The leaves are falling from the trees – from heat stress here in Central Texas. The grass os brown and crunchy under my feet. However, in my college town, the students are back flowing in to my parish past the fill line each Sunday, driving like maniacs in the increased traffic, studying in every coffee shop, and crowding the bars on the weekends. So this counts as fall around here in spite of the weather. Living with a child marks the transition as well, long before the heat lets up. My granddaughter has started fifth grade, my grandsons have started second and fourth grades, and the baby has started walking.
Thinking back on the summer of 2026, I think it was the summer of broken down cars. My daughters and I have all had excessive car trouble this summer.
It was also a summer of much reading. I tend to go through a book every 4-5 days. This is when Kindle Unlimited comes in handy with a number of free digital books. I love actual books too. In fact I finally have my Little Free Library up and running. I’ve been so excited about that. It’s something I have always wanted to do! The books haven’t been moving too fast but I hope that will change as more people notice it. If you have any ideas about books to put in it, or any advice, let me know in the comments.
I started a Christian Base Community at my house. We have had two meetings so far. And it’s just four or five people. It’s been good. We pray Lectio Divina with the Gospel from the closest Sunday, share about it, eat snacks. We talk about how we will follow up on our insights we received in prayer. So far we have been doing triage dealing with everyone’s exhaustion about the cruelty we have been seeing in our country right now. However we will move into identifying problems in our community and making plans to do something about them.
I watered my garden every day to try to help everything survive the heat. The basil did well and got so big and fluffy! I left the flowers on the plants so the bees could enjoy them, which they really seemed to. My roses bloomed a bit but by evening they looked like crinkled paper. I left water out for my chickens, cats, the birds. and squirrels and anything else that needed it.
One of my chickens, Cleo, almost had a heat stroke so we brought her in and put her feet in the sink with some water and ice until she felt better. Now we bring her in and put her in a dog crate during the hottest part of the day. The others do OK.
A crazy good thing happened to me this summer. Out of the blue I found out my book Meeting the One Who Loves You; the way of prayer of St. Teresa of Avila, won first place in the category of adult prayer and devotionals from the Catholic Media Association. I even beat out a Dominican priest! Don’t worry he still got second place for his in-depth Stations of the Cross. I had no idea I was in the running. I thought my latest book wasn’t selling that well. What do you know? Some people liked it! That was exciting and my former editor and another friend at Our Sunday Visitor told me it was a big deal. So yay!
I started cooking vegetarian for my dog this summer. I looked stuff up and figured out what to feed him. I’m vegan but I figured I would start with vegetarian for him and see how he did. His coat got shinier and softer, his energy has been up. He has not scratched as much. So success so far!
Here is my current recipe for him. He is a big dog (76 pounds) so this is one day’s food for my big boy.
Joey Francis Tribiani Chapman’s Vegetarian Dog Food
Ingredients
one cup brown rice
one cup lentils
1 cup plain yogurt or cottage cheese
a handful of ground flax seed
one cup full of chopped vegetables
a scrambled egg or two
To do
cook the lentils, rice and ground flax seed together in about 5 1/2 cups of water
(I use my instant pot for this on the bean setting)
steam the vegetables (if they are frozen you can just throw them in while the beans and rice are still hot)
stir in the yogurt or cottage cheese
scramble the egg or hard boil it
stir in the vegetables and the egg
When everything is cooked and mixed together, let the food cool off before you give it to your dog.
*Please note that dogs cannot have onions, garlic or apple cores.
One daughter is almost finished with her master’s in criminal justice. She plays around town as a singer songwriter and also in a band called The Fragments. My other girl got into flight school and already started flying. Her instructor says she will make an excellent pilot.
One of the guys I take care of as a caregiver, Mac, became very ill at the beginning of the summer. He stayed sick for such a long time, ended up in the E.R., and had a nine day hospital stay. He was still extremely ill when he got home. His parents and I had lots of extra care to do and we were all still really scared. We almost lost him. Recently he got sick again but he didn’t worsen into pneumonia it just took a long time and hard work to see him well again. Mac is so resilient.
My other guy, Sean, who is just 14, had a decent summer I think. He was out of school but he still went to his autism clinic every day. That’s where I pick him up in the late afternoon. It was too hot to go to the park or anything so sometimes we explored buildings we had never been in, and we got a snowcone every Monday because Mondays are hard. (sugar free cherry for him, lime with chili salt for me).
I started making little videos of prayer breaks this summer. I was surprised how many plays they get. I only put them on my Come to Mary’s House Facebook Page which most people don’t know about. But they get about 300 plays apiece. Funny. So I will keep doing it as long as I can. I just take little prayer breaks usually between my jobs, so I thought of sharing those.
I had the funnest day ever with my friend Mark. We went to Houston and went to our favorite coffee shops and bookstores. We ran all over the downtown, I forget how many thousands of steps he said we took. We went to the Museum of Fine art to see their Frida Kahlo exhibit. Then we went to my favorite, The Menil, and to Mark’s favorite, the Rothko Chapel. We ate at a little dive Mexican vegan restaurant, and at The Hobbit too. The big deal was a concert in honor of John Coltrane by virtuoso jazz artists from around the world. Oh it was amazing. I really felt like Coltranes’ spirit was in that place. What an experience!
I continued to volunteer with Sweet Oak Collaborative’s emergency food pantry. We have a guy who in his retirement makes vats of homemade food, boxes up meals and freezes them. He donates them to Meals on Wheels, the Boys and Girls Club, and us. A friend is donating a deep freeze which we could really use. There is a lot of need out there especially as the food banks lose federal funding and food stamps are cut for people. It’s good to be able to do something about it.
Other than tearing through one book after another, listening to audio books in the car, and Catholic Stream lecture series, listening to music, going to work and coming home, plus regular family life, and broken cars, that was my summer. My car is still down. It’s about 20 years old and my dad thinks it’s kaput. My eldest daughter has hers in the shop. Again. My youngest daughters’ car has a battery that needs to be replaced but that is difficult because of the way her engine is built (why did they make it like that). At least it runs and I am driving it too so I can get to work. Car shopping is in my near future. Wish me luck.
