#prayer by st john eudes

[anastpaul]

Our Morning Offering – 10 June – Be the Heart of My Heart By St John Eudes

Our Morning Offering – 10 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus” – Within the Octave of the Sacred Heart Be the Heart of My HeartBy St John Eudes (1601-1680)Apostle of the Sacred Heart O Heart all Lovableand all Loving of my Saviour,be the Heart of my heart,the Soul of my soul,the Spirit of my spirit,the Life of my lifeand the sole Principleof all my thoughts,words and actions,of all…

[thepastisalreadywritten]

SAINT OF THE DAY (August 30)

On August 30, the Catholic Church celebrates Saint Jeanne Jugan, also known as Sister Mary of the Cross.

During the 19th century, she founded the 'Little Sisters of the Poor' with the goal of imitating Christ's humility through service to elderly people in need.

In his homily for her canonization in October 2009, Pope Benedict XVI praised St. Jeanne as “a beacon to guide our societies toward a renewed love for those in old age."

The Pope recalled how she “lived the mystery of love in a way that remains ever timely, while so many elderly people are suffering from numerous forms of poverty and solitude and are sometimes also abandoned by their families.”

Born on 25 October 1792 in a port city of the French region of Brittany, Jeanne Jugan grew up during the political and religious upheavals of the French Revolution.

Four years after she was born, her father was lost at sea.

Her mother struggled to provide for Jeanne and her three siblings, while also providing them secretly with religious instruction amid the anti-Catholic persecutions of the day.

Jeanne worked as a shepherdess and later as a domestic servant.

At age 18, and again six years later, she declined two marriage proposals from the same man.

She told her mother that God had other plans and was calling her to a work that is not yet founded.

At age 25, the young woman joined the Third Order of St. John Eudes, a religious association for laypersons founded during the 17th century.

Jeanne worked as a nurse in the town of Saint-Servan for six years but had to leave her position due to health troubles.

Afterward, she worked for 12 years as the servant of a fellow member of the third order, until the woman's death in 1835.

During 1839, a year of economic hardship in Saint-Servan, Jeanne was sharing an apartment with an older woman and an orphaned young lady.

It was during the winter of that year that Jeanne encountered Anne Chauvin, an elderly woman who was blind, partially paralyzed, and had no one to care for her.

Jeanne carried Anne home to her apartment and took her in from that day forward, letting the woman have her bed while Jeanne slept in the attic.

She soon took in two more old women in need of help, and by 1841, she had rented a room to provide housing for a dozen elderly people.

The following year, she acquired an unused convent building that could house 40 of them.

During the 1840s, many other young women joined Jeanne in her mission of service to the elderly poor.

By begging in the streets, the foundress was able to establish four more homes for their beneficiaries by the end of the decade.

By 1850, over 100 women had joined the congregation that had become known as the Little Sisters of the Poor.

However, Jeanne Jugan – known in religious life as Sister Mary of the Cross – had been forced out of her leadership role by Father Auguste Le Pailleur, the priest who had been appointed superior general of the congregation.

In an apparent effort to suppress her true role as foundress, the superior general ordered her into retirement and a life of obscurity for 27 years.

During these years, she served the order through her prayers and by accepting the trial permitted by God.

At the time of her death on 29 August 1879, she was not known to have founded the order, which by then had 2,400 members serving internationally.

However, Father Le Pailleur was eventually investigated and disciplined, then Jeanne Jugan came to be acknowledged as their foundress.

She was beatified by Pope John Paul II on 3 October 1982. She was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on 11 October 2009.

Jeanne is a saint for every age as she challenges young people to give themselves to God and neighbour.

She is a role model for those who care for the poor, the sick, and the aging.

To those who feel anxious in these tough economic times, she offers an invitation to live the Beatitudes, trusting that God will provide.

