Prayer is the light of the soul "There is
nothing more worthwhile than to pray to God and to converse with
him, for prayer unites us with God as his companions.
THE WEEK OF PRAYER for Christian UNITY and
throughout the year 2008
Pray without ceasing (1 Thess 5:17)
Catholic Prayers for Evangelization.
Catholic Prayers of Love.
Hail, Holy Queen
Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy,
our life, our sweetness, and our hope!
To you do we cry; poor banished children of Eve;
to you do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vail
of tears. Turn, then
most gracious advocate, your eyes of mercy
toward us; and after this our exile, show
unto us the blessed fruit of your womb,
Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin
Mary! Pray for us, O holy Mother Of God,
that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Anima Christi
Soul of Christ, sancti fy me;
Body of Christ, save me;
Blood of Christ inebriate me;
Water from the side of Christ, wash me;
Passion of Christ, strengthen me;
O good Jesus,hear me;
Within your wounds hide me;
Separated from you, let me never be;
From the evil one protect me;
At the hour of my death, call me;
And close to you bid me;
That with your saints, I may be, praising you forever and
ever.
Amen.
Prayer for Evangelization
Loving God, you called us each by name and gave your only Son to
redeem us.
In your faithfulness, you sent the Holy Spirit to complete the
mission of Jesus among us.
Open our hearts to Jesus.
Give us the courage to speak his name to those who are close to us
and the generosity to share His love with those who are far
away.
We Pray that every person through the world be invited to know and
love Jesus as Savior and Redeemer.
May that love transform every element of our society.
We ask this through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.
Mary, Mother of the Church pray for us.
Saint Paul the Apostle, pray for us.
Instructions for Christians of
Today.
The final goal at which this instruction
aims is Love .
( Galatians 5:6 The New Jerusalem Bible ) " . . . We are led by
the Spirit to wait in the confident hope of saving justice through
faith, since in Christ Jesus it is not being circumcised or being
uncircumcised that can effect anything - only faith working through
love . . ."
Saint Therese of Lisieux,
1873-1897 " . . . Instead of becoming discouraged, I said
to myself: God cannot inspire unrealizable desires. I can, then, in
spite of my littleness, aspire to holiness . . . "
Christians of today, like the
early Christians before them, should strive to" . . . be perfect...
as your heavenly father is perfect . . . " ( Mt. 5:48 ) ( Mt 19:21
) . We are all called to be saints. saints exercise heroic virtue.
We are called to be like Christ ( John 14:9-21 ) ( Mark 8:34-38 ).
With divine help, and by ordinary people becoming saints, or
striving to be virtuous, the Catholic Church survived and grew.
[ For general rules of Christian behaviour see ( Colossians
3:1-17 ). ]
Emphasizing the positive, the three theological
virtues we should strive for are: faith, hope and charity.
The four cardinal virtues we should strive for
are: justice, prudence, temperance, and fortude. Notice
Scripture's clear mandate to confess and proclaim "the whole
counsel of God" (Acts 20:27 ) - in all its Truth . The unity of the
divine plan in the two Testaments should not be
overlooked. We should read the Old Testament in light of
the New and the New testament in light of the Old. We can see that
what God says and does in the Old Testament points us to what Jesus
says and does in the New Testament, and what Jesus says and does in
the New Testament sheds light on the promises and events we read
about in the Old Testament.
We, in the Pilgrim Church on earth, are at
war with Satan. ( Ephesians 6:13 ) 13" . . . you must take
up all God's armour...So stand your ground, with truth a belt round
your waist [loins] . . . " Notice especially here, that the
Bible does say, "all" God's armour. Notice again the word
"all" in ( Deuteronomy 6:5 ) " . . . You must love
Yahweh your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all
your strength. Let the words I enjoin on you today stay in your
heart . . . " The Bible does say "all."
Satan
seeks to divide us. Be not afraid. We are not alone. God is with
us. God is love. We have allies in this war. We are being helped by
the communion of saints - even those in purgatory - while we are on
our journey home to the Heavenly Jerusalem.
Whoever Loves God must also Love his Brother.
( 1 John 4:17-20 New Jerusalem Bible ) " .
. . Love comes to its perfection in us when we can face the Day of
Judgement fearlessly, because in this world we have become as he
is. In love there is no room for fear, but perfect love drives out
fear, because fear implies punishment and whoever is afraid has not
come to perfection in love. Let us love, then, because he first
loved us . . . "
( Psalm 24:4-6) " . . . The pure of heart will receive a blessing
from Yahweh . . . "
( 1 Timothy 1:5 ) " . . . The final goal at which this
instruction aims is love, issuing from a pure heart, a clear
conscience and a sincere faith . . ."
