“Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.”
–St. Augustine
I wanted to share this thought I read from one of my daily inbox. A simple statement but it has its weight in depth. It speaks of this deep longing within for Jesus here, now, and forever.
God Bless💕🙏
St. Charbel’s Feast Day: July 24th
O Miraculous Saint Charbel, from whose immaculate body, which overpowers corruption, radiates the scent of heaven, come to my rescue and grant me from God the petition(s) which I am in need of (make your petition(s) here).
O Saint Charbel pray for me.
O Lord, who was bestowed on Saint Charbel the grace of faith, I plead to you to grant me through his intercession that divine grace to live according to your commandments and Bible.
The glory is yours till the end. Amen.
O Saint Charbel, Martyr of monastic life, who experienced suffering, and whom Lord Jesus made of you a bright beacon, I resort to you and ask through your intercession the petition(s) (make your petition(s) here). I confide in you. Amen.
O Saint Charbel, vase of perfume, intercede for me.
O God of complete benevolence, who honoured Saint Charbel by giving him the grace to perform miracles, have mercy on me and grant me what I ask from you through his intercession. The Glory is yours till the end. Amen.
Pray one Our Father, one Hail Mary and Glory be to the Father.
O Saint Charbel, the amiable, who shines like a bright star in the church sky, brighten my way and fortify my hope. From you I ask for the petitions (make your petition(s) here). Ask for it from Jesus the crucified whom you perpetually worship. Amen.
O Saint Charbel, the example of patience and silence, intercede for me.
O Lord Jesus, who sanctified Saint Charbel and helped him to carry his cross, give me the courage to bear life’s difficulties with patience and submission to your divine will through Saint Charbel’s intercession, to you is gratefulness forever. Amen.
Pray one Our Father, one Hail Mary and Glory be to the Father.
O Father, Saint Charbel, the affectionate, I resort to you. My confidence in you fills my heart. With the power of your intercession with God, I am waiting for the petition(s) which I ask from you (make your petitions here). Show me your affection once more. Amen.
O Saint Charbel, garden of virtue, intercede for me.
O God, you who granted Saint Charbel the grace of your resemblance, grant me the help to grow in the Christian virtues and have mercy on me to be able to praise you till the end. Amen.
Pray one Our Father, one Hail Mary and Glory be to the Father.
O Saint Charbel, loved by God, enlighten me, help me and teach me how to please God. Hurry to my rescue. Oh affectionate Father, I beg of you to ask God for this petition(s) (make your petitions here). Amen.
O Saint Charbel, friend of the crucified, intercede for me.
O God hear my demand through Saint Charbel’s intercession. Save my poor heart and give me peace. Calm the troubles of my soul. Glory to you till the end. Amen.
Pray one Our Father, one Hail Mary and Glory be to the Father.
O Saint Charbel, all powerful intercessor, I ask you to fulfill the petition(s) which I am in need of (make your petition(s) here). A single word from you to Jesus is enough to forgive me, to have mercy on me and to grant me my wish. Amen.
O Saint Charbel, joy of heaven and earth, intercede for me.
O God, who chose Saint Charbel to defend us before your divine power, grant me through his intercession this petition(s) to glorify you with him till the end. Amen.
Pray one Our Father, one Hail Mary and Glory be to the Father.
O Saint Charbel, loved by everyone, helper of the needy, I have firm hope in your intercession before God. Fulfil this petition(s) for me (make your petitions here). Amen.
O Saint Charbel, a star that counsels the bewildered, intercede for me.
O God, my numerous sins hinder your grace to reach me. Grant me the grace to repent. Answer me through Saint Charbel’s intercession. Return the joy to my sad heart and grant me my petition(s). You, the embodiment of graces, glory and gratefulness be to you. Amen.
Pray one Our Father, one Hail Mary and Glory be to the Father
O Saint Charbel, whenever I see you kneeling down on the cane mat, fasting, abstaining and absorbed in calling God, my hope and faith in you increases. I beg of you to help me to receive the petition(s) that I am asking for (make your petitions here). Amen.
O Saint Charbel, absorbed in God, intercede for me.
O Jesus, the most peaceful, you who has raised your beloved Charbel to biblical perfection, I solemnly ask you to grant me the grace to spend the rest of my life according to your demand. I love you, oh God, my savior. Amen.
