A Novena to St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) – Day 9
St. Teresa Benedicta you have said:
The title of Mary as our mother is not merely symbolic. Mary is our mother in the most real and lofty sense, a sense which surpasses that of earthly maternity. She begot our life of grace for us because she offered up her entire being, body and soul, as the Mother of God. That is why an intimate bond exists between Mary and ourselves. She loves us, she knows us, she exerts herself to bring each one of us into the closest possible relationship with the Lord – that which we are above all supposed to be.
Prayer of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross:
“O my God, fill my soul with holy joy, courage and strength to serve You. Enkindle Your love in me and then walk with me along the next stretch of road before me. I do not see very far ahead, but when I have arrived where the horizon now closes down, a new prospect will open before me and I shall meet with peace.”
All-powerful, ever-living God,
you gave Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross
the courage to witness to the gospel of Christ
even to the point of giving her life for it.
By her prayers, help us to endure all suffering for love of you
and to seek you with all our hearts,
for you alone are the source of life.
Grant this 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.
“For years, there have been no books of St. Augustine’s prayers available. Finally, in this treasure trove, you will find select prayers from his works — some of the most potent prayers ever composed. As you read the innermost thoughts of the greatest Church Father, you will be transported in time and learn how to pray with the heart of a saint. St. Augustine’s timeless words will help you encounter the “Beauty of ancient days, yet ever new” face-to-face and experience the relationship between praying and believing.
As Dr. Kreeft explains, “No Christian writer, perhaps no writer at all, has ever been as eloquent as St. Augustine. Few have been as philosophically and theologically profound, or as passionately in love with God…. No passages in Augustine’s writings are more eloquent than his prayers, or more profound than his prayers, or more saintly than his prayers, for prayer is the very lifeblood of sanctity.”
These precious gems are uplifting and accessible to all. Covering a range of topics and styles, they include praise and petition for health, docility, forgiveness, restoration, and salvation. You will also find prayers glorifying the Trinity’s attributes, such as wisdom, light, goodness, mercy, and truth, as well as intimate prayers of adoration to the Incarnate Word.
Offering these magnificent prayers will ready you to behold glimpses into the mystery of God. St. Augustine will teach you:
The three valuable lessons Jesus taught us about prayer
The two things always to pray for and how to pray always
Ways to kindle virtues on the road to sanctity
How to deepen your love for and devotion to God
Line by line wisdom on praying the Our Father
“What better way could we have to know the heart of a man like St. Augustine than to listen to him pray?” Sara Park McLaughlin reflects. “By reading his vast writings, we discover something of the saint’s enormous genius and theological insight…. Through his prayers we experience his relationship to God.”
When you pray these prayers fervently you will join forces with the entire company of Heaven in a litany of endless worship and praise. St. Augustine taught that prayer makes you ready to receive God’s blessings. As you pray with St. Augustine, be prepared to be blessed!”
About the Author: Sarah Park McLaughlin, Former humor columnist, author of My Humor Writing Journal [Amazon] and retired university English teacher, love Catholicism, apologetics, C. S. Lewis. Her blog can be found here.
A Novena to St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) – Day 8
St. Teresa Benedicta you have said:
To suffer and to be happy although suffering, to have one’s feet on the earth, to walk on the dirty and rough paths of this earth and yet to be enthroned with Christ at the Father’s right hand, to laugh and cry with the children of this world and ceaselessly to sing the praises of God with the choirs of angels this is the life of the Christian until the morning of eternity breaks forth.
Prayer of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross:
“O my God, fill my soul with holy joy, courage and strength to serve You. Enkindle Your love in me and then walk with me along the next stretch of road before me. I do not see very far ahead, but when I have arrived where the horizon now closes down, a new prospect will open before me and I shall meet with peace.”
All-powerful, ever-living God,
you gave Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross
the courage to witness to the gospel of Christ
even to the point of giving her life for it.
By her prayers, help us to endure all suffering for love of you
and to seek you with all our hearts,
for you alone are the source of life.
Grant this 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.
Tuesday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time – A Time of Lectio Divina for the Discerning Heart Podcast
As you begin, take a deep breath and exhale slowly. For at least the next few moments, surrender all the cares and concerns of this day to the Lord.