[tinyshe]

How to Observe First Fridays and First Saturdays

“...  Our Hearts We want to mirror the heart and mind of God. We want to see people, the world, and every situation with God’s eyes. We want to love as He loves. We want a heart like His. If we have such a heart, we will begin to love as God loves; yet we will also begin to know how much God is offended by the sins of the world. Then, with such love joined to such a horror of sin, we will want to make reparation for our sins and the sins of others.This is the way that Jesus and Mary loved: by offering their lives to atone for the failings of others.As we meditate on the hearts of Jesus and Mary, we see the great love they have, even for sinners, and we see how God continues to reach out in love and forgiveness. But we also see how poorly people respond to this loving invitation to life and relationship with God. Some go so far as to actively reject God. We begin to obtain a glimpse of the injustice of habitual sin, which rejects God and abuses His mercy.The suffering and rejection of the cross continues, but the mercy and grace of God continue to flow to men and women in our time.Jesus and Mary, make our hearts like yours!

“PRAYERS:

To Be United with the Heart of Jesus                                                                  O Heart all lovable and all loving of my Savior, be the Heart of my heart, the soul of my soul, the spirit of my spirit, the life of my life and the sole principle of all my thoughts, words, and actions, of all the faculties of my soul, and of all my senses, both interior and exterior. Amen. — St. John Eudes

A Prayer of Adoration                                                                                   From the depth of my nothingness, I prostrate myself before You, O Most Sacred, Divine, and Adorable Heart of Jesus, to pay to You all the homage of love, praise, and adoration in my power. Amen. — St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

Collect for the Feast of the Sacred Heart Clothe us, Lord God, with the virtues of the Heart of your Son and set us aflame with his love, that, conformed to his image, we may merit a share in eternal redemption. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

To the Immaculate Heart of Mary O Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, and Queen of the World, rule over us, to- gether with the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, Our King. Save us from the spreading flood of modern paganism; kindle in our hearts and homes the love of purity, the practice of a virtuous life, an ardent zeal for souls, and a desire to pray the Rosary more faithfully.”

[source]

[foreverpraying]

August 19 is the feast day of St. John Eudes, priest

Source of picture: www.catholicsstrivingforholiness.org

Life of St. John Eudes

Born on a farm in northern France in 1601. In that time, he was a religious, a parish missionary, founder of two religious communities, and a great promoter of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

John joined the religious community of the Oratorians and was ordained a priest at 24. During severe plagues in 1627 and 1631, he volunteered to care for the stricken in his own diocese. Lest he infect his fellow religious, during the plague he lived in a huge cask in the middle of a field.

At age 32, John became a parish missionary. His gifts as a preacher and confessor won him great popularity.

That same year John founded a new community, ultimately called the Eudists—the Congregation of Jesus and Mary–devoted to the formation of the clergy by conducting diocesan seminaries.

Source of picture: www.patheos.com

In his parish mission work, John was disturbed by the sad condition of prostitutes who sought to escape their miserable life. Temporary shelters were found, but arrangements were not satisfactory. A certain Madeleine Lamy, who had cared for several of the women, one day said to him, “Where are you off to now? To some church, I suppose, where you’ll gaze at the images and think yourself pious. And all the time what is really wanted of you is a decent house for these poor creatures.” The words, and the laughter of those present, struck deeply within him. The result was another new religious community, called the Sisters of Charity of the Refuge.

Source: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-john-eudes/

 Prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus by St. John Eudes

Source of picture: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com

O Heart all loveable and all loving of my Saviour, be the Heart of my heart, the Soul of my soul, the Spirit of my spirit, the Life of my life and the sole principle of all my thoughts, words and actions, of all the faculties of my soul and of all my senses, both interior and exterior. Amen.

[allaboutjoseph]

Prayer to the Chaste Heart of St. Joseph

https://bookofjoseph2017.wixsite.com/saintjoseph/messages

St. Joseph, we offer you our hearts. Unite them to yours and to that of Jesus and Mary, asking them to grant that this union be inviolable and eternal! 

