A Lenten Prayer ~ the Passion

Dear Lord Jesus,

by Your Passion and Resurrection

You brought life to the world.

But the glory of the Resurrection

came only after the sufferings of the Passion.

You laid down Your life willingly

and gave up everything for us.

Your body was broken and fastened to a Cross,

Your clothing became the prize of soldiers,

your blood ebbed slowly but surely away,

and Your Mother was entrusted to the beloved disciple.

Stretched out on the Cross,

deprived of all earthly possessions and human aid,

You cried out to Your Father that the end had come.

You had accomplished the work given You,

and You committed into His hands,

as a perfect gift,

the little life that remained to You.

Lord, teach me to accept all afflictions

after the example You have given.

Let me place my death in Yours

and my weakness in Your abandonment,

Take hold of me with Your love,

that same foolish love that knew no limits,

and let me offer myself to the Father

with You so that I may rise with You to eternal life.

source: catholic.org

2018 Lenten Message of His Holiness Pope Francis

“Because of the increase of iniquity, the love of many will grow cold” (Mt 24:12)

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Once again, the Pasch of the Lord draws near! In our preparation for Easter, God in his providence offers us each year the season of Lent as a “sacramental sign of our conversion”.[1] Lent summons us, and enables us, to come back to the Lord wholeheartedly and in every aspect of our life.

With this message, I would like again this year to help the entire Church experience this time of grace anew, with joy and in truth. I will take my cue from the words of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew: “Because of the increase of iniquity, the love of many will grow cold” (24:12).

These words appear in Christ’s preaching about the end of time. They were spoken in Jerusalem, on the Mount of Olives, where the Lord’s passion would begin. In reply to a question of the disciples, Jesus foretells a great tribulation and describes a situation in which the community of believers might well find itself: amid great trials, false prophets would lead people astray and the love that is the core of the Gospel would grow cold in the hearts of many.

False prophets

Let us listen to the Gospel passage and try to understand the guise such false prophets can assume.

They can appear as “snake charmers”, who manipulate human emotions in order to enslave others and lead them where they would have them go. How many of God’s children are mesmerized by momentary pleasures, mistaking them for true happiness! How many men and women live entranced by the dream of wealth, which only makes them slaves to profit and petty interests! How many go through life believing that they are sufficient unto themselves, and end up entrapped by loneliness!

False prophets can also be “charlatans”, who offer easy and immediate solutions to suffering that soon prove utterly useless. How many young people are taken in by the panacea of drugs, of disposable relationships, of easy but dishonest gains! How many more are ensnared in a thoroughly “virtual” existence, in which relationships appear quick and straightforward, only to prove meaningless! These swindlers, in peddling things that have no real value, rob people of all that is most precious: dignity, freedom and the ability to love. They appeal to our vanity, our trust in appearances, but in the end they only make fools of us. Nor should we be surprised. In order to confound the human heart, the devil, who is “a liar and the father of lies” (Jn 8:44), has always presented evil as good, falsehood as truth. That is why each of us is called to peer into our heart to see if we are falling prey to the lies of these false prophets. We must learn to look closely, beneath the surface, and to recognize what leaves a good and lasting mark on our hearts, because it comes from God and is truly for our benefit.

A cold heart

In his description of hell, Dante Alighieri pictures the devil seated on a throne of ice,[2] in frozen and loveless isolation. We might well ask ourselves how it happens that charity can turn cold within us. What are the signs that indicate that our love is beginning to cool?

More than anything else, what destroys charity is greed for money, “the root of all evil” (1 Tim6:10). The rejection of God and his peace soon follows; we prefer our own desolation rather than the comfort found in his word and the sacraments.[3] All this leads to violence against anyone we think is a threat to our own “certainties”: the unborn child, the elderly and infirm, the migrant, the alien among us, or our neighbour who does not live up to our expectations.

Creation itself becomes a silent witness to this cooling of charity. The earth is poisoned by refuse, discarded out of carelessness or for self-interest. The seas, themselves polluted, engulf the remains of countless shipwrecked victims of forced migration. The heavens, which in God’s plan, were created to sing his praises, are rent by engines raining down implements of death.

Love can also grow cold in our own communities. In the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, I sought to describe the most evident signs of this lack of love: selfishness and spiritual sloth, sterile pessimism, the temptation to self-absorption, constant warring among ourselves, and the worldly mentality that makes us concerned only for appearances, and thus lessens our missionary zeal.[4]

What are we to do?

