Blessed February (dedicated to the Holy Family)!
Here are our Holy Father’s prayer intentions for this month (dedicated to the Holy Family):
General Intention: Access to Water.
That all peoples may have access to water
and other resources needed for daily life.Missionary Intention: Health Workers.
That the Lord may sustain the efforts of health workers assisting the sick and elderly
in the world’s poorest regions.
God bless your prayer!
When, therefore [Judas] was gone out,
Jesus said; Now is the Son of man glorified:
and God is glorified in Him
-John 13:31
I’ve heard the Gospel of John divided into
“The Book of Signs” (the first 12 chapters)
and “The Book of Glory” (the rest of the Gospel),
but never really grasped what that meant.
Signs, yes, I can see the miracles qualifying, but glory?
Those chapters are all about Jesus’ humiliations.
Yet here Jesus is, as His betrayer goes off to set in motion
the most horrific crime in history,
saying that now He is glorified.
I’m missing something…
As I reflected, Psalm 19:4-5 came to mind:
He has set a tent for the sun,
which comes forth like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and rejoices like a champion to run the race
An athlete is not glorified by lounging on the couch,
but by meeting a challenge that’s worthy of him.
He rejoices to run the race,
to meet the test for which he has prepared and trained.
Then I thought of our new blender.
It’s advertised in a series of videos that demonstrate
that this blender can handle things no ordinary blender can.
It’s glorified by being put to the test…
and coming out on top.
That’s how God the Father glorified His Son.
He put Jesus to the test,
subjecting Him to injustices and sufferings
no ordinary man could handle
without either crumbling or lashing out–
without losing his God-given dignity.
Yet through it all, Jesus was fully Himself
(how many times do we have to say, “I’m just not myself today”):
responding, not reacting–repaying evil with good, loving,
giving, fully human to the end.
We who have been made partakers in His divine nature (see II Peter 1:4) can expect to be glorified in the same way.
The martyrs were.
Their stories boggle the mind!…
but that’s what Jesus came to do for us:
to give us the ability to live a supernatural life
by uniting us to Himself (see Galatians 2:20, among others).
That doesn’t just happen.
It takes training and preparation,
just as it does for an athlete preparing for a race.
In God’s eyes, glory is not in fame or fortune or worldly success.
Those things are spiritually very dangerous (just ask King Solomon!).
Glory is in remaining faithful and generous under pressure
through the power of His divine life, vibrant within us,
which we have trained and honed
through the practise of a devout life,
through prayer, study, sacrifice and the sacraments.
The next time you have a bad day, hold your head up.
Be encouraged.
God is glorifying you!
Blessed Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God!
Here are Pope Benedict XVI’s prayer intentions for this new month (which is dedicated to the Holy Name or the Holy Childhood of Jesus),
as found here
JANUARY 2012
General Intention: Victims of Natural Disasters.
That the victims of natural disasters
may receive the spiritual and material comfort they need
to rebuild their lives.Missionary Intention: Dedication to Peace.
That the dedication of Christians to peace
may bear witness to the name of Christ
before all men and women of good will.
God bless your prayer!
Blessed December!
(Month of the Immaculate Conception or the Divine Infancy)
Here are our Holy Father’s prayer intentions for this month as found here:
———-
December 2011
————
General Intention:
That the nations of the earth,
through knowledge and mutual respect,
may grow in harmony and peace.Missionary Intention:
That children and young people
may be messengers of the Gospel
and that their dignity
may always be respected and preserved
from all violence and exploitation.
…and my “short version”
General: for harmony and peace among nations
through knowledge and respect
Missionary: for the protection of the dignity of children and youth and
for their success in evangelization
God bless your prayer!
Blessed November! (month dedicated to the holy souls in Purgatory)
Here are Pope Benedict XVI’s prayer intentions for this month, as found here:
November 2011
General Intention:
For the eastern Churches,
that their venerable tradition
may be known and appreciated
as a spiritual treasure for the entire Church.Missionary Intention:
That the African continent may find in Christ
the strength to fulfill the path of reconciliation and justice,
indicated in the second Synod of Bishops for Africa.
…and my “short form”:
General: for an appreciation for the traditions of the eastern Churches
Missionary: for the strength to carry out the African bishops’ plan for reconciliation and justice
God bless your prayer!
When my prince & I dine together, we begin with a spontaneous prayer (which usually ends up being mostly the same each time anyway 
), but lately I’ve begun using the standard Catholic meal prayer when I eat alone (breakfast & lunch).
Bless us O Lord,
and these Thy gifts
which we are about to receive
from Thy bounty
through Christ, our Lord.
Amen
One line has been standing out to me: “from Thy bounty.”
For as long as I can remember, I’ve had the underlying instinct that “there’s not enough for me” (I’m sure the “reduce your carbon footprint” campaign didn’t help). Mom still recalls how mortified she was when the school informed her that I was writing with a little piece of pencil lead, insinuating that she was depriving me of necessary school supplies. It wasn’t that I needed a new pencil–stray pencils were easy enough to find (hallways, playground, school bus, etc.). But this stub of lead was still usable. I couldn’t bear to part with it. Waste not, want not, you know…
That has other ramifications, of course, (being a packrat is just one) which have followed me into adulthood.
Preparing (and listening to) RCIA presentations has introduced me to the truth at God created the world for man–for me–to provide the things I need. He created enough for me.
