April 3, 2017

A Prayer for Grace and Holiness today
A prayer to work in love and holiness
 

John 16: 23

"If you ask the Father anything in my name,
    He will give it to you"

R. God wants our unity – we ask for this
    unity – that the Spirit of God fill
    us and help us to be holy –
    that we do not hold onto any of the deadly
    sins that block us from this unity –
    that the Holy Spirit can work in our souls,
    so we can be His instruments of love
    and peace and joy among our brothers.

We pray this heavenly Father in the name of
    Jesus who said ask in my name and
    it will be given to you.

    Let us experience the joy of unity and love
    on a supernatural level and know You
    our beloved God – more and more supernaturally.
    We want our hearts to be sanctified in
    our love and work so we are holy and
    pleasing to You God.

Come to us Lord and possess our soul.

We want to walk as God intends us
    to walk today in the plan of God,
    in the work He has called us to do today.

We know that we must cooperate with the grace
    You are giving us – now and today to
    bring unity and peace and love to this
    day as we serve to do the work – You are
    calling us in our vocation to do.

Dear Heavenly Father, hear our prayer,
    in the name of Jesus, we pray,
    we ask, heavenly Father for these
    graces necessary this day to
    bring peace, love and joy to
    our relationships and work – as You
    work in us.

    We seek perfection in our souls to be holy
    souls likened to You – in work
    and in play – to be holy in prayer –
    we invite You Holy Spirit to be
    the Guest of our soul.

We seek order in our lives, not disorder.

We beg for the virtues of faith, hope, love,
    prudence, temperance, fortitude, justice,
    and humility. We seek to be obedient
    to the will of God and live obedient to
    the will of God in love.

Come Holy Spirit Come into our hearts. Transform
    us from fear to fearlessness to serve
    You as You desire in our lives.

Help our actions to be for the glory and honor
    of God with the goal of these actions
    to one day be in heaven with Thee,
    our beloved God.

Heal our hearts and our bodies – Help
    us to have health of body now in
    this work you call us to do.

Instill in us a desire to want to only
    do the will of the heavenly Father
    and to walk in holiness and love.

We pray all these prayers heavenly Father,
    united to Jesus, in His name for
    grace and holiness today and always.

Help us to live by right reasoning in
    our lives – to have the truth
    in our every thought and to live
    in order as You operate in us
    in unity and love.

Come to me Lord and possess my soul.

We seek order in our lives – Your order
    to love in us, to help us to act as
    You desire, to have the thoughts
    that are in right reasoning and in
    Your order, Lord.

Give us the grace to use our faculties
    to love and serve You and do
    Your work.

Give us faith and right reasoning.

Help us to love and be just in our actions.

Help us to seek Your Divine Will and to
    perform those actions, which are actions
    pleasing to You in everything.

Come to us Lord and purify our consciences,
    our souls.

Help us to hope and love in Thee.

We seek heavenly vision – to see
    things through the eyes of
    the heavenly Father and to be
    perfected more and more in doing
    God's will in our lives.

We pray for the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit.

We pray for this purity in our souls –
    to live virtuously, to be perfected
    more and more and filled with the
    gifts of the Holy Spirit –
    Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel,
    Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety
    and Fear of the Lord 

    and to have the fruits of the Holy Spirit –
    charity, joy, peace, patience,
    benignity (kindness), goodness,
    long-suffering, mildness,
    faith, modesty, continency,
    and chastity.

We do not want the enemies to
    invade our thoughts, our
    actions, our lives –

We pray to give up ugly bad habits of the
    deadly sins –
    pride, greed, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, and sloth

We know on this journey we will
    experience sufferings and joys
    and we accept the struggles
    in life and ask You to help us,
    strengthen us in our lives to
    suffer and rejoice as You
    desire us to do in our lives.

We want to be a reflection of Your
    heavenly love – to be full of light –
    Your light in us. To operate in
    light and not darkness – IN You,
    our beloved God.