My eldest daughter comes over for coffee with me with the baby after she drops the boys off at school. My other daughter and my granddaughter live with me. I’m so lucky. I love them all. They’re all such unique, hilarious and wonderful people. I enjoyed my time with them this summer very much.
My Hippie Sisters pulled off some great dinner parties this summer as well. Nobody does it better.
I got to know my newly married godson better. We talked for four hours and ended up on the coffee shop steps after it closed. That was fun. He grew up to be so cool. 🙂
I also saw the son of a dear family friend who grew up playing with my youngest daughter ordained a priest in Austin this summer. That was beautiful.
Summer is still my favorite season but I don’t handle the heat as well as I used to.
Now I’ll try to get in the mood for the fall that hasn’t actually started yet.
Texas sunsets in late September are especially glorious. I’m looking forward to that. And maybe to getting some new roses from the Antique Rose Emporium. Fall is the best time to plant them. I want them to be as profuse as possible around my house! I like them wild and tangled and hanging from the trees like a fairy land. That’s what I’m going for.
* Here are some things I read this summer. If you have any book recommendations for me let me know in the comments.
The Adventures of Amina Al-Sarafi by Shannon Chakraborthy. I was happy it was a trilogy.
Bat Eater and other Names for Cora Zheng by Kylie Lee Baker
Finding Francis, Following Christ by Michael H. Crosby
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt.
The Star of Calcutta by Sujatta Massey
The Tears of Things by Richard Rorh
The Poet Empress by Shen Tao
The Poppy Wars by R.F. Kuang (a trilogy))
Katabasis by R.F. Kuang
Babel by R.F. Kuang
All six books of the Hawthorn and Horrowitz series. By Anthony Horowitz
House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz
Bunny and its sequel We Love You Bunny by Mona Awad.
The Pillow Book by Sei Shonagon
The River Has Roots by Amal El Mother (so beautiful it’s practically poetry).
The Once and Future Queen by Paula Lafferty
Green Teeth by Molly O’Neil
The Poetry of St. John of the Cross translated by Willis Barnstone
How to Clean Everything by Ann Russell (I didn’t clean much though).
Homebody by Rupi Kaur (poetry)
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi ( an intense trilogy)
I also re-read a bunch of Agatha Christies and other favorite books when I ran out of stuff or one of these other books wrung me out and I needed comfort reading.
I’m currently listening to The Intrigue by Sylvia Moreno Garcia on audiobook
reading Diavola by Jennifer Thorn
and Bad Mexicans; Race, Empire and Revolution in the Borderlands by Kelly Lytle Hernandez
Listening to a course on Catholic Stream about Midieval Christianity and just finished one about the great spiritual families in the history of the Church (about the spiritualities of the different major religious orders from the Desert Fathers to the Vincentians). Recommendations welcome if you listen to Catholic Stream too- I have it on Apple podcasts)
The ideas above are primarily from the 1843-1848 Mexican devotions to Maria Infantita
Today, September 8, is Our Lady’s birthday. In the old devotional texts it was suggested to give alms to the poor on the 8TH of every month, and to pray to Maria Infantita every hour.
“At this hour I renew my loving consecration to you, Maria Infatita.
Look upon me with mercy, protect me,
and teach me to imitate your holy virtues.”
If you think about it, this is like a “Marian Little Way” of spiritual childhood.
When my eldest daughter, Maire, was about four years old, my husband and I thought to make the Sunday Gospel more understandable for her, we would start doing little skits with her at home after mass. The most memorable of these was a Sunday when the Gospel story was about Martha and Mary, (Luke 10:38-42).
My husband, Marc, played Jesus, I played Martha, and Maire played Mary. I went to the kitchen and started banging pots and pans around in an angry way. Marc sat down and started talking to Maire, sitting at his feet, about being nice to everyone, and sharing your toys. I came stomping into the room demanding that Jesus tell my sister to help me with the serving. Marc stood up and said soothingly, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and concerned about many things, but Mary has chosen the better part and it won’t be taken from her.”
I’ve never wanted the story to end there and apparently neither did Maire. She said we weren’t finished yet, so we went back to our places. My husband said, “So Mary, we need to love everyone.” My child got up, came into the kitchen, and took my hand. “It’s OK, Martha! We can trade.” She led me back to Marc, and had me sit down. And she went to the kitchen and started rattling dishes and puts and pans.
My husband and I looked at each other with wonder.
I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children
The church was dark and warm when I came in. I could hear sleepy children stirring in the corners, and see the shapes of people in the pews. I had missed the rosary but adoration would go on until late. The one light shone on the exposed Eucharist on the alter. I sat down in the back, then knelt to pray in the silence.
I noticed cantors were standing in a dimly lit alcove. One of them stood up and read something in Spanish that I thought was from the Gospel of John. I left off studying my Spanish this summer and I’ve already forgotten a lot but it sounded like something from that Gospel. I can’t remember what it was now. Jesus calming the waves? There were prayers. Something about children, loved ones, fear. The reader sounded not only somber but sad. They sang a Mexican hymn about walking with the Lord.
It sounds like any Adoration night in a Catholic Church. However I haven’t yet mentioned that the feeling as I came through the church doors was overwhelming sadness, an oppressive sorrow that was almost crushing. I can’t be sure that was what people there were feeling but if they were it would make sense.
This parish I was visiting is primarily Latino parish. We have had ICE here the last couple of weeks. We are not a big town. We used to be small but I suppose we’re medium now. Local TV has reported on where agents been sited, arrests they have made. Local police have made announcements telling us not to interfere with ICE. The popular news anchor has posted videos of ICE activity people have sent him. Unusually for this conservative bastion of a town, there have been school walk-outs, protests, prayer vigils, almost every day that ICE has been here.
Obviously this situation has caused stress for a lot of people. Nothing like in Minnesota. In fact I have only seen a couple of ICE agents in person, and one abandoned car with the doors open on the road.
I didn’t feel like trying to do any structural mental prayer. My mind was unusually clear and still. Making it do anything felt like introducing unnecessary clutter so I went with just sitting still, being conscious, being present.
