St. Monica Parish

St. Monica Parish
Why I Pray! Jesus is present in the Tabernacle. He promised to never leave us and his promise is true.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

St. Augustine

St. Augustine is one of the many saints that I admire and wish to model. "Late have I loved thee" he said and how true that is for me. How different all of our lives would be if we were to always love Jesus first!!

This was the second reading in today's Liturgy of the Hours -

"Late have I loved you, Beauty so ancient and so new, late have I loved you!
Lo, you were within,
  but I outside, seeking there for you,
  and upon the shapely things you have made
  I rushed headlong – I, misshapen.
You were with me, but I was not with you.
They held me back far from you,
  those things which would have no being,
  were they not in you.
You called, shouted, broke through my deafness;
  you flared, blazed, banished my blindness;
  you lavished your fragrance, I gasped; and now I pant for you;
  I tasted you, and now I hunger and thirst;
  you touched me, and I burned for your peace."
 
How we all long for our Creator and Redeemer once we spend time with him and get to know him. We are never the same again!! God bless!!

Monday, May 28, 2012

Why should we not endure evil? - Job

In today's Liturgy of the Hours readings, St. Gregory the Great comments on the readings from the book of Job -
"Whoever, in the moment of receiving God’s gifts but forgets to fear possible affliction, will be brought low by his presumption. Equally, whoever in the moment of suffering fails to take comfort from the gifts which it has been his lot to receive, is thrown down from the steadfastness of his mind and despairs.
The two must be united so that each may always have the other’s support, so that both remembrance of the gift may moderate the pain of the blow and fear of the blow may moderate exuberance at receiving the gift. Thus the holy man, to soothe the depression of his mind amidst his wounds, weighs the sweetness of the gifts against the pains of affliction, saying If we have received good at the hand of the Lord, shall we not receive evil?"
 
We are quick to be bitter at God for any and all afflictions and sufferings, but we are slow to thank and praise him when all is well. Job reminds us that we should be thankful for both. I know today how bittersweet life is. The joys as well as the sorrows are all gifts from our loving God. The sorrows purge and cleanse me and I am healed. Thank you my sweet and loving Lord!! God bless all!!

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Pentecost May 27, 2012

Today is Pentecost Sunday and Easter is ended. Our readings are about the works of the Spirit.

Part of today's reading from the Liturgy of the Hours - Paul to the Romans 8 -

"Those who live according to the flesh are intent on the things of the flesh, those who live according to the spirit, on those of the spirit. The tendency of the flesh is toward death but that of the spirit toward life and peace. The flesh in its tendency is at enmity with God; it is not subject to God’s law. Indeed, it cannot be; those who are in the flesh cannot please God." 

One of the readings from today's Mass - Galatians 5
" Brothers and sisters, live by the Spirit
and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh.
For the flesh has desires against the Spirit,
and the Spirit against the flesh;
these are opposed to each other,
so that you may not do what you want.
But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Now the works of the flesh are obvious:
immorality, impurity, lust, idolatry,
sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy,
outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness,
dissensions, factions, occasions of envy,
drinking bouts, orgies, and the like.
I warn you, as I warned you before,
that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, generosity,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
Against such there is no law.
Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their flesh
with its passions and desires.
If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit."

Pray today for the gifts of the Holy Spirit because it is only by God's grace that we live in His presence and love. God bless!!

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Discernment

It is through daily prayer that we come to know who we are and God's beautiful plan for us. We tend to get too busy in our every day ordinary lives to see beyond into the depths and beauty of God's love. Most of us live on the surface and never delve beneath the busyness and craziness of our lives. What we see and know in this life is only a minimal percentage of what God desires for us. Spend time in quiet prayer today. Quiet the rush of the mind and listen to the voice of God. God bless!!

Friday, May 25, 2012

Holy Spirit

We receive the Spirit of truth so that we can know the things of God. In order to grasp this, consider how useless the faculties of the human body would become if they were denied their exercise. Our eyes cannot fulfill their task without light, either natural or artificial; our ears cannot react without sound vibrations, and in the absence of any odor our nostrils are ignorant of their function. Not that these senses would lose their own nature if they were not used; rather, they demand objects of experience in order to function. It is the same with the human soul. Unless it absorbs the gift of the Spirit through faith, the mind has the ability to know God but lacks the light necessary for that knowledge. The above is taken from the second reading in the Liturgy of the Hours. We are deaf, dumb and blind to God's presence and to our understanding of God in our lives. Once we are filled with the Holy Spirit, our eyes are opened and our minds as well. We begin to understand so much more and our faith grows! God bless,

Monday, May 21, 2012

Morning Prayer

Beloved, let us love one another because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten of God and has knowledge of God. The man without love has known nothing of God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed in our midst in this way: he sent his only Son to the world that we might have life through him. Love, then, consists in this: not that we have loved God but that he has loved us And has sent his son as an offering for our sins. From the Liturgy of the Hours from the First Letter of the Apostle John

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

frustrations

Because I live a life of prayer does not relieve me of sin in my life. But my good and glorious God always sends me reminders in my prayer as to how he wants me to live. This morning's reading from Psalm 37 -

"Calm your anger and forget your rage; do not fret, it only leads to evil. For those who do evil shall perish; the patient shall inherit the land."

Poor Jason takes my frustrations in stride as we progress through the mortgage process. I pray that we all survive it and can move on!

God bless!!

Friday, May 11, 2012

Climbing the Heights

I discovered that prayer is a journey up a mountain - a mountain that gives us a view of God and all that he desires for us. As we climb this mountain, we begin to see more clearly and our minds are opened up to the presence of God in our lives. We no longer live a shallow life - limited by what we see and understand only on this earth. Once we climb the mountain of prayer, we are no longer the same and we no longer want to be what we were. This is our ascent into the glories of Heaven! God bless!!

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Humanae Vitae

Because I live a life of prayer, my beautiful God leads me to places and books that I would not otherwise ever see or read. Here is an example from the book Adam and Eve after the Pill by Mary Eberstadt -

"Forty-plus years after Humanae Vitae, fifty-plus after the approval of the Pill, there are more than enough ironies, both secular and religious, to make one swear there's a humorist in heaven.

"Let's begin by meditating upon what might be called the first of the secular ironies now evident: Humanae Vitae's specific predictions about what the world would look like if artificial contraception became widespread. The encyclical warned of four resulting trends: a general lowering of moral standards throughout society; a rise in infidelity; a lessening of respect for women by men; and the coercive use of reproductive technologies by governments."

This book is worth reading - if you want to know the truth. It's full of research and statistics.
God bless!!

Monday, May 7, 2012

Change

God changes us. When we open our hearts to His presence and love, we change and are never the same again. We see life so differently. We hear things so differently. Our hearts are bigger and fuller and more open to life and service and love. It is through God's grace that this happens. But we must first be willing to seek His will and once willing, He will do the rest. God bless!!

Friday, May 4, 2012

Adoration

I'll spend two hours in the Adoration Chapel this morning. Why do I do this? In the presence of Jesus is peace and ultimately pure joy!