We want to follow in the footsteps
    of Jesus in giving love and
    light and unity to those
    we contact in our lives –

         

Prayer for Union with Jesus

Come to me, Lord, and possess my soul. Come into my heart and permeate my soul. Help me to sit in silence with You and let You work in my heart.

    I am Yours to possess. I am Yours to use. I want to be selfless and only exist in You. Help me to spoon out all that is me and be an empty vessel ready to be filled by You. Help me to die to myself and live only for You. Use me as You will. Let me never draw my attention back to myself. I only want to operate as You do, dwelling within me.

    I am Yours, Lord. I want to have my life in You. I want to do the will of the Father. Give me the strength to put aside the world and let You operate my very being. Help me to act as You desire. Strengthen me against the distractions of the devil to take me from Your work.

    When I worry, I have taken my focus off of You and placed it on myself. Help me not to give in to the promptings of others to change what in my heart You are making very clear to me. I worship You, I adore You and I love You. Come and dwell in me now.

-God's Blue Book, January 17, 1994

 

April 4, 2017

                R. Dear Holy Spirit please come to me the
                Guest of my soul. Please pour
                into me Your virtues and gifts.

                    Dear Father, Son and Holy Spirit dwell in me.
                Please fill me with the
                supernatural gifts I received at
                baptism – that they may grow
                ever greater to know and love supernaturally.

                Dear Holy Spirit,

                    Please mold in me more and
                more the image of Jesus in my
                heart and soul.

           From Tell My People by Fr. Edward J. Carter, S.J.

                R. Help me to live my life praising
                and loving God in love and
                being as God wants me to be.
                Holy Spirit be the Guest of my soul.
                Come Holy Spirit fill me with the Spirit –
                Let the Spirit of God be in me.
 

John 16:12-15

I still have many things to say to you
but they would be too much for you
    to bear now.
However, when the Spirit of truth comes
he will lead you to the complete truth,
since he will not be speaking
    of his own accord,
but will say only what he has been told;
and he will reveal to you
    the things to come.
He will glorify me,
since all he reveals to you
will be taken from what is mine.
Everything the Father has is mine;
that is why I said:
all he reveals to you
will be taken from what is mine.

                Sing: Come Holy Ghost

                Sing: Come Holy Spirit

                R. Let the Light of Christ live
                in my soul. Amen.

                    We see when the Holy Spirit lives
                in us there is cooperation with
                the Plan of God, Our heavenly Father.
                The Holy Spirit brings unity to the soul –
                order in our hearts – direction
                according to and with God,
                our heavenly Father who
                created us in the image and
                likeness of God.

Genesis 1: 26-27

God said, ‘Let us make man in our own image, in the likeness of ourselves, and let them be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all the wild animals and all the creatures that creep along the ground.’

God created man in the image of himself,
    in the image of God he created him,
    male and female he created them.

                R. The Holy Spirit opens our hearts and
                souls to God – so God can dwell
                in us more abundantly.

                    Come to me God and possess my
                soul –

                Sing: Come to me, Lord, and possess my soul. Come into my heart and permeate my soul.
                    Help me to sit in silence with You and let You work in my heart.

                    We are imperfect – the Holy Spirit
                comes to transform our souls
                more and more in the image and
                likeness of Jesus –

                    Come to me Lord and possess
                my soul –

                    God fills us more and more abundantly
                with His life –

                Sing Song: I Love You Jesus

                R. The Holy Spirit is the Spouse of the
                Virgin Mary – perfect handmaid
                of the Lord.

                    The Holy Spirit wants to transform
                us more and more into the image of Jesus.
                We were created for this –

                    Oh God, we are so grateful for
                the sacrament of baptism and
                the other sacraments. We are
                so grateful for the Eucharist
                whereby, you feed the life you
                gave to us.

                    God gives us a sharing in
                His life in baptism and feeds
                us with the Body and Blood
                of Jesus in the Eucharist.

                Come to me Lord and possess my soul –               

1 Corinthians 3: 16

    Do you not realise that you are a temple of God with the Spirit of God living in you?

                R. We consecrate ourselves to God.
                We give ourselves to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.
 

