Prayer to Guardian Angel

By Saint Macarius

O Holy Angel, attendant of my wretched soul and of mine afflicted life, forsake me not, a sinner, neither depart from me for mine inconstancy.

Give no place to the evil demon to subdue me with the oppression of this mortal body; but take me by my wretched and oustretched hand, and lead me in the way of salvation.

Yea, O Holy Angel of God, the guardian and protector of my hapless soul and body, forgive me all things whatsoever wherewith I have troubled thee, all the days of my life, and I have sinned in anything on this day.

Shelter me in this present night, and keep me from every affront of the enemy, lest I anger God by any sin; and intercede with the Lord in my behalf, that He might strengthen me in the fear of Him, and make me a worthy servant of His goodness. Amen.

Language of Love

Heavenly Father, we pray for the grace to have, to live and to express the language of love.  False compassion take away from us, root us in truth and not in the opinions of others.  We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord who lives and reigns with you in unity with the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.

God is Free...

God is free to love. Nothing keeps Him from loving for He is Love.

God is free from anger. Nothing unjust keeps Him angry for He is Mercy.

God is free to forgive. Nothing keeps Him from compassion for He is Just.

God is free to take away sin. Nothing wicked keeps Him from His Mercy, for He is Love.

God is free to restore. Nothing keeps Him from His creative nature for He is the Creator.

God is free to rebuild. Nothing keeps Him from building a new foundation, for He is the Foundation of all that exists.

God is free to destroy. Nothing keeps Him from destruction, for He is Life and has the power to renew.

Remember to Brandish...

ÿ Wave the gifts of the spirit, the amour of God, in a threatening manner as a fierce weapon to the enemy, for to the enemy it is fierce because it destroys them, but to the faithful it is a delight!

Bringing our Will and Gifts to the Sacrificial Cup

Hello everyone, sorry I've been away for so long. Here is a little something I'd like to share with you. God bless you!

When we bring our will to the sacrificial cup we should also bring our gifts and talents, so that God may use them.  One important thing we must be willing to do is take the narrow path, the road that is difficult and willingly desire it.

God will use our gifts and talents and perfect them according to His will.  When we abandon our will 100% and offer it as a sacrifice to Him in His sacrificial cup in union with Him, then like Him we say to the Father, "I come to do your will" echoing to the Father with Mary’s fiat! With her help we can do His will in union with Christ His Son.

Poverty in Distractions

O Lord grant that I may be poor in disctractions, so that I may be richly blessed completely present to You before Your Holy Presence...whether I am in solitude or in the presence of others who are held deep in Your heart within the secret chamber of their heart. Amen.

Looking Beyond Fear: Let's Stand Firm

(Exodus Chapter 14 taken from the Jerusalem Bible)

Exodus 14:1-4

Yahweh spoke to Moses and said, 'Tell the sons of Israel to turn back and pitch camp in front of Pi-hahirith, between Migdol and the sea, facing Baal-sephon. You are to pitch your camp opposite this place, beside the sea. Pharaoh will think, "Look how these sons of Israel wander to and fro in the countryside, the wilderness has closed in on them". Then I shall make Pharaoh's heart stubborn and he will set out in pursuit of them. But I shall win glory for myself at the expense of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will learn that I am Yahweh.'  And the Israelites did this. 

                   

The Israelites did what Yahweh spoke to Moses. They were obedient to God's Word!

Verses 10-12

And as Pharaoh approached, the sons of Israel were terrified and cried out to Yahweh. To Moses they said, 'Were there no graves in Egypt that you must lead us out to die in the wilderness? What good have you done us, bringing us out of Egypt? We  spoke of this in Egypt, did we not? Leave us alone, we said, we would rather work for the Egyptians! Better to work for an Egyptian than die in the wilderness!'

As Pharaoh approached, the sons of Israel looked around and there were the Egyptians in pursuit of them! The sons of Israel were terrified and cried out to Yahweh!  They experienced fear and loss of confidence, willing to turn back on obedience because of loss, death and shame in an un-honorable death and burial!  They said it themselves, preferring to work for the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.  Jesus did quite the opposite!

