March 2019 Prayers

Monthly Theme: Christ Crucified and Humility

Ejaculation:

We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee: because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

New Prayer: Novena 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…

As we gear up for Lent to start, we will focus more on simplicity in all areas of our lives.  I am planning simpler meals for all of Lent (think rice and beans, but with some flavor).  I want the kids to go through their toys and books with the intention of downsizing.  I also need to go through their clothes.  I notice the kids tend to wear the same three outfits (except the girls who wear that in one day) time after time.  They probably could get rid of a third of their clothes only because they never wear them.  I also want to encourage simpler evenings; less tv, less electronics, less hurry hurry.

February 2019 Prayers

This month we are praying to remember that God's will should be the most important thing we do in our lives.  We are also praying for the unborn.  I gave my kids a very sad reality update on the events in New York and other states.  The kids were more than willing to pray for those poor babies and mothers considering abortion.  I'm so blessed with their compassionate hearts.  

Monthly Theme: God's Will Be Done and Protection of the Unborn


Ejaculation:

May the most just, the most high, and the most lovable will of God 

be in all things done, praised, and evermore exalted.

New Prayer: Prayer for the Helpless Unborn

Heavenly Father, in Your love for us, protect against the wickedness of the devil, those helpless little ones to whom You have given the gift of life.

Touch with pity the hearts of those women pregnant in our world today who are not thinking of motherhood.

Help them to see that the child they carry is made in Your image - as well as theirs - made for eternal life.

Dispel their fear and selfishness and give them true womanly hearts to love their babies and give them birth and all the needed care that a mother alone can give.

We ask this through Jesus Christ, Your Son, Our Lord, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

January 2019 Monthly Prayers

This Month's Daily Decade of the Rosary Intention - the Fraternity of St. Peter's seminarians

Monthly Theme: Holy Name of Jesus


Ejaculation:  Blessed be the most holy Name of Jesus without end!

New Prayer: Prayer to the Infant Jesus

Come to me, O Divine Savior, vouchsafe to be born in my heart.  Grant that, taught by Thine example, and assisted by Thy grace, I may be poor in spirit and humble in heart.  Keep me chaste and obedient.  I wish to live but for Three, and to do all things purely for love of Thee.

O Mary, my Advocate and Mother, obtain by thy prayers, forgiveness of my past offenses and holy perseverance unto death.

St. Joseph, do thou also pray for me, that I may become daily more pleasing to Jesus.  Amen.

Prayer for Our Government

WILL YOU JOIN US AND PRAY FOR OUR GOVERNMENT?????

We pray Thee, O almighty and eternal God, Who through Jesus Christ has revealed Thy glory to all nations, to preserve the works of Thy mercy; that Thy Church, being spread through the whole world, may continue, with unchanging faith, in the confession of Thy name.

We pray Thee, O God of might, wisdom, and justice, through Whom authority is rightly administered, laws are enacted, and judgment decreed, assist, with Thy Holy Spirit of counsel and fortitude, the President of these United States, that his administration may be conducted in righteousness, and be eminently useful to Thy people over whom he presides, by encouraging due respect for virtue and religion; by a faithful execution of laws in justice and mercy; and restraining vice and immorality. Let the light of Thy Divine wisdom direct the deliberations of the Congress, and shine forth in all the proceedings and laws framed for our rule and government; so that they may tend to the preservation of peace, the promotion of natural happiness, the increase of industry, sobriety, and useful knowledge, and may perpetuate to us the blessings of equal liberty.

We pray for his Excellency the Governor of this state, for the members of the Assembly, for all judges, magistrates, and other officers who are appointed to guard our political welfare; that they may be enabled, by Thy powerful protection, to discharge the duties of their respective stations with honesty and ability.

We recommend likewise to Thy unbounded mercy all our brethren and fellow-citizens, throughout the United States, that they may be blessed in the knowledge, and sanctified in the observance of Thy most holy law; that they may be preserved in union and in that peace which the world cannot give and, after enjoying the blessings of this life, be admitted to those which are eternal. Amen.