   

From the Shepherds of Christ Prayer Manual

Holy Spirit Prayer

Come, Holy Spirit, almighty Sanctifier, God of love, who filled the Virgin Mary with grace, who wonderfully changed the hearts of the apostles, who endowed all Your martyrs with miraculous courage, come and sanctify us. Enlighten our minds, strengthen our wills, purify our consciences, rectify our judgment, set our hearts on fire, and preserve us from the misfortunes of resisting Your inspirations. Amen.

 

Act of consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
 and the Immaculate Heart of Mary

"Lord Jesus, Chief Shepherd of the flock, I consecrate myself to Your most Sacred Heart. From Your pierced Heart the Church was born, the Church You have called me, as a member of Shepherds of Christ Associates, to serve in a most special way. You reveal Your Heart as a symbol of Your love in all its aspects, including Your most special love for me, whom You have chosen as Your companion in this most important work. Help me to always love You in return. Help me to give myself entirely to You. Help me always to pour out my life in love of God and neighbor! Heart of Jesus, I place my trust in You!

"Dear Blessed Virgin Mary, I consecrate myself to your maternal and Immaculate Heart, this Heart which is symbol of your life of love. You are the Mother of my Savior. You are also my Mother. You love me with a most special love as a member of Shepherds of Christ Associates, a movement created by your Son as a powerful instrument for the renewal of the Church and the world. In a return of love, I give myself entirely to your motherly love and protection. You followed Jesus perfectly. You are His first and perfect disciple. Teach me to imitate you in the putting on of Christ. Be my motherly intercessor so that, through your Immaculate Heart, I may be guided to an ever closer union with the pierced Heart of Jesus, Chief Shepherd of the flock."

Excerpt of The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, by Louis J. Puhl, S.J. pp. 141-150  

313. RULES FOR DISCERNMENT OF SPIRITS
I

Rules for understanding to some extent the different movements produced in the soul and for recognizing those that are good to admit them, and those that are bad, to reject them. These rules are more suited to the first week
  

314.  I.  In the case of those who go from one mortal sin to another, the enemy is ordinarily accustomed to propose apparent pleasures. He fills their imagination with sensual delights and gratifications, the more readily to keep them in their vices and increase the number of their sins.

    With such persons the good spirit uses a method which is the reverse of the above. Making use of the light of reason, he will rouse the sting of conscience and fill them with remorse.

315.  2.  In the case of those who go on earnestly striving to cleanse their souls from sin and who seek to rise in the service of God our Lord to greater perfection, the method pursued is the opposite of that mentioned in the first rule.

    Then it is characteristic of the evil spirit to harass with anxiety, to afflict with sadness, to raise obstacles backed by fallacious reasonings that disturb the soul. Thus he seeks to prevent the soul from advancing.

    It is characteristic of the good spirit, however, to give courage and strength, consolations, tears, inspirations, and peace. This He does by making all easy, by removing all obstacles so that the soul goes forward in doing good.

316.  3.  SPIRITUAL CONSOLATION.  I call it consolation when an interior movement is aroused in the soul, by which it is inflamed with love of its Creator and Lord, and as a consequence, can love no creature on the face of the earth for its own sake, but only in the Creator of them all. It is likewise consolation when one sheds tears that move to the love of God, whether it be because of sorrow for sins, or because of the sufferings of Christ our Lord, or for any other reason that is immediately directed to the praise and service of God. Finally, I call consolation every increase of faith, hope, and love, and all interior joy that invites and attracts to what is heavenly and to the salvation of one's soul by filling it with peace and quiet in its Creator and Lord.

317.  4.  SPIRITUAL DESOLATION.  I call desolation what is entirely the opposite of what is described in the third rule, as darkness of soul, turmoil of spirit, inclination to what is low and earthly, restlessness rising from many disturbances and temptations which lead to want of faith, want of hope, want of love. The soul is wholly slothful, tepid, sad, and separated, as it were, from its Creator and Lord. For just as consolation is the opposite of desolation, so the thoughts that spring from consolation are the opposite of those that spring from desolation.