- St. John Eudes

[fidei]

“WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW IS LOVE”

“The hand of the Lord came upon me, and He led me out in the spirit of the Lord and set me in the center of the plain, which was now filled with bones. He made me walk among them in every direction so that I saw how many they were on the surface of the plain.” —Ezekiel 37:1-2

Pope St. John Paul II called our Western culture a “culture of death.” According to the prophet Ezekiel’s vision, we live on a plain of dry bones. However, some people are so brainwashed or naive that they don’t notice the death indicated by a few hundred thousand bones. These people are living in a fantasy land.

Others see the carnage and chaos, but are in denial. They say they are “innocent bystanders,” who have no responsibility to do anything other than their own thing. Still others are paralyzed by the immense brutality of the culture of death. They have become unforgiving, discouraged, depressed, bitter, cynical, or resentful.

Finally, others look beyond the culture of death and fix their eyes on Jesus, the Lord of all cultures (Heb 12:2). They are in love, even in the midst of death, and this love impels them (2 Cor 5:14) to live by faith and not by sight (2 Cor 5:7). They obey the Lord and miraculously displace the culture of death with a “civilization of love.”

Are you in fantasy land, denial, paralysis, or love? Love is stronger than death (see Sg 8:6). “Love the Lord your God with your whole heart, with your whole soul, and with all your mind” (Mt 22:37).

Prayer:  Father, I will abide in love and in You (1 Jn 4:16).

Promise:  “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” —Mt 22:39

Praise:  St. John Eudes had the gift of preaching. He later determined the best way to win souls was by forming zealous priests. He also encouraged devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

[urbanhermit]

The Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is a celebration that falls 19 days after Pentecost, on a Friday. The liturgical feast was first celebrated in Rennes, France. The liturgy was approved by the local bishop at the behest of St. John Eudes, who celebrated the Mass at the major seminary in Rennes on August 31, 1670. You’ll notice that the first celebration was not situated in the days following Pentecost. St. John Eudes composed a Mass and a set of prayers for outside the Mass (referred to as an “Office”) that were quickly adopted in other places in France. In 1856, Pope Pius IX established the Feast of the Sacred Heart as obligatory for the whole Church, to be celebrated on the Friday after Corpus Christi. The Roots of the Devotion But the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is much older. The beginnings of a devotion of the love of God symbolized by the heart of Jesus are found in the fathers of the Church, including Origen, Saint Ambrose, Saint Jerome, Saint Augustine of Hippo, Saint Hippolytus of Rome, Saint Irenaeus, Saint Justin Martyr, and Saint Cyprian. In the 11th century this devotion found a renewal in the writings of Benedictine and Cistercian monasteries. This expression was given form by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux in the 12th century in his famous poem/prayer “O Sacred Head Surrounded.” https://www.instagram.com/p/CfLq_nvuKqP/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[spiritualdirections]

The Origins of Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

The Friday after Corpus Christi is the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, which is easily neglected among all the other Solemnities. Until very recently, however, devotion to the Sacred Heart was a mainstay of Catholic life (I think that today the related devotion to Divine Mercy has more momentum).  The devotion to the Sacred Heart became especially important in response to the Jansenist heresy of the 17th century, a Catholicized Calvinism which was spreading like wildfire throughout Europe. The Jansenists so emphasized the difficulty and struggle it took to get into heaven that they instilled fear into the hearts of the faithful, turning the religion of faith and love into one of pessimism and scrupulosity, teaching that man is completely incapable of disposing himself to the grace offered by God. For example, they recommended that only those who were already saints should receive communion. St. John Eudes and the Jesuit Saint Claude Columbiere were thinking it would be a helpful corrective to Jansenism to promote a feast dedicated to the heart of Jesus as the incarnation of God’s love (see John 3:16). St. Claude became the spiritual director for St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, a young nun of the Visitation Order, who had a series of visions of Jesus from 1673-5, excerpted below, that popularized the idea of Jesus as someone who suffers for us out of love, and who asks us to share in his suffering in response to His love:

