PRAYER TO MARY MOTHER OF GOD

O Mary, my Mother and my Lady, I offer you my soul, my body, my life and my death, and all that will follow it. I place everything in your hands. O my Mother, cover my soul with your virginal mantle and grant me the grace of purity of heart, soul and body. 

Defend me with your power against all enemies, and especially against those who hide their malice behind the mask of virtue . Fortify my soul that pain will not break it. Mother of grace, teach me to live by God's power.

O Mary, a terrible sword has pierced your holy soul. Except for God, no one knows of your suffering. Your soul does not break; it is brave, because it is with Jesus. 

Sweet Mother, unite my soul to Jesus, because it is only then that I will be able to endure all trials and tribulations, and only in union with Jesus will my little sacrifices be pleasing to God. 

Sweetest Mother, continue to teach me about the interior life. May the sword of suffering never break me. O pure Virgin, pour courage into my heart and guard it. Amen. 

Morning Offering Prayer

 

In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
I will begin this day. I thank you, Lord, for having preserved me during the night. I will do my best to make all I do today pleasing to You and in accordance with Your will. My dear mother Mary, watch over me this day. My Guardian Angel, take care of me. St. Joseph and all you saints of God, pray for me. O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer You my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart. ~ Amen

NOVENA PRAYER TO THE HOLY TRINITY

Novena to the Holy Trinity

God Eternal Father, bless me through the love with which You have begotten Your only Son from all eternity and shared with Him the fullness of Your Divinity. Bless me through the love which has adopted us as children, and made us partakers of the treasures of Your Divinity. Bless me through the love which sent us Your Son and the Holy Spirit to work the miracles of Your power and mercy in us. Grant that I may always revere and honor You as my great God, and love You with my whole heart as the best of fathers. Eternal Father, grant my petition:

(Mention your request)

God Eternal Son, image of the splendor of the Father, bless me through the love with which You surround us, Your poor creatures. You have become our Brother according to the flesh to make us Your brothers according to Your Divinity, and an image of Your splendor. Bless me through the marvelous goodness of Your Sacred Heart which chose death to bring us life. Bless me through the love with which You plead for us before the throne of God, in the Blessed Sacrament, and with which You give Yourself to us in Holy Communion. Grant that all this love and bitter pain may not be lost on me. Eternal Son, grant my petition:

(Mention your request)

God Holy Spirit, mutual Love of the Father and the Son, bless me through the love with which You proceed from the Father and the Son and unite Them in eternal unity. Bless me through the love with which You give Yourself to us as our greatest Gift, dispensing Your Divine graces to us and transforming sinners into children of God. Bless me through the love with which You dwell in the Sacred Heart of Jesus, through Whose merits the earth is filled with grace, and made a dwelling place for the God of heaven. Grant that I, Your faithful servant, may always allow You to lead me so I may advance in virtue and reach eternal happiness. Eternal Holy Spirit, grant my petition:

(Mention your request)

Most Holy Trinity, Godhead indivisible, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, our first beginning and our last end, You have made us after Your own image and likeness. Grant that all the thoughts of my mind, all the words of my mouth, all the affections of my heart, and all my actions be always conformed to Your holy Will. After having seen You here below in Your manifestations and by faith, may I come at last to see You face to face in the perfect possession of You forever in heaven. Amen.

Prayer:

Almighty and Everlasting God, by the profession of the true faith, You have given us, Your servants, grace to acknowledge the glory of the Eternal Trinity, and in the power of Your Divine Majesty to worship the Unity. We beg You to grant that, by our fidelity in this same faith, we may always be defended from all dangers. Through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Pray 3 Our Fathers...

A Beautiful Christmas Prayer

 A Christmas Prayer

By Robert Louis Stevenson

Loving Father,

Help us remember the birth of Jesus, that we may share in the song of angels, the gladness of the shepherds, and the worship of the wise men.

Close the door of hate and open the door of love all over the world. Let kindness come with every gift and good desires with every greeting.

Deliver us from evil by the blessing which Christ brings, and teach us to be merry with clean hearts. May the Christmas morning make us happy to be Your children, and the Christmas evening bring us to our beds with grateful thoughts, forgiving and forgiven for Jesus' sake. Amen. 

