| SHARING GOD TOGETHER
Religious Communities and families will find in these Morning, Noon and
Night Prayers a spring board for a deeper spiritual life during the day.
These prayers are MINI-SPIRITUAL EXERCISES for busy people.
The following suggested reading material that may be used during the
period of meditation time will give spiritual continuity to the day. The
meditation MINI-BOOK used is small enough to be carried throughout the day
to provide spiritual thoughts for "on the job" inspiration.
SUNDAY
His Silent Presence
Three Keys to the Kingdom
The Father's Splendor
My Life in the Rosary
MONDAY
In His Sandals
I Am His Temple
Journey Into Prayer
TUESDAY
Jesus Needs Me
Sons of Light
No Greater Love
WEDNESDAY
The Fruits of His Love
In the Shadow of His Light
THURSDAY
To Leave and Yet to Stay
The Divine Personality of Jesus
FRIDAY
Living Way of the Cross
Living Prayer
The Healing Power of Suffering
Dawn on the Mountain
SATURDAY
The Promised Woman
Ad Lib with the Lord
Inside the Kingdom
SHARING GOD TOGETHER
Beginning the Day
"Oh God, let my words come to Your ears, spare a thought for my sighs.
Listen to my cry for help. (Ps. 5:1)
Let my soul rise to You, my God, like the incense of the morning
sacrifice. Look upon this day as a holocaust in which I sacrifice my will
to You. My weaknesses loom before me and make the brightness of this new
day a bleak desert. My past proves I have often failed You but there is a
cry in my heart, a longing in my soul that quiets my thoughts and gives me
the courage to tackle this day with renewed vigor.
Does Your Majesty look upon me with compassion as I rise and fall so
often? Are You pleased when my desires far exceed my accomplishments? I
desire to proclaim Your Goodness from the housetops but my life barely
whispers Your Name. I am a spiritual giant in my goals while the fruit I
bear speaks only of little things.
Regardless of my failings, dear God, You have given me a new day in
which to begin, a new time to grow, new opportunities to love, new people
to care for, new crosses to bear. I dedicate these moments of time You
have allotted me to Your Eternal Word living and breathing in His
Resurrected Body and present in the Holy Eucharist.
Like Mary, I wish to ponder in my heart the mysteries of this day.-I
want to see Your Face in the suffering, Your hunger in the poor, Your
loneliness in the aged. Let the power of Your Spirit permeate my being so
His Presence may radiate through me like a quiet ray of sunshine in a
darkened room.
I do not know what new pain, fatigue, suffering or surprises this day
will bring, but I offer it all to You as a drop in the ocean of His
suffering and His Redemption.
Let my soul stand tall and strong as the spirit of this world swirls
around it. Let my roots go deeper into the soil of Faith that Hope may
ever rise higher and higher above the discouragement that so often attacks
my being.
For these few passing moments I desire to lose myself in Your Divine
Perfections. I raise my mind and heart to You and as the thought of Your
Attributes pass through my being, let something of those perfections cling
to my soul like oil on a wound. I do not ask for things beyond me only
that Your Power may penetrate my weakness, Your Compassion break down my
cold heart, Your Patience cover my impetuosity and Your Love mellow my
harshness.
"I say this prayer to You, God, for at daybreak You listen for my voice
and at dawn I hold myself in readiness for You." "Let us wake in the
morning filled with Your Love and sing and be happy all our days."
(Ps.5:4; 90:13,14)
LITANY OF THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES
Divine Essence, who alone art holy, I bow before Your Being, (R) Let me
share Your Holiness.
Divine Unity and Simplicity, in whom there is no complexity, (R) Make
me simple and sincere.
Divine Eternity, without beginning and without end, giver of
immortality, (R) Make me good and kind.
Divine Wisdom, who designed the length and depth of creation, (R) Make
me wise enough to see Your form behind everything. Divine Power, creating
and sustaining all things with an act of Your Will, (R) Give me strength
to accomplish the things You want me to do.