Archbishop Carroll, Baltimore, MD A.D. 1800

Evening Prayers

This is the second post of our daily prayers routine.

For evening prayers we say:

2 - Our Father

2 - Hail Mary

2 - Glory Be

Angel of God

Prayer for a Deceased Man

Incline Thine ear, O Lord, unto our prayers, wherein we humbly pray Thee to show Thy mercy upon the soul of Thy servant Mark, whom Thou hast commanded to pass out of this world, that Thou wouldst place him in the region of peace and light, and bid him be a partaker with Thy Saints. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Seven Days of Prayer for the Souls in Purgatory

My Jesus, by the sorrows You suffered in Your agony in the garden, in Your scourging and crowning with thorns, in Your journey to Calvary, in Your crucifixion and death, have mercy on the souls in purgatory, and especially on those that are most forsaken; deliver them from the torments they endure; call them and admit them to Your most sweet embrace in paradise, where You live with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Sunday - O Lord God omnipotent, I beseech You by the Precious Blood, which Your divine Son Jesus shed in the garden, deliver the souls in purgatory, and especially that one which is most forsaken of all, and bring it into Your glory, where it may praise and bless You forever. Amen.

Monday - O Lord God omnipotent, I beseech your by the Precious Blood which Your divine Son Jesus shed in His cruel scourging, deliver the souls in purgatory, and among them all, especially that soul which is nearest to its entrance into Your glory, that it may soon begin to praise You and bless You forever. Amen.

Tuesday - O Lord God omnipotent, I beseech You by the Precious Blood of Your divine Son Jesus that was shed in His bitter crowning of thorns, deliver the souls in purgatory, and among them all, particularly that soul which is in the greatest need of our prayers, in order that it may not long be delayed in praising You in Your glory and blessing You forever. Amen.

Wednesday - O Lord God omnipotent, I beseech You by the Precious Blood of Your divine Son Jesus that was shed in the streets of Jerusalem while He carried on His sacred shoulders the heavy burden of the Cross, deliver the souls in purgatory and especially that one which is the richest in merits in Your sight, so that, having soon attained the high place in glory to which it is destined, it may praise You triumphantly and bless You forever. Amen.

Thursday - O Lord God omnipotent, I beseech You by the Precious Body and Blood Your divine Son Jesus, which He Himself on the night before His passion gave as meat and drink to His beloved Apostles and bequeathed to His Holy Church to be the perpetual sacrifice and life-giving nourishment of His faithful people, deliver the souls in purgatory, but most of all , that soul which was most devoted to this Mystery of infinite love, in order that it may praise You therefore, together with Your divine Son and the Holy Ghost in Your glory forever. Amen.

Friday - O Lord God omnipotent, I beseech You by the Precious Blood which Jesus Your divine Son did shed this day upon the tree of the cross, especially from His sacred hands and feet, deliver the souls in purgatory, and particularly that soul for whom I am most bound to pray, in order that I may not be the cause which hinders You from admitting it quickly from the possession of Your glory where it may praise You and bless You forevermore. Amen.

Saturday - O Lord God omnipotent, I beseech You by the Precious Blood which gushed forth from the sacred side of Your divine Son Jesus in the presence and to the great sorrow of His most holy Mother, deliver the souls in purgatory and among them all especially that soul which has been most devout to this noble Lady, that it may come quickly into Your glory, there to praise You in her and her in You through all the ages. Amen.

After the daily prayer, then we pray:

1- Our Father

1 - Hail Mary

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.

Merciful Father, hear our prayers and console us. As we renew our faith in Your Son, whom You raised from the dead, strengthen our hope that all our departed brothers and sisters will share in His resurrection, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Ghost, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Family Prayer

God made us a family,

We need one another,

We love one another,

We forgive one another,

We work together,

We play together,

We worship together,

Together we use God's word,

Together we grow in Christ,

Together we love all men,

Together we serve our God,

Together we hope for heaven.