Verses 13-14

Moses answered, "Have no fear! Stand firm, and you will see what Yahweh will do to save you today: the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. Yahweh will do the fighting for you: you have only keep still." Yahweh said to Moses, 'Why do you cry to me so? Tell the sons of Israel to march on.' 

God heard their cry.  He knows and hears how they have lost confidence in Him.  Yahweh responds to the Israelites by saying to the people through Moses, 'Why do you cry to me so?' And tells them to march on.

The reason they lost confidence is because they saw Pharaoh and his army.  It is the moment they see when they become terrified!  Many times what we see is a mystery, the situation we are in is incomprehensible.  We become afraid.

If we look beyond and seek God then we see through the eyes of God; there is meaning in what is taking place that moment.  By looking to Him one can come to know Him and His will.  We need to trust in Him.

They were given a chance to be obedient to God's Word once again and  the chance to turn from lack of confidence and disobedience.  This is God's mercy helping His people do good and by His goodness and mercy the Israelites were able to continue on the path of obedience with God's direction, His Word to Moses.  Their faith is placed in God once again (Exodus 14:31).  God continues to do the same for us today.  

Prayer

Thank you Lord for being so kind and merciful to all of us and for giving us a chance to  return to obedience to your Word and for always rebuilding and strengthening our confidence in You! Grant us all the grace to stand firm and to always trust in You. Amen!

Confidence in God

(The Psalms verses are taken from the Jerusalem Bible)

There are times when we are rejoicing and singing melodious hymns to the Lord and happy to know we are loved by God.  Then all of the sudden the enemy bends his bows and shoots his arrows to bring us down (Psalm 11:1-2).

Some may begin to think that their foundations will fall to ruin as the psalmist who prays seeking an answer to this dilemma: "When foundations fall to ruin, what can the virtuous do?" (Psalm 11:2).  What can we do when the enemy is trying to take us down?

The Spirit of the Lord responds in Psalm 11, verses 4 through 5:

"Yahweh is in his holy temple,
Yahweh whose throne is in heaven;
his eyes look down at the world,
his  searching gaze scans all mankind.
The virtuous and the wicked are under Yahweh's scrutiny, 
and his soul hates anyone who loves brutality." 

God is the assessor of our mind and heart.  He is our Defender and He sees everything that is happening to us.  We are the apple of His eye and He will protect us because of this! Because He loves us!

"The enemy may sharpen his sword,
he may bend his bow and take aim,
but the weapons he prepares will kill himself
and his arrows turn into firebrands.
Look at him, pregnant with wickedness,
conceiving Spite, he gives birth to Mishap.
He dug a pit, hollowed it out,
only to fall into his own trap!
His spite recoils on his own head,
his brutality falls back on his own skull." ~ Psalm 7:12-16

Let us build our confidence in Him with Mary's help.  Let us give thanks to the Lord for He is good and righteous and let us sing to Him a song of praise!

Praising God With 'all' Your Skill

Psalm 47:7 (Divine Office Vol. III, Week I, Wednesday Lauds)  

God is king of all the earth. Sing praise with all your skill.

I thought of this verse throughout the day. I imagined praising God in an assembly or in chanting the office using all my skill to praise Him - reading the music, using my voice to sing, listening to the community, praying with my mind and heart.

What if we're not in an assembly or chanting the office how else could we praise Him? I thought that we could also praise Him in all our works with the skills we were gifted with.

My morning started off with a helping hand with His Word in the duties He has given me for His will to be fulfilled...at work, at home, and with the various challenges He introduced me with.  Praising Him with all my skill seemed to be the highlight of the morning. I did a little inventory of my skills throughout the day and I know I have what it takes to put into use what He gave me to move forward.  It is still a challenge...but then I read the 'Reading' (Tobit 4:15a-16a, 18a, 19) for Morning Prayer and this verse stood out:

Tobit 4:19 - At all times bless the Lord God, and ask him to make all your paths straight and to grant success to all your endeavors and plans.

