Prayer for God's will in my day

From Kempis's Imitation of Christ "My Son, speak thou thus in every matter, 'Lord, if it please Thee, let this come to pass. Lord, if this shall be for Thine honour, let it be done in Thy Name. Lord, if thou see it good for me, and approve it as useful, then grant me to use it for Thy honour. But if thou knowest that it shall be hurtful unto me, and not profitable for the health of my soul, take the desire away from me! For not every desire is from the Holy Ghost, although it appear to a man right and good. It is difficult to judge with certainty whether a good or an evil spirit move thee to desire this or that, or whether thou art moved by thine own spirit. ........Therefore, whatsoever seemeth to thee desirable, thou must always desire and seek after it with the fear of God and humility of heart, and most of all, must altogether resign thyself, and commit all unto Me and say, "Lord, thou knowest what is best; let this or that be, according as Thou wilt. Give what Thou wilt, so much as Thou wilt, when Thou wilt. Do with me as Thou knowest best , and as best shall please Thee, and as shall be most to Thine honour. Place me where Thou wilt, and freely work Thy will with me in all Things. I am in Thine hand, and turn me in my course. Behold, I am Thy servant, ready for all things; for I desire to live not to myself but to Thee...."

St. Augustine--on praying without ceasing

From a discourse on the Psalms by Saint Augustine, bishop
(In ps. 37, 13-14: CCL 38 391-392)

The desire of your heart constitutes your prayer

In the anguish of my heart I groaned aloud. There is a hidden anguish which is inaudible to men. Yet when a man’s heart is so taken up with some particular concern that the hurt inside finds vocal expression, one looks for the reason. And one will say to oneself: perhaps this is what causes his anguish, or perhaps such and such had happened to him. But who can be certain of the cause except God, who hears and sees his anguish? Therefore the psalmist says: In the anguish of my heart I groaned aloud. For if men hear at all, they usually hear only bodily groaning and know nothing of the anguish of the heart from which it issues.

Who then knows the cause of man’s groaning? All my desire is before you. No, it is not open before other men, for they cannot understand the heart; but before you is all my desire. If your desire lies open to him who is your Father and who sees in secret, he will answer you.

For the desire of your heart is itself your prayer. And if the desire is constant, so is your prayer. The Apostle Paul had a purpose in saying: Pray without ceasing. Are we then ceaselessly to bend our knees, to lie prostrate, or to lift up our hands? Is this what is meant in saying: Pray without ceasing? Even if we admit that we pray in this fashion, I do not believe that we can do so all the time.

Yet there is another, interior kind of prayer without ceasing, namely, the desire of the heart. Whatever else you may be doing, if you but fix your desire on God’s Sabbath rest, your prayer will be ceaseless. Therefore, if you wish to pray without ceasing, do not cease to desire.

The constancy of your desire will itself be the ceaseless voice of your prayer. And that voice of your prayer will be silent only when your love ceases. For who are silent? Those of whom it is said: Because evil has abounded, the love of many will grow cold.

The chilling of love means that the heart is silent; while burning love is the outcry of the heart. If your love is without ceasing, you are crying out always; if you always cry out, you are always desiring; and if you desire, you are calling to mind your eternal rest in the Lord.

And all my desire is before you. What if the desire of our heart is before him, but not our groaning? But how is that possible, since the groaning is the voice of our desire? And therefore it is said: My groaning is not concealed from you. It may be concealed from men, but it is not concealed from you. Sometimes God’s servant seems to be saying in his humility: My anguish is not concealed from you. At other times he seems to be laughing. Does that mean that the desire of his heart has died within him? If the desire is there, then the groaning is there as well. Even if men fail to hear it, it never ceases to sound in the hearing of God.

Today is Gaudete Sunday!

Gaudete! / Rejoice!
Gaudete! Christus est natus / Rejoice! Christ is born
Ex Maria virgine / Of the Virgin Mary
Gaudete! / Rejoice!
[Christus est natus] / [Christ is born] ..........[x3]

Tempus adest gratiae, / The time of grace has come
Hoc quod optabamus; / That we have desired;
Carmina laetitiae / Let us devoutly return
Devote reddamus. / Joyful verses.

Gaudete! .......... [x2]

Ergo nostra contio, / Therefore let our song
Psallat iam in lustro /; Now be sung in brightness
Benedicat Domino: / Let it give praise to the Lord:
Salus Regi nostro. / Greeting to our King.

Gaudete! .......... [x2]

Tempus adest gratiae, / The time of grace has come
Hoc quod optabamus; / That we have desired;
Carmina laetitiae / Let us devoutly return
Devote reddamus. / Joyful verses.

Gaudete! .......... [x2]

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Mary did you Know

I heard the Bells on Christmas Day

I haven't always loved this song , but this version I found to be beautiful: http://youtu.be/bK8xB1opuQ8 The carol was originally a poem, "Christmas Bells," containing seven stanzas. Two stanzas were omitted, which contained references to the American Civil War, thus giving us the carol in its present form. The poem gave birth to the carol, "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day," and the remaining five stanzas were slightly rearranged in 1872 by John Baptiste Calkin (1827-1905), who also gave us the memorable tune. When Longfellow penned the words to his poem, America was still months away from Lee's surrender to Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9th 1865; and, his poem reflected the prior years of the war's despair, while ending with a confident hope of triumphant peace.