As time went by I felt sorrow grow. Maybe it was me. Maybe it was all of us.
More prayers. I heard the phrases, “my heart,” and “your heart” several times. Another song about trusting God, I think. People came in, others left quietly, sleeping children over their shoulders. A boy came around with a box of LED votive lights. Soon there was one at the end of each pew, flickering like candles. The priest walked down the aisle checking on everyone. For me sorrow kept deepening. I began to feel an intense wreath of warmth around my heart.
Silence. More Scripture, more prayers. The trust and love they were expressing reminded me of our family’s attitude when my husband Bob had brain cancer. “Everything will be OK and even if it’s not OK it will be OK,” we used to say. In other words, “This is terrible and we have hope that it can end well. But no matter what has to happen, we will be with you, Lord, and we will always have you.”
They were live streaming the event; probably for anyone too ill to attend or too afraid to come to church or leave the house. I thought that the people in the church were probably not the ones who were especially targets. They were here to pray for everyone else. It would be likely that they are worried about someone they knew, a family member maybe.
I was likely the only white person there. I could have no idea what this community within my community was going through or what it was like to be them right now. This prayer vigil was a vigil for peace. It had been announced as a way to “put everything in God’s hands.” It struck me that the people I was sitting with likely did not have much they could do about the situation. All they had was God.
I felt such gratitude that they were letting me sit with them at the feet of Jesus even though I can’t possibly share what they were going through. I had that sense of astonishment that I was sitting among a persecuted people. Maybe some of them didn’t know what had happened to someone they loved, whether they were being tortured or starved or beaten, whether they were far away in a dangerous country, whether they would ever see that person again. It was one of those moments when I couldn’t believe this is my country.
I looked at the people around me again. “Jesus I know these are your people,” I prayed. “I will do whatever I can, whatever you ask me to do for them. Just make me able.” My eyes filled. “Thank you for letting me be with them tonight.“
After about an hour, which passed quickly, I left.
I talked to my daughter Roise about the sadness I felt. Was I right that there was sadness in the voices of the cantors and readers? Was I projecting a pleading sentiment onto them? Was it my feelings coming out?
Roise suggested that as Catholics we believe that we are the Body of Christ together. Especially in the Eucharist, we are one together, sharing everything. Maybe I was sensing their feelings or maybe I was just part of the Body of Christ feeling its pain. When one part suffers all the others do too.
We thought about it some more. “Imagine how sad Jesus is about all this.”
Neither of us had anything else to say after that.
When I don’t know what to do, I take up the rosary. And this makes total sense because praying the rosary is like holding Mary’s hand. It’s a way to pray in every style and on every level. It’s the prayer of the people. Our Lady urges us to pray it. St. Jacinta of Fatima said it was able to stop wars. It’s an offering to God, an offering to Mary.
October is the month of the Holy Rosary. The awful things that have happened this week have been horrifying and broken my heart, probably yours too.
All I can do with this is run to Mary in the rosary. She knows what to do.
She knows how her migrant children are being treated. She knows about what’s happening in the land she lived her earthly life in. She loves Ukrainians and Russians alike. She loves her MAGA children and her children on the opposite side. She loves us all. She is our mother, our sister, our friend.
Today I have written reflections and prayers for the rosary that go with Catholic values and the things that have concerned me the most this week as I took in current events. I plan to keep doing that for the month of October until I cover all of the mysteries. So I will add to this each week of October. I’m praying for everyone though, for the whole world, asking that God’s will be done, that the Kingdom will come, for the promised triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, that love will win and start winning now, and if not, that at the very least it will win in me.
Come, Holy Spirit,
Come by means
Of the powerful intercession
Of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Thy well beloved spouse.
Amen
The Joyful Mysteries
(Mondays, Saturdays and the Sundays of Advent)
Every Hail Mary is a beautiful rose offered to Our Lady. So for these Joyful Mysteries we will offer her perfect pink rosebuds to commemorate and participate in her joy.
The Annunciation (rose hip: humility)
My soul magnifies the Lord, and my Spirit rejoices in God my Savior. (Luke 1:46-47)
Young Mary, I place myself with you as you hear the most astonishing message anyone on earth has ever heard, as you accept a mission and a life you never expected, displaying a strength, courage and humility we find impossible to imagine. And you conceived of the Holy Spirit, the Savior of the world. Maybe you cried after the angel left. You are overwhelmed. Maybe you will let me hold you.
Thank you sweet Mother, for your acceptance with joy even though you were scared. You had faith.
I pray in special reference to vulnerable and marginalized people especially immigrants being terrorized in my country, and those who do the terrorizing or support it. Open our hearts to humbly accept Jesus in everyone. I pray for all of us. Pray for us to know God’s will for us.
The Visitation (rose bud: charity/love of neighbor).
A new command I give you: Love one another.
As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
(John 13:34)
Let me accompany you, Mary, when you immediately left to visit your kinswoman, Elizabeth, who was part of the Secret you carried, and who needed support in her late in life pregnancy. You didn’t hesitate. You went straight there.
Pray for me, Mary my sister and friend. Pray for me that I will never hesitate to help where I can, to be in community with those who have the same purpose of charity and love of neighbor. Help me find strength, hope, encouragement and peace among people united for this. Gather us and guide us, St. Elizabeth, Holy Mary, that we may serve those in need of help and justice that they may live in dignity.
The Nativity(rose bud: poverty of spirit)
Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God (Luke 6:20)
Holy Mother, you traveled late in your pregnancy to Bethlehem on a donkey beside a husband on foot, a poor man with little means. In the sight of barn animals, on the floor of a cave, you endured the pains of birth. No one would let you stay with them. You had nowhere else to go. Let me give you water. Let me hold your hand, hug Joseph when things get hard. Let me share your joy and generosity when Jesus is born and you shared him with those who sought him.
Mother of God, pray for me that I can be in solidarity with the poor and marginalized, with immigrant women whose babies are ripped from their arms, with pregnant and birthing women who are poor and don’t get the care they need, with all people suffering from the injustices pf poverty. Show me Jesus there among them, and in them. Show him to all of us, especially those who can’t see him. There will be our peace and their prayers answered.
The Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple (rose hip: love of God/obedience)
Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your mind.
(Matthew 22:37)
You emerged from the Mikva and with Joseph presented your Child in the Temple, offering him to God as required by your faith. Let me submerge in the water of purification with you, pray with you. Let me walk the steps with you and hear the blessings and prayers of the priests. Let me hear with you Simeon and Anna as they say amazing things about the Baby you hold and what he will be and do. I want to support you when you hear of his future rejection, when you are told your heart will be pierced through. How terrible for you and Joseph to know. What did you do with that? What does it mean that because of the piercing of your heart the secret thoughts of many will be revealed?
Mother pray for me that my own heart will be revealed so that I can repent of anything I should repent of. Pray for me that I can withstand the shock I feel when the hatred of so many is revealed. You see us all. Your heart us pierced for us. Pray for us Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of your young Son, innocent and free to serve. Pray for us to be wise as serpents but innocent as doves as he taught. Always may we live in the truth, especially in a time of so many lies and so much violence justified by lies. When we can’t find him, lead us to the Temple of our hearts where he is always.
The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple
With burning love I have been zealous for the Lord our God (1Kings:19:10)
Oh Mary, St. Joseph, how awful it was to lose your Child for three straight days. You looked for him everywhere. Nobody could tell you anything and God was silent. No angel spoke. You were desolate. You didn’t know whether this was the sword Simeon spoke of or not. “Mary please eat something,” Jospeh would beg you. “At least sleep a little bit.” How great your joy when you found him in the Temple asking questions and answering them from the teachers. You still confronted him on the spot like any Mother would. “Why have you done this to us?” Even as you embraced him and led him home. He insisted he had been in his Father’s house all the time and was surprised they didn’t know.
Mother of God, so many children of immigrants are having their parents taken away, and being taken from their parents. The parents are sometimes unable to find their children or ever see them again. Pray for them, Holy Mother. You know how they feel. You hear the screams of the children, the cries of parents. Pray for me when I can’t see God at work, when I can’t see anything but Jesus being persecuted and dragged away. Help me also to the joy you knew in finding your Son. Tell me he is at work helping these people now. Tell them. O God these are ugly days. Help me still find beauty and love. Help me find you. You are there. Doing the Father’s work all the time.
Closing Prayers
Queen of the Holy Rosary, I offer you these of pink rose buds I have woven into a crown to place on your sweet head. I love you. I love you so much. I just want to sit with you a while and be happy with you.
O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor haughty my eyes; I have not gone after things too great,
or marvels beyond me.
Truly I have set my soul
In silence and peace like a weaned child in its mother’s lap even so my soul.
Oh Israel, hope in the Lord forever!
Psalm 131
The Luminous Mysteries (Thursdays)
For these Luminous Mysteries we will offer her these bright yellow roses to represent the Light of Christ.
Come, Holy Spirit,
Come by means
Of the powerful intercession
Of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Thy well beloved spouse.
The Baptism of the Lord (rose hip: dedication to God’s will)
Sacrifice and offering you did not desire— but my ears you have opened burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require. Then I said, “Here I am, I have come— it is written about me in the scroll. I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.”
Psalm 40:6-8
Jesus, you accepted baptism from John humbly as a dedication, a consecration, a willingness do do the will of your Father, to give yourself to us to teach, heal and save us. Reflecting your dedication, and in memory of my own baptism, I pray:
God, I offer myself to thee, to do with me and build with me as you will. Relieve me of the bondage of self that I may better do thy will. Take away my difficulties that victory over them may bear witness to thy power, thy love, thy way of life. May I do thy will always. Amen.
3rd Step Prayer, Alcoholics Anonymous
*Go down into the river Jordan with Jesus, and hear with him the words of the Father, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased,” and know these words are meant for you too. Let Jesus dry your face and hair. Maybe you would like to hug him.
The Wedding at Cana (rose hip: trust in Mary’s intercession)
Do whatever he tells you
John 2:5
Jesus, your mother sees our troubles, and she comes to you to intercede for us. In some towns during your ministry you didn’t work many miracles because people had no faith. It was Mary’s faith that led you to perform your first public miracle. She turns to me and says, “I have prayed for you to my Son, now do whatever he tells you.” Sometimes I even know what you want but we’re scared to do it. But you and Our Lady look at me and your presence gives me strength. May I always trust in her motherly, sisterly love and her friendship. The paths of her heart always take me back to yours- all good, all beautiful, all love. Trace in my heart the lines of her love for you, and transform me as water to wine.
The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God
(rose hip: Love of the Poor, the Outcast, the Persecuted of the world)
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor… to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free.
Luke 4:18-19
Lord there are so two different meanings to your Word here, at least two. I know that you came to set us free from sin and from the grip of the devil’s oppression. You also say to me in these words that you want to see actual captives free, actual sight returned to the blind, for the oppressed of our world to be free. To me this means that I am to be part of this work in both ways. I should be part of the salvation of every soul I come across, and I should pray for all to be saved, be an example, answer questions of faith and spread love always. I understand that the Kingdom is also about social justice, about people being free from prison and migrant detention, about wrongs set right, the poor being free of poverty, the sick being cared for and healed. Lord help me to love my brother, my sister, you. Let me rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep (Romans 12:15). This is what your Sacred Heart does and I want to share the love you have for everyone, to be one with you.
The Transfiguration of the Lord (rose hip: a spirit of prayer)
One thing I have desired of the LORD, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple
Psalm 27:4
How beautiful you are, Lord Jesus. Your beauty will always draw me after you, making me long to contemplate your face. Your loveliness and glory, your divinity and at the same time, you feet standing on the earth that day, maybe with muddy toes, satisfy my soul. Never may I deny you, Lord, nor you me. I with you, you with me, may we abide always together. May it be revealed to me who am devoted to you, the holy truth of the Gospel, of your glory and love, that you complete all things, the fulfillment of the law and the prophets. Even if I fall asleep, even if I say ridiculous things, never leave me. Console ,me and prepare me for the difficulties before me so that I will always stay with you and stand up for love.
