St. Bonaventure Novena – Day 5 – Discerning Hearts podcast

St. Bonaventure Novena – Day 5

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St. Bonaventure you have said:

“Christ is both the way and the door. Christ is the staircase and the vehicle, like the throne of mercy over the Ark of the Covenant, and the mystery hidden from the ages. A man should turn his full attention to this throne of mercy, and should gaze at him hanging on the cross, full of faith, hope and charity, devoted, full of wonder and joy, marked by gratitude, and open to praise and jubilation. Then such a man will make with Christ a pasch, that is, a passing-over. Through the branches of the cross he will pass over the Red Sea, leaving Egypt and entering the desert. There he will taste the hidden manna, and rest with Christ in the sepulcher, as if he were dead to things outside. He will experience, as much as is possible for one who is still living, what was promised to the thief who hung beside Christ: Today you will be with me in paradise.”

Dear St. Bonaventure
Cardinal, Bishop and Doctor of the Church,
you chose a life that embraced mortification and great humiliation.
Choosing to serve those individuals who were rejected and sick you risked illness for yourself.
You made your life a continuous prayer and spent hours meditating on the wounds of Christ.
Please pray for us that we may have a sincere and humble heart.
Pray that we may not lose sight of Jesus’ wounds and thus walk on the straight path to eternal salvation.

All-powerful Father,
may we who celebrate the feast of St. Bonaventure
always benefit from his wisdom
and follow the example of his love.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

St. Bonaventure Novena – Day 4 – Discerning Hearts podcast

St. Bonaventure Novena – Day 4

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St. Bonaventure you have said:

I confess before God that what made me love Saint Francis’ way of life so much was that it is exactly like the origin and the perfection of the Church itself, which began first with simple fishermen and afterward developed to include the most illustrious and learned doctors. You find the same thing in the Order of Saint Francis; in this way God reveals that it did not come about through human calculations but through Christ.

St. Bonaventure Novena Day 3 – Discerning Hearts podcasts

St. Bonaventure Novena Day 3

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St. Bonaventure you have said:

In beautiful things St. Francis saw Beauty itself, and through His vestiges imprinted on creation he followed his Beloved everywhere, making from all things a ladder by which he could climb up and embrace Him who is utterly desirable. If you desire to know … ask grace, not instruction; desire, not understanding; the groaning of prayer, not diligent reading; the Spouse, not the teacher; God, not man; darkness not clarity; not light, but fire that totally inflames and carries us into God by ecstatic unctions and burning affections.

St. Bonaventure Novena – Day 2 – Discerning Hearts podcast

St. Bonaventure Novena – Day 2

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St. Bonaventure you have said:

Three things are necessary to everyone regardless of status, sex, or age, i.e., truth of faith which brings understanding; love of Christ which brings compassion; endurance of hope which brings perseverance. No adult is in state of salvation unless he has faithful understanding in his mind, loving compassion in his heart, and enduring perseverance in his actions.

Dear St. Bonaventure
Cardinal, Bishop, and Doctor of the Church,
you chose a life that embraced mortification and great humiliation.
Choosing to serve those individuals who were rejected and sick you risked illness for yourself.
You made your life a continuous prayer and spent hours meditating on the wounds of Christ.
Please pray for us that we may have a sincere and humble heart.
Pray that we may not lose sight of Jesus’ wounds and thus walk on the straight path to eternal salvation.

St. Bonaventure Novena – Day 1 – Discerning Hearts podcast

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St. Bonaventure Novena – Day 1

St. Bonaventure you have said:

The life of God – precisely because God is triune – does not belong to God alone. God who dwells in inaccessible light and eternal glory comes to us in the face of Christ and the activity of the Holy Spirit. Because of God’s outreach to the creature, God is said to be essentially relational, ecstatic, fecund, alive as passionate love. Divine life is therefore also our life. The heart of the Christian life is to be united with the God of Jesus Christ by means of communion with one another. The doctrine of the Trinity is, ultimately, therefore a teaching not about the abstract nature of God, nor about God in isolation from everything other than God, but a teaching about God’s life with us and our life with each other.