Logically I can grasp that. Changing my underlying instinct is quite another matter. I’ve been bringing this to prayer for quite a while.
Well, this week the farm where I usually get eggs (via a friend who’s their neighbor) was low…and so were we. Comparing the upcoming cooking projects with the number of eggs we had left & was not exactly reassuring (and with our dietary restrictions, adapting the menu isn’t trivial!). Should I make the deviled eggs I normally take for snacks at adult ed (which we host)? I was inclined to conserve (hoard).
…from Thy bounty…
I stopped.
“Well, Lord, You own the chickens on a thousand hills!
(apologies to Psalm 50:10!)
I’m going to take a chance and be generous.”
I put an egg on to boil (I know, that doesn’t sound very generous,
but when I made more I always had leftovers).
Within hours my friend called. Her neighbor has three dozen eggs today. Would I like her to bring some when she brought her daughters for crochet advice?
Would I?!
…from Thy bounty…
Thank You, God, for eggs
from Thy bounty!
Blessed October!
Here are our Holy Father’s prayer intentions for this month dedicated to the holy rosary, as found here:
General Intention:
For the terminally ill, that in their sufferings
they may be sustained by faith in God
and by the love of others.Missionary Intention:
That the celebration of World Mission Sunday
may increase in the People of God
the passion for evangelization
and the support of missionary activity
through prayer and economic aid
for the poorest Churches.
…and my “short form”:
General:
that the dying may be strengthened by faith and the care of others
Missionary:
that World Mission Sunday would inspire Christians to prayerfully and financially support missionary churches
God bless your prayer!
I’ve gotten to Ezekiel in my Genesis-to-Revelation trek through the Haydock Bible, and these last several books have been full of descriptions of just how awful things had become (and how much worse they were going to be once the full consequences of the nations’ sin came to bear).
Maybe it’s just me, but I’d gotten the idea that when things were bad there were basically two verbal responses: grumble or shut up. Reading the story of the Exodus didn’t make the first option look so good–every time they grumbled they got clobbered!
…but David didn’t shut up. The Psalms are full of expressions of pain, fear and sorrow. Neither did Jeremiah–just read Lamentations! And God called David a man after His own heart (Acts 13:22), nor was He displeased with Jeremiah.
There must be a third option, a way of expressing suffering
without grumbling.
So what’s the difference?
What I’m coming up with is that grumbling turns away from God in distrust, while lamentation turns toward Him in confidence. When the Israelites grumbled, they threatened. If God didn’t solve their problems they were going to get Moses out of the way and high-tail it back to Egypt. They didn’t trust God to care for them–it was Adam’s sin all over again:
Man, tempted by the devil,
let his trust in his Creator die in his heart and,
abusing his freedom, disobeyed God’s command.
This is what man’s first sin consisted of
(Cf. Gen 3:1-11; Rom 5:19).
All subsequent sin would be disobedience toward God
and lack of trust in his goodness.
-Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 397
When David and Jeremiah (and others) lamented, they mixed their plaint with praise, reminding God of His promises, His covenants, His mighty deeds in the past. They expressed certainty in His ability and desire to rescue them when the time was right. Sometimes the laments get confusing–there’s so much praise mixed in that it’s hard to keep track of the fact that enemy armies are at the gate!
That seems to be what God wants from us. Give full expression to fear, sorrow and pain, but saturate that expression with confidence in God’s intention and ability to rescue and redeem.
Now we know that for those who love God
all things work together unto good,
for those who, according to His purpose,
are saints through His call.
-Romans 8:28
Dismiss all anxiety from your minds.
Present your needs to God in every form of prayer
and in petitions full of gratitude.
Then God’s own peace,
which is beyond all understanding,
will stand guard over your hearts and minds,
in Christ Jesus.
-Philippians 4:6-7
When we ask the saints’ intercession, we are following the Roman centurion’s example.
He didn’t go “straight to Jesus.”
A foreigner himself, he sent a delegation of Jesus’ own countrymen
to put in a good word for him.
“He deserves this favor from you,” they said,
“because he loves our people,
and even built our synagogue for us”
-Luke 7:5
Then, as Jesus approached his house,
the centurion sent friends to tell Jesus
He needn’t trouble Himself to come further–just speak the word.
I am not worthy to have You enter my house.
That is why I did not presume to come myself
-Luke 7:6-7
He did not presume…
he sent others who were more worthy to approach Jesus than he…
Listen to Jesus’ response:
I tell you, I have never seen such faith
among the Israelites
-Luke 7:9
High praise from God Himself!
When we pray to the saints, we are asking for their intercession.
We are sending Jesus’ own countrymen
(Heaven is now their home forever!)
to put in a good word for us;
sending friends–His friends and ours–
to express to Him our faith that they will bring our needs before Him
and that He will respond.
We are sending those who are worthy of Him,
perfected now in Heaven.
And Jesus is pleased 
.
Here are Pope Benedict’s prayer intentions for this month (as found here):
September 2011
General Intention:
For all teachers, that they may convey love in truth
and educate in authentic moral and spiritual values.Missionary Intention:
That the Christian communities
spread throughout the Asian continent
may proclaim the Gospel with fervor,
bearing witness to beauty with the joy of the faith.
…and my “short version”…
General: that teachers may convey love in moral and spiritual truth
Missionary: that Christian communities in Asia
may proclaim the beauty and joy of the faith
God bless your prayer!