The Last Supper, and the Institution of the Eucharist(rose hips: a spirit of humble service, love of the Eucharist)
“Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
John 12b-15
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, “Take and eat; this is my body.”
Then he took a cup, gave thanks,* and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you,
for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins.
Matthew 26:26-28
Jesus, you have washed my feet and taught me to let myself be loved. You have inspired me to wash the feet of my brothers and sisters. Help me to serve humbly as a matter of course, without needing gratitude or any other return, and to go on to the next feet, the next person to love and to serve. The Eucharist is in the Poor as well, we know (Matthew 25:40) so we are nourished when we receive them, and when we serve.
Jesus you feed me yourself in the Eucharist. This truth is my bedrock that lives at the heart of my faith. With gratitude I adore you there and receive you into myself to cherish. And now let me be a little pyx to carry you to everyone as I go about my life. Fill my day with reminders of your presence among us.
Closing Prayer
Holy Mother, I bind these bright yellow roses of the Luminous Mysteries into a pretty crown for your hair. Please accept it as a symbol of my love for you, and of my prayers for all people, along with your own.
The Sorrowful Mysteries
Each Hail Mary of these mysteries is a deep red rose presented to Mary in honor of her Son’s Passion and her co-offering of him to God as the sword of sorrow pierced her heart.
Come, Holy Spirit,
Come by means
Of the powerful intercession
Of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Thy well beloved spouse.
Amen
The Agony in the Garden(rose hip: courage)
Lord I am in straights! Be my surety!
Psalm 119:122
Jesus, you know what it is to be in terror of violent men on their way to arrest you and take you away, and the horrible things that would follow. You know what it is to be taken from your family and friends, to lose everything, to be betrayed to the authorities who have no mercy at all. You sweated blood mixed with tears and you cried out to your Father. Hear the cries of those who live in fear now. Go to them quickly with your aid. Add my prayers to theirs. Help them face this moment. Open the hearts of those who know not what they do, and especially those that know exactly. Convert us all to the compassion your mother had that night as she prayed for you and your friends even as everyone else slept. Help us to stay awake in prayer.
The Scourging at the Pillar (rose hip: nonviolence)
For the insolent rise up against me, and violent men seek my life.
They have no fear of God before their eyes.
But surely, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life.
Psalm 54:3-4
Oh Lord Jesus, you were tortured, whipped and beaten almost to death. May I never forget what you endured for love. Allow me to be there with you. When the soldiers finally leave, let me come and anoint your wounds with the balm of compassion and love, with my commitment to nonviolence. This is reparation to you; never to act with cruelty or violence of any kind, remembering you and your suffering at the hands of violent men and the indifference and justification of others for your unjust and excessive punishment. May I have the courage to defend others by sacrifice and not force, as you would have me do. You have set the example.
The Crown of Thorns(rose hip: reverence for the dignity of the human person)
A faithful God, without deceit,just and upright is he!5Yet his degenerate children have treated him basely,a twisted and crooked generation!
Dueteronomy 23:5
Oh Lord, you are the only King, the most beautiful, holy, humble and gracious, all powerful and glorious King. I can’t imagine hurting you. And yet I do. Every time I dehumanize anyone, I forget they are yours and made in your image. The least among us are you. And yet at times I act like their suffering is an inevitable part of who they are, as if it is acceptable. Forgive me, forgive us all for all the times we caused you pain, disrespect or humiliation in our fellow human beings. Lord may I always adore you everywhere I find you – in the Eucharist, in prayer, in my brothers and sisters – especially the least of these who are suffering. Let me be there to love you wherever you can be loved. Allow me to console you and make living reparation to you for all that you suffered in the Crowning with Thorns and the mockery of the men who tortured you.
The Way of the Cross (rose hip: doing my part)
Two are better than one…For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
Lord, you carried your cross alone until your executioners got help from Simon of Cyrene – and only because they didn’t want you to die on the way. With patient endurance let me do my part to carry your criss with you, to help my brothers and sisters carry theirs. May I see where I can help and step in. May I wipe your face with Veronica. May I walk by your side with your Mother. May I help you like Simon. May I take up my own cross and follow you. And if I fall with exhaustion or in the pain of it, lend me your determination to get up again and keep going until the work you have given me is accomplished. All I want is to be with you and share your life.
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Luke 6:36
Lord your mercy is incomprehensible it is so deep, vast, filling the universe and all you have made. It is your greatest attribute and you taught us that it is what you want us to give others as a show of gratitude for what you have done for us. Make my heart merciful, Lord, to be like yours. Let me think merciful thoughts, and let my hands be merciful to serve, my arms to embrace. I want to be with you Lord and see with merciful eyes as you do. Grant that my heart be like your Sacred Heart. Let my unhesitating service be like the flow of your compassion. Allow me to enter into your life, your heart, to live and move in mercy. May I learn to stand at the foot of your cross as your Mother did, in strong support and compassion, offering all to you. Let me ever thankful for your sacrifice and for the way you took my suffering on yourself to share in my life too. If I have to suffer let me do so in a spirit of offering. Never let me close my heart to you. Our Lady never did. Nor did she close her heart to me.
Closing Prayer
Oh Mary, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, I offer you these red roses in memory and in a partaking with you of your Son’s passion and death, for a beautiful crown for your hair. Rejoice forever Mary, because you shared in your Son’s suffering, and now you reign with him in Heaven. Amen.
The Glorious Mysteries
Queen of glory, we offer you these white roses in honor of the glorious mysteries of the life of your Son you shared so deeply in, and of the glory you know now at his side forever.
Come, Holy Spirit,
come by means
of the powerful intercession
of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Thy well-beloved spouse.
Amen
The Resurrection of the Lord (rose hip: faith)
…but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.
John 16:22b
Oh Lord, how intense the joy, relief and incomprehension, the feelings of complete overwhelm your Mother and your friends must have felt. I bet they cried tears of joy and surprise. I bet they had so many questions. In your compassion and love you stayed to answer them all, to give as many hugs and reassurances as they needed. You are all love, and love is stronger than death. I think of the families torn apart and the joy of reunion they will know, Oh Lord, because of your love. You will make all things right. You will make all things new. And we will know that you loved us and protected us all along, that your sacrifice made all things possible.