Faith--What faith can do--kutless

Anger and Forgiveness

I bind unto myself Today (St. Patrick's Breastplate)

Deer's Cry --St Patrick

I love the way this hymn builds and the words.

Sacris Solemnis

Based on Symphony No. 7: Allegretto by Beethoven---I love the way this music builds.

Give us clean hearts

Also when praying remember Is 58 and 2 Chronicles 7:14

Hallelujah what a Saviour

His presence in suffering

I found this to be very helpful.

and this one

and this song:

we are spiritual

I don't know anything about this guy, but I really agree with what he says here!

Also a note to self: in seeking God this week in some struggles---he spoke to me (not audible) the night ----speaking to my heart: You are my child. You are a daughter of the King. (It was just what I needed to hear)

Prayers for marriage (especially good for ceremony)

These are such good prayers-- they are from the Book of Common Prayer and are very good for a wedding ceremony

Eternal God, creator and preserver of all life,
author of salvation, and giver of all grace:
Look with favor upon the world you have made,
and for which your Son gave his life,
and especially upon this man and this woman
whom you make one flesh in Holy Matrimony. Amen

Give them wisdom and devotion in the
ordering of their common life,
that each may be to the other
a strength in need,
a counselor in perplexity,
a comfort in sorrow, and
a companion in joy. AMEN

Grant that their wills may be so knit together
in your will, and their spirits in your Spirit,
that they may grow in love
and peace with you and one another all the days of their life.Amen.

Give them grace, when they hurt each other, to recognize
and acknowledge their fault,
and to seek each other's
forgiveness and yours. Amen

Make their life together a sign of Christ's love to this sinful
and broken world,
that unity may overcome estrangement,
forgiveness heal guilt,
and joy conquer despair. Amen.

Bestow on them, if it is your will,
the gift and heritage of children,
and the grace to bring them up to know you,
to love you, and to serve you. Amen

Give them such fulfillment of their mutual affection that
they may reach out in love and concern for others. Amen

Grant that all married persons who have witnessed these vows
may find their lives strengthened and their loyalties confirmed. AMEN

Grant that the bonds of our common humanity,
by which all your children are united one to another,
and the living to the dead,
may be so transformed by your grace,
that your will may be done on earth as it is in heaven;
where, O Father, with your Son and the Holy Spirit,
you live and reign in perfect unity,
now and for ever. Amen

Most gracious God, we give you thanks for your tender love
in sending Jesus Christ to come among us,
to be born of a human mother,
and to make the way of the cross to be the way of life.
We thank you, also, for consecrating the union of man and woman in
his Name.
By the power of your Holy Spirit, pour out the abundance
of your blessing upon this man and this woman.
Defend them from every enemy.
Lead them into all peace.
Let their love for each other be a seal upon their hearts,
a mantle about their shoulders,
and a crown upon their foreheads.
Bless them in their work and in their companionship;
in their sleeping and in their waking;
in their joys and in their sorrows;
in their life and in their death.
Finally, in your mercy, bring them to that table where your saints feast
for ever in your heavenly home;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns,
on God, for ever and ever. Amen.

O God, you have so consecrated the covenant of marriage
that in it is represented the spiritual unity between
Christ and his Church:
Send therefore your blessing upon these your servants
that they may so love, honor and cherish each other
in faithfulness and patience,
in wisdom and true godliness,
that their home may be a haven of blessing and peace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.Amen.

prayer/song

I like this--kindof like a prayer and song together.

God's love is a symphony

This song does express how I often fee. God's love is all around me--beneath, over, in, above and through---just like a symphony

memorizing Philippians and song about it

I am memorizing Philippians and I like this song about Philippians

wounds for the wounded

I like this quote

"In today’s Gospel passage from St. John, we have heard again of the appearance of the Risen Christ to his disciples. At that moment he brought to them the fruits of his triumph over death: the forgiveness of sins and the gift of peace. Here too we come to the work of the ordained priest: to pronounce with confidence the forgiveness of God and to bring peace to a troubled soul and a troubled world.

To this service, to this ministry we welcome our three priests today. But we must be attentive to the words of the Gospel. In bestowing these gifts, the Risen Lord also employs an eloquent gesture: he shows them his hands and his side.

He shows them his wounds. The mission they receive, the mission of reconciliation, comes from the wounds of Christ. This is the mission we share and at every Mass we once again gaze on the wounded, broken body of the risen Lord. Our mission is characterised by woundedness: a mission to a wounded world; a mission entrusted to a wounded Church, carried out by wounded disciples. The wounds of sin are our business. The wounds of Christ, even though we have caused them, are also our consolation and strength."

-Archbishop Vincent Nichols at the ordination of three Anglican bishops into the Roman Catholic Church.