Prayer for Help to be Debt Free

PRAYER FOR CLEARING DEBTS 

God, you have called us to be lenders and not borrowers (Deuteronomy 28:12) and your word requires that we have no outstanding debt but the continual debt of love (Romans 13:8).

Lord, I want to honor your word by becoming debt-free.

As I put action behind my faith (James 2:17), I ask for the supernatural acceleration of debt payoff. As I do the natural, God you do the supernatural (1 Corinthians 15:46).

Lord, this is a burden in my life, but you said that we can cast our burdens on you (Psalm 55:22). I am giving you this burden.

Free me from the bondage of debt so that I am no longer a slave to my lenders (Proverbs 22:7).

Open up opportunities for me to increase my income to pay off debt.

Give me wisdom on where to reduce my expenses and how to be responsible with my money. In Jesus’ name, amen.

A Catholic's Advent Prayer

 

PRAYER FOR A FRUITFUL ADVENT 

My hidden Lord Jesus, I love You and thank You with profound gratitude for uniting Yourself with fallen humanity. When You first entered into this world, You remained hidden for nine months in the Immaculate Womb of Your Blessed Mother. She carried You, body and blood, soul and divinity, within the sanctuary of Her body. She also carried You within Her heart as a result of Her perfect love for You and Her perfect obedience to the will of the Father. 

Precious Lord, as I embrace this Advent Season, please open my eyes to see the great value and blessing of Your Incarnation. Help me to discover Your hidden presence in this world and within my own soul. I desire to see, understand and experience the profound effects that Your Incarnation has on my life and I desire to receive those effects more fully this Advent. May I become a sanctuary in which You dwell so that I, like Your dear Mother, may bring Your presence into the world. 

 

My loving Jesus, I choose You, this Advent, as my King and my God. I abandon myself to You and seek to put all my trust in Your tender care. Draw me close to You and free me from my sin so that I may love You with a pure and holy heart. 

 

Mother Mary, as You carried your dear Son in your immaculate womb, you also carried Him in your heart. Pray for me, this Advent, that I may surrender myself to the will of the Father in imitation of you. You said “Yes” to all that God asked of you and never hesitated to fully embrace His divine will. Pray that I may imitate your perfect example so as to share a deeper union with you and your divine Son. 

Source:

https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/prayer-for-a-fruitful-advent/

Prayer to Jesus in the Manger

Prayer to Jesus in the Manger

O divine redeemer Jesus Christ, prostrate before thy crib, I believe thou art the God of infinite majesty, even though I do see thee here as a helpless babe. I humbly adore and thank thee for having so humbled thyself for my salvation as to will to be born in a stable. I thank thee for all thou didst wish to suffer for me in Bethlehem, for thy poverty and humility, for thy nakedness, tears, cold and sufferings.

Would that I could show thee that tenderness which thy virgin mother had toward thee, and love thee as she did. Would that I could praise thee with the joy of the angels, that I could kneel before thee with the faith of St. Joseph, the simplicity of the shepherds. Uniting myself with these first adorers at the crib, I offer thee the homage of my heart, and I beg that thou wouldst be born spiritually in my soul. Make me reflect in some degree the virtues of thy admirable nativity. Fill me with that spirit of renunciation, of poverty, of humility, which prompted thee to assume the weakness of our nature, and to be born amid destitution and suffering.Grant that from this day forward, I may in all things seek thy greater glory, and may enjoy that peace promised to men of good will.

- Author Unknown

SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS

 

SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS

-a great lover of Mary

A young John de Yepes y Álvarez, aged 4, had fallen in a pond while throwing sticks in it. As he was trying to get out of the water, a "beautiful lady" – whom he later acknowledged to be the Virgin Mary – held out her hand to help him. John refused to grab her hand because his were covered with sludge. A laborer who was walking by pulled him out of the water with his goad.




Later, his mother, a poor widow, sent him to a school of Christian doctrine. There, he fell into the well of a waterwheel. The people who rescued him marveled that he hadn't drowned or wasn't hurt. John said he was under the protection of the Virgin Mary.




He chose the order of the Carmelites, out of love for Mary. The Carmelite brothers helped him to attend the University of Salamanca, where he received a rigorous, broad education.