Grant me the faith to trust in your goodness and the power of your love in all things no matter what happens. It is faith that moves the great reformers and leaders of all times and places. We need that faith now – that faith in Resurrection and renewal possible in you not only in the future but now, in ourselves and in the people you died and rose for.
The Ascension of the Lord (rose hip: hope)
Rise up, O LORD, and go to your resting place
Psalm 138a
She let you go, Jesus. She was joyful, she was grieving, she was proud of you. She let you go in hope. She stayed behind with your family of followers to be a Mother to them. Without her key parts of the Gospel would never have been written. Your friends stood in shock until an angel came to remind them of hope. They all must have needed that reminder badly for an angel to bring them to their senses. They had a commission to carry out, nine days of prayer to pray, the Holy Spirit to receive, your Mother to cherish. You left them the Eucharist and you left them the poor so that they would always have you near to love and be close to. You left them one another and the new Commandment to love one another. They had hope; faith in what they couldn’t grasp or process at the time.
So they continued to meet at the Temple, to break bread, to give thanks, to talk about you, teach about you. To pray and to wait for the Holy Spirit to come as you promised.
The Descent of the Holy Spirit (rose hip: love)
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.
Ephesians 1:18
With Mary praying beside us, open our hearts, Lord. Enlighten us and strengthen our love of you and one another. Fill us with the Spirits’ wisdom which is greater than any other. Grant us all that we need to understand the mission you have called us to. Grace us with the courage of the disciples to speak, to go out, to be sent, to hear you better than ever, to give you to the world.
Renew in me the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit; Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and Fear of the Lord, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity.
Holy Spirit, grant me especially the graces I stand most in need of now.
The Assumption of Mary (rose hip: union with God)
My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places on the mountainside, show me your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.
Song of Songs 2:14
Oh Mother, how could you have anticipated the beauty of this moment? Lifted up body and soul, earth and Heaven, in the trail of your glory you drew us with you, into your union with God. Now you live in the heart of the Trinity where we will one day join you. First of all believers, you went before us in your simple humanity given to God, given to love, given to us your children.
Lord draw me after your Mother, who sees with your eyes, from the vantage point of your arms. Raise my heart to you in unity of love and will with you. Help me be a light in these troubled times when people use religion to justify evil deeds. Help me always to remember love, remember you, remember Mary, and return only good for evil, love for hate and indifference. Then I can spread the joy of you, the joy Mary had, the love she knows in heaven with you.
Queen of Heaven (union with Mary)
Blessed are you, daughter, by the Most High God, above all the women on earth; and blessed be the Lord God, the creator of heaven and earth, who guided your blow at the head of the leader of our enemies.
Your deed of hope will never be forgotten by those who recall the might of God.
May God make this redound to your everlasting honor, rewarding you with blessings, because you risked your life when our people were being oppressed, and you averted our disaster, walking in the straight path before our God.” And all the people answered, “Amen! Amen!
Judith 13:18b-20
Mary our Mother, our Sister and our Queen, you gave over your life for Jesus and for us to the Kingdom of God. May we do the same helped by your prayers and your love for us. Be our advocate at God’s throne. Remind is that our tears in the life will be jewels on our clothes in Heaven. Remind is that even now though we can’t see them, we are crowned with stars too, clothed in the sun, laboring to give birth to God in this world filled with violence, greed, lies and hate. Help us see the beauty of God as you know it, all things alive with his loveliness. With his love and mercy we are crowned and clothed and held. Make us one with your participation in the life and love of the Blessed Trinity. We belong to you now and forever. Hear the prayers of your children and wrap us in your grace and protection.
How like a widow is she, who once was great among the nations! She who was queen among the provinces has now become a slave
Lamentations 3:5
God of compassion, we bring into your presence all that weighs on our hearts this week, especially the human suffering and the most frightening things we see and hear of in the news daily. We gather these headlines not to dwell in despair or fear, but to bring them into the refuge of your healing presence.
Deep Focus
To crush underfoot all prisoners in the land,
to deny people their rights before the Most High,
to deprive them of justice — would not the Lord see such things?
Lamentations 3:34-36
Beloved Father, you have seen so much worse than what is happening now. You have grieved with and over so many of your children over the millennia, as galaxies slowly spin on their axis, as stars are born and then burn low, you have been all seeing and all pervading. You watch the tiniest births on earth of little mice, the hatching of minuscule spiders from their mother’s wrappings, of every caterpillar spinning its cocoon. As its tiny body is falling asleep in darkness, you are there. You know our human minds and hearts too are so small, and that they are broken for our country and the loss we are going through now of the way it was. Remind us, Lord, show us that we are brave as well as broken hearted, that even our grieving the brilliant experiment of America, that we still believe. We are so little, Lord God, so small. But you make our prayers and our smallest actions BIG. We trust that you will guide us and give us courage and strength through the fight ahead, through the times we need our chrysalis to gather strength from you. This week when we hear about the next awful thing our government has done, we will stop and remind ourselves that those people, too, fall, as they eventually must. You remain You, God of all times and places, of all people and all things, and to you we belong forever in life and in death. Nothing can touch that. Until then may we hope, believe and be courageous in all that we do.
*Take a moment to close your eyes and sit in the midst of the stars with God. What does he show you? Does he say anything to you? What do you want to say to him?
Other Intercessions/headlines of this week
Consider the covenant, for the dark places of the land are full of violence
Psalm 74:20
*Another public shooting, more hideous ICE violence, more violent and hateful rhetoric, Lord, more troops sent to American cities and authorized to shoot. It’s hard not to freak out. Help us cultivate courage every day so that if there comes a time we must meet with violent injustice we will be able to access the inner peace we need to act with bravery and love. Prepare our hearts for nonviolent action. Help us find ways we can help our country, the defenseless, the persecuted, ourselves. May we return again and again to you who are all things good, the source of all life and dignity.
