Category Archives: Prayer

A Spirit Does Not Have Flesh and Bones

“And he said to them, ‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?  See my hands and my feet, that it is myself.  Touch me, and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”  Luke 24:38-39

Christ rising from the dead is the greatest truth about our faith.  Just to make sure there is no mistake about its amazing reality, Jesus died in the most gruesome and horrible way possible.  When he rose again, he could have made those wounds disappear, but he chose to keep them.   It’s a sign of his love for us.  It’s a sign of his love for you.

What is my response to this generous love?  He paid my spiritual debts before I even realized that I was morally bankrupt.  No greater love can be shown than the offering of his priceless life, a life of infinite value, for my meager life.  What does his sacrifice say about the value of my life?

Oh Lord, have mercy on me!  Forgive me for not loving you as I should.

Prayer Before the Blessed Sacrament

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My Lord Jesus Christ, for the love which You bear to men, You remain night and day in this Sacrament full of compassion and of love, awaiting, calling, and welcoming all who come to visit You.  I believe that You are present in the Sacrament of the Altar: I adore You from the abyss of my nothingness, and I thank You for all the graces which You have bestowed upon me and in particular for having given me Yourself in this Sacrament, for having given me your holy Mother Mary for my advocate, and for having called me to visit You in this chapel.  I now salute Your most loving Heart, and this for three ends:

  1. In thanksgiving for this great gift;
  2. To make amends to You for all the outrages which You receive in this Sacrament from all Your enemies;
  3. I intend by this visit to adore You in all the places on earth in which You are the least revered and the most abandoned.

My Jesus, I love You with all my heart.  I grieve for having so many times offended Your infinite goodness.  I promise with Your grace never more to offend You in the future.

Now, miserable and unworthy though I be, I consecrate myself to You without reserve;

I give You my entire will, my affections, my desires, and all that I possess.  From now on dispose of me and of all that I have as You please.  All that I ask of You and desire is Your holy love, final perseverance, and the perfect accomplishment of Your will.  I recommend to You the souls in purgatory; but especially those who had the greatest devotion to the most Blessed Sacrament and to the Blessed Virgin Mary.  I also recommend to You all poor sinners.

My dear Savior, I unite all my affections with the affections of Your most loving Heart; and I offer them, thus united, to Your eternal Father, and beseech Him in Your name to vouchsafe, for Your love, to accept them.

Amen.

From Strength to Strength

Bless your people, Lord. You have given us the law that we may walk from strength to strength and raise our minds to you from this valley of tears. May we receive the gifts you have gained for us. 

Lord of All Being

Lord of all being, throned afar,
Thy glory flames from sun and star;
Center and soul of every sphere,
Yet to each loving heart how near!

Sun of our life, Thy quickening ray,
Sheds on our path the glow of day;
Star of our hope, Thy softened light
Cheers the long watches of the night.

Our midnight is Thy smile withdrawn;
Our noontide is Thy gracious dawn;
Our rainbow arch, Thy mercy’s sign;
All, save the clouds of sin, are Thine.

Lord of all life, below, above,
Whose light is truth, whose warmth is love,
Before Thy ever blazing throne
We ask no luster of our own.

Grant us Thy truth to make us free,
And kindling hearts that burn for Thee,
Till all Thy living altars claim
One holy light, one heavenly flame.

Lord of all being by The Jubilate Singers; Words: Oliver W. Holmes (1848), Music: Mendon, Uffingham

A New Song

Lord, you have renewed the face of the earth. Your Church throughout the world sings you a new song, announcing your wonders to all. Through a virgin, you have brought forth a new birth in our world; through your miracles, a new power; through your suffering, a new patience; in your resurrection, a new hope, and in your ascension, new majesty.

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