RCIA

Dear friends, Sunday is the day of my RCIA presentation of the Healing Sacraments. If you could send up a prayer that I be a TRUE instrument of the Holy Spirit and that His voice is the one they hear and it is his Love that is shared.

The Spirit really is a true friend. One I have come to rely on for some time. Thanks to my dad, who said he didn't start his day without a word with Him, I think it is now second nature to me.

I really was having trouble with organizing the "Breaking Open the Word" portion of the presentation, but after my son, David, and I prayed together it just seemed to come together. Thanks be to God and David's phone call.

So the work is done on the presentation. Now the work starts with me. "Just Pray," Mom says, "the rest comes together." So I think with an army of prayers I should do okay.

!!!!~~~~~~~!!!!

For you all who give so generously, I say,
THANKS BE TO GOD!

Right to Life IX

Montgomery Falls
Quebec, 2003

Day Nine
Meditating on the Gift of Life

Prayer
Father of life, may the mysteries of our Redemption stir us to contemplate with wonder the invincible hope which is our in the Gospel of Life.

A Reading form the book of Revelation 22:1-5
An angel showed me the river of life-giving water, sparkling like the crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of its street. On either side of the river grew the tree of life that produces fruit twelve times a year, once each month; the leaves of the tree serve a medicine for the nations. Nothing accursed will be found anymore. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it , and his servants will worship him. Night will be no more, nor will they need light from lamp or sun. for the Lord God shall give them light, and they shall reign forever and ever.

(silent reflection)

Prayer
God of all creation, may men and women of every time and place proclaim the Gospel of Life: a Gospel of God's love for us, a Gospel of human dignity.

A Reflection by Pope Benedict XVI*
[The] Eucharist is far more than just a meal; it has cost a death to provide it, and the majesty of death is present in it. Whenever we hold it, we should be filled with reverence in the face of this mystery, with awe in the face of this mysterious death that becomes a present reality in our midst...Death is the ultimate question...Only when this question is answered can men truly celebrate and be free. The Christmas feast, the Eucharist, plumbs the very depths of death. It is not just a matter of pious discourse and entertainment, of some kind of religious beautification, spreading, a pious gloss on the world; it plumbs the very depths of existence, which it calls death, and strikes out an upward path to life, the life that overcomes death.

Our Father...
Hail Mary...
Glory Be...

Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, God is Near Us: The Eucharist, the Heart of Life, p. 44

~~~~~~~

Spiritual Adoption prayer

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I love you very much. I beg you to
spare the life of ( Baby' s name) the unborn baby that I have
spiritually adopted who is in danger of abortion."
- Prayer of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen-
~*~*~*~*~*~

I have added this prayer that was first displayed by Kathy at Daily Grotto. It is an example of what to say when you desire to pray for a child you do not know and will never know, yet one who needs your prayers. I will be praying for "Matthew Thomas". I had decided that as soon as I read Kathy's plea.

And as God would have it, I had made the commitment to pray for "MT". Then my son, David, called to tell me he and his wife were going to the Dr. that day. Kelly is with child. This will be their 5th and I will be a grandmother once again. And so it is with joy I will be praying for two wee ones now. "Matthew Thomas" who I beg will be spared and another who will be loved and nurtured and cherished. God Is GOOD...all the time!

~~~~~~~
I truly say,
Thanks be to God!

Right to Life VI

Day Six

Preaching the Gospel of Life in Every Moment

Prayer
Father of life, from the beginning of each day and into the night, teach me the sacred value of every human life from its very beginning until its end in you.

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans 14: 7-9, 10c-12
No one lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself. For if we live, we live for the Lord and If we die, we die for the Lord; so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. For this is why Christ died and came to life, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written: "as I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bend before me, and every tongue shall give praise to God." So then each of us shall give an accounting of himself to God.

(silent reflection)

Prayer
God of all creation, infuse in the minds and hearts of all who serve us in government, the academy and the healing sciences the right of every
human being to the respect of their God-given lives.

A Reflection by Pope John Paul II*
For the Christian, [the commandment "You shall no kill"] involves an absolute imperative to respect, love and promote the life of every brother and sister, in accordance with the requirements of God's bountiful love in Jesus Christ. "He laid down his life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren" (1John 3:16)...It resounds in the moral conscience of everyone as an irrepressible echo of the original covenant of God the Creator with mankind. It can be recognized by everyone through the light of reason and it can be observed thanks to the mysterious working of the spirit who, blowing where he wills (cf. John 3:8), comes to and involves every person living in this world. It is therefore a service of love which we are all committed to ensure to our neighbor, that his or her life may be always defended and promoted especially when it is weak or threatened

Our Father...
Hail Mary...
Glory Be...

