1 Thess 5:17

"You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing, and grace before I dip the pen in the ink."

--G.K. Chesterton

"Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing.
In all circumstances give thanks,

for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus."

(1 Thess 5:16-18)

Praying for Priests — Novena Day 5

Responsorial...

Priests are called to consecrate their lives to God for the salvation of his people and to unite themselves more closely every day to Christ the High Priest.

Intercession...

United with Jesus Christ the Great High Priest, we pray;
Lord, show us your face!

That priests will renew and intensify their devotion to daily prayer;
Lord, show us your face!

That priests will prayerfully meditate on the law of God and put into practice what they teach;
Lord, show us your face!

That priests will sustain God's people by sharing with them the fruits of their own prayer lives;
Lord, show us your face!

Pray the Prayer to the Mother of God shared on Day 1.

Prayer for Priests — Novena Day 4

"O Jesus, eternal Priest, keep your priests within the shelter of Your Sacred Heart, where none may touch them."

Pray the Prayer to the Mother of God shared on Day 1.

If you're on Facebook, look up this wonderful group started by some friends of mine: Humble Prayers for Holy Priests.

Prayer for Priests — Novena Day 3

The Wisdom of the Church:

"A priest's office is to be a mediator between God and his people, for as much as he bestows divine blessings on the people and offers up their prayers to God, and in some manner renders satisfaction to God for their sins...Because he is placed between God and man, the priest should touch God by his prayer and touch man by his mercy and compassion."

(St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica)

Pray the Prayer to the Mother of God shared on Day 1.

Prayer for Priests — Novena Day 2

Insights of St. John Vianney:

"Oh, how great is the priest! If he understood himself he would die...God obeys him; he speaks two words, and Our Lord comes down from heaven at his voice, and shuts himself up in a little Host...

If man well understood this mystery, he would die of love."

Pray the Prayer to the Mother of God shared on Day 1.

Election Countdown/40 Days for Life: Day 16

I was perusing the issues section of McCain's website today and was heartened to read the substantial explanation on "Sanctity of Life", particularly this section...

"Overturning Roe v. Wade"

John McCain believes Roe v. Wade is a flawed decision that must be overturned, and as president he will nominate judges who understand that courts should not be in the business of legislating from the bench.

Constitutional balance would be restored by the reversal of Roe v. Wade, returning the abortion question to the individual states. The difficult issue of abortion should not be decided by judicial fiat.

However, the reversal of Roe v. Wade represents only one step in the long path toward ending abortion. Once the question is returned to the states, the fight for life will be one of courage and compassion — the courage of a pregnant mother to bring her child into the world and the compassion of civil society to meet her needs and those of her newborn baby. The pro-life movement has done tremendous work in building and reinforcing the infrastructure of civil society by strengthening faith-based, community, and neighborhood organizations that provide critical services to pregnant mothers in need. This work must continue and government must find new ways to empower and strengthen these armies of compassion. These important groups can help build the consensus necessary to end abortion at the state level. As John McCain has publicly noted, "At its core, abortion is a human tragedy. To effect meaningful change, we must engage the debate at a human level."

Visit the complete Sanctity of Life page here.

Today's Life Devotional prayer intention goes fittingly with the points of the last paragraph above...

Pray that as young couples or single moms choose life for their child, the
church will come alongside them physically, emotionally, and spiritually to help
bear their burdens.

Let us each reach out today — physically, emotionally, or spiritually — to help another bear their burdens, and by so doing add our effort to the cause of life.

Election Countdown/40 Days for Life: Day 13

I don't exactly consider myself a Sean Hannity fan, but this piece is worth the watch:

"Obama and Planned Parenthood"

The intention of today's Life Devotional is a beautiful one: for fathers who are terrified of being fathers. I couldn't help but shudder at the closing statements made by Obama in the above video clip, in which he thanked Planned Parenthood "for all the work that you are doing for women all across the country, for families all across the country, and for men who have enough sense to realize you are helping them."

How anyone can make such a statement is truly frightful. As the biggest member of the abortion industry, Planned Parenthood is one of the greatest causes of the dehumanizing of women, the destruction of families, and the cowardizing of men... all across the country.

And today, October 6, across this same country, people of goodwill mourn and remember our murdered, innocent brothers and sisters — all 49 million of them.

Kyrie eleison.

Election Countdown/40 Days for Life: Day 5

This video has been making its rounds via internet and email — and with good cause. I think it's the single most moving and effective resource I've seen... truly "summing it all up". And it's not relevant only for Catholics: any truth-loving citizen needs and deserves the reminder.

Be sure to visit www.catholicvote.com (this film's host) for numerous outstanding resources.

And you can read today's Life devotional here.

Blessed Sunday!

I need to get with the program

It seems to me I may have seen something about this — maybe even a few times — but it wasn't until this evening that that I actually took notice. In case you are like me and haven't heard (or fully heard) about the 40 Days for Life starting today, do visit the official website! It's wonderful.

www.40daysforlife.com

From today through November 2, pro-lifers across the nation are uniting spiritually in prayer and fasting for life. This video explains it beautifully, mentioned all the times in Biblical History that 40 days of intercession helped bring about a transformation of God's people. Now more than ever, we need a transformation. Be a part of this historic effort!

Family Prayer

A friend sent us this wonderful quote in an email today...

"Hence, with parents leading the way by example and family prayer, their children—indeed, all within the family circle—will find it easier to make progress in natural virtues, in salvation and in holiness. Husband and wife, raised to the dignity and the responsibility of parenthood, will be zealous in fulfilling their task as educators, especially in the sphere of religious education, a task that is primarily their own."

-from the Vatican II document Gaudium et Spes