Perhaps we see, deep within ourselves and all about us, the signs I have just described. But the Church, our Mother and Teacher, along with the often bitter medicine of the truth, offers us in the Lenten season the soothing remedy of prayer, almsgiving and fasting.

By devoting more time to prayer, we enable our hearts to root out our secret lies and forms of self-deception,[5] and then to find the consolation God offers. He is our Father and he wants us to live life well.

Almsgiving sets us free from greed and helps us to regard our neighbour as a brother or sister. What I possess is never mine alone. How I would like almsgiving to become a genuine style of life for each of us! How I would like us, as Christians, to follow the example of the Apostles and see in the sharing of our possessions a tangible witness of the communion that is ours in the Church! For this reason, I echo Saint Paul’s exhortation to the Corinthians to take up a collection for the community of Jerusalem as something from which they themselves would benefit (cf. 2 Cor 8:10). This is all the more fitting during the Lenten season, when many groups take up collections to assist Churches and peoples in need. Yet I would also hope that, even in our daily encounters with those who beg for our assistance, we would see such requests as coming from God himself. When we give alms, we share in God’s providential care for each of his children. If through me God helps someone today, will he not tomorrow provide for my own needs? For no one is more generous than God.[6]

Fasting weakens our tendency to violence; it disarms us and becomes an important opportunity for growth. On the one hand, it allows us to experience what the destitute and the starving have to endure. On the other hand, it expresses our own spiritual hunger and thirst for life in God. Fasting wakes us up. It makes us more attentive to God and our neighbour. It revives our desire to obey God, who alone is capable of satisfying our hunger.

I would also like my invitation to extend beyond the bounds of the Catholic Church, and to reach all of you, men and women of good will, who are open to hearing God’s voice. Perhaps, like ourselves, you are disturbed by the spread of iniquity in the world, you are concerned about the chill that paralyzes hearts and actions, and you see a weakening in our sense of being members of the one human family. Join us, then, in raising our plea to God, in fasting, and in offering whatever you can to our brothers and sisters in need!

The fire of Easter

Above all, I urge the members of the Church to take up the Lenten journey with enthusiasm, sustained by almsgiving, fasting and prayer. If, at times, the flame of charity seems to die in our own hearts, know that this is never the case in the heart of God! He constantly gives us a chance to begin loving anew.

One such moment of grace will be, again this year, the “24 Hours for the Lord” initiative, which invites the entire Church community to celebrate the sacrament of Reconciliation in the context of Eucharistic adoration. In 2018, inspired by the words of Psalm 130:4, “With you is forgiveness”, this will take place from Friday, 9 March to Saturday, 10 March. In each diocese, at least one church will remain open for twenty-four consecutive hours, offering an opportunity for both Eucharistic adoration and sacramental confession.

During the Easter Vigil, we will celebrate once more the moving rite of the lighting of the Easter candle. Drawn from the “new fire”, this light will slowly overcome the darkness and illuminate the liturgical assembly. “May the light of Christ rising in glory dispel the darkness of our hearts and minds”,[7] and enable all of us to relive the experience of the disciples on the way to Emmaus. By listening to God’s word and drawing nourishment from the table of the Eucharist, may our hearts be ever more ardent in faith, hope and love.

With affection and the promise of my prayers for all of you, I send you my blessing. Please do not forget to pray for me.

...spread the Rosary like wildfire

source: America Needs Fatima

During each and every apparition at Fatima Our Lady requested: Pray the Rosary. 

It is my greatest hope that you will find it in your heart to help me distribute more rosaries.

Because the Rosary IS the solution … Our Lady of Fatima said it, not me. 

Can you imagine being responsible for saving a single soul…? 

… through the Rosary. 

And this is why I am launching the 2018 Rosary Campaign to distribute not ten or fifty but hundreds of thousands of rosaries, here in America. 

Our Lady has a special plan for those who promote her Most Holy Rosary.

At Fatima, Mother Mary told little Lucia that she would arrange these special souls "like flowers before the throne of God."

… and I would love to see you before the throne of God someday… but not before you join the 2018 Rosary Campaign!

Click here to donate and help me purchase rosaries

I have an impressive story to tell you, but first…

Think about all the craziness going on in the world and ask yourself, 

What can we do about it? 

I remember feeling helpless, but I no longer feel like that anymore. 

Because together we can spread the Rosary.