* Pope John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae, no. 77

~~~~~~~

Today we are invited to pray for LIFE. Give thanks for LIFE. Bear witness to LIFE. This is the time to reflect on all those hugs, giggles, tears and pain.
If you can visit our Lord in the tabernacle. Spend REAL time with him.

And in so doing say,
"Thanks be to God."

+++++++

Right to Life VIII

Pieta, Shrine of Sainte-Anne de Beaupre
Quebec, 2003

Day Eight
Consecrated to the Sacredness of Life by Christ

Prayer
Father of life, in every moment of the day remind me of the incomparable value of every human person.

A Reading from the Holy Gospel According to John 3:16-18
For God so love the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

(silent reflection)

Prayer
God of all creation, as by his birth, Christ united himself with us, so by the way we live our lives, may we witness the boundless love of the one who so loved the world that he gave his only Son.

A reflection of Pope Benedict XVI*
[The] words [of Pope John Paul II]...constantly echo in my ears: "Do not be afraid! Open wide the doors for Christ!..." Are we not perhaps all afraid in some way? If we let Christ enter fully into our lives, if we open ourselves totally to him, are we not afraid that he might take something away from us? Are we not perhaps afraid to give up something significant, something unique, something that makes life so beautiful? Do we not then risk ending up diminished and deprived of our freedom? And once again the Pope said: No, if we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great. No! Only in this friendship are the doors of life opened wide. Only in this friendship is the great potential of human existence truly revealed. Only in this friendship do we experience beauty and liberation...Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, and he gives you everything.

Our Father...
Hail Mary...
Glory Be...

*Pope Benedict XVI, Homily, Mass for the Inauguration of his Pontificate, April 24, 2005.

~~~~~~~

"No, if we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great. No! Only in this friendship are the doors of life opened wide." I can only imagine what it is like to stand in front of David's Pieta. I only know that standing in front of the Pieta at the Shrine of Ste. Anne I could only be filled with sorrow for the mother who held her lifeless son in her arms and gratitude to God our Father for his Son. I cannot truly empathize with her loss. I really have never experienced loss as devastating as this was, but because Our Lady was the mother of God...Oh! I cannot put what I want to say into words. They escape ME!!! Indeed, there are times when words are useless and one must only be quiet!! And so it is for me today. LIFE is GOOD!!!

~~~

In gratitude for quiet reflection, I say,
Thanks be to God!!!

Right to Life VII

Mt. Rushmore, 2007

Day Seven
Remembering Our Forefathers

Prayer
Father of life, help this nation to hear the voice of our forefathers: and to believe that God has truly given us the right to life, to liberty, and to the pursuit of happiness.

A Reading from the Acts of the Apostles 17: 26-28
[God] made from one the whole human race to dwell on the entire surface of the earth, and he fixed the ordered seasons and the boundaries of their regions, so that people might seek God, even perhaps grope for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. For "In him we live and move and have our being..."

(silent reflection)

Prayer
God of all creation, make every one of your children a defender and promoter of the right to life.

A Reflection by Pope John Paul II*
[The] Gospel gave a new meaning to the concept of native land [patria]. In its original sense, it means what we have inherited from our fathers and mothers on earth. The inheritance we receive from Christ orientates the patrimony of human native lands and cultures toward the eternal homeland. Christ says: "I came from the Father and have come into the world; again I am leaving the world and going to the Father" (John 16:28). Christ's departure to go to the Father introduces a new homeland into human history. Sometimes we speak of the "heavenly home," or "eternal home: These expression indicate what has been accomplished in the history of man and the history of nations through Christ's coming into the world and through his leaving this world to go to the Father.

Our Father...
Hail Mary...
Glory Be...

*Pope John Paul II, Memory and Identity: Conversations at the Dawn of a Millennium, pp. 62f.

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There are so many songs we have as a nation that give rise to patriotism. There are also many more songs, I would contend, that should give rise to Christian Patriotism. I'm also thinking there are songs of gratitude that must be sung, as well, for this precious life we have been given. "Now Thank We All Our God" is one I am humming now...A grand and glorious song of thanksgiving, I'm thinking!

~~~~~~~
For all who join in this chorus, I say
Thanks Be to God!