Say slowly from your heart “Jesus, I Trust In You…You Take Over”
Become aware that He is with you, looking upon you with love, wanting to be heard deep within in your heart…
From the Holy Gospel According to St. Matthew 14:22-36
Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side while he would send the crowds away. After sending the crowds away he went up into the hills by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, while the boat, by now far out on the lake, was battling with a heavy sea, for there was a head-wind. In the fourth watch of the night he went towards them, walking on the lake, and when the disciples saw him walking on the lake they were terrified. ‘It is a ghost’ they said, and cried out in fear. But at once Jesus called out to them, saying, ‘Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid.’ It was Peter who answered. ‘Lord,’ he said ‘if it is you, tell me to come to you across the water.’ ‘Come’ said Jesus. Then Peter got out of the boat and started walking towards Jesus across the water, but as soon as he felt the force of the wind, he took fright and began to sink. ‘Lord! Save me!’ he cried. Jesus put out his hand at once and held him. ‘Man of little faith,’ he said ‘why did you doubt?’ And as they got into the boat the wind dropped. The men in the boat bowed down before him and said, ‘Truly, you are the Son of God.’
Having made the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret. When the local people recognised him they spread the news through the whole neighbourhood and took all that were sick to him, begging him just to let them touch the fringe of his cloak. And all those who touched it were completely cured.
What word made this passage come alive for you?
What did you sense the Lord saying to you?
Once more give the Lord an opportunity to speak to you:
Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side while he would send the crowds away. After sending the crowds away he went up into the hills by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, while the boat, by now far out on the lake, was battling with a heavy sea, for there was a head-wind. In the fourth watch of the night he went towards them, walking on the lake, and when the disciples saw him walking on the lake they were terrified. ‘It is a ghost’ they said, and cried out in fear. But at once Jesus called out to them, saying, ‘Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid.’ It was Peter who answered. ‘Lord,’ he said ‘if it is you, tell me to come to you across the water.’ ‘Come’ said Jesus. Then Peter got out of the boat and started walking towards Jesus across the water, but as soon as he felt the force of the wind, he took fright and began to sink. ‘Lord! Save me!’ he cried. Jesus put out his hand at once and held him. ‘Man of little faith,’ he said ‘why did you doubt?’ And as they got into the boat the wind dropped. The men in the boat bowed down before him and said, ‘Truly, you are the Son of God.’
Having made the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret. When the local people recognised him they spread the news through the whole neighbourhood and took all that were sick to him, begging him just to let them touch the fringe of his cloak. And all those who touched it were completely cured.
What did your heart feel as you listened?
What did you sense the Lord saying to you?
Once more, through Him, with Him and in Him listen to the Word:
Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side while he would send the crowds away. After sending the crowds away he went up into the hills by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, while the boat, by now far out on the lake, was battling with a heavy sea, for there was a head-wind. In the fourth watch of the night he went towards them, walking on the lake, and when the disciples saw him walking on the lake they were terrified. ‘It is a ghost’ they said, and cried out in fear. But at once Jesus called out to them, saying, ‘Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid.’ It was Peter who answered. ‘Lord,’ he said ‘if it is you, tell me to come to you across the water.’ ‘Come’ said Jesus. Then Peter got out of the boat and started walking towards Jesus across the water, but as soon as he felt the force of the wind, he took fright and began to sink. ‘Lord! Save me!’ he cried. Jesus put out his hand at once and held him. ‘Man of little faith,’ he said ‘why did you doubt?’ And as they got into the boat the wind dropped. The men in the boat bowed down before him and said, ‘Truly, you are the Son of God.’
Having made the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret. When the local people recognised him they spread the news through the whole neighbourhood and took all that were sick to him, begging him just to let them touch the fringe of his cloak. And all those who touched it were completely cured.
What touched your heart in this time of prayer?
What did your heart feel as you prayed?
What do you hope to carry with you from this time with the Lord?
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Amen
Excerpt from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, copyright (c) 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd. and Doubleday, a division of Penguin Random House, Inc. Reprinted by Permission.
Conference 3 – Discerning the Will of God with Fr. Timothy Gallagher O.M.V.
Join Fr. Timothy Gallagher as he offers the teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola on Discerning the Will of God. Conference 3 goes in depth about the disposition of heart needed in the discernment process.
You can find various handouts spoken of by Fr. Gallagher in the links below
Lord Jesus Christ, You have destroyed the power of death and given the hope of eternal life in body and soul.