Did you know that during all six Fatima apparitions Our Lady insisted: "Pray the Rosary"?

Now, to help people do that we must spread the Rosary first. And here is the thing. I do know how to do that, but part of this needs to come from you. 

Does all this make sense to you?

I am writing you because I know you love Our Blessed Mother and her Rosary. 

Click here to join me in the Rosary distribution Campaign

Now, listen to this true story. It was part of my inspiration to launch the 2018 Rosary Campaign. 

It happened to our Fatima Custodian in California, Kenneth Murphy. 

The place is Wilmington, California.

Monica calls it her own "reversion."

Monica was a cradle Catholic but, sadly, was bombarded by anti-Marian propaganda. One close friend even convinced her that the Bible proves the rosary is "demonic."

I have heard that one before…

Thankfully, in September 2017, a better friend asked Monica to join her in someone’s home for a Fatima presentation. Monica thought, "let me give this a try."

At the conclusion of the Fatima presentation, Kenneth distributed "Rosary pledge" fliers and Monica pledged to pray one rosary a year. 

When Monica returned to her home, she decided to get it over with quickly. 

She went on YouTube to relearn how to pray her one and only rosary for 2017. After she was done, Monica thought, "That wasn’t too bad, only twenty minutes…" 

Little did she know that because of that one YouTube rosary she prayed, grace began to quietly flow into her heart… 

Days later, Monica watched videos on the power and promises of the rosary. She was especially touched by God’s biblical promise: "I will put enmity between the serpent and the woman and She will crush his head (Genesis3:15)."

Monica slowly began to see the rosary not only as a powerful prayer but as a weapon against the devil! 

Blessed with many graces, Monica says, "Now I am a vigilante to defend and promote Our Blessed Mother!" 

Filled with enthusiasm Monica is now asking her family and friends "Whose side are you on; God’s side or the devil’s? Join Our Lady in crushing the head of the serpent with her rosary!"

Click here to help ANF make rosaries for thousands of people like Monica

Remember: Our Lady said it-- There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary.

That is my story. It brought tears to my eyes and reminded me how I should use every moment I still have left to propagate the Rosary. 

So, shall we go and find other Monica’s out there?

Let us offer them the best gift out there: the Rosary. 

If you and I team up on this, America Needs Fatima will be able to spread more rosaries than ever! 

…. All I need is the funding to actually make these rosaries. 

But I haven’t won the lottery yet! And I don’t think Our Lady will make that happen either. 

She wants her children to pull together in a team effort. 

Click here to help me Spread Rosaries NOW!

When you help me purchase a large number of rosaries, you will make Our Lady’s promises a reality. And not just for yourself. For all those who pray because of your sacrifice.

These are the promises Our Blessed Mother linked to her Rosary: 

To all those who shall pray my Rosary devoutly, I promise my special protection and great graces.

Those who shall persevere in the recitation of my Rosary will receive some special grace.

The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.

The Rosary will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire for eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.

The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall not perish.

Whoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its sacred mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just he shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of eternal life.

Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the sacraments of the Church.

Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plenitude of His graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the merits of the saints in paradise.

I shall deliver from Purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary.

The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in Heaven.

You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the Rosary.

All those who propagate the Holy Rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.

I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death.

All who recite the Rosary are my sons and daughters, and brothers and sisters of my only Son Jesus Christ.

Devotion to my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.

I invite you to take a moment and imagine…

…imagine an America much different than the one we have now; an America where Our Lady’s promises can be fulfilled because many, many Americans are PRAYING THE ROSARY. 

Imagine an America where the Rosary will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies; where the Rosary will cause virtue and good works to flourish; where it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God!

Click here to help the 2018 Rosary Campaign

You have already given so much of your time to me today. And for that I thank you!

Please give me just one moment more, as I want to be absolutely clear:

Thanks be to Our Lady, America Needs Fatima has developed an intricate network to get thousands of rosaries into the hands of every-day Americans. 

The distribution is not an issue. What I need are rosaries. 

With a small donation of $6, I can produce and distribute three rosaries, or with $10 I can make five. Please click here to show your support for the 2018 Rosary Power Campaign now.

My good friend, thank you for all you have done and for all your generosity in the past. I feel a deep sense of gratitude and I pray every day and ask our dear Mother Mary to reward you and shower you and your loved ones with many graces and favors.

Please pray for me and I will always do the same for you.