These are our hopes and ideals

Help us to attain them, O God

Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Renewal of the Family to the Sacred Heart

Oh sweet Savior, kneeling humbly at Thy feet we renew the consecration of our family to Thy Divine Heart. Be forever our King. We have full and complete confidence in Thee. May Thy spirit fill our thoughts, our desires, our words, and our works. Bless our undertakings, take part in joys, our trials, and our labors. Grant to us to know Thee better, love Thee more, and serve Thee without fail. From one pole of the earth to the other may the cry resound "Beloved, blessed and gloried, be everywhere and forever the triumphant Heart of Jesus." Amen.

Then we name our patron saints -

St. Blase - pray for us.

St. Stephen - pray for us.

St. Cormac - pray for us.

St. Theodoric - pray for us.

St. Isidore - pray for us.

St. Gianna - pray for us.

St. Joseph - pray for us.

Blessed Virgin Mary - pray for us.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us. (three times)

Eternal rest grant unto Mark O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.

Then we say 5 decades of the rosary for a special intention. After the rosary we say a prayer for after the rosary, the Memorare, and the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel. Then we are done.

Morning Prayers

I thought you would like to know our daily prayer routine. This post will be about the morning prayers we say every morning. I think we only miss one or two mornings a month, so its pretty much routine.

First we start off with the morning offering prayer I learned when I was young.

Oh my Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer Thee all my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day. For all the intentions of Thy Sacred Heart, in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, in reparation for my sins, for the intentions of all our associates and especially for the Holy Father, the Pope, and the Catholic Church. And especially for...

at this point we would start with the youngest and ask who they are praying for during the day. I started this so that the boys would remember who they are praying for - and I can use it against them during the day. "You aren't helping Uncle Mark very much by being naughty."

Then we say:

1 - Our Father

3 - Hail Marys

1 - Glory Be

Angel of God prayer

Prayer for a Deceased Man

Incline Thine ear, O Lord, unto our prayers, wherein we humbly pray Thee to show Thy mercy upon the soul of Thy servant Mark, whom Thou hast commanded to pass out of this world, that Thou wouldst place him in the region of peace and light, and bid him be a partaker with Thy Saints. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayer for Priests - which is listed at the bottom of the blog

Now we would say whatever the monthly prayers are. Blase usually reads the monthly prayers.

Stephen's job is to read the Saint of the Day -

St. (fill in the blank) -Pray for us.

3 - Most Sacred Heart of Jesus - Have mercy on us.

Eternal rest grant unto Mark, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon.

May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed, rest in peace. Amen.

Stephen also tells Cormac what the liturgical feast day color is.

Cormac's job is to switch the altar lace color to that day's feast color.

Rex's job is to lead one decade of the rosary. We pick someone or a group of someones to pray for the whole month.

Then we say our Blessing before Meals. Then we say the prayer of St. Gertrude the Great - for releasing 1000 souls from purgatory or 1000 sinners repent.

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus. In union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the Universal Church, for those in my home and within my family. Amen.

Then we say one Hail Mary for a family or someone who has lost someone through death.

We try to say the St. Gertrude the Great prayer and the Hail Mary at every meal.

Then we can eat and start our day. The only time we eat before all of this is if Darren is home and I am sleeping in. Then we wait until all of us are present. During the week, the boys and I will say all these prayers (10-15 minutes worth) before we eat.

July Prayers

I have updated the Monthly Daily Prayers at the bottom of the page. This month's theme is SHARING along with the Precious Blood. The "little prayer" is more of a big prayer, but we are trying to memorize all the words so we are saying it for the month.

The longer prayer is about sharing. I find this to be a hard concept for the boys to understand. They are so willing for their brothers and others to share with them, but not so willing to share themselves. I am going to focus on sharing our time as well as our worldly possessions. I think that they need reenforcement on how to share their time. This could include helping with chores or reading to a younger brother. Maybe it could be playing a game with the family or letting someone else pick the movie for a change. The possibilities are endless, if Mom's patience and encouragement are endless as well.