318.  5.  In time of desolation we should never make any change, but remain firm and constant in the resolution and decision which guided us the day before the desolation, or in the decision to which we adhered in the preceding consolation. For just as in consolation the good spirit guides and counsels us, so in desolation the evil spirit guides and counsels. Following his counsels we can never find the way to a right decision.

319.  6.  Though in desolation we must never change our former resolutions, it will be very advantageous to intensify our activity against the desolation. We can insist more upon prayer, upon meditation, and on much examination of ourselves. We can make an effort in a suitable way to do some penance.

320.  7.  When one is in desolation, he should be mindful that God has left him to his natural powers to resist the different agitations and temptations of the enemy in order to try him. He can resist with the help of God, which always remains, though he may not clearly perceive it. For though God has taken from him the abundance of fervor and overflowing love and the intensity of His favors, nevertheless, he has sufficient grace for eternal salvation.

321.  8.  When one is in desolation, he should strive to persevere in patience. This reacts against the vexations that have overtaken him. Let him consider, too, that consolation will soon return, and in the meantime, he must diligently use the means against desolation which have been given in the sixth rule.

322.  9.  The principal reasons why we suffer from desolation are three:

    The first is because we have been tepid and slothful or negligent in our exercises of piety, and so through our own fault spiritual consolation has been taken away from us.

    The second reason is because God wishes to try us, to see how much we are worth, and how much we will advance in His service and praise when left without the generous reward of consolations and signal favors.

    The third reason is because God wishes to give us a true knowledge and understanding of ourselves, so that we may have an intimate perception of the fact that it is not within our power to acquire and attain great devotion, intense love, tears, or any other spiritual consolation; but that all this is the gift and grace of God our Lord. God does not wish us to build on the property of another, to rise up in spirit in a certain pride and vainglory and attribute to ourselves the devotion and other effects of spiritual consolation.

323.  10.  When one enjoys consolation, let him consider how he will conduct himself during the time of ensuing desolation, and store up a supply of strength as defense against that day.

324.  11.  He who enjoys consolation should take care to humble himself and lower himself as much as possible. Let him recall how little he is able to do in time of desolation, when he is left without such grace or consolation.

    On the other hand, one who suffers desolation should remember that by making use of the sufficient grace offered him, he can do much to withstand all his enemies. Let him find his strength in his Creator and Lord.

325.  12.  The enemy conducts himself as a woman. He is a weakling before a show of strength, and a tyrant if he has his will. It is characteristic of a woman in a quarrel with a man to lose courage and take to flight if the man shows that he is determined and fearless. However, if the man loses courage and begins to flee, the anger, vindictiveness, and rage of the woman surge up and know no bounds. In the same way, the enemy becomes weak, loses courage, and turns to flight with his seductions as soon as one leading a spiritual life faces his temptations boldly, and does exactly the opposite of what he suggests. However, if one begins to be afraid and to lose courage in temptations, no wild animal on earth can be more fierce than the enemy of our human nature. He will carry out his perverse intentions with consummate malice.

326.  13.  Our enemy may also be compared in his manner of acting to a false lover. He seeks to remain hidden and does not want to be discovered. If such a lover speaks with evil intention to the daughter of a good father, or to the wife of a good husband, and seeks to seduce them, he wants his words and solicitations kept secret. He is greatly displeased if his evil suggestions and depraved intentions are revealed by the daughter to her father, or by the wife to her husband. Then he readily sees he will not succeed in what he has begun. In the same way, when the enemy of our human nature tempts a just soul with his wiles and seductions, he earnestly desires that they be received secretly and kept secret. But if one manifests them to a confessor, or to some other spiritual person who understands his deceits and malicious designs, the evil one is very much vexed. For he knows that he cannot succeed in his evil undertaking, once his evident deceits have been revealed.