Pray one Our Father, one Hail Mary and Glory be to the Father.
O Father, Saint Charbel, here I am at the end of the Novena. My heart gets nourished when I speak to you. I have great hope that I will obtain from Jesus the petition(s) I asked for through your intercession. I repent, and I promise that I will never ever fall into sin. I ask you to fulfill my petition(s) (make your petition(s) here). Amen.
O Saint Charbel, crowned with glory, intercede for me.
O Lord, you listened to Saint Charbel’s prayers and you fulfilled the grace of unison with you, have mercy on me in my moment of distress. Save me from malice which I cannot bear. Glory and gratefulness be to you till the end. Amen.
Pray one Our Father, one Hail Mary and Glory be to the Father.
From: http://saintcharbel.net.au
Thank you God for not giving each of us more pain and stress than we can handle. You know each of us. We only need to remember to ask for that your graces and healing. Praise be to God!
God Bless 💕🙏
Finding that balance that only God can give me is finding time for prayer. Why pray? Pray puts me before the divine light of God, and it is only in him with the Holy Spirit moving in me that I can find healing from my own depraved desires and obsessions. Without Jesus as my role model, and the spirit of his guidance, I would have long ago been sucked into the darkness that seduces my soul.
I can understand the trials many saints have gone through especially when their words can touch the core of my being. In An Introduction To The Devout Life – St. Francis de Sales, (p. 61) writes:
“Prayer brings our mind into the brightness of divine light, and exposes our will to the warmth of divine love. Nothing else can so purge our mind from its ignorance, and our will from its depraved affections. It is a blessed fountain which, as it flows, revives our good desires and causes them to bring forth fruit, washes away the stains of infirmity from our soul, and calms the passions of our hearts.”
God Bless 🙏💖
There are some mornings when I wake up and I am more tired then when I went to bed. I recall waking up a few times during the night with vivid images from a dream – disturbing – it was like I was in some spiritual saga – a battle. Each time I woke up, I prayed and fell back to sleep.
Upon awakening, I recall flashes of my dream, but then by the time I have my first coffee, I can’t remember them.
After a somewhat choppy morning prayer, I was looking for inspiration to complement my grunt of a prayer. I came across St. Catherine of Siena’s quote (the image above).
I call this a gentle nudge from God. It is His way of reminding me (and us) of his amazing grace and hand in my (our) life (lives). “He will provide the way and the means…”
No matter how terrible my night was, I can rest assure of God’s protection:
1 You who live in the shelter of the Most High,
who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
2 will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress;
my God, in whom I trust.”
3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence;
4 he will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
5 You will not fear the terror of the night,
or the arrow that flies by day,
6 or the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
or the destruction that wastes at noonday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only look with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 Because you have made the Lord your refuge, the Most High your dwelling place,
10 no evil shall befall you,
no scourge come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the adder,
the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.
14 Those who love me, I will deliver;
I will protect those who know my name.
15 When they call to me, I will answer them;
I will be with them in trouble,
I will rescue them and honor them.
16 With long life I will satisfy them,
and show them my salvation.
Have a Blessed day 💖
Ok, call me “stupid”, but I never associated St. Valentine’s Day to a saint. The first clue should have been the Saint in front of Valentine. Alas, I live in a secular world, and hence influenced by all the hoopla of the day – the excitement surround this day – roses, flowers, chocolate and all the things associated with “love”.
I can now embarrassingly attest to all the silly things I expected on St. Valentine’s Day from my husband, and the disappoint if he forgot – “Where are the flowers?” I think of all the material things I expected on February 14th! When our own children were growing up, my husband and I would always prepare gift bags of chocolates and little cute stuff animals holding hearts as a symbol of our love for them. I got the love part partially right, but was not mindful of what St. Valentine’s Day really means.
From https://novenaprayer.com/2022/02/05/st-valentine-novena-2/
It is a special and historic day named after a very real and holy saint. San Valentino (St. Valentine) was a Third Century Roman priest and martyr during the reign of Claudius II, known as Claudius the Goth. He was arrested for helping Christians who were being persecuted by Claudius in Rome and for performing marriage ceremonies between young Christian couples in love. While imprisoned and under threat, Saint Valentine would not sway from answering questions of the Emperor regarding his beliefs.