Perfect prayer for us to embrace! How wonderful it is to read His Word...for when I wonder of how I could allow Him to do these things in my works the 'Responsory' verse followed: Incline my heart according to your will, O God. Speed my steps along your path, according to your will, O God.  Now that was what I needed to ask for. So awesome so perfect!

It just reminds me of how God's Word is a lamp for my feet and a light to guide us on our way into doing His will.  His Word is encouraging and I rest secure knowing that all will be well!

At the close of the daylight hours at Evening Prayer His Word again encouraging, reaffirming in the 'Reading' of James 1:22, 25:

"Act on this word.  If all you do is listen to it, you are deceiving yourselves.  There is, on the other hand, the man who peers into freedom's ideal law and abides by it.  He is no forgetful listener, but one who carries out the law in practice.  Blest will this man be in whatever he does."

This is what I must do to fulfill His will - listen, act on it and ask Him to grant my plans and endeavors success and to straighten my path and assist me with the challenges that come my way.  And of course doing everything with all my skill offering it as an act of praise.

Jesus' Obedience at the Incarnation

Hebrews 10:1-10 (Taken from the Jerusalem Bible)

At the incarnation Jesus said: "You who wanted no sacrifice or oblation, prepared a body for me. You took no pleasure in holocausts or sacrifices for sin; then I said, just as I was commanded in the scroll of the book, 'God, here I am! I am coming to obey your will.' "

Jesus and Mary, both - together, said to God the Father Yes!

Mary said: "I am the handmaid of the Lord let what you have said be done to me." (Luke 1:38)

Simultaneously:

Jesus said: "God, here I am ! I am coming to obey your will."

God the Father prepared His Son's body since the beginning of time and Jesus, the Word of God who in the beginning was with our Father when all was created for Him, through Him, with Him and in Him knew this and waited to become the Word Incarnate.

The time the Blessed Trinity had waited for arrived. God the Father before Jesus and Mary with the Holy Spirit overshadowing her waiting for her to respond, as the angel delivers His message...and the Holy Spirit looking on as if holding His Breathe waiting to breath the breathe of life to the soon to be Word made flesh...She says Yes! In that instant Jesus comes down, receives the body that God the Father and the Holy Spirit had prepared for Him to have it mingle with Mary's flesh, her blood, her DNA and Jesus says to His Father, I come to do your will!

God the Father was infinitely pleased with Jesus and Mary, His only begotten Son and His holiest daughter of daughters for together they would work for the redemption of His future sons and daughters. We became His own children, who lost their friendship with Him when Adam and Eve had fallen in the garden, and they too were restored. Jesus and Mary were lifted and exalted for their obedience to God's will.

Prayer

Heavenly Father help us accept your Holy will in our lives even if it is inconvenient and difficult. May we never run from doing your will. Do grant us the grace to stand before you in union with Jesus through Mary saying Here I am, I come to do your will regardless of the circumstances. Grant us patience to wait; docility to be guided by your Holy Spirit, perseverance to remain with it to the end; courage to confront fears and obstacles that come our way; and an increase of faith, hope and love so we may go on our way towards you following Christ who is the Way. Amen.

Waiting for God's mercy and rejoicing in His Heart

Today I shed tears and waited for His mercy in hope of becoming new again and now I rejoice in His Sacred Heart because His mercy endures forever. Isaiah's words echo in my heart "Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not, see, I am doing something new." And the words of our Lord seated on His throne, "Behold, I make all things new," Revelation 21:5.

Isaiah 43:16-21

The Lord opens a way in the sea. He makes a path in the waters.

He makes a way in the desert.

In the wasteland rivers.

The sea having a floor has no "way" because it is covered by the waters making no visible sign of a "way" to go through it. The Lord opens the sea by uncovering the sea's floor and makes a path.