Divine Providence, whose mantle covers every facet of my life with
loving care, (R) Give me perfect trust that I may work for the needs of
today without concern for tomorrow.
Divine Knowledge, from whom nothing is hidden and nothing is forgotten,
(R) Let me penetrate the mysteries of Your Being that I may share Your
Life.
Divine Immanence, who penetrates all things and stoops to live in me,
(R) Let me radiate Your Son and glorify You through the Holy Spirit.
Divine Infinity, which embraces all possible perfections, (R) Give me a
share in Your perfections so my neighbor may see You in me. Divine Truth,
in whom there is no shadow of deception, (R) Make me truthful and honest
in my dealings with others. Divine Light, in whom all things are visible
(R) Enlighten my soul that I may not live in darkness.
Divine Immensity, that fills and contains all things, (R) Possess me
through and through that I may be all things to all men. Divine Mercy,
infinite and without measure, (R) Let me forgive and forget with love and
compassion.
Divine Peace, ever tranquil and serene in the midst of turmoil, (R) Let
me maintain a quiet spirit and be strong enough to accept adversities with
peace. Divine Joy, who alone art the source of all happiness, (R) Give me
that joy that no man can take away from me. Divine Justice, who judges
everything in the light of truth through the eyes of mercy, (R) Grant I
may not judge my neighbor's motives, but give him the benefit of the
doubt. Divine Immutability, ever the same and never changing, (R) Make my
vacillating will stronger that I may not stray from the path of holiness.
Divine Omnipresence, behind me, before me and around me, (R) Let me see
Your Face in everything so all Your creation may speak to me of Your
beauty.
Divine Compassion, so patient and understanding, (R) Let me be
sympathetic with my neighbor's needs and give him my love as well as my
deeds.
(Time is allowed here for silent prayer, meditation or contemplation as
the Spirit leads. Suggested readings for this time are given in section on
format.)
ENDING OF MORNING PRAYER
"God, you are my God; I am seeking You, my soul thirsting for You, my
flesh longing for You—a
land parched, weary and waterless: I long to gaze on You in the Sanctuary
and to see Your power and glory.
Your love is better than life itself, my lips will recite Your praise;
all my life I will bless You, in Your Name I lift up my hands; my soul
will feast most richly, on my lips a song of joy and in my mouth, praise."
(Ps. 63:1-5)
O Mary, my Mother, help me today to be like Jesus in thought, word and
deed.
MIDDAY RENEWAL
My Jesus, I look back on this morning and find I have had some success
and some failure in my efforts to be like You. There were times my cross
seemed unbearable and other times I did not know it was there.
There were people in my path who touched off painful weaknesses in my
soul-weaknesses I did not want to see. I forgot Your many disguises and
failed to appreciate the opportunity to change and be more like You. I
humbly acknowledge my faults and put them all in the furnace of Your Love.
Consume them, refine them like tarnished gold in the fire and let the
purifying power of Your Spirit renew my soul for greater things this
afternoon.
Give to those I have offended many graces; make them holy. Bless those
who have offended me and forgive them for they did not mean to hurt me.
Give courage to the sick whose nerves are frayed from pain and whose
strength is almost gone. Snatch sinners from destruction and give them the
grace of final repentance.
I place at Your feet the sins of the world. (R) Precious Blood of Jesus
wipe them away. I place in Your Heart the coldness of Your creatures. (R)
Sacred Heart of Jesus, inflame them with love.
I place in Your Mercy prisoners, dope addicts, alcoholics, the bored
and those in despair. (R) Merciful Jesus, touch their souls with the
living water of Grace.
I place in Your Arms the aged, the youth, the retarded, the working man
and his family. (R) Provident Jesus, keep them all in Your care.
(There may be time here for personal intentions.)
