Here is the grace I seek from you today: 

 

(Mention your request here…)

 

(ALL): Father in heaven; give us today the same grace that Ignatius received – to know Jesus intimately – to love him more dearly – and to follow him more closely. Help us to remember that with Jesus as our model – we may be able to reveal him – in all we say and all we do. This we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

 

With St. Ignatius we pray:

 

Soul of Christ, sanctify me.
Body of Christ, save me.
Blood of Christ, inebriate me.
Water from the side of Christ, wash me.
Passion of Christ, strengthen me.
O Good Jesus, hear me.
Within Your wounds hide me.
Never let me be separated from you.
From the malevolent enemy defend me.
In the hour of my death call me.
And bid me come unto You,
That with Your saints,
I may praise You forever and ever. Amen. 

 

 

Poem: Psalm 35, Nan Merrill

Pour forth your strength into my heart
That I might stand strong!
Encircle with healing love those
Who persecute me through fear!
And say to my soul,
"I am with you always."

Photo: I baptize you ....

 

Poem: "The Pain of the World" by Ram Dass

The pain of the world will sear and
break our hearts because we can no
longer keep them closed.

We've seen too much now.
To some degree or other, we have
surrendered into service and are willing
to pay the price of compassion.

But with it comes the joy of a single,
caring act.

With it comes the honor of participating
in a generous process in which one rises
each day and does what one can.

With it comes the simple, singular grace
of being an instrument of Love,
in whatever form, to whatever end.

Photo: Fish, the symbol of the early Christians

 

Spirituality: Ben Okri, in Birds of Heaven

It is easy to forget how mysterious and mighty stories are. They do their work in silence, invisibly. They work with all the internal materials of the mind and self. They become part of you while changing you.

Persist in Prayer: The Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

                                                         Persist in Prayer

The Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

July 24, 2022

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Genesis 18:20-32; Psalm 138; Colossians 2:12-14; Luke 11:1-13

 

          Sometimes we question the purpose of prayer as we ask, “Why should I pray? What is the effect of prayer upon God? Why does it seem as if God does not answer prayer very well.” We also realize that the church does not teach Christians how to pray. Preachers tell people to pray, they tell them to pray the Rosary or to ask for intercession by a saint, or to say the Our Father, but the preacher in his homilies does not instruct people how to pray. I wish I had time to do that today because that is what I like to do most of all, but in responding to these readings, I will point out several reasons why our prayer is effective.

 

          In Genesis, we hear Abraham’s petition to God to spare the lives of even just a single innocent person. Abraham wants all innocent lives to be saved, and it was important for him to speak those words to God, who responded to him. As the conversation with God continued, Abraham had to constantly petition God to care for the lives of the just. Some people might have walked away when they heard God’s answer, but Abraham persisted. The prayer changed Abraham and tested his heart. By the end, he finally spoke plainly about what he wanted, and his heart was softened. He cared so much for the innocent, that it caused him great pain, and he looked to God for hope. God relented and spared not just the innocent, but the wicked as well.

 

          In the Gospel, Jesus wants us to be just as persistent in prayer and to understand that we are called to act. While asking and seeking are passive activities, knocking on the door is active. The strength of our words must be followed up by action. Then, we trust in the goodness of God, and that trust is the fruit of our prayers.

 

          Here are three aspects of our prayer. (1.) We recognize God’s omnipotent authority over all things, and prayer reminds us that we are dependent upon God. In our prayers, we often cling to life and it is right that we lay before God all our fears and limitations. (2.) God response to us is found in the prayer itself. Just as Abraham prayed for God to spare the righteous, it caused Abraham to act, and God’s Presence was there. God heard, and God gave Abraham the desire to spare the lives of the just. Our prayer causes us to act; our prayer causes us to knock on the door. (3.) What we may be lacking, that is, what we pray for recognizes that God’s Presence will be translated into our courage, action, and hope for a resolution. We find that God is present because God accompanies and empowers us. 

 

          The answer to our prayers lies in God’s response to human needs. Our prayers ought to recognize our dependence upon God as we face our limitations. We do not have much control over anything. Control is an illusion, and we have to embrace what we cannot achieve. We need to also examine the limits of our love, those places where we fail to love, those areas where our love cannot bring about what we most desire. We voice the very same thing Abraham voiced – that we look to the victory of hope over the limits of our love. Our prayers bring us hope, and we cling to live one more day. We act in accord with that hope, as we know God is working tirelessly to keep our hope alive.