Before my baptism I was in sin, separated from God. I had no "way" to God because of original sin, which severed my relationship with Him since the time of my mother and father, Eve and Adam. There was no "way" to Him because sin had stained the eyesight of my soul to view the "way" to Him. But the Lord in His Mercy and great Love for me and all of my brothers and sisters, He wiped away our sins with the waters of our baptism having removed our sins, the stain, the veil that clouded our eyesight in seeing the "way" to Him was lifted.

The waters of our baptism drowned our sins, so as nailed to the cross. Suffocated to death! And then He lifted us from the waters making in us a new creation with Christ being the visible sign for our soul; the visible path to Him, the "Way"! He cut through sin with the wounds of His hands and feet and with the lance He cut and made a "Way" to His Sacred Heart by making a path available to receive Divine Mercy for all of us! So that we may no longer remember the events of the past, for the things of long ago to be forgotten and to no longer think of our sins and dwell considering how we have offended Him, but to look at Him immediately after we have offended Him and rejoice in His mercy for we are a new creation in Him that moment we look to Him. He renews us again when we look to Him and confess our sins.

When we were in sin it was as a desert with no where to go, but He made us new! The waters from His Sacred Heart at our baptism made rivers flow within our being. Where the Lord wills He makes a path with a "way" to Him and when there is no life and dry river beds He fills and renews! Just as Moses and the sons of Israel rejoiced in a song of praise to Yahweh after they were rescued from the Egyptians, so we rejoice in a song of praise and thanksgiving to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for rescuing us from sin. They sang at the other side of the sea and we sing before Him at the font of Mercy honoring Him, loving Him, thanking Him and rejoicing with Him that we are a new creation and that we have been blessed with the grace to become new every moment, everyday all we need to do is look at Him and rejoice in His mercy, confess our sins and rejoice in the gift of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Great and Merciful is our God! Praise be to Him. Sacred Heart of Jesus, pray for us!

A Father Willing to Let Go of His Daughter

A dear priest friend, Fr. Flavian Willathgamuwa, C.M.F., who past away June 2008 (may his soul rest in peace), knew how in my heart I had the desire and the willingness to leave my family and my nation behind to follow Him, to serve Him. A year before his passing, after Mass he asked my father, "How does it feel to know that Alexandra here wants to leave the country to serve the Lord? One day she will be gone and you will no longer be able to see her."

My father's response edified me and strengthened me! His reply echoes in my heart constantly! His response to Fr. Flavian was, "Father I am humbled and have nothing to say against it because as a father I can understand what God the Father must have felt to know that His Son would have to leave His side to come to Earth to save us. Jesus left Heaven to do God's will, but in the end He returned to His Father in Heaven after He did what He needed to do. So for my daughter to leave the country and my side is a blessing and I know in the end after we are all done we will meet again in Heaven."

When I heard my father say this I praised God interiorly and thought it was awesome my father saw a blessing in being able to experience with God the Father my absence, if it is His will, as He did when Jesus left His side to become the Word Incarnate! May the Lord be praised and glorified!

Later that afternoon I told my dad I appreciated his response very much. He replied, "Imagine. God the Father must have also suffered but was able to communicate with His Son. He allowed Him to leave His side for our sake. He sent Him for our salvation, so who am I to complain. This is nothing compared to what God the Father must have endured for us."

Reveal Not The Nakedness of Others

Genesis 9:22-27 (Taken from The Jerusalem Bible)

Ham, Canaan's ancestor, saw his father's nakedness, and told his two brothers outside. Shem and Japheth took a cloak and they both put it over their shoulders, and walking backwards, covered their father's nakedness; they kept their faces turned away, and did not see their father's nakedness. When Noah awoke from his stupor he learned what his youngest son had done to him. And he said: 'Accursed be Canaan. He shall be his brothers' meanest slave.' He added: 'Blessed be Yahweh, God of Shem, let Canaan be his slave! May God extend Japheth, may he live in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be his slave!'