One day, as I knelt before the Blessed Sacrament exposed on the altar, after feeling withdrawn within myself by an extraordinary recollection of all my senses and faculties, Jesus Christ, my sweet Master, presented Himself to me, all resplendent with glory, with His five wounds shining like so many suns. From all parts of His Sacred Humanity there issued flames but especially from His adorable breast, which was like a furnace. Opening it, He showed me His loving and lovable Heart as the living source of those flames. Then he revealed to me all the unspeakable marvels of His pure love, and the excess of love He had conceived for men from whom He had received nothing but ingratitude and contempt. "This is more grievous to Me," He said, "than all that I endured in my Passion. If Christians would only give Me some return of love, I should not mind all that I have done for them, and I would do yet more if possible. But they have only coldness and contempt for all My endeavours to do them good. You [St. Margaret Mary], at least, can give Me the happiness of making up for their ingratitude, as much as you can."

  "First, you are to receive me in the Blessed Sacrament as often as obedience will allow, no matter what mortification or humiliation it may entail. Moreover, you are to receive Holy Communion on the First Friday of each month, and every night between Thursday and Friday I will make you partaker of that sorrow unto death which it was My will to suffer in the Garden of Olives. This sorrow will reduce you, without your understanding how, to a kind of agony more bitter than death. To join with Me in the humble prayer which I then offered to My heavenly Father in agony you are to arise between eleven and twelve o'clock, and remain with Me upon your knees for an hour, with your face to the ground, to appease the anger of My Eternal Father, and to ask of Him pardon for sinners. You will thus share with Me, and in a manner soothe the bitter grief I suffered when my disciples abandoned Me and I was constrained to reproach them that they could not watch with Me even for an hour. During that hour you are to do what I will teach you."

   ….One day, during the octave of Corpus Christi, when being before the Blessed Sacrament, I received from my God extraordinary proofs of His love... [Opening] to me His Divine Heart: "Behold this Heart which has so loved men that It spared nothing, even going so far as to exhaust and consume Itself, to prove to them Its love. And in return I receive from the greater part of men nothing but ingratitude, by the contempt, irreverence, sacrileges and coldness with which they treat Me in this Sacrament of Love. But what is still more painful to Me is that even souls consecrated to Me are acting in this way. Therefore I ask of you that the first Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi be dedicated as a feast in honour of My Heart, and amends made to It in an Act of Reparation offered to It and by the reception of Holy Communion on that day, to atone for the outrages It has received during the time It has been exposed on the Altars. I promise you that My Heart will open wide and pour forth lavishly the influence of Its Divine love on all who will render and procure for It this honour."

[pamphletstoinspire]

Novena To Mary, Queen Of All Hearts - May Be Recited At Any Time For Nine Consecutive Days

Novena

The word Novena derives it name from the Latin word “novem” meaning “nine.” A novena can be either a private or public devotion in the Catholic Church to obtain special graces.

Novena to Mary, Queen of All Hearts

O Mary, Queen of All Hearts, Advocate of the most hopeless cases; Mother most pure, most compassionate; Mother of Divine Love, full of divine light, we confide to your care the favors which we ask of you today. (Mention your request(s) here).

Consider our misery, our tears, our interior trials and sufferings. We know that you can help us through the merits of your Divine Son, Jesus. We promise, if our prayers are heard, to spread your glory by making you known under the title of "Mary, Queen of All Hearts, Queen of the Universe."

Grant, we beseech you, hear our prayers, for every day you give us so many proofs of your love and intercession to heal both body and soul. We hope against all hope; ask Jesus to cure us, pardon us, and grant us final perseverance.

O Mary, Queen of All Hearts, help us; we have confidence in you.

O Mary, Queen of All Hearts, help us; we have confidence in you.

O Mary, Queen of All Hearts, help us; we have confidence in you.