 

Scripture for Daily Mass

 

First Reading: 

 

Monday: (2 Corinthians 4) We hold this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us. We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

 Tuesday: (Jeremiah 14) Let my eyes stream with tears day and night, without rest,
Over the great destruction which overwhelms the virgin daughter of my people, over her incurable wound.

 

Wednesday: ((Jeremiah 15) Woe to me, mother, that you gave me birth! a man of strife and contention to all the land! I neither borrow nor lend, yet all curse me.

 

Thursday: (Jeremiah 18) Rise up, be off to the potter’s house; there I will give you my message. I went down to the potter’s house and there he was, working at the wheel.
Whenever the object of clay which he was making turned out badly in his hand, he tried again, making of the clay another object of whatever sort he pleased.

Friday (Jeremiah 26) Stand in the court of the house of the LORD and speak to the people of all the cities of Judah who come to worship in the house of the LORD;
whatever I command you, tell them, and omit nothing.

 

Saturday (Jeremiah 26) The priests and prophets said to the princes and to all the people, “This man deserves death; he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears.”

 

Gospel: 

 

Monday: (Matthew 20) The mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something. He said to her,
“What do you wish?” She answered him, “Command that these two sons of mine sit,
one at your right and the other at your left, in your Kingdom.” 

 

Tuesday: (Matthew 13) Jesus dismissed the crowds and went into the house. His disciples approached him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

 

Wednesday (Matthew 13) The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

 

Thursday (Matthew 13) The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind. When it is full they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away.

 

Friday (John 11) Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother [Lazarus, who had died]. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home.

 

Saturday (Matthew 14) Herod the tetrarch heard of the reputation of Jesus and said to his servants, “This man is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why mighty powers are at work in him.”

 

Saints of the Week

 

July 24: Sharbel Makhuf, priest (1828-1898), joined a monastery in the Maronite tradition and lived as a hermit for 23 years after living fifteen years in the community. He became known for his wisdom and devotion to the Blessed Sacrament.

 

July 25: James, Apostle (1st century), is the son of Zebedee and the brother of John. As fishermen, they left their trade to follow Jesus. They occupied the inner circle as friends of Jesus. James is the patron of Spain as a shrine is dedicated to him at Santiago de Compostela. He is the patron of pilgrims as many walk the Camino en route to this popular pilgrim site. 

 

July 26: Joachim and Anne, Mary's parents (1st century) are names attributed to the grandparents of Jesus through the Proto-Gospel of James. These names appeared in the Christian tradition though we don't know anything with certitude about their lives. Devotion of Anne began in Constantinople in the 6th century while Joachim gained acclaim in the West in the 16th century. He was revered in the Eastern churches since the earliest times. 

 

July 29: Martha (1st century), is the sister of Mary and Lazarus of Bethany near Jerusalem. Martha is considered the busy, activity-attentive sister while Mary is more contemplative. Martha is known for her hospitality and fidelity. She proclaimed her belief that Jesus was the Christ when he appeared after Lazarus had died. 

 

July 30: Peter Chrysologus, bishop and doctor (406-450), was the archbishop of Ravenna, Italy in the 5th century when the faithful became lax and adopted pagan practices. He revived the faith through his preaching. He was titled Chrysologus because of his 'golden words.'

This Week in Jesuit History

 

• July 24, 1805. In Maryland, Fr. Robert Molyneux was appointed the first superior by Father General Gruber. 
• July 25, 1581. In the house of the Earl of Leicester in London, an interview occurred between Queen Elizabeth and Edmund Campion. The Queen could scarcely have recognized the worn and broken person before her as the same brilliant scholar who had addressed here at Oxford 15 years before. 
• July 26, 1872. At Rome, the greater part of the Professed House of the Gesu was seized and appropriated by the Piedmontese government. 
• July 27, 1609. Pope Paul V beatifies Ignatius. 
• July 28, 1564. In a consistory held before twenty-four Cardinals, Pope Paul IV announced his intention of entrusting the Roman Seminary to the Society. 
• July 29, 1865. The death in Cincinnati, Ohio of Fr. Peter Arnoudt, a Belgian. He was the author of The Imitation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 
• July 30, 1556. As he lay near death, Ignatius asked Juan de Polanco to go and obtain for him the blessing of the pope.