Spiritual Gift of the Week
We ask for the grace to live simply so that we can live generously.
Mary, Queen of the Holy Rosary, pray for us.
Spiritual Instruction of the Week
Have a heart to heart with Jesus. Pray.
Dear Beautiful Daughters of Mary,
The following instruction on prayer, offered by Emily O’Neill, are both insightful and honest . We are grateful to Emily for her simplicity—and for her authenticity. Read and be inspired:
When Deborah asked me to give a teaching on prayer, I was deeply touched and humbled because my expression of prayer is one of simplicity – a child of God having a heart to heart conversation with my Father, Brother, and the Holy Spirit.
Searching for words to express what prayer is, I went to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Reading Part 4 on Christian prayer, I came to a deeper meaning of “a life of prayer. “
As St. Therese of Lisieux expresses:
“Prayer is a surge of the heart. It is a simple look turned toward heaven. It is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.”
In silence we are drawn into the presence of our Lord and Savior. In humility we come before Him, lifting up our hearts – first of all in praise and thanksgiving, we ask for the forgiveness of our sins, and we intercede for those who have been placed on our hearts.
In order to pray properly, we must have a knowledge of the person to whom we are praying. Read the Bible, study the readings for each day, glean from them what is being taught to you, what is being asked of you.
The Magnificat is great aide. The daily devotional book by Sarah Young, Jesus Calling, will truly touch your life and your spirit. Of course the Mass is the ultimate prayer we can partake in. Go as often as you can.
The deepening of my prayer life goes back to 2008. Several of us were on a day of renewal, led by Deborah, on Ignatian spirituality. We were told to pick a passage from the Bible. I chose the ‘woman at the well with Jesus.’ We were asked to use our imagination and senses to pray through the passage.
Here is what came forth:
I am the woman. As I walk through the dry, windy land, I see a tired man sitting on the edge of the well. This man has eyes that pierce my soul. His body smells of sweat. He reaches out to me, touches my hand. His hands feel soft and gentle. He asks for a drink of water. How could He ask me, a Samaritan woman, to give Him water? He is a Jew. I can taste the fear that overtakes me. This man tells me of a living water that will take away my thirst forever. I ask for this water, not really understanding what I am asking for. Jesus then proceeds to tell me what I have done in the past. Many come to believe in Him because of my testimony.
After this reflection, this was my prayer:
Lord, I, Emily O’Neill, would like to ask You to send this living water to gush through me, cleanse me, make me sparkling clean. Let the results of this be a living spring of Your love flowing to all I know – and don’t know, to each person I come in contact with this day until the rest of my days. Let me be Your living spring. Amen.
I hope and pray that this talk will help you to have a deeper prayer life, to realize that in order to be truly happy, we must take time each day to sit down and have a heart to heart with Jesus.
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My Symphony by William Ellery Channing
To live content with small means.
To seek elegance rather than luxury,
and refinement rather than fashion.
To be worthy not respectable,
and wealthy not rich.
To study hard, think quietly, talk gently,
act frankly, to listen to stars, birds, babes,
and sages with open heart, to bear all cheerfully,
do all bravely, await occasions, hurry never.
In a word, to let the spiritual,
unbidden and unconscious,
grow up through the common.
This is to be my symphony.
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The Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary—October 7
The story of the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary is an interesting one. In the 16th century Pope Pius V was having trouble with the Ottoman Turks, who were a real danger to Christianity. After months of disagreements and bickering, he was able to unite Spain, Venice, and the States of the Church in a naval expedition to fight the Turks.
The two navies met in the Gulf of Lepanto in Greece on October 7, 1571. On the same day, the Rosary Confraternity of Rome was meeting at the Dominican headquarters there. The group recited the Rosary for the special intention of the Christians at battle. The Christians defeated the Turks in a spectacular victory and believed it was the intercessory power of the Blessed Virgin that won the victory. Pope Pius V dedicated the day as one of thanksgiving to Our Lady of Victory. Pope Gregory XIII later changed the name to the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.
The story of the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary focuses on the intercessory power of Mary. It shows that when Christians are in danger, they can go to Mary. And when an individual is in pain, discouraged, or having trouble accepting God’s will, he or she can also go to Mary. She will pray to her Son for anyone who calls on her. (From Loyola Press)
Preghiamo—Let us pray
Deb
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