Salutation to the Glory of Mary

By St. John Eudes

This salutation was found in a book belonging to St. Margaret Mary after her death, and was promoted faithfully by Fr. Paul of Mall, O.S.B., Belgian Priest [1824-1896]

Hail Mary! Daughter of God the Father,

Hail Mary! Mother of God the Son,

Hail Mary! Spouse of God the Holy Ghost,

Hail Mary! Temple of the Most Blessed Trinity,

Hail Mary! Celestial Rose of the ineffable love of God.

Hail Mary! Virgin pure and humble, of whom the King of Heaven

willed to be born and with thy milk to be nourished.

Hail Mary! Virgin of virgins,

Hail Mary! Queen of Martyrs, whose soul a sword transfixed,

Hail Mary! Lady most Blessed! unto whom all power in Heaven and earth is given,

Hail Mary! my Queen and my Mother! my Life, my Sweetness, and my Hope,

Hail Mary! Mother most Amiable,

Hail Mary! Mother most Admirable,

Hail Mary! Mother of Divine Love,

Hail Mary! IMMACULATE; Conceived without sin!

Hail Mary! Full of Grace! the Lord is with thee!

Blessed art thou among women!

And blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, JESUS!

Blessed by thy Spouse, St. Joseph,

Blessed by thy Father, St. Joachim,

Blessed by thy Mother, St. Anne,

Blessed by thy Guardian, St. John,

Blessed by thy Holy Angel, St. Gabriel,

Glory be to God the Father, who chose thee,

Glory be to God the Son, who loved thee,

Glory be to God the Holy Ghost, who espoused thee,

Glorious Virgin Mary, may all men love and praise thee,

Holy Mary, Mother of God! pray for us and bless us, now and at death in the Name of JESUS, thy Divine Son! Amen.

Litany of Mary, Queen

For private recital only.

Lord have mercy on us. Christ have mercy on us.

Lord have mercy on us. Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.

God, the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.

God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.

God the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, pray for us.

Holy Mother of God, pray for us.

Most honored of Virgins, pray for us.

Chosen daughter of the Father, pray for us.

Mother of Christ the King, pray for us.

Glory of the Holy Spirit, pray for us.

Virgin daughter of Zion, pray for us.

Virgin poor and humble, pray for us.

Virgin gentle and obedient, pray for us. Handmaid of the Lord, pray for us.

Mother of the Lord, pray for us. Helper of the Redeemer, pray for us.

Full of grace, pray for us. Fountain of beauty, pray for us.

Model of virtue, pray for us. First fruit of the Redemption, pray for us.

Perfect disciple of Christ, pray for us. Untarnished image of the Church, pray for us.

Woman transformed, pray for us. Woman clothed with the sun, pray for us.

Woman crowned with stars, pray for us. Gentle Lady, pray for us.

Gracious Lady, pray for us. Our Lady, pray for us.

Joy of Israel, pray for us. Splendor of the Church, pray for us.

Pride of the human race, pray for us. Advocate of grace, pray for us.

Minister of holiness, pray for us. Champion of God's people, pray for us.

Queen of love, pray for us. Queen of mercy, pray for us.

Queen of peace, pray for us. Queen of Angels, pray for us.

Queen of Patriarchs and Prophets, pray for us.

Queen of Apostles and Martyrs, pray for us.

Queen of Confessors and Virgins, pray for us.

Queen of all Saints, pray for us.

Queen conceived without Original Sin, pray for us.

Queen assumed into Heaven, pray for us.

Queen of all the earth, pray for us. Queen of Heaven, pray for us.

Queen of the universe, pray for us.

Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.

Let us pray.

Father, Thou hast given us the Mother of Thy Son to be our Queen and Mother. With the support of her prayers may we come to share the glory of Thy children in the Kingdom of Heaven. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

***

Click below for:

Novena Pamphlet - Mary Queen Of All Hearts

https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/a84285_f8789dfce97e4e6bb84680a5f74de5ad.pdf

All Novena Pamphlets

https://www.pamphletstoinspire.com/novenas

[thewahookid]

O Heart all loveable

"O Heart all loveable and all loving of my Saviour, be the Heart of my heart, the Soul of my soul, the Spirit of my spirit, the Life of my life and the sole principle of all my thoughts, words and actions, of all the faculties of my soul and of all my senses, both interior and exterior. Amen.