All-powerful Father,
through the intercession of St. Bonaventure
we ask that you hear the intentions we hold in our hearts for this novena
may we always benefit from his wisdom
and follow the example of his love.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.

For the complete 9-Day St. Bonaventure Novena visit here

Novena to the Holy Spirit – Day One – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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Novena to the Holy Spirit – Day One

Begin by reciting the following prayer…

O Holy Spirit, Divine Consoler!
I adore you as my True God.
I offer You my whole heart,
and I render You heartfelt thanks
for all the benefits You have bestowed upon the world.
You are the author of all supernatural gifts
and enriched the Blessed Virgin Mary,
the Mother of God,
with all favors,
I ask you to visit me by Your grace and Your love,
and grant me the favor
I so earnestly seek…

State your request here…

O Holy Spirit,
spirit of truth, come into our hearts:

DAY ONE

O Holy Spirit,
bestow upon us Your seven holy gifts.
Enlighten our understanding that we may know You.
Give us wisdom that Your will may be clear to us
and that we may accept it.
Grant us the gift of counsel
that we may always perceive what is right.
Fortify us that we may always be capable
of fulfilling Your Divine Will.
Inspire us with the spirit of learning
that we may be able to penetrate more deeply
into the truths that You have revealed.
Let our hearts be steeped in the spirit of childlikeness
that we may bring You joy.
Let us have proper fear of God
that we may never grieve You
or wander from the path of goodness. Give us the fulness of Your gifts
that we may glorify You.

Look with compassion upon us,

O Holy Spirit,
and grant us the favor we seek in this novena…

State your request here…

if it be in accordance with Your Holy Will.

Come, O Holy Spirit,
fill the hearts of your faithful,
and kindle in them the fire of Your love.

Amen.

For the complete novena visit : The Discerning Hearts’ Holy Spirit Novena page

The Litany of St. Joseph – text and mp3 download

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The Litany of Saint Joseph

V/ Lord, have mercy.

R/ Lord, have mercy.

V/ Christ, have mercy.

R/ Christ, have mercy.

V/ Lord, have mercy.

R/ Lord, have mercy.

V/ Jesus, hear us.

R/ Jesus, graciously hear us.

V/ God, the Father of Heaven,

R/ have mercy on us.

V/ God, the Son, Redeemer of the world,

R/ have mercy on us.

V/ God, the Holy Spirit,

R/ have mercy on us.

V/ Holy Trinity, One God,

R/ have mercy on us.

R/for ff: pray for us.

Holy Mary,

St. Joseph, Renowned offspring of David,

Light of Patriarchs,

Spouse of the Mother of God,

Chaste guardian of the Virgin,

Foster father of the Son of God,

Diligent protector of Christ,

Head of the Holy Family,

Joseph most just,

Joseph most chaste,

Joseph most prudent,

Joseph most strong,

Joseph most obedient,

Joseph most faithful,

Mirror of patience,

Lover of poverty,

Model of artisans,

Glory of home life,

Guardian of virgins,

Pillar of families,

Solace of the wretched,

Hope of the sick,

Patron of the dying,

Terror of demons,

Protector of Holy Church,

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,

R/ spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,

R/ graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.

R/ have mercy on us.

He made him the lord of his household.

R/ And prince over all his possessions.

Let us pray. O God, in your ineffable providence you were pleased to choose Blessed Joseph to be the spouse of your most holy Mother; grant, we beg you, that we may be worthy to have him for our intercessor in heaven whom on earth we venerate as our Protector: You who live and reign forever and ever. R/ Amen.