I remain your friend,

In Jesus and Mary, 

Robert Ritchie 

Director, America Needs Fatima

www.ANF.org

Ask and you will receive from your Father in heaven

Do you expect God to hear your prayers? Esther's prayer on behalf of her people is a model for us (Esther 14). She prayed for help according to God's promise to be faithful to his people. God wants us to remember his promises and to count on his help when we pray.

Your Father in heaven gives good things to those who ask with expectant faith

Jesus wanted to raise the expectations of his disciples when he taught them how to pray. Jesus' parable of the father feeding his son illustrates the unthinkable! How could a loving father refuse to give his son what is good; or worse, to give him what is harmful? In conclusion Jesus makes a startling claim: How much more will the heavenly Father give what is good to those who ask!

Our heavenly Father graciously gives beyond our expectations. Jesus taught his disciples to pray with confidence because the heavenly Father in his goodness always answers prayers. That is why we can boldly pray: Give us this day our daily bread.

The power of prayer to those who believe 

Those who know God and trust in God's love, pray with great boldness. Listen to what John Chrysostom (347-407 AD), a gifted preacher and bishop of Constantinople, had to say about the power of prayer:

"Prayer is an all-efficient panoply [i.e. 'a full suit of armor' or 'splendid array'], a treasure undiminished, a mine never exhausted, a sky unobstructed by clouds, a haven unruffled by storm. It is the root, the fountain, and the mother of a thousand blessings. It exceeds a monarch's power... I speak not of the prayer which is cold and feeble and devoid of zeal. I speak of that which proceeds from a mind outstretched, the child of a contrite spirit, the offspring of a soul converted - this is the prayer which mounts to heaven... The power of prayer has subdued the strength of fire, bridled the rage of lions, silenced anarchy, extinguished wars, appeased the elements, expelled demons, burst the chains of death, enlarged the gates of heaven, relieved diseases, averted frauds, rescued cities from destruction, stayed the sun in its course, and arrested the progress of the thunderbolt. In sum prayer has power to destroy whatever is at enmity with the good."

Allow God's love to purify your mind, heart, and speech

Prayer flows from the love of God; and the personal love we show to our neighbor is fueled by the love that God has poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). Jesus concludes his discourse on prayer with the reminder that we must treat our neighbor in the same way we wish to be treated by God. We must not just avoid doing harm to our neighbor, we must actively seek his or her welfare. In doing so, we fulfill the scriptural teaching from the "law and the prophets," namely what God requires of us - loving God with all that we have and are and loving our neighbor as ourselves. The Holy Spirit is ever ready to change our hearts and transform our lives in Jesus' way of love and merciful kindness towards all. Do you thirst for holiness and for the fire of God's purifying love?

Let me love you, my Lord and my God, and see myself as I really am - a pilgrim in this world, a Christian called to respect and love all whose lives I touch, those in authority over me or those under my authority, my friends and my enemies. Help me to conquer anger with gentleness, greed by generosity, apathy by fervor. Help me to forget myself and reach out towards others.

source: From the desk of Don Schwager, 

hosted by Kairos Europe and the Middle East

Pray the Rosary daily

✝️ OUR LADY SAID: “To all those who shall pray my Rosary devoutly, I promise my special protection and great graces.”

"If you say the Holy Rosary every day, with a spirit of faith and love, our Lady will make sure she leads you very far along her Son's path."

~ St. Josemaria Escriva ~

O Immaculate Heart of Mary, refuge of sinners, I beg of you by the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and by the graces God has granted to you since your Immaculate Conception, the grace of never going astray again. Mother, keep me, a sinner, constantly bathed in the light of your Immaculate Heart. Amen.

source: FB

✝️ Saint John Paul II ~ Prayer to our Lady of Lourdes

HAIL MARY, poor and humble Woman, Blessed by the Most High! Virgin of hope, dawn of a new era, We join in your song of praise, to celebrate the Lord’s mercy, to proclaim the coming of the Kingdom and the full liberation of humanity.

HAIL MARY, lowly handmaid of the Lord, Glorious Mother of Christ! Faithful Virgin, holy dwelling-place of the Word, Teach us to persevere in listening to the Word, and to be docile to the voice of the Spirit, attentive to his promptings in the depths of our conscience and to his manifestations in the events of history.

HAIL MARY, Woman of sorrows, Mother of the living! Virgin spouse beneath the Cross, the new Eve, Be our guide along the paths of the world. Teach us to experience and to spread the love of Christ, to stand with you before the innumerable crosses on which your Son is still crucified.