-St. John Eudes

Today's Reflection

Imagine what the world would be like if we lived this prayer.

[donboscosalesianportal]

Center yourself on God with this prayer of St. John Eudes As humans, we inevitably make mistakes and stray away from God. The word “sin” means to “miss the mark,” and it doesn’t take much for us to do exactly that. However, G… Source: Center yourself on God with this prayer of St. John Eudes

[anastpaul]

Our Morning Offering – 30 June – A Magnificat By St John Eudes

Our Morning Offering – 30 June – “The Last Day of the Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus” – Pentecost VI A MagnificatBy St John Eudes (1601-1680)A Hymn of Praise and Thanksgivingto the Sacred Heart of Jesusand to the Holy Heart of Mary My soul doth magnify the admirableHeart of Jesus and MaryAnd my spirit rejoices in Thou great Heart.Jesus and Mary have given me their Heart,This immense…

[thepastisalreadywritten]

SAINT OF THE DAY (August 30)

On August 30, the Catholic Church celebrates Saint Jeanne Jugan, also known as Sister Mary of the Cross.

During the 19th century, she founded the Little Sisters of the Poor with the goal of imitating Christ's humility through service to elderly people in need.

In his homily for her canonization in October 2009, Pope Benedict XVI praised St. Jeanne as “a beacon to guide our societies toward a renewed love for those in old age."

The Pope recalled how "she lived the mystery of love in a way that remains ever timely while so many elderly people are suffering from numerous forms of poverty and solitude and are sometimes also abandoned by their families.”

Born on 25 October 1792 in a port city of the French region of Brittany, Jeanne Jugan grew up during the political and religious upheavals of the French Revolution.

Four years after she was born, her father was lost at sea.

Her mother struggled to provide for Jeanne and her three siblings, while also providing them secretly with religious instruction amid the anti-Catholic persecutions of the day.

Jeanne worked as a shepherdess and later as a domestic servant. At age 18, and again six years later, she declined two marriage proposals from the same man.

She told her mother that God had other plans and was calling her to a work, which was not yet founded.

At age 25, the young woman joined the Third Order of St. John Eudes, a religious association for laypersons founded during the 17th century.

Jeanne worked as a nurse in the town of Saint-Servan for six years but had to leave her position due to health troubles.

She later worked for 12 years as the servant of a fellow member of the third order, until the woman's death in 1835.

During 1839, a year of economic hardship in Saint-Servan, Jeanne was sharing an apartment with an older woman and an orphaned young lady.

It was during the winter of this year that Jeanne encountered Anne Chauvin, an elderly woman who was blind, partially paralyzed, and had no one to care for her.

Jeanne carried Anne home to her apartment and took her in from that day forward, letting the woman have her bed while Jeanne slept in the attic.

She soon took in two more old women in need of help. By 1841, she had rented a room to provide housing for a dozen elderly people.

The following year, she acquired an unused convent building that could house 40 of them.

During the 1840s, many other young women joined Jeanne in her mission of service to the elderly poor.

By begging in the streets, the foundress was able to establish four more homes for their beneficiaries by the end of the decade.

By 1850, over 100 women had joined the congregation that had become known as the Little Sisters of the Poor.

However, Jeanne Jugan – known in religious life as Sister Mary of the Cross – had been forced out of her leadership role by Father Auguste Le Pailleur, the priest who had been appointed superior general of the congregation.

In an apparent effort to suppress her true role as foundress, the superior general ordered her into retirement and a life of obscurity for 27 years.

During these years, she served the order through her prayers and by accepting the trial permitted by God.

At the time of her death on 29 August 1879, she was not known to have founded the order, which by then had 2,400 members serving internationally.