The emperor tried to no avail to convert Saint Valentine. Regardless of what was asked however, Valentine would not renounce his faith so Claudius had him sent away to prison. The guard where Valentine was imprisoned listened as he preached day in and day out. As the legend goes, the guard, Asterius, had a daughter who was blind. He asked Valentine to hear her confession in which he did. Afterwards, Valentine put his hands over the girl’s eyes and chanted: “Lord Jesus Christ, enlighten your handmaid, because You are God, the True Light.” Immediately the little girl regained her eyesight. Because of this miracle, the guard and many of his family members converted to Christianity and were baptized. Upon hearing of the conversions, Emperor Claudius condemned all of The night before his execution, Valentine wrote the young girl a note and signed it, “From your Valentine.” Valentine was then beaten with clubs and stoned and finally beheaded on February 14th, around the year 269. He was buried on the Flaminian Way and a chapel was later built over his remains. On the same day, another Valentine, bishop of Terni, was imprisoned and beheaded by Placidus, prefect of Terni, about sixty miles outside of Rome. Many believe mysteriously that the two are one in the same priest — the same Valentine who was earlier brought to Rome for execution and buried on the Flaminian Way.
Patron saint of courtship, engagement, marriage, Beekeepers, Fainting, Epilepsy, Happy Marriages, Love, Lovers, Young people.
Facts about St Valentine Novena
| Novena Starts: | February 5th |
| Feastday: | February 14th |
| Birth: | 3rd century AD |
| Death: | 270 AD |
The Novena to Saint Valentine
O glorious advocate and protector, Saint Valentine, look with pity upon our wants, hear our requests, attend to our prayers, relieve by your intercession the miseries under which we labor, and obtain for us the Divine blessing, that we may be found worthy to join thee in praising the Almighty for all eternity; through the merits of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Pray, then, O holy Martyr, for the faithful, who are so persevering in celebrating thy memory. The day of Judgment will reveal to us all thy glorious merits. Oh! intercede for us, that we may then be made thy companions at the right hand of the Great Judge, and be united with thee eternally in heaven.
Let us pray: Grant, we beseech thee, O Almighty God, that we who solemnize the festival of blessed Valentine, Thy Martyr, may, by his intercession, be delivered from all the evils that threaten us. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
(Mention your intentions here)
Saint Valentine, advocate and protector, pray for us.
Concluding Prayer
Our Father
Hail Mary
Glory Be
A shorter version of the same novena can be found: https://novenaprayer.com/2022/02/05/st-valentine-novena-2/
St. Valentine Novena
Let us begin, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
O glorious advocate and protector, St. Valentine, Look with pity upon our wants, hear our prayers, relieve by your intercession the miseries under which we labor, and obtain for us the divine blessing, that we may be found worthy to join you in praising the Almighty for all eternity: through the merits of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen
(Mention your request here…)
St. Valentine, pray for us
Say 1: Our Father… Say 1: Hail Mary… Say 1: Glory Be
There are so many beautiful prayers and novena in the Catholic faith. The St. Valentine Novena is particularly special to me, especially now that I know that Valentine’s Day is not some festival secular day, but deeply rooted in faith and commitment to God. It’s meaning is deeper than all the flowers, chocolate and fancy dinners that I once knew.
God Bless as we all reflect on the meaning of St. Valentine’s Day 💖
I know I have been posting many prayers lately, and it comes from a sincere desire to share with all – prayers that I pray. Prayers have been very healing for my soul, especially in light of all the craziness the past few years have ushered in with government restrictions and mandates. Not only have they been very healing, prayer has also changed “me”! Prayer allows me to draw closer to God. It is my intimate conversation with Him – sometimes full of praise and joy, at others times full of complains and sad moans (crying), and at others, full of adoration and love.
These days, I am also praying for God’s light to shine into the world, even in the darkest of cervices. To be an active participant with Him, and He with me.
God needs our help!
God wants to be an active participant in our lives, to guide us to make changes in our own lives and in the world. Our prayers can lead to God’s Divine Mercy moving on those around us, and, our prayers lifted up in sincerity can lead to healing in not only ourselves, but in others – those we love, friends, and strangers.
Father Mike’s short message inspired me today. Oh the more! This morning, I got out of bed late (hmm, I was a sloth and stayed in bed for another hour), and rushed my morning prayer. Urgh, yes, a confession of my soul!