Brief Summary

Ham revealed his father's nakedness to his brothers Shem and Japheth. His son was cursed for having revealed his father's nakedness. Shem and Japheth were blessed for not looking at his nakedness; for not paying attention to what was revealed regarding their fathers nakedness and clothing him from shame.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, help us not to reveal the nakedness of others nor pay attention to the revelation of the nakedness of others, but grant us the grace to turn from their nakedness. Grant that I, as your daughter, be merciful as You are merciful and grant that I desire You to clothe them with Your grace necessary in order to heal his/her naked wounds. In Jesus name and through Mary I seek for this grace for all of us. Amen.

God continues to Work in Increasing Vocations!

Praying with God's Word in the Heart

The Word of God is life! If I pray with God's Word in my heart, then there will always remain within my heart life, abudant life, which springs from God's Word. The Our Father, is a prayer of the heart. It is God's Word placed in our hearts in order to pray to God the Father, to pray with Jesus in the Holy Spirit.

When God's Word is prayed, life in the heart is re-created, life is renewed, life is re-stored and enriched with the dew of Heaven, which comes from the Holy Spirit and the sun light from Heaven, which is Jesus Christ; and grace and virtue is nourished and cared for with the help of the gardener who is Jesus Himself. All we need to do is participate in the Work of His Word through the obedience of faith by assenting to His Word.

Video from Mater Ecclesiae Fund

"Come and See" John 1:35-39

St. Andrew is commonly known as the "Parakletos" or "first called".

I read a couple of days ago in the Opus Sanctorum Angelorum Fall Circular Letter, 2009: The Apostles and the Priesthood ~ Part 2...

"St. Andrew was first a disciple of John the Baptist, which already indicates his religious disposition and desire for the things of God. St. John the Evangelist relates that Andrew was one of the two disciples who heard John the Baptist cry out, "'Behold, the Lamb of God!'" They followed Jesus and He turned and said to them, "'What do you seek?' And they said to Him, 'Rabbi' (which means Teacher), 'where are You staying?' He said to them, 'Come and see.'" (John 1:35-39) The call to be with the Lord, to see His way of life, to give Him time, is the beginning of every vocation."

Awesome! I thought-when I read this part of the meditation...it touched me profoundly. I have been thinking this over time and again the last couple of days. I have lived two "come and see" experiences. Other visits have been weekend visits to various communities, which I do not condsider as "Come and See" live-in experiences.

This reading is making an impact in my life. After having read this paragraph it was like the light of dawn began to shine within my being. For years I thought a "come and see" was simply an opportunity to experience the life of the community, to see how the life is lived, but after having read this my thought has been transformed.

John the Baptist pointed the way to the Lamb and they followed Him seeking what they knew not nor understood, but felt deep in their heart the desire to follow Him not knowing how and to where. Jesus asked them what they were seeking...they could not even respond, but only asked Him, 'Rabbi where are you staying?' They wanted to follow Him and be with Him and learn from Him, but they had no idea where He was staying. He knows their hearts and their desire for the things of God and His plan for them, so He invites them, 'Come and see.'

In light of this, my thought has now in mind only Jesus. When I think of going to Sancti Angeli Skete in March for a 3 week, what we may call - come and see, I do not want to see it as before: an oportunity to experience the life of the community, to see how the life is lived, rather a time to follow Jesus as St. Andrew did and be with the Lord and from there I will be able to learn from Jesus His way of life in a new way in that intimate walk with Him.

I know in my heart if I do this I will then find my vocation in Him from Him as St. Andrew did. Now I do not want to see the community life as an object - a life I like or do not like...I want to go with Jesus and nothing else matters...He knows where He wants to plant me, to help me grow in love and reach union with Him...all I need to do is go and see with Jesus and from there He will do the rest. St. Andrew followed and had no idea what would happen. He just followed...nor did he follow to see the life, he truly followed because his heart desired to follow Him, to be with Him and to learn from Him and in time he grew in love and that love continued to grow throughout his life. Out of that love he had for our Saviour he did much for Him who called him to follow Him and serve as He did and was empowered with the Holy Spirit to do God's will.