The faithful foster-father and guardian – St. Bernardine of Siena from the Office of Readings – Discerning Hearts Podcasts

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From a sermon by Saint Bernardine of Siena, priest

The faithful foster-father and guardian

There is a general rule concerning all special graces granted to any human being. Whenever the divine favour chooses someone to receive a special grace, or to accept a lofty vocation, God adorns the person chosen with all the gifts of the Spirit needed to fulfil the task at hand.

This general rule is especially verified in the case of Saint Joseph, the foster-father of our Lord and the husband of the Queen of our world, enthroned above the angels. He was chosen by the eternal Father as the trustworthy guardian and protector of his greatest treasures, namely, his divine Son and Mary, Joseph’s wife. He carried out this vocation with complete fidelity until at last God called him, saying: “Good and faithful servant enter into the joy of your Lord.”

What then is Joseph’s position in the whole Church of Christ? Is he not a man chosen and set apart? Through him and, yes, under him, Christ was fittingly and honourably introduced into the world. Holy Church in its entirety is indebted to the Virgin Mother because through her it was judged worthy to receive Christ. But after her we undoubtedly owe special gratitude and reverence to Saint Joseph.

In him the Old Testament finds its fitting close. He brought the noble line of patriarchs and prophets to its promised fulfilment. What the divine goodness had offered as a promise to them, he held in his arms.

Obviously, Christ does not now deny to Joseph that intimacy, reverence and very high honour which he gave him on earth, as a son to his father. Rather we must say that in heaven Christ completes and perfects all that he gave at Nazareth.

Now we can see how the last summoning words of the Lord appropriately apply to Saint Joseph: “Enter into the joy of your Lord.” In fact, although the joy of eternal happiness enters into the soul of a man, the Lord preferred to say to Joseph: “Enter into joy.” His intention was that the words should have a hidden spiritual meaning for us. They convey not only that this holy man possesses an inward joy, but also that it surrounds him and engulfs him like an infinite abyss.

Remember us, Saint Joseph, and plead for us to your foster-child. Ask your most holy bride, the Virgin Mary, to look kindly upon us, since she is the mother of him who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns eternally. Amen.

Let us pray.

Almighty God,
at the beginnings of our salvation,
when Mary conceived your Son and brought him forth into the world,
you placed them under Joseph’s watchful care.
May his prayer still help your Church
to be an equally faithful guardian of your mysteries
and a sign of Christ to mankind.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes Day 9 – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes – Day 9

O glorious Mother of God, to you we raise our hearts and hands to implore your powerful intercession in obtaining from the benign Heart of Jesus all the graces necessary for our spiritual and temporal welfare, particularly for the grace of a happy death. O Mother of our Divine Lord, as we conclude this novena for the special favor we seek at this time.

(make your request)

We feel animated with confidence that your prayers in our behalf will be graciously heard. O Mother of My Lord, through the love you bear to Jesus Christ and for the glory of His Name, hear our prayers and obtain our petitions.
O Brilliant star of purity, Mary Immaculate, Our Lady of Lourdes, glorious in your assumption, triumphant in your coronation, show unto us the mercy of the Mother of God, Virgin Mary, Queen and Mother, be our comfort, hope, strength, and consolation. Amen.

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.

Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes Day 8 – Discerning Hearts Podcasts

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Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes – Day 8

O Immaculate Mother of God, from heaven itself you came to appear to the little Bernadette in the rough Grotto of Lourdes! And as Bernadette knelt at your feet and the miraculous spring burst forth and as multitudes have knelt ever since before your shrine, O Mother of God, we kneel before you today to ask that in your mercy you plead with your Divine Son to grant the special favor we seek in this novena.

(make your request)

O Brilliant star of purity, Mary Immaculate, Our Lady of Lourdes, glorious in your assumption, triumphant in your coronation, show unto us the mercy of the Mother of God, Virgin Mary, Queen and Mother, be our comfort, hope, strength, and consolation. Amen.

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.

Saint Bernadette, pray for us.