We started to pray a decade of the rosary in the mornings. In years past we have picked one person or group of people to pray for all month long. It only ends up being 30-31 decades, but still better than nothing. This month we are praying for our bishop, Bishop Sample. Darren said that he felt we should offer more prayers for him, so this is our contribution.

July is the month of the Precious Blood. I will be taking a few mornings to discuss the Precious Blood with the boys. It is also a special feast/month because the church where we attend Mass is called Precious Blood Church. We just might have to have a special party one of these weekends.

May Prayers Updated

I have chosen May's theme to center around the Blessed Virgin Mary as our mother. I am reminded again and again that I, as a mother, must turn to the Mother of mothers for help. She knows the pains of motherhood and also the joys. What better mother has ever walked this earth??

The saints have many great things to say about Mary as our mother. She is there to instruct us, to comfort us, to intercede for us, to love us. She sees our pain and weeps with us. She sees our triumphs and rejoices with us. She sees our sins and intercedes to her Son on our behalf. She never abandons us. What comfort we should find in her loving arms.

I am not a good mother. I am probably a piss poor mother by most standards. I yell at my kids, lose my patience over and over again, ignore the small pleas for my undivided time and I know I hurt their feelings. These are my weaknesses. Mary has no weaknesses. She will not fail as I have failed over and over again. That is why I pray that she will take my children into her arms and comfort them when I am selfish. Nourish them when I am too blind to see their need. Build them up when I have cut them down. And I pray that she will guide me to becoming a better mother.

May you feel Our Lady's loving embrace this month. Turn to her, love her!!

Unplanned Lent

The month of March is in full swing and yet I haven't updated the prayers on here. I picked the theme of Contrition for two reasons. One - its Lent, officially, and what better way to prepare for Our Lord's sufferings and death than with CONTRITION. Two - Stephen will receive his First Holy Communion, as well as have his first confessions within the next month. He needs practice with his Act of Contrition and examining his conscience. We are "learning" the Act of Contrition we already know and adding a spiritual communion prayer that needs a little more practice to be considered mastered.

That brings me to Lent.

We welcomed Lent in full swing last night. Darren and I finally found a nice quiet sleep about Midnight after a good talk about the latest on Relevant Radio and NPR. At 12:30, Brech woke up and HAD to sleep in our bed. That is always a sacrifice - some nights more pleasant than others. Two hours later - Cormac threw up on the carpet in front of the bathroom. He was trying to find a bucket, but missed the bathroom completely. I did tell him he can just throw up in the bathtub next time. He was pretty excited about that. Kids?! My sweet baby kept me awake, kicking up a storm, around 4 this morning. Come 6:30 AM - 3 out of the 5 boys were awake. That is unheard of unless we drag them out of bed. I could have hauled them all BACK to bed for another hour of sleep - but instead they lounged on the couches and I read. Lent is about sacrifices. I guess I hadn't really thought about how many sacrifices a mom and dad already have to offer up in just the little things.

This Lent is going to be a fly by the seat of our pants Lent. We do have some ideas for the boys and our family to work on. They are not set in stone, but more of a suggested course of action. Darren and I have our individual list of Lenten sacrifices. I do know we will continue to de-clutter and purge our belongings. I am determined to get through the spare bedroom by next week. The next room to conquer is the crawlspace, with Darren's help. That is probably all I will have time for before the baby comes.

To increase my spiritual life I plan to listen to audios of sermons from FSSP priests (over 400 downloaded on my computer!!) as well as continuing my spiritual reading. The current book I am reading is called The Domestic Church: Room by Room by Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle. I am also reading the daily Lenten prompts from Small Steps for Catholic Moms Companion Journal. I am sure the audios and books will keep me busy and on course for Lent. Especially since I will probably be spending a great deal of time relaxing before the birth and nursing a baby after the birth.