327.  14.  The conduct of our enemy may also be compared to the tactics of a leader intent upon seizing and plundering a position he desires. A commander and leader of an army will encamp, explore the fortifications and defenses of the stronghold, and attack at the weakest point. In the same way, the enemy of our human nature investigates from every side all our virtues, theological, cardinal, and moral. Where he finds the defenses of eternal salvation weakest and most deficient, there he attacks and tries to take us by storm.

328. RULES FOR DISCERNMENT OF SPIRITS
II

Further rules for understanding the different movements produced in the soul. They serve for a more accurate discernment of spirits and are more suitable for the second week
  

329.  I.  It is characteristic of God and His Angels, when they act upon the soul, to give true happiness and spiritual joy, and to banish all the sadness and disturbances which are caused by the enemy.
   It is characteristic of the evil one to fight against such happiness and consolation by proposing fallacious reasonings, subtilties, and continual deceptions.

330.  2.  God alone can give consolation to the soul without any previous cause. It belongs solely to the Creator to come into a soul, to leave it, to act upon it, to draw it wholly to the love of His Divine Majesty. I said without previous cause, that is, without any preceding perception or knowledge of any subject by which a soul might be led to such a consolation through its own acts of intellect and will.

331.  3.  If a cause precedes, both the good angel and the evil spirit can give consolation to a soul, but for a quite different purpose. The good angel consoles for the progress of the soul, that it may advance and rise to what is more perfect. The evil spirit consoles for purposes that are the contrary, and that afterwards he might draw the soul to his own perverse intentions and wickedness.

332.  4.  It is a mark of the evil spirit to assume the appearance of an angel of light. He begins by suggesting thoughts that are suited to a devout soul, and ends by suggesting his own. For example, he will suggest holy and pious thoughts that are wholly in conformity with the sanctity of the soul. Afterwards, he will endeavor little by little to end by drawing the soul into his hidden snares and evil designs.

333.  5.  We must carefully observe the whole course of our thoughts. If the beginning and middle and end of the course of thoughts are wholly good and directed to what is entirely right, it is a sign that they are from the good angel. But the course of thoughts suggested to us may terminate in something evil, or distracting, or less good than the soul had formerly proposed to do. Again, it may end in what weakens the soul, or disquiets it; or by destroying the peace, tranquility, and quiet which it had before, it may cause disturbance to the soul. These things are a clear sign that the thoughts are proceeding from the evil spirit, the enemy of our progress and eternal salvation.

334.  6.  When the enemy of our human nature has been detected and recognized by the trail of evil marking his course and by the wicked end to which he leads us, it will be profitable for one who has been tempted to review immediately the whole course of the temptation. Let him consider the series of good thoughts, how they arose, how the evil one gradually attempted to make him step down from the state of spiritual delight and joy in which he was, till finally he drew him to his wicked designs. The purpose of this review is that once such an experience has been understood and carefully observed, we may guard ourselves for the future against the customary deceits of the enemy.

335.  7.  In souls that are progressing to greater perfection, the action of the good angel is delicate, gentle, delightful. It may be compared to a drop of water penetrating a sponge.
    The action of the evil spirit upon such souls is violent, noisy, and disturbing. It may be compared to a drop of water falling upon a stone.
    In souls that are going from bad to worse, the action of the spirits mentioned above is just the reverse. The reason for this is to be sought in the opposition or similarity of these souls to the different kinds of spirits. When the disposition is contrary to that of the spirits, they enter with noise and commotion that are easily perceived. When the disposition is similar to that of the spirits, they enter silently, as one coming into his own house when the doors are open.

336.  8.  When consolation is without previous cause, as was said, there can be no deception in it, since it can proceed from God our Lord only. But a spiritual person who has received such a consolation must consider it very attentively, and must cautiously distinguish the actual time of the consolation from the period which follows it. At such a time the soul is still fervent and favored with the grace and aftereffects of the consolation which has passed. In this second period the soul frequently forms various resolutions and plans which are not granted directly by God our Lord. They may come from our own reasoning on the relations of our concepts and on the consequences of our judgments, or they may come from the good or evil spirit. Hence, they must be carefully examined before they are given full approval and put into execution.