The year of his novitiate, in Medina, John of the Cross wrote a poem (now lost) called: "In thanksgiving for the grace which (the Lord) has given him to make him worthy to belong to the said order (the Carmel), under the protection of His most Blessed Mother.”




Chosen by Saint Teresa of Avila and sent by the apostolic vicar, John of the Cross became the confessor of the Carmel of Avila and the reformer of the order. After that he founded several Carmelite monasteries for men. Although he was younger than her, Saint Teresa of Avila called him her spiritual father.




His brothers of Andalusia gave the following testimony, around the years 1585-1588:




"Father John of the Cross was so devoted to Our Lady that he recited the office of Our Lady each day, on his knees... In all his homilies and conversations, he talked about the Blessed Sacrament and the Most Blessed Virgin, Our Lady."




On December 7, 1591, John received the last rites. He died at midnight on the following Friday, at the beginning of the office of matins, on a Saturday, a day especially dedicated to the Virgin Mary.




Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.

WAYS TO PRAY FOR THE SOULS IN PURGATORY.

SOME WAYS TO PRAY FOR THE SOULS IN PURGATORY.

1. Pray the Novena to the Holy Souls.

2.  Offer up Holy Communion for Souls in Purgatory.

3.  Have Masses said for your departed loved ones, especially on the anniversary of his/her death.

4. Pray the Way of Cross for the Souls in Purgatory.

5. Pray the Rosary specially for Holy Souls.

6.  Obtain indulgences: indulgences reduce or cancel the temporal punishment that we incur through sin.

7. Give alms to the poor.

8. Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

9. Prayer of St. Gertrude.

10. Sprinkle holy water on the ground for the spiritual benefit of the suffering souls.

11. When passing by a cemetery, or at any time pray the short "Eternal Rest prayer: Eternal rest grant unto them, Oh Lord. And let the perpetual light shine upon them. And may the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace, Amen."(It carries partial indulgence)

12. Repent, go to Confession: Confessing your own sins makes prayers for Souls more effective.

13.  Eucharist Adoration: make reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for those in Purgatory.

14.  Sacrifices: practice acts of self_denial and offer these penances up for the poor Souls.

15.  Pray the Liturgical Prayers for the Souls.

16.  Ask for the intercession of saints who were great friends of the Holy Souls during their lifetime.

17.  Throughout your day,  offer up short and spontaneous prayers for the holy souls.

18.  Spread devotion to the Holy Souls: Make others aware of the great need these suffering souls have for our prayers.

 

SAINT LUCY OF SYRACUSE

 

Saint Lucy of Syracuse, Virgin and Martyr-Memorial December 13

St. Lucy (283-304) was born in Syracuse, Sicily, where she also died. She was of a noble Greek family, and was brought up as a Christian by her mother, who was miraculously cured at the shrine of St. Agatha in Catania. Lucy made a vow of virginity and distributed her wealth to the poor. This generosity stirred the wrath of the unworthy youth to whom she had been unwillingly betrothed and who denounced her to Paschasius, the governor of Sicily. When it was decided to violate her virginity in a place of shame, Lucy, with the help of the Holy Spirit, stood immovable. A fire was then built around her, but again God protected her. She was finally put to death by the sword. Her name appears in the second list in the Canon.

Saint Lucy's Day, also called the Feast of Saint Lucy, is a Christian feast day celebrated on 13 December in Advent, commemorating Saint Lucy, a 3rd-century martyr under the Diocletianic Persecution, who according to legend brought "food and aid to Christians hiding in the catacombs" using a candle-lit wreath to "light her way and leave her hands free to carry as much food as possible. Her feast once coincided with the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year before calendar reforms, so her feast day has become a Christian festival of light. Falling within the Advent season, Saint Lucy's Day is viewed as an event signaling the arrival of Christmastide, pointing to the arrival of the Light of Christ in the calendar, on Christmas Day.

Saint Lucy's Prayer:

Saint Lucy, you did not hide your light under a basket, but let it shine for the whole world, for all the centuries to see. We may not suffer torture in our lives the way you did, but we are still called to let the light of our Christianity illumine our daily lives. Please help us to have the courage to bring our Christianity into our work, our recreation, our relationships, our conversation -- every corner of our day. Amen