miniZibaldone

A Prayer Journal by Flannery O'Connor Oh God please make my mind clear. Please make it clean. I ask You for a greater love for my holy Mother and I ask her for a greater love for