I hope your Lent will be full of blessings. May God bless you and your family and bring you closer to heaven.

February Prayers updated

This month's theme is Poor in Spirit. I was meditating on the idea of poor in spirit after hearing Father preach on the First Beatitude on Sunday. It accorded to me that we, as a family, could adopt a more "poor in spirit" attitude. So that prompted me use this as our theme for February.

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I feel completely unqualified to even explain what poor in spirit truly means. I am hoping to do some reading on the Beatitudes this month and maybe learn a thing or two. I do know that what Father said on Sunday was inspiring and I wish you could have been there to hear it for yourself.

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The prayer I have picked for us to recite in the mornings is for detachment from earthly things. That is a good place to start our quest for a truly poor in spirit attitude. We cannot focus on God with the things of this world tempting us for attention. It seems as though everything in my life is pointing to simplifying our lives and focusing on God. Every book I have read lately, every deep rooted inspiration has directly or indirectly led to "SIMPLIFY!" By simplifying I intend to eliminating our dependence on worldly things for joy and entertainment. While being poor in spirit does not directly refer to giving away your money and such, I feel that we need to purge our possessions so while not only being poor in spirit we are also poor in possessions.

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Also, I am going to practice some early stages of humility. I am not sure I can reach the humility levels of the saints, but I will take baby steps to get there. Humility in my actions, in my thoughts and in my prayers. Baby steps. I will probably fall down, but I have a great Father watching out for me, ready to catch me and set me upright.

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Please join us in this quest. Examine your life, your possessions and your priorities to see if you are practicing a poor in spirit attitude. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

January prayers updated

It has taken me some time to locate a prayer to match our theme for this month. We are striving for Fortitude this January. I witnessed many opportunities over the past year to practice Fortitude and am sure there will be many more this year. This is a virtue that I had not touched on with the boys prior to this month, so I am sure it will be a worthwhile investment of our time.

Fortitude. I remember learning about the virtues when I was in my early high school years. I can remember bits and pieces of what my parents said that helped to remember a little about each virtue and the parts about Fortitude always come back to "fort". Forts are strong (or should be) and they keep us safe from danger. I am using that example for my boys. What boy doesn't like forts and fighting bad guys? :)

I simplified Fortitude for the boys by saying it is the courage to do what is right, no matter what. We are always presented with chances to choose right or wrong. We all have that one weakness (Facebook games, pop or liqueur instead of water, eating too much, etc.) which slowly takes over our lives and presents problems in other areas. Maybe it affects our productivity or our health. Maybe it makes us less patience or more selfish. We need to have the courage to say "NO, I will do the right thing!" and that why I am focusing on Fortitude for January. What a beautiful way to start a new year with the courage to say NO to the things that drag us down.

You will notice in our new prayer that we are also praying for wisdom. I suppose courage and wisdom do go hand in hand. You can have false courage and warp Fortitude's definition for your own needs. You can stand up for something - but it may be the wrong something. You can speak your mind - but it may be the wrong timing or the wrong words. This is where wisdom helps you determine what courage (Fortitude) truly is. Both Wisdom and Fortitude are among the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost that we receive during the sacrament of Confirmation. God, in His wisdom, knew that we would abuse Fortitude without Wisdom. Fortitude goes much deeper and covers more avenues than I am mentioning - but for little boys this is more than enough!

This month I hope you will find the Fortitude to do what is right and the Wisdom to know what that is. May you grow in grace and show the world who you truly are - a child of God. I pray people will look at you and say, with admiration, "They belong to God no matter what!" May your good example touch the hearts of those in need of God and the those who need a reminder of what being a child of God truly involves! God bless you!!

Monthly Prayers updated

December's theme in our house is Silence. You would think I would have picked Peace or Joy, but I picked Silence for many reasons.