You granted your Mother a special place in your glory, and did not allow decay to touch her body.
As we rejoice in the Assumption of Mary, give to us a renewed confidence in the victory of
life over death.
You live and reign forever and ever.
Amen.
Day 2
Mary, Assumed into Heaven, we venerate you as the Queen of Heaven and earth. As you tasted the bitterness of pain and sorrow with your Son on earth, you now enjoy eternal bliss with Him in Heaven.
Loving Queen, intercede for us in our needs.
(mention your request)
We praise Jesus for giving us such a loving mother.
A Novena to St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) – Day 7
St. Teresa Benedicta you have said:
The soul may take dryness and darkness as fortunate symptoms: symptoms that God is freeing her from herself. He is disentangling her from the activity of her faculties. Probably she would have been able to acquire much through this, her own activity, but never as completely, perfectly, and securely as she does now since God takes her by the hand. He is leading her in the darkness… by ways that she herself, in the happiest of wanderings while using her own eyes and feet, would never have succeeded in finding.
Prayer of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross:
“O my God, fill my soul with holy joy, courage and strength to serve You. Enkindle Your love in me and then walk with me along the next stretch of road before me. I do not see very far ahead, but when I have arrived where the horizon now closes down, a new prospect will open before me and I shall meet with peace.”
All-powerful, ever-living God,
you gave Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross
the courage to witness to the gospel of Christ
even to the point of giving her life for it.
By her prayers, help us to endure all suffering for love of you
and to seek you with all our hearts,
for you alone are the source of life.
Grant this 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.
Lord Jesus Christ, You have destroyed the power of death and given the hope of eternal life in body and soul.
You granted your Mother a special place in your glory, and did not allow decay to touch her body.
As we rejoice in the Assumption of Mary, give to us a renewed confidence in the victory of life over death.
You live and reign forever and ever.
Amen.
Day 1
Immaculate Virgin, Mother of Jesus and our Mother, we believe in your triumphant assumption into heaven where the angels and saints acclaim you as Queen of Heaven and earth.
We join them in praising you and bless the Lord who raised you above all creatures. With them we honor you.
We are confident that you watch over our daily lives and we ask that you intercede for us now.
(mention your request)
We are comforted by our faith in the coming Resurrection and we look to you for prayers and comfort.
After this earthly life, show us Jesus, the blest fruit of your womb, O kind, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
O Queen Assumed into Heaven, pray for us.
Amen.
Msgr. Esseff reflects on why those who trust in God suffer and why it appears those who shun God prosper. The key to understanding is trust, even when it is difficult.
Are you not from eternity, O LORD,
my holy God, immortal?
O LORD, you have marked him for judgment,
O Rock, you have readied him punishment!
Too pure are your eyes to look upon evil,
and the sight of misery you cannot endure.
Why, then, do you gaze on the faithless in silence
while the wicked man devours
one more just than himself?
You have made man like the fish of the sea,
like creeping things without a ruler.
He brings them all up with his hook,
he hauls them away with his net,
He gathers them in his seine;
and so he rejoices and exults.
Therefore he sacrifices to his net,
and burns incense to his seine;
for thanks to them his portion is generous,
and his repast sumptuous.
Shall he, then, keep on brandishing his sword
to slay peoples without mercy?
I will stand at my guard post,
and station myself upon the rampart,
And keep watch to see what he will say to me,
and what answer he will give to my complaint.Then the LORD answered me and said:
Write down the vision
Clearly upon the tablets,
so that one can read it readily. For the vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint; If it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late. The rash man has no integrity; but the just man, because of his faith, shall live. -NAB
Msgr. John A. Esseff is a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Scranton. Msgr. Esseff served as a retreat director and confessor to St. Teresa of Calcutta. He continues to offer direction and retreats for the Sisters of the Missionaries of Charity. Msgr. Esseff encountered St. Padre Pio, who would become a spiritual father to him. He has lived in areas around the world, serving in the Pontifical missions, a Catholic organization established by Pope St. John Paul II to bring the Good News to the world, especially to the poor. He continues to serve as a retreat leader and director to bishops, priests and sisters, seminarians, and other religious leaders.
Lord Jesus Christ, You have destroyed the power of death and given the hope of eternal life in body and soul.
Tuesday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time – A Time of Lectio Divina for the Discerning Heart Podcast