Fr. Le Pailleur, however, was eventually investigated and disciplined. St. Jeanne Jugan came to be acknowledged as their foundress.

She was beatified by Pope John Paul II on 3 October 1982. She was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on 11 October 2009.

She is the patron saint of the elderly. She is a role model for those who care for the poor, the sick, and the aging.

[seekfirstme]

The following reflection is courtesy of Don Schwager © 2019. Don's website is located at Dailyscripture.ServantsOfTheWord.org

Meditation:

Where can you find true peace, security, and happiness?

A young man who had the best the world could offer - wealth, position, and security - came to Jesus because he lacked one thing. He wanted the kind of lasting peace and happiness which money and possessions could not buy him. The answer he got, however, was not what he was looking for. He protested that he kept all the commandments - but Jesus spoke to the trouble in his heart. One thing kept him from giving himself wholeheartedly to God. While he lacked nothing in material goods, he was nonetheless possessive of what he had. He placed his hope and security in what he possessed. So when Jesus challenged him to make God his one true possession and treasure, he became dismayed.

What do you treasure the most?

Why did he go away from Jesus with sadness rather than with joy? His treasure and his hope for happiness were misplaced. Treasure has a special connection to the heart, the place of desire and longing, the place of will and focus. The thing we most set our heart on is our highest treasure. The Lord himself is the greatest treasure we can possibly have. Giving up everything else to have the Lord as our treasure is not sorrowful, but the greatest joy. See Jesus' parable about the treasure hidden in a field (Matthew 13:44). Selling all that we have could mean many different things - our friends, our job, our style of life, what we do with our free time.

Possessiveness and fear robs us of joy and abundant life

Jesus challenged the young man because his heart was possessive. He was afraid to give to others for fear that he would lose what he had gained. Those who are generous towards God and others find that they cannot outmatch God in generosity. God blesses us with innumerable spiritual goods - such as long-lasting peace, unspeakable joy, enduring love, abiding relationships and friendship that do not fade or fail - that far outweigh the fleeting joys of material possessions which fail to satisfy us beyond the present moment. God alone can satisfy the deepest longing and desires of our heart. Are you willing to part with anything that might keep you from seeking true and everlasting  joy with Jesus?

"Lord Jesus, you alone can satisfy the deepest longing in my heart. No other treasure can compare with you. Keep me free from all discontentment, possessiveness, greed and selfishness, that I may have joy in knowing that you alone are my true Treasure and my Portion."  

The following reflection is from One Bread, One Body courtesy of Presentation Ministries © 2019.

 

SLIDE RULE

  "They became defiled by their works, and wanton in their crimes." —Psalm 106:39  

"The Israelites offended the Lord" (Jgs 2:11). They persisted in sin and eventually began to receive the wages of sin (Rm 6:23). The Lord "allowed them to fall into the power of their enemies round about whom they were no longer able to withstand. Whatever they undertook, the Lord turned into disaster for them" (Jgs 2:14-15). In their affliction, the people cried out to the Lord, and He took pity on them by sending the "judges" to lead them to repentance. However, the people did not completely repent. "When the judge died, they would relapse and do worse than their fathers" (Jgs 2:19). Eventually, the nation even became so perverted as to sacrifice their sons and daughters to demons (Ps 106:37).

The moral standards of our society and even of some members of our Church have likewise deteriorated. We have sinned, repented, sinned, and repented, but we have done more sinning than repenting. We have sinned seriously, and then more seriously, while repenting superficially. This has resulted in an ever greater accommodation with evil. We must repent with a sincerity that we may have never before experienced. We should desire to go to Confession at least monthly and ask the Holy Spirit to convict us of our sins (see Jn 16:8). Otherwise, today's perversions will be tomorrow's ordinary events. Repent as never before.