*We thank you for all the times this week that freedom and the truth have prevailed over hate and oppression. It’s been beautiful and Lord we needed that. Remind us of the good news we saw in the world and fill us with hope. There are still wonderful people doing great and caring things. There are still comedians who make us laugh. There is still just enough freedom of the press for us to know what is happening if we want to. We still have friends and love and music. May we lift our hearts daily to you to let the sun shine in and fill our thoughts with all that is good.
*We pray for the hungry and those living with war, especially South Sudan on the verge of famine, Gaza far past the breaking point, and Ukraine fighting for its life against the invading army of Russia.
*We pray for immigrants living in fear of ICE, for God’s cherished black children in America, for LGBTQ people, and our president’s political and personal enemies, all who are persecuted by this administration in various ways. Protect them, Lord, defend them, and show us who are not undergoing persecution how we may be called to join you in the fight.
*Let us remember that hate will never win, that our country is not lost because our country has us. And you have us too, Lord. Show us your will, grant us the power to carry it out, and we will have all we need.
Closing Blessing
Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
Lamentations 3:22
God, in the moments when the news overwhelms, steady our spirits with the reminder that you hold the world- sun and star, nation and neighbor, beetle and bug, atom and quark, as well as our frightened hearts in your hands and that you remain you even if worlds fall. May your peace shape our hearts, your justice and love shape our actions this week. Lead us in your ways. We ask all these things in your Name, in your honor, and for love of you and our brothers and sisters. Amen
Come to me, all you who are weary and heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Mt. 11:28-30
God of compassion, we bring into your presence all that weighs on our hearts this week, especially the human suffering and the most frightening things we see and hear of in the news daily. We gather these headlines not to dwell in despair or fear, but to bring them into the refuge of your healing presence.
Deep Focus
When I called, you answered me; you increased the strength of my soul.
Ps. 138:3
Oh God, we are often overwhelmed and frightened these days. The sickening cruelty, the scary authoritarian moves, the destruction of constitutional norms, the bowing to our enemies, all of this horrifies and shocks us. Helpless rage at times consumes us. Other times we just have to turn it all off. But we were born for this time. We are alive now for a reason. Show us our path in these dark days, and renew the strength of our souls. With you we can climb any mountain, scale any wall, walk any path. With faith, with prayer let us be supported and guided. Take us into your Sacred Heart, the center and core of all things. May our prayer deepen that we may draw from you, Source of all life. May we never hurt anyone and may we never be afraid of anyone so that we may know your will and be able to carry it out.
*Spend a few minutes with Jesus now, closing your eyes in stillness and silence. He wants to take you somewhere. Follow him through the corridors or your heart, down down until you come to an open place. There is an altar here with a river flowing from it. You see it is lined with beautiful trees. Let Jesus pick some of the leaves for you and feed them to you. Allow him now to cup his hands and give you water from the river to drink. What do these leaves, this water, taste like? How does it feel when he wraps his fragrant cloak over your shoulders? Maybe you feel stronger now. Maybe the fear drains from you. Maybe not. Maybe this will come later when you need it most.
Other Intercessions/Headlines to Pray Over
The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds; it does not rest till it reaches its goal; Nor will it withdraw till the Most High responds.
Sirach 25:21
Lord, may our communities gather to stand up for the rights and dignity of the unhoused in their midst, to defend and help them, to shed light on the systemic causes of their destitution as well, to mitigate and eliminate those.
Lord, enlighten the people.
Come Holy Spirit to ensure the justice and fairness, the freedom and hope of our elections and our faith in them. Protect them from interference and manipulation.
Lord, enlighten your people.
That we will grow as a people in compassion and discernment of wisdom and justice, we pray.
Enlighten your people, Lord.
For the starving and bombed people of Gaza and everywhere else, we pray that the world will stop tolerating this crime against humanity and do what is right.
Enlighten your people, Lord.
For Ukraine, for a just and lasting peace.
Enlighten your people, Lord.
For those who are being abused and denied their rights in detention, and those who live in fear of it, we pray
Enlighten your people, Lord.
Open the eyes of the American people to this authoritarian danger, Lord, before it is too late, we pray
Enlighten your people, Lord.
Strengthen us to defend the weak, the persecuted, the vulnerable we pray.
Enlighten your people, Lord.
Jesus, you have said we must pray for our enemies, so we pray for the enemies of justice and love, that they will be truly converted in mind and heart.
Closing Blessing
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand
Isaiah 41:10
God, in the moments when the news overwhelms, steady our spirits with the reminder that you hold the world- sun and star, nation and neighbor, beetle and bug, atom and quark, as well as our frightened hearts in your hands and that you remain you even if worlds fall. May your peace shape our hearts, your justice and love shape our actions this week. Lead us in your ways. Amen.
*Today I am going to add a prayer I love and pray often. It may be useful to you too in times like these. I have it memorized so I can reflect on it when I can.
May I open my eyes every morning with the Holy Name on my lips.
May I see God everywhere in everyone.
May I never hurt anyone, and may I never be afraid of anyone.
May I be inspired to choose persuasive words, loving language, creative and positive thoughts, to carry peace and good will throughout the world.
May my meditation deepen, that I may draw from the Source of all life.
May I fall asleep at night with the Holy Name on my lips,
To heal my wounds, and prepare me for another day of service.
Amen.
Eknath Easwaran
*Reader, please feel free to add your own prayers to these in the comments if I have missed a news story that got to you this week.
Things are so crazy right now. The world is crazy and our lives are crazy. We all know this. My life has had a lot of what people call “drama.” Right now is no exception. As I worked on my book about St. Teresa’s Prayer of Recollection (Meeting the One who loves you; St. Teresa of Avila’s way of prayer. Scheduled to be released on her feast day, October 15,) I thought about the development of my discipline of prayer in the middle of stress and difficulties.
My discipline of daily prayer was, of course, very imperfect. I had trouble being consistent. I was, as I mention sometimes, widowed young then raising two kids alone for many years. I could hardly get a moment to eat or do the dishes when the youngest was a baby. How did I develop a contemplative life?
