O Come Let Us Adore Him

Healing Prayers

Because we're all still sorta sick...

Prayer of St. Bernard
Come, Lord Jesus, take away scandals from Your Kingdom, which is my soul, and reign there, You alone who have the right. For greediness comes to claim a throne within me; haughtiness and self assertion would rule over me; pride would be my king; lust says "I will reign"; ambition, detraction, envy and anger struggle within me for the mastery.  I resist as far as I am able; I struggle according as help is given me; I call on my Lord, Jesus; for His sake I defend myself, since I acknowledge myself as wholly His possession.  he is my God, Him I proclaim my Lord; I have no other king than my Lord, Jesus Christ.  Come then, O Lord, and disperse these enemies by Your power, and You shall reign in me, for you are my King and my God.  Amen. 



The (Entire) Serenity Prayer 
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference; living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time, accepting hardship as a pathway to peace, taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that You will make all things right if I surrender to Your will, so that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with You forever in the next. Amen.


Lead O Kindly Light

Lead, O kindly light, amid the encircling gloom, Lead thou me on the night is dark and I am far from home, Lead thou me on Keep thou my feet, I do not ask to see the distant scene, one step enough for me.
I was not ever thus, nor prayed that thou should lead me on. I loved to choose and see my path, but now Lead thou me on. I loved the garish day, and spite of fears pride ruled my will; remember not past years.
So long thy power hath blest me, sure it still will Lead me on O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till the night is gone, and with the morn those angel faces smile, which I have loved long since, and lost awhile. Amen.
Cardinal Newman


The Litany of Humility

O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved...
From the desire of being extolled ...
From the desire of being honored ...
From the desire of being praised ...
From the desire of being preferred to others...
From the desire of being consulted ...
From the desire of being approved ...
From the fear of being humiliated ...
From the fear of being despised...
From the fear of suffering rebukes ...
From the fear of being calumniated ...
From the fear of being forgotten ...
From the fear of being ridiculed ...
From the fear of being wronged ...
From the fear of being suspected ...

That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be esteemed more than I ...
That, in the opinion of the world,
others may increase and I may decrease ...
That others may be chosen and I set aside ...
That others may be praised and I unnoticed ...
That others may be preferred to me in everything...
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should…

NOTHING!

The answer to yesterday's riddle is NOTHING!
Congratulations to Redcat, Quaerens, Christy & Adam for figuring it out :-)

And while we are on the theme of NADA, here is a wise quote from St. John of the Cross:
“If you purify your soul of attachment to and desire for things, you will understand them spiritually. If you deny your appetite for them, you will enjoy their truth, understanding what is certain in them.”

Monday Riddle

Only 5% of Stanford University graduates figured it out! Can you answer  all seven of  the following questions with the same word? 1. The word has seven letters.... 2. Preceded God... 3. Greater than God... 4. More Evil than the devil... 5. All poor people have it... 6. Wealthy people need it.... 7. If you eat it, you will die.  Tune in tomorrow for the answer

And this, from the Obedience File

Seems we've not heard the last from Fr. Pfleger.  Remember him? I can almost hear the whining from here. One clever commenter wrote: "I heard Rev. Wright might be looking for an assistant"? 

From the Curt Jester...

The embattled pastor of St. Sabina Roman Catholic Church told radio show hosts Tavis Smiley and Cornel West this weekend that he would look outside the Catholic Church if offered no other choice but to work at a Catholic high school.

The Rev. Michael Pfleger also said on the “Smiley & West” public radio program that he had been banned from speaking at events in the archdiocese and blamed pressure from conservative Catholics and the National Rifle Association for his most recent clash with Chicago’s Cardinal Francis George.

“I want to try to stay in the Catholic Church,” Pfleger said. “If they say ‘You either take this principalship of [Leo High School] or pastorship there or leave,’ then I’ll have to look outside the church. I believe my calling is to be a pastor. I believe my calling is to be a voice for justice. I believe my calling is to preach the Gospel. In or out of the church, I’m going to continue to do that.”

In an interview with the Tribune, Pfleger clarified that he feels called to preach and push for social justice in a Catholic context. He said he loves the Catholic Church and prefers to stay there. But going to Leo full-time would not happen, Pfleger said.

“I’ve always said I could not do something that I don’t feel called or equipped to do,” he told the Tribune. “A full-time position at Leo is not something I’m equipped to do. I think Leo has made it clear they don’t see any need for me to come there. For both sides this would be a lose-lose.