Spiritually speaking - silence is a gateway to so many of the virtues. Without silence, humility would be unattainable. Without silence, patience would be much harder practice. The list goes on...

Little boy speaking - silence is a HARD task to accomplish. I think little boys would much rather move a pile of gravel with a sand shovel and a bucket than attempt to be silent! With Christmas approaching silence is even harder to accomplish. Wish lists are constantly updated and begging for the latest and best toys is consistent. Yes, silence is rough on little boys!!

In the prayer it says how there is so much noise in the world. I had the boys stop moving and talking - as silent as they possibly could be. During this brief period of silence we still heard a truck drive by, the heater turn on, the refrigerator running and the clock ticking. Even during our best attempt to be quiet - there was still noise. I used that moment as an example of how, even when we try, we are surrounded with noise. Even quiet noise is still noise.

We have talked about the best places to listen for God to talk to us. There are few places in this house were quiet remains for more than a moment. We discussed about listening for God just as we wake in the morning or right before we fall asleep at night. Also during our quiet time during the day, when there are no toys or TV allowed. Some places we thought of outside of our home include nature, with the sounds of God all around us, and church. Who dares to talk in church??

As Christ's birthday approaches we will talk about the peace and quiet that surrounded the manger that night. The awe and wonder felt by the shepherds who were blessed with a visit to the newborn King. We will discuss the beauty of silence and detachment from the world during a time when most kids think about what presents they are receiving (not what they can give back to Our Lord). I am sure our house will still be noisy, but at least we attempted to grow closer to God through a few moments of silence.

Our small prayer for the month asks Jesus to bless all the children in the world. I wanted to bring the boys to a point where they see how blessed they are to have parents, a home, gifts under the tree and the ability to help others. So often they forget how lucky they are with what they already have. I want them to do what they can for others, even if it is just a short prayer.

May Our Lord bless you this month with a new appreciation for Silence. May you be blessed with the grace to tune out the world and tune in Our Lord's words, spoken just to you.

June Prayers updated

This month's theme is Charity. I am focusing our attention towards practicing charity inside our family. I am a firm believer that you cannot practice true charity outside the home until you have attempted to master it inside the home. I am taking one aspect of charity every other day or so and teaching the boys about it. We are examining ourselves to see if we are practicing or lacking. Yesterday was "Charity with our mouths." They were required to only speak kindly about each other and to refrain from yelling at each other.

Other areas we will work on this month - charity with our minds (think kind things), charity with our hands and feet (helping each other), charity with our hearts (loving each other no matter what), charity in our prayers (praying for each other), charity with our belongings (sharing), and probably a few more days of charity with our mouths.

God's blessings to you all this June!!!

Updated daily prayers

I have updated our daily prayers at the bottom of the page. We are praying for humility this month. We continue to pray for priests everyday and our own intentions. Daily morning prayers have been such a blessing for the boys and I. I only wish I had thought to start them when the older boys were younger.

When the Holy Ghost comes calling

I never expected to receive two phone calls from the Holy Ghost, but I did. Ok, so actually it was a phone call from my brother Dirk and a phone call from my mother...but honestly - they both said the same things to me.

Many times in my teenage life I have experienced situations that I know were inspired by the Holy Ghost. My dad would be talking about some random religious topic on a Saturday night or Sunday on the way to church and then SURE ENOUGH, the priest would give basically the same talk during the sermon at Mass.

Since Mark has died I have been "helped" by the Lord in many ways. Just the other day I was having a sad moment and picked up a magazine to help take my mind off missing Mark. I randomly picked an article to read. The article turned out to be just what I needed to read at that moment to help me not feel so sad. That happens often!!

Yesterday was no different. What Dirk my mother said to me were the same, but different. It was just what I needed to hear and it helped me a lot. I am so grateful for the moments when the Holy Ghost works through us to help someone. I am usually the someone who is being helped.

We truly have a loving God!!

March prayers

I updated our March daily prayers at the bottom of the page.