I was reading over again a few pages from the book Poustinia by Servant of God Catherine Dougherty last night and came across this wonderful quote from her:
Deserts, silence, solitude, are not necessarily places but states of mind and heart. These deserts can be found in the midst of the city, and in the every day of our lives. We need only to look for them and realize our tremendous need for them. They will be small solitudes, little deserts, tiny pools of silence, but the experience they will bring, if we are disposed to enter them, may be as exultant and as holy as the one God himself entered. For it is God who makes solitude, deserts, and silences holy.
Poustinia
This is what I did. I found little deserts, tiny pools and pockets of silence in the midst of my harried days, in the midst of daily tasks like folding laundry, doing dishes. I have clear memories that are precious to me of the tenderness and wisdom of God, passing by as if brushing near my cheek, touching my heart at times I was doing little things like sweeping the living room floor. There were brief but fruitful moments of silence after taking the trash out when I looked up at the night sky and smiled at God, or in the middle of cooking, working or doing dishes.
Catherine writes that when we carry out the duties of our state in life, and when we are disposed in heart to receive these moments of quietness, they will come. We will notice them like a gentle hand on our shoulder saying, “Wait just a minute.”
I was so overwhelmed as a single mom. I had a great dream, during that time though, that I went into the kitchen and Jesus was there, hair in a ponytail, wiping out my refrigerator for me. I was so grateful in the dream, and happy about it when I woke up. Maybe he meant that if I took care of my prayer when I could, he would make sure things got done, and he would be there for me when I turned to him.
I still find little deserts in my still busy life today. I have built on these moments over the years, to include quiet moments of connection with the young special needs people I work with, a quiet moment petting my dog, Joey, or listening closely to someone needing to be heard. As Catherine and all the mystics point out, the fruits of conscious contact with God spill out to contact with others. Love always moves and flows. By it’s nature it can’t keep to itself. If our prayer is authentic, it won’t even stay in it’s scheduled time and place. God will start splashing it all over our lives and the lives of others too. It has to grow, it has to flow, it has to blossom to be real.
Prayer and love of others, of service, support one another, each setting off and intensifying the colors of the other. They don’t exist without one another.
St. Teresa, S.O.G. Catherine Dougherty and St. Edith Stein (Teresa Benedicta of the Cross) wrote extensively of how contemplative prayer actually has an effect on the growth and conversion of others. It goes out even further to change the world. We all need to take this very seriously right now. Not only do we need to be supported in these scary times by God, we also need to be his light, and as St. Teresa of Avila says, his hands and feet, his clear voice in this world that needs his compassion and love. We have forgotten these things and closed our hearts. We need conversion of heart as a people.
God has made us all connected to one another. So your moment of “found desert” while your’e waiting in line, stuck in traffic, putting gas in the car, taking a deep breath and reaching out to God, can open a window in Heaven, letting the wind of the Spirit rush in. God can work in an instant, even change everything, making our little second of love BIG.
So let’s pay attention today to our possibilities, our tiny pools of silence, pockets of inner solitude, the quietness of heart that come with God’s touch on our faces, the peace that comes from him in those moments. They are more than we could ever imagine. They will shine on us, on others, on the whole world.
“ … a silent heart is a loving heart, and a loving heart is a hospice to the world.”
Lord, have mercy Lord, have mercy Christ, have mercy Christ, have mercy Lord, have mercy Lord, have mercy
God our Father in heaven have mercy on us God the Son, Redeemer of the world have mercy on us God the Holy Spirit have mercy on us Holy Trinity, one God have mercy on us Heart of Jesus, Son of the eternal Father have mercy on us Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mother have mercy on us
Heart of Jesus, inmost being of the incarnate Son and his love, both divine and human * have mercy on us
Heart of Jesus, natural sign and symbol of the boundless love of Christ *
Heart of Jesus part of Christ’s holy risen body, *
Heart of Jesus, inseparable from the Son of God who assumed a human body forever *
Heart of Jesus, beating, real, alive, loving us *
Heart of Jesus, receiving our love in return *
Heart of Jesus, our friend *
Heart of the same Jesus who for love of us, was born in Bethlehem, passed through Galilee healing the sick, embracing sinners and showing mercy, who loved us to the very end, opening wide his arms on the cross, rose from the dead and now living among us in glory. *
Heart of Jesus, centre and source from which salvation flowed for all humanity *
Heart of Jesus, profound unifying centre of his body, expression of the totality of his person *
Heart of Jesus, signifying the divine love of Christ, united forever and inseparably to his wholly human love transformed by his Divine love *
Heart of Jesus, beating with the most tender and human affection *
Heart of Jesus, in whose human love, we encounter his divine love *
Heart of Jesus, the Holy Spirit’s masterpiece *
Heart of Jesus, heart of the world *
Heart of Jesus, nourishing our lives with the strength of the Eucharist *
Heart of Jesus, pierced, gushing living water, a flowing fountain, outpouring of a spirit of compassion and supplication, wellspring of new life for us *
Heart of Jesus, warm and tender *
Heart of Jesus, who feeds us from his own breast
Heart of Jesus, in which we rest in contemplation *
Heart of Jesus, source of life and interior peace *
Heart of Jesus, open to all *
Heart of Jesus, in whom our names are carved *
Heart of Jesus , thinking of me, even the smallest hair of my head *
Heart of Jesus whose intense love is fire and light *
Heart of Jesus, free of anger, free of bitterness, filled with genuine compassion towards its enemies *
Heart of Jesus, infinite in mercy *
Heart of Jesus, living in us *
Heart of Jesus, our only Treasure *
Heart of Jesus, all love, forgiveness and justice *
Heart of Jesus one in solidarity with those who are poor and rejected by the world *
Heart of Jesus, consoling us that we might console others *
Heart of Jesus, thirsting for our love *
Heart of Jesus, transforming our hearts *
Heart of Jesus, loving and serving in us *
Heart of Jesus, consoled by our service and love of Christ *
Let us pray.
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that we, who glory in the Heart of your beloved Son and recall the wonders of his love for us, may be made worthy to receive an overflowing measure of grace from that fount of heavenly gifts. Through Christ our Lord. R/. Amen
Dilexit Nos is an encyclical written by Pope Francis
Bethany Hang Out 