The Feast Day for Our Lady of Lourdes is on February 11th, 2022. “On Feb. 11, the Catholic Church celebrates the liturgical memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes, recalling a series of 18 appearances that the Blessed Virgin Mary made to a 14-year-old French peasant girl, Saint Bernadette Soubirous”. For more information on St. Bernadette and the History of Our Lady of Lourdes: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/our-lady-of-lourdes-144.
At https://www.thedivinemercy.org/articles/our-lady-lourdes-pray-us you can also send in your prayer intentions (I am sorry it started yesterday Feb. 2-10), but you can still participate and add an extra day.
Here is the Prayer to Our Lady of Lourdes:
God Bless, and keep praying! 💖
Nativity Prayer of St. Bernard of Clairvaux
Let Your goodness Lord appear to us, that we
made in your image, conform ourselves to it.
In our own strength
we cannot imitate Your majesty, power, and wonder
nor is it fitting for us to try.
But Your mercy reaches from the heavens
through the clouds to the earth below.
You have come to us as a small child,
but you have brought us the greatest of all gifts,
the gift of eternal love
Caress us with Your tiny hands,
embrace us with Your tiny arms
and pierce our hearts with Your soft, sweet cries.
St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153)
~~~~~~
Rejoice! Rejoice! My heart rejoices at Mary’s “YES”!
As I reflect on my little “yes” to God, there is a wonderful homily written by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux hundred’s of year ago that reflected on the importance of Mary’s “YES”, and it has such insight, I share it below:
The Whole World Awaits Mary’s Reply On the Annunciation and Mary’s “fiat”
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux
This homily excerpt of St. Bernard is in the Office of Readings for
December 20, the fourth week of Advent.
You have heard, O Virgin, that you will conceive and bear a son; you have heard that it will not be by man but by the Holy Spirit. The angel awaits an answer; it is time for him to return to God who sent him. We too are waiting, O Lady, for your word of compassion; the sentence of condemnation weighs heavily upon us.
The price of our salvation is offered to you. We shall be set free at once if you consent. In the eternal Word of God we all came to be, and behold, we die. In your brief response we are to be remade in order to be recalled to life.
Tearful Adam with his sorrowing family begs this of you, O loving Virgin, in their exile from Paradise. Abraham begs it, David begs it. All the other holy patriarchs, your ancestors, ask it of you, as they dwell in the country of the shadow of death. This is what the whole earth waits for, prostrate at your feet. It is right in doing so, for on your word depends comfort for the wretched, ransom for the captive, freedom for the condemned, indeed, salvation for all the sons of Adam, the whole of your race.
Answer quickly, O Virgin. Reply in haste to the angel, or rather through the angel to the Lord. Answer with a word, receive the Word of God. Speak your own word, conceive the divine Word. Breathe a passing word, embrace the eternal Word.
Why do you delay, why are you afraid? Believe, give praise, and receive. Let humility be bold, let modesty be confident. This is no time for virginal simplicity to forget prudence. In this matter alone, O prudent Virgin, do not fear to be presumptuous. Though modest silence is pleasing, dutiful speech is now more necessary. Open your heart to faith, O blessed Virgin, your lips to praise, your womb to the Creator. See, the desired of all nations is at your door, knocking to enter. If he should pass by because of your delay, in sorrow you would begin to seek him afresh, the One whom your soul loves. Arise, hasten, open. Arise in faith, hasten in devotion, open in praise and thanksgiving. Behold the handmaid of the Lord, she says, be it done to me according to your word.
Hom. 4, 8-9: Opera omnia, Edit. Cisterc. 4 [1966], 53-54
My Little “yes”!
I ask myself, have I said “yes” to God? “Can I really do that? Often doubt and fear clouds my judgement, and that’s when I need God to help me over come my insecurities. Last week, I almost said no to helping drive food baskets to the needy in my parish, but at the last minute, I said, “Yes!”. My hesitancy was fear – of meeting people I didn’t know. God gave me a chance to say, “yes”, and it was one of the most humbling and happy thing I could have done. There was a joy in sharing with those in need the love of Jesus, and giving a helping hand. As I knocked on doors, God opened my heart to see His people, and to give them much needed food so that they may have a Merry Christmas.
Let each of us reflect on our “YES” to our Almighty God.
God Bless 💖
Be Inspired! 