  Prayer: Father, I repent of not resisting sin to the point of allowing my blood to be shed (Heb 12:4). Promise: "Jesus told him, 'If you seek perfection, go, sell your possessions, and give to the poor. You will then have treasure in heaven. Afterward, come back and follow Me.' " —Mt 19:21 Praise: St. John Eudes chose to save both priests and laity through the devotion to the Sacred Heart and Immaculate Heart.    

  Rescript: In accord with the Code of Canon Law, I hereby grant the Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") for One Bread, One Body covering the period from August 1, 2019 through September 30, 2019.

†Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, February 15, 2019.  

The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements

[iprayunceasingly-blog]

Saint Jeanne Jugan

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Saint Jeanne Jugan

On Aug. 30, the Catholic Church celebrates Saint Jeanne Jugan, also known as Sister Mary of the Cross. During the 19th century, she founded the Little Sisters of the Poor with the goal of imitating Christ’s humility through service to elderly people in need. In his homily for her canonization in October 2009, Pope Benedict XVI praised St. Jeanne as “a beacon to guide our societiesâ€� toward a renewed love for those in old age. The Pope recalled how she “lived the mystery of loveâ€� in a way that remains “ever timely while so many elderly people are suffering from numerous forms of poverty and solitude and are sometimes also abandoned by their families.â€� Born on Oct. 25, 1792 in a port city of the French region of Brittany, Jeanne Jugan grew up during the political and religious upheavals of the French Revolution. Four years after she was born, her father was lost at sea. Her mother struggled to provide for Jeanne and her three siblings, while also providing them secretly with religious instruction amid the anti-Catholic persecutions of the day. Jeanne worked as a shepherdess, and later as a domestic servant. At age 18, and again six years later, she declined two marriage proposals from the same man. She told her mother that God had other plans, and was calling her to “a work which is not yet founded.â€� At age 25, the young woman joined the Third Order of St. John Eudes, a religious association for laypersons founded during the 17th century. Jeanne worked as a nurse in the town of Saint-Servan for six years, but had to leave her position due to health troubles. Afterward she worked for 12 years as the servant of a fellow member of the third order, until the woman’s death in 1835. During 1839, a year of economic hardship in Saint-Servan, Jeanne was sharing an apartment with an older woman and an orphaned young lady. It was during the winter of this year that Jeanne encountered Anne Chauvin, an elderly woman who was blind, partially paralyzed, and had no one to care for her. Jeanne carried Anne home to her apartment and took her in from that day forward, letting the woman have her bed while Jeanne slept in the attic. She soon took in two more old women in need of help, and by 1841 she had rented a room to provide housing for a dozen elderly people. The following year, she acquired an unused convent building that could house 40 of them. During the 1840s, many other young women joined Jeanne in her mission of service to the elderly poor. By begging in the streets, the foundress was able to establish four more homes for their beneficiaries by the end of the decade. By 1850, over 100 women had joined the congregation that had become known as the Little Sisters of the Poor. However, Jeanne Jugan – known in religious life as Sister Mary of the Cross – had been forced out of her leadership role by Father Auguste Le Pailleur, the priest who had been appointed superior general of the congregation. In an apparent effort to suppress her true role as foundress, the superior general ordered her into retirement and a life of obscurity for 27 years. During these years, she served the order through her prayers and by accepting the trial permitted by God. At the time of her death on Aug. 29, 1879, she was not known to have founded the order, which by then had 2,400 members serving internationally. Fr. Le Pailleur, however, was eventually investigated and disciplined, and St. Jeanne Jugan came to be acknowledged as their foundress. CNA – Saint of the Day

[romancatholicreflections]

19th August 2017 >> Pope Francis' Daily Reflection from '365 Days To Mercy ~ Mary's Prayer' Listen: “O admirable Mother of God! How many sins have I committed for which you have obtained pardon for me, and how many others would I have committed if you had not preserved me?” St. John Eudes Ponder: Which sins has Mary’s example or intercession helped me to avoid? How has she comforted me in my affliction? Respond: Holy Spirit, arm me with your virtues that I might resist the temptation to sin.