Reflection: The foundation and origin of the whole apostolate of the Church is Christ sent by the Father. Hence, it is evident that the fruitfulness of the apostolate of the laity depends on the vital union with Christ.
- Vatican II: Laity 4
Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me to be a contributing member of Your Mystical Body on earth. Let everything I do be done in union with you and serve to build up Your Body.
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 Gospel 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.
Reflection: Whenever our eyes feast on a spectacular scene--such as a magnificent landscape, or a splendid sunset, or a beautiful star-studded sky--let us realize that it is only a pale reflection of the Divine Beauty. Let us then bless the Lord as being the sole source of all good.
- St. Theresa of Avila
Prayer: Almighty Creator, teach me to appreciate the wondrous things You have made. Grant me the grace to see You in each of them and give You the praise and glory owed You.
Reflection: You have been created fro 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 convern each day of my life.
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 ever day. What a travesty it would be if after praying that God's Will be done we should carry our 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 interest at heart.
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 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 holy Mother. And through her intercession grant me Your consolation here and eternal joy in heaven.
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 a 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.
Reflection: Never separate yourself from the Church. No institution has the power of the Church. The Church is your hope. The Church is your salvation. The Church is your refuge.
- St. John Chrysostom
Prayer: Lord Jesus, grant me the grace to adhere to the Church all my life. Let me encounter You in her Sacraments on earth and so possess eternal life with You in heaven.
Reflection: Our Lord bowed His head at death, so that He might give the kiss of peace to His beloved ones. And we give a kiss to God every time our heart is filled with repentance and love.
- St. Augustine
Prayer: Lord Jesus, by Your death and Resurrection You take away the sins of the world. Grant me true repentance for all my sins and a firm resolution never more to commit them.
Reflection: Go to Mary and sing her praises, and you will be enlightened. For it is through her that the true Light shines on the sea of this life.
- St. Ildephonsus
Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me to have recourse often to Your holy Mother Mary. Grant that she may obtain from You all the graces I need to serve You in this world and give eternal glory to You in the next.
Reflection: Whosoever looks into murky and agitated waters cannot see his own countenance. If you want the face of Christ to appear ion your countenance, pause, recollect your thoughts in silence, and shut the door of the soul to the noise of exterior things.
- St. Anthony of Padua
Prayer: Lord Jesus, teach me to pause often during my active life and recollet myself. Let me put away the problems of life and commune with You in prayer and meditation.
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.
- Pope 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.
Reflection: Pray always--here is what the words mean: Either prayer must always be on our lips to ask for some grace. Or it must be in our heart in the desire for this grace. Or it must be in our works, which are a preparation for efficacious prayer.
- St. Bonaventure
Prayer: Heavenly Father, teach me to the value of praying always. Grant that every event of my life may be the occasion for praying--with my lips, my heart, or my works.
Reflection: It is impossible to go through life without trials, because trials are the natural proofs of faith. Like watchful mariners, we should be sure to awaken the Pilot of our ship. Those who allow themselves to be overcome by fear while in the company of Jesus deserve to be reproached by Him. For all who are united with Him cannot perish.
- St. Ambrose
Prayer: Jesus, in every trial let me come to You with confidence. Make me realize that You are always present and ready to respond to my call.
Reflection: We must never fail to thank our Lord after we have received some sign of goodness, some benefit, from Him. For God loves grateful hearts and heaps blessings on them.
- St. Mary Euphrasia
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for all the graces and blessings You have bestowed on me from my birth. Help me to show my gratitude by using all Your gifts for Your glory and the betterment of human beings.
Reflection: All who undertake to teach must be endowed with deep love, the greatest patience, and, most of all, profound humility. They must perform their work with earnest zeal. Then, through their humble prayers, the Lord will find them worthy to become fellow workers with Him in the cause of truth.
- St. Louis
Prayer: Dear Lord, help me to teach others about You by my example as well as my words. Grant that I may spread Your truth and Your light wherever I go.
Reflection: No matter where you may be or where you may be working, make sure the world will be renewed upon contact with you. Make the Lord more present to human beings and the Gospel more known and loved by them
- Pope Paul VI
Prayer: Heavenly Father, teach me to imitate Your divine Son in my life. Grant that by my presence as well as by my deeds, I may bring Christ and His message to everyone I meet.