HAIL MARY, woman of faith, First of the disciples! Virgin Mother of the Church, help us always to account for the hope that is in us, with trust in human goodness and the Father’s love. Teach us to build up the world beginning from within: in the depths of silence and prayer, in the joy of fraternal love, in the unique fruitfulness of the Cross.

HOLY MARY, MOTHER OF BELIEVERS, OUR LADY OF LOURDES, PRAY FOR US!

God will supply us with all our needs

These scriptures can build your faith to believe for all that God has for you!

Scriptures For Needs

Mt 6:8

"your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him."

Ps 34:10

"...those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing."

Ps 24:1

"The earth is the Lord's, and all it's fullness,..."

Ps 50:10

"...every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills."

Gen 18:14

"Is anything too hard for the Lord?"

Mt 7:7

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."

Rom 8:32

"He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall he not with Him also freely give us all things?"

Ps 37:5

"Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass."

Luke 6:38

"Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom."

Eph 3:20

"...(God) is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us..."

Phil 4:19

"And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

2 Pet 1:3

"His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him..."

Jer 33:3

"Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know."

Jer 32:27

"Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything to hard for Me?"

Mt 11:28

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

Heb 13:5

"For He Himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you."

Phil 4:6

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let you requests be made known to God; ..."

2 Cor. 9:10

"...may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, ..."

Ps. 20:4

"...may He grant you according to your hearts desire, and fulfill all of your purpose."

Eph 1:3

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,..."

source: FB

Out of the heart come evil thoughts

Where does evil come from and how can we eliminate it from our personal lives? Jesus deals with this issue in response to the religious leaders' concern with ritual defilement (uncleanness) - making oneself unfit to offer acceptable worship and sacrifice to God. The religious leaders were very concerned with avoiding ritual defilement, some no doubt out of reverent fear of God, and others because they wanted to be seen as observant Jews. Jesus points his listeners to the source of true defilement - evil desires which come from inside a person's innermost being. Sin does not just happen from external forces. It first springs from the innermost recesses of our thoughts and intentions, from the secret desires which only the individual mind and heart can conceive.

God gives us his strength to resist sinful thoughts and desires 

When Cain became jealous of his brother Abel, God warned him to guard his own heart: "Sin is couching at the door; it's desire is for you, but you must master it" (Genesis 4:7). Cain unfortunately did not take God's warning to heart. He allowed his jealousy to grow into spite and hatred for his brother, and he began to look for an opportunity to eliminate his brother all together. When jealously and other sinful desires come knocking at the door of your heart, how do you respond? Do you entertain them and allow them to overtake you? Fortunately God does not leave us alone in our struggle with hurtful desires and sinful tendencies. He gives us the grace and strength we need to resist and overcome sin when it couches at the door of our heart.

God's word has power to set us free to chose what is good and reject what is wrong

The Lord Jesus wants to set us free from the burden of guilt and from the destructive force of sin and wrong-doing in our personal lives. He wants to purify our hearts and renew our minds so we can freely choose to love and do what is right, good, just, and wise. The Lord Jesus is ready to change and purify our hearts through the grace and help of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. Like a physician who probes the wound before treating it, God through his Word and Spirit first brings sin into the light that we may recognize it for what it truly is and call upon his mercy and grace for pardon, healing, and restoration. The Spirit of truth is our Counselor and Helper. His power and grace enables us to choose what is good and to reject what is evil. Do you believe in the power of God's love to heal, change, and transform your heart and mind?

Lord Jesus, fill me with your Holy Spirit and make my heart like yours. Strengthen my heart, mind, and my will that I may freely choose to love what is good and to reject what is evil.

source: From the desk of Don Schwager, 

hosted by Kairos Europe and the Middle East

FREE Catholic printable Valentine cards

Believe it or not, you can show your Catholic Faith this St. Valentine’s Day 

– by using these beautiful FREE Catholic printable cards.

Don’t be shy!

Spread the beauty of our Catholic Faith throughout your social circles on February 14th.

It’s as easy as 1….2….3:

1. Print out the vibrant, inspiring St. Valentine’s Day cards. (Instructions included)
2. Fill them out.
3. Pass them around at school, prayer groups, play group … even among the members of your own family (aunts, uncles, cousins will all love these counter-cultural cards)

Then you will have done something wonderful to honor Our Lord, Our Lady and Saint Valentine.

source: America needs Fatima