Anima Christi (Latin meaning Soul of Christ)

Anima Christi  Soul of Christ, sanctify me. Body of Christ, save me. Blood of Christ, inebriate me. Water from Christ's side, wash me. Passion of Christ, strengthen me. O Good Jesus, hear me. Within Thy wounds, hide me. Suffer me not to be separated from Thee. From the malicious enemy, defend me. In the hour of my death, call me. And bid me come unto Thee. That I may praise Thee with Thy saints and with Thy angels. Forever and ever. Amen.

Anima Christi dates back to the 14th century. The prayer became well known through Saint Ignatius, who used it in his classic work, Spiritual Exercises, in the 16th century. Anima Christ is a prayer to ask the Lord for comfort, strength and guidance.

During Eucharistic Adoration or after receiving Jesus in the Eucharist, pray the Anima Christi, and ask Jesus to be with you as He gazes upon you with great love. Meditate on His Passion as you speak to Him from the depths of your heart.

Jesus said to His disciples, "As the Father loves Me so I love you. Remain in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and remain in My love."  John 15:9-10

O Blood and Water which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a Fount of Mercy for us, I trust in You. Jesus I trust in You.  From the Chaplet of Divine Mercy

"But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs, but one soldier thrust his lance into His side, and immediately Blood and Water flowed out." John 19:33-34

Saint Ireneaus: Mary, the New Eve, brought new life to humanity

Saint Irenaeus was a Doctor of the Church and one of the most important Church Fathers of the second century AD. Today we celebrate his feast day. 

Irenaeus was bishop of Lyons, in Southern France, though may have grown up in Smyrna, which is modern day Turkey. There, he had personal contact with Saint Polycarp, one of the Apostolic Fathers who knew the Apostle John. Before becoming bishop, Irenaeus was a pastor, a missionary and studied in Rome where he was influenced by Saint Justin Martyr.

His major work, Against Heresies, written around the year 185 AD, exposed the Gnostic cults of the day and strongly defended of Catholic Christianity. His writings were a heroic defense of the church and cost him his life. He received the martyr's crown around the year 200. In giving up his life for the Lord, He upheld the truth and always sought unity and peace.

Excerpt from Saint Irenaeus' classic work, Against Heresies. 
"The Lord, coming into his own creation in visible form, was sustained by his own creation which he himself sustains in being. His obedience on the tree of the cross reversed the disobedience at the tree in Eden; the good news of the truth announced by an angel to Mary, a virgin subject to a husband, undid the evil lie that seduced Eve, a virgin espoused to a husband."

The inspiration for the devotion to Our Lady Undoer of Knots came through these truths.

"The knot of Eve's disobedience was united by Mary's obedience: what the virgin Eve bound through her disbelief, Mary loosened by her faith...:Death through Eve, life through Mary."  Catechism of the Catholic Church 494

Eve was tempted by a fallen angel, turned away from the Lord and sinned. Mary was visited by Saint Gabriel, the Archangel, and said yes to the Lord. Eve, by her disobedience, brought sin and death to the human race; whereas Mary, by her obedience, brought salvation and new life to all humanity.

O Mother Mary, the New Eve, the Sanctuary of God, the first Tabernacle of Jesus, pray for us.

Reflection: For Our Fathers...

Today we celebrate Father's Day, a day to honor and remember our fathers, living and deceased. As Jesus prayed to the Father in heaven, let us pray to our Father in heaven for all our fathers on earth and for all our beloved priests, our spiritual fathers. 

Jesus taught the disciples to pray the Our Father:

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.  Matthew 6:8

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church; 2761
"The Lord's Prayer "is truly the summary of the whole Gospel." "Since the Lord...after handling over the practice of prayer, said elsewhere, 'Ask and you will receive,' and since everyone has petitions which are peculiar to his circumstances, the regular and appropriate prayer (the Lord's Prayer) is said first, as the foundation of further desires."

As the Father loves me, so I also love you.  John 15:9

Novena to Saint Joseph for fathers and spiritual fathers

O glorious Saint Joseph, faithful follower of Jesus Christ, to thee do we raise our hearts and hands to implore thy powerful intercession in obtaining from the benign Heart of Jesus all the helps and graces necessary for our spiritual and temporal welfare, particularly the grace of a happy death, and the special favor we now implore for all our fathers, father figures and priests, our spiritual fathers.

O Guardian of the Word Incarnate, we have confidence that thy prayers on our behalf will be graciously heard before the Throne of God. Amen.

Then say the following seven times in honor of the seven sorrows and joys of Saint Joseph:

V. O Glorious Saint Joseph! Through thy love for Jesus Christ and for the glory of His Name
R. Hear our prayers and obtain our petitions.
V. Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
R. Assist us!

We pray in the Name of our Heavenly Father, and of the Son Jesus, and of the Holy Spirit. Where the Holy Trinity dwells, our Blessed Mother Mary is in the center.

Reflection: Do not worry about your life...

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus speaks to the disciples and to you:

"Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?" Matthew 6:25

Close your eyes and think about the things that you worry about. Imagine you are sitting with Jesus. Open your heart and tell Him your worries, fears and anxieties.

"Can any of you by worrying, add a single moment of your life-span? Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wildflowers grow. They do not work or spin." Matthew 6:27-28

Find a quiet place and ponder these words about Jesus by Saint Therese, the Little Flower:

"He set the book of nature before me and I saw all the flowers He has created are lovely. The splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not rob the violet of its scent nor the daisy of its simple charm. I realized that if every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its loveliness and there would be no wild flowers to make the meadows gay. It is just the same in the world of souls which is the garden of Jesus. He has created great saints who are like lilies and roses, but He has also created much lesser saints and they must be content to be the daisies or the violets which rejoice His eyes whenever He glances down. Perfection consists in doing His Will, in being that which He wants us to be."

Ponder the book of nature as you sit with Jesus in a field of wildflowers. Place your worries, fears and anxieties in His hands and gaze at the beauty of each little flower...knowing that God created YOU, just as He created each little seed and flower petal. God wants to shower You with His grace so you can go and bear fruit.

"You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father, in My Name, He may give to you."  John 15:16

Reflection: Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!

Today is the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Through Mary's Immaculate Heart, she was able her "fiat", her "yes", to God. This was her response to the message sent through the Angel Gabriel at the Annunciation. By her loving consent, Mary first conceived Jesus in her Immaculate Heart which opened up her heart to give her fiat and receive Jesus in her womb.

"Jesus wishes to use you in order to make me known and loved. He wishes to establish devotion to my Immaculate Heart in the world. I promise salvation to those who embrace it; and these souls will be beloved of God like flowers arranged by me to adorn His throne." Our Lady of Fatima

In 1942, the twenty-fifth anniversary of Fatima, Pope Pius XII consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. That same year, he assigned the feast day to August 22, the octave of the Assumption. On May 4, 1944, he extended the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary to the Universal Church. With the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council in 1969, the feast was given a more suitable place on the day following the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. That is the Saturday after the second Sunday after Pentecost.

"Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart." Luke 2:19

Let us ask Mary the way to ponder things in our heart.  
Mary had great joy and great suffering. Mary did not always understand, but she said "yes" to the Lord, even when she did not know. When we do not understand things in our lives, our human emotions can cover a wide range. We can feel confused, upset, afraid, angry, agitated. When we do as Mary did, ponder all things in her heart, she teaches us how to have peace in the midst of the storms of our lives. Why? It is because Mary always contemplated the Face of her Beloved Son. Mary is our model. When she gave her "Fiat", she did not know what it meant. We will not always know where the Lord is leading us, but when we seek His Face and His Will for our lives and say, "yes", we will have peace and He will lead us.

How can we ponder things in our heart like Mary did?  
Mary has a pure Immaculate Heart. We can only do as Mary did by falling in love with her Beloved Son. When we fall in love with Jesus, He pours His love into our heart. When we consecrate our life to Jesus through Mary, they come with the Holy Spirit, into our heart. The Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary are perfectly intertwined. Love beats in unison in these two Holy Hearts. When we invite them into our heart, they come and they transform our heart. Love enters. When we have a heart that loves, we can keep and ponder all things in our heart.

Saint Pope John Paul II, in his first encyclical, Redemptor Hominis, wrote "the mystery of Redemption was formed under the heart of the Virgin of Nazareth when she pronounced her fiat." In her life of contemplation, Mary provides us with an example of one who sought tirelessly “the one thing” that is needed.

"She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her."  Luke 10:39-42

Jesus invites you to come and sit beside Him at His feet and listen to Him speak. He wants to speak a word to you. He wants to loves you. Come and sit with Him in Eucharistic adoration or before the tabernacle...

As Saint Pope John Paul II wrote in the apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, “No one has ever devoted herself to the contemplation of the Face of Christ as faithfully as Mary. The eyes of her heart already turned to Him at the Annunciation, when she conceived Him by the power of the Holy Spirit. And in continuing to contemplate the Face of Christ throughout her life, Mary constantly discovered new depths of the Father’s love for the whole of creation, and she witnessed the grace of the Spirit being poured into the hearts of all who accepted her Son."

Immaculate Heart of Mary, give us a heart like yours.  Pray for us and all those we pray for through this ministry.

Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus + World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests + Annual Global Rosary Rally for Priests

Today is the Feast Day of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and it is the World Day of Prayer for Priests and the Annual Global Rosary Relay for Priests. Saint Pope John Paul II established the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. On this day, the entire world is encircled in praying the rosary for our beloved priests. Pray the rosary today for all these intentions asking Mary, Mother of Priests, to be a refuge for her beloved sons, keeping them in her Immaculate Heart.

Promises of the Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus given by Jesus to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque: 
1. "I will give them all the graces necessary in their state of life."
2. "I will establish peace in their homes."
3. "I will comfort them in their afflictions."
4. "I will be their secure refuge during life, and above all in death."
5. "I will bestow a large blessing upon all their undertakings."
6. "Sinners shall find in My Heart the source and the infinite ocean of mercy."
7. "Tepid souls shall grow fervent."
8. "Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection."
9. "I will bless every place where a picture of My Heart shall be set up and honored."
10. "I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts."
11. "Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart, never to be blotted out."
12. "I promise thee in the excessive mercy of My Heart that My all-powerful love will grant to all those who communicate on the First Friday in nine consecutive months, the grace of final penitence; they shall not die in My disgrace nor without receiving the Sacraments; My Divine heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment."

Saint Thérèse, the Little Flower, Prayer for Priests
‘O Holy Father, may the torrents of love flowing from the sacred wounds of Thy Divine Son bring forth priests like unto the beloved disciple John who stood at the foot of the Cross; priests: who as a pledge of Thine own most tender love will lovingly give Thy Divine Son to the souls of men.

May Thy priests be faithful guardians of Thy Church, as John was of Mary, whom he received into his house. Taught by this loving Mother who suffered so much on Calvary, may they display a mother’s care and thoughtfulness towards Thy children. May they teach souls to enter into close union with Thee through Mary who, as the Gate of Heaven, is specially the guardian of the treasures of Thy Divine Heart.

Give us priests who are on fire, and who are true children of Mary, priests who will give Jesus to souls with the same tenderness and care with which Mary carried the Little Child of Bethlehem.

Mother of sorrows and of love, out of compassion for Thy beloved Son, open in our hearts deep wells of love, so that we may console Him and give Him a generation of priests formed in thy school and having all the tender thoughtfulness of thine own spotless love.’

First Friday devotions in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus: 
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Act of Reparation, The Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, The Sacrament of Reconciliation 

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.  Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for and protect your beloved sons, our priests.

Today we join with the entire world in praying the Rosary for our beloved priests. Pray the Rosary, unite with your country and help encircle the world in prayer.
Annual Global Rosary Rally for Priests

Reflection: The Solemnity of Corpus Christ, the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Today is the Feast Day of Corpus Christi, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. Corpus Christi is a time of thanksgiving and adoration for the gift of the Holy Eucharist. It is also a time when our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament is exposed and carried in procession in a public way, bringing Jesus outside the Church to the rest of the world.

The Real Presence of Jesus is a powerful encounter. Jesus gave Himself to us in the Eucharist to nourish us spiritually, the Bread of Life, food for the journey through life.

I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever.  John 6:51

On this Solemnity of Corpus Christi, I recall some beautiful memories when my husband and I were on a pilgrimage in Lourdes, France in 2016. We were there on a day there was an annual meeting of altar servers from all over France. We were so blessed to witness a Eucharistic procession of priests, seminarians and 2,500 altar servers and their families. It was the most beautiful sight to be in the Presence of the Blessed Sacrament during this procession in front of the grotto where Our Lady appeared to Saint Bernadette. The world would have you believe the faith is not alive but do not believe the world. The faith is alive and living in all these families in France, as well as families throughout the whole world. Lourdes is a place of peace where the presence of Our Lady is felt and where families come from all over the world to know her and to know the peace that comes from Jesus in the Eucharist.

While they were eating, He took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, and said, "Take it; this is My Body." Then He took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, "This is My Blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many." Mark 14:22-24

Pope Francis on the Feast of Corpus Christi 
"While on Holy Thursday, we commemorate the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper, today is for giving thanks and adoration. And in fact, there is a traditional procession with the Most Holy Sacrament on this day. To adore Eucharistic Jesus and to walk with Him. These are two inseparable aspects of today's feast, two aspects that characterize the entire life of the Christian people: a people who adore God and a people who walk: who do not stand still, who journey!"

As you prepare receive the Bread from Heaven this day, ask the Lord to come into your heart in a new way. Ask Him for an encounter with the living God that you may be changed by this encounter and that this encounter will lead you on a journey, walking with the living God and inviting others to walk with you.

For we are members of His Body, of His flesh and of His bones. Ephesians 5:30

O Sacrament Most Holy, O Sacrament Divine, all praise and all thanksgiving, be every moment thine.

Two Holy Hearts: Promises of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary Devotions

The Twelve Promises of Devotion to the Sacred Heart given by Jesus to Saint Margaret Mary 

1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life. 2. I will give peace in their families. 3. I will console them in all their troubles. 4. They shall find in My Heart an assured refuge during life and especially at the hour of death. 5. I will pour abundant blessings on all their undertakings. 6. Sinners shall find in My Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy. 7. Tepid souls shall become fervent. 8. Fervent souls shall speedily rise to great perfection. 9. I will bless the homes in which the image of My Sacred Heart shall be exposed and honored. 10. I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts. 11. Those who propagate this devotion shall have their name written in My Heart, and it shall never be effaced. 12. The all-powerful love of My Heart will grant to all those who shall receive Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they shall not die under My displeasure, nor without receiving their Sacraments; My Heart shall be their assured refuge at that last hour. 

The Fifteen Promises to those who pray the Rosary given by Mary to Saint Dominic 

1. Whosoever shall faithfully serve Me by the recitation of the Rosary shall receive signal graces. 2. I promise My special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary. 3. The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against Hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin and defeat heresies. 4. It will cause good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire for Eternal Things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means. 5. The soul which recommends itself to Me by the recitation of the Rosary shall not perish. 6. Whosoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its Sacred Mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just he shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of Eternal Life. 7. Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the Sacraments of the Church. 8. Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the Light of God and the plenitude of His Graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the Merits of the Saints in Paradise. 9. I shall deliver from Purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary. 10. The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of Glory in Heaven. 11. You shall obtain all you ask of Me by recitation of the Rosary. 12. All those who propagate the Holy Rosary shall be aided by Me in their necessities. 13. I have obtained from My Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire Celestial Court during their life and at the hour of death. 14. All who recite the Rosary are My Sons, and brothers of My Only Son Jesus Christ. 15. Devotion to My Rosary is a great sign of predestination. 

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us. 

Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.