Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Scripture, Reflection and Prayer for Wednesday, September 30, 2009

You have not yet resisted unto death in your struggle with sin.
- Heb 12:4

Reflection: Martyrdom does not consist only in dying for one's faith. Martyrdom also consists in serving God with love and purity of heart every day of one's life.
- St. Jerome

Prayer: Dear Lord, let me offer You all my daily struggles against sin and evil. Grant me the strength to resist even to the shedding of blood if it should be required of me.



[From: Every Day Is A Gift (Catholic Book Publishing Corp., New York)]

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Scripture, Reflection and Prayer for Tuesday, September 29, 2009

The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a Virgin.
-Lk 1:26-27

Reflection: Angels take different earthly forms at the bidding of their master, God. They thus reveal themselves to human beings and unveil the Divine Mysteries to them.
-St. John Damascene

Prayer: God of all Wisdom, You direct the ministry of angels and of human beings. Grant that the angels who always minister to You in heaven may defend us during our life on earth.

From: Everyday Is A Gift (Catholic Book Publishing Corp., New York)

Monday, September 28, 2009

There will...be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righeous people who have no need of repentance.
- Lk 15:7

Reflection: Nothing makes God happier than a person's amendment of life, conversion, and salvation. This is why He sent His only Son to this earth.
- St. Gregory Nazianzen

Prayer: Holy God, help me to amend my life constantly and be sincerely converted to You. Let me seek Your interests rather ahn my own and be ever more closely united with you

From: Everyday Is A Gift (Catholic Book Publishing Corp., New York)

Friday, September 25, 2009

Scripture, Reflection and Prayer for Friday, September 25, 2009

May Christ dwell in your hearts through faith.
-Eph 3:17

Reflection: Bear Christ in heart, mind, and will. Bear Him in you mind by His teaching. Bear Him in your will by your observance of the Law. Bear Him in your heart by the Holy Eucharist.
- Pope Pius XII

Prayer: Heavenly Father, let me be a true bearer of Christ, Your Son, by doing always the things that are pleasing to Him. Help me to bear witness to Him in the world for the salvation of souls

From: Everyday Is A Gift (Catholic Book Publishing Corp., New York)

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Scripture, Reflection and Prayer for Wednesday, September 23, 2009

In this is love...that [God] loved us and sent His Son as a propitiation for our sins.
- 1 Jn 4:10

Reflection: God's love for us has no equal. It infinitely surpasses the love nature has imprinted in the hearts of parents. We can be certain that whatever such a Father sends us is for our good.
- St. Alphonsus Rodriguez

Prayer: Loving Father, let me believe firmly in Your love for me despite all the trials that may come my way. Help me to cling to the thought that You want only what is best for my eternal welfare.

From: Everyday Is A Gift (Catholic Book Publishing Corp., New York)

Monday, September 21, 2009

Scripture, Reflection and Prayer for Monday, September 21, 2009

The word of the Lord will last forever. That word is the Gospel that has been preached to you.
-
1 Pet 1:25

Reflection
: Everything that Christ willed to have us read about His actions and words, He caused to be written down by the Evangelists as if by His own hands. Thus, readers of the Gospels will receive what is told them as if they saw the Lord Himself writing it with His own hand.
-
St. Augustine

Prayer
: Lord Jesus, help me to see the Gospels as Your word to me today. Grant me the grace to meditate on it daily and to live my life in accord with its teachings.

From: Everyday Is A Gift (Catholic Book Publishing Corp., New York)

Friday, September 18, 2009

Scripture, Reflection and Prayer for Friday, September 18, 2009

How slow [you are] to believe all that the Prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into His glory?
- Lk 24:25-26

Reflection: Christ's love and obedience had abased him to the death of the Cross. Therefore, Christ was raised by God to the glory of the Resurrection.
- St. Thomas Aquinas

Prayer: Lord or glory,stamp indelibly on my mind that without the Cross there is no crown. Help me to fashion an eternal crown of glory out of the little crosses that come my way each day.


From: Everyday Is A Gift (Catholic Book Publishing Corp., New York)

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Scripture, Reflection and Prayer for Thursday, September 17, 2009

Make every effort to ensure your salvation.
-
Phil 2:12

Reflection
: You have been created for the glory of God and your own eternal salvation....This is your goal; this is the center of your life; this is the treasure of your heart. If you reach this goal, you will find happiness. If you fail to reach it, you will find misery.
-
St. Robert Bellarmine

Prayer
: Heavenly Father, teach me to do everything for Your honor and glory. Grant me the grace to work out my salvation with anxious concern each day of my life.