Lord Jesus, give me an awareness of Your Divine Presence within me and
my neighbor. Let the radiance of that Presence shine ever brighter in my
soul despite the frailties within it.
Let me rise after every fall with renewed hope in Your powerful grace
and let my love reach the most abandoned. I place this afternoon in, Your
Hands so it may rise to the Father as a pleasing sacrifice.
"I thank You, O God, with all my heart, because You have heard what I
have said. In the presence of the Angels I play for you and bow down
towards Your holy Temple.
I give thanks to Your Name for Your Love and faithfulness; Your promise
is even greater than Your fame. The day I called for help You heard me and
You increased my strength.
Though I live surrounded by trouble, You keep
me alive...You stretch Your hand out and save
me; Your right hand will do everything for me."
(Ps. 138:1-3; 7,8)
END OF DAY
The day is over, my Lord. I thank You for it all. I wish I had
corresponded to the Sacrament of the Moment in a more fervent way, but I
give you instead a humbled heart.
I did acquire self-knowledge and that is the beginning of wisdom. Your
grace was ever present though I did not always use its power. It has been
a good day, for my failings have given me self-knowledge and my successes
have manifested Your Presence in me. This has been Your work, Holy Spirit,
and I praise You for it. You use every scrap of my weaknesses to make me
humble, every virtue to make me more like Jesus, every opportunity to
increase grace in my soul, every circumstance to show me His Will. You are
the Sanctifier, the Spirit sent to heal my wounds and give me a new birth.
I rest tonight secure because Your Love for me is beyond my
unworthiness and surpasses all understanding. I unite my love to the love
of Jesus and offer it to You in reparation for all the coldness and
indifference in the world. My day proved to me that I do not love You as I
ought. My will is strong and I cling to it and find it hard to unite it to
Your Will. And yet, this is the proof of love. It is not my knowledge of
Your Goodness, or the consolations of Your Presence that draws You to my
soul-no-it is my need for Your Mercy. My emptiness calls out for Your Love
and my nothingness reaches for Your creative Power to change me, mold me
and sanctify me.
There were times today when my soul was trapped between the world and
my own selfishness-a time when darkness enveloped me as if to swallow me
up in the tomb of hopelessness. Was it not Your Presence that seemed to
clasp my hand and guide my faltering steps to a new dawn? Was I not
somehow made cleaner by the passage through darkness and desperation? Your
ways are truly not my ways but they are more certain than the sun that
rises in the morning.
(A short meditation may be made here)
ENDING PRAYER
The battles of today are over and I come home wounded but determined to
attain greater heights tomorrow. Your Grace in me is more powerful than my
weaknesses.
I give You my sleep tonight and I ask that as my body rests, my heart
and soul may rest in Your Love. Let Faith quiet the fear that torments me
in the night. Let Hope relax my conscience with trust in Your Mercy. Let
Love surround me like a blanket so the silence of the night may be like
Your gentle voice singing me to sleep.
Instill within me that confidence that knows "no disaster can overtake
me for You have put Your Angels in charge of me to guard me wherever I go
...You rescue all who cling to You. You protect me because I know Your
Name. You answer me whenever I invoke You and You are with me when I am in
trouble." (Ps. 91:10-15)
Protect me from the Enemy as I lay down my defenses to prepare for new
battles tomorrow. Let my thoughts be in Your Heaven as my body rests in
exile. Listen to the pleas of Mary as she intercedes in my behalf. Do not
remember my sins but rather clothe me with the cloak of innocence.
Good Night, dear God, and may every breath I take this night praise
Your Holy Name.
_______
The author prays that all those who read this booklet will have a
deeper awareness of the Father's Mercy, the Son's Love and the Spirit's
Power.
Printed with the ecclesiastical approval of
JOSEPH G. VATH, D.D.
Bishop of Birmingham
Alabama, USA
©1976 Eternal Word Television Network, Inc.
Scripture Quotations taken from Jerusalem Bible unless otherwise
indicated
|