From: Everyday Is A Gift (Catholic Book Publishing Corp., New York)

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Scripture, Reflection and Prayer for Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Your Will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
-Mt 6:10

Reflection: We must carry out the Will of God rather than our own. This is what we pledge to do in the "Our Father," which we recite every day. What a travesty it would be if after praying that God's Will be done we should carry out that Will halfheartedly and only because we are obliged to do so!
-St. Cyprian of Carthage

Prayer: Heavenly Father, let me curb my own desires and strive to discover Your Will for me. Help me to do that Will wholeheartedly in all things, for You have my best interests at heart.


From: Everyday Is A Gift (Catholic Book Publishing Corp., New York)

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Scripture, Reflection and Prayer for Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Standing near the cross of Jesus [was] His Mother.

-Jn 19:25

Reflection: During the entire course of her life, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, never deviated in the slightest from the precepts and examples of her Divine Son. This was true both in the most sweet joys Mary experienced and in the cruel sufferings she underwent, which made her the Queen of Martyrs.

-Pope Pius XII

Prayer: Lord Jesus, in all my sorrows let me imitate the fidelity of Your Mother. And through her intercession grant me Your consolation here and eternal joy in heaven.

From: Everyday Is A Gift (Catholic Book Publishing Corp., New York)

Monday, September 14, 2009

Scripture, Reflection and Prayer for Monday, September 14, 2009

Anyone who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me.
-
Mt 10:38

Reflection: The cross is the greatest gift God could bestow on His Elect on earth. There is nothing so necessary, so beneficial, so sweet, or so glorious as to suffer something for Jesus. If you suffer as you ought, the cross will become a precious yoke that Jesus will carry with you.
- St. Louis Grignion de Montfort

Prayer: Lord Jesus, impress upon me that without the cross on earth there will be no crown in heaven. Help me to bear my cross daily for You as You bore Your Cross for me and all human beings.


From: Everyday Is A Gift (Catholic Book Publishing Corp., New York)

Friday, September 11, 2009

Scripture, Reflection and Prayer for Friday, September 11, 2009

Whoever eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood dwells in Me and I dwell in him.
-Jn 6:56

Reflection: If we were to receive the Most Blessed Sacrament with great faith and ardent love, it would take only one reception for us to become spiritually rich. By the same token, what an incalculable spiritual effect would a large number of such devout Communions have on us!
-St. Theresa of Avila

Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me to receive You in Communion with ever more faith and love. Let me strive to obtain the greatest spiritual benefits possible from each reception of this Blessed Sacrament.


From: Everyday Is A Gift (Catholic Book Publishing Corp., New York)

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Scripture, Reflection and Prayer for Wednesday, September 09, 2009

I see to do not My own Will but the Will of Him Who sent Me.

-Jn 5:30

Reflection: What good is it for you to give God one thing when He asks for something else? Discover what God wants and do it. Your heart will be happier than if your own desire had been fulfilled.

-St. John of the Cross

Prayer: Heavenly Father, let me strive---through constant prayer and careful reflection---to know Your Will for me. Then help me to offer You what You desire rather than what I want.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Scripture, Reflection and Prayer for Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Since the creation of the world...God's eternal power and divine nature have become visible, being understood through the things He has made.
-Rom 1:20

Reflection: God is within all things, but not included; outside all things, but not excluded. God is above all things, but not beyond their reach.
- St. Gregory the Great

Prayer: Lord of creation, grant me the grace to see You in all things and in all places on earth. Help me to seek and reach You in all the events I experience and all the persons I encounter every day of my life.

From: Everyday Is A Gift (Catholic Book Publishing Corp., New York)

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Scripture, Reflection and Prayer for Tuesday, September 01, 2009

They devoted themselves to the apostles' instruction and the communal life, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
-Act 2:42

Reflection:
When the Church prays in her Liturgy it is Christ Who prays. For the Church prays in Christ, and Christ prays in the Church: the Body prays in the Head, and the Head in the Body.
-St. Augustine

Prayer:
Glorious Lord, help me to pray the Liturgy in union with Christ for your glory. At every Eucharist, let me consciously adore and thank you, make reparation to You, and present my petitions before You.


From: Everyday Is A Gift (Catholic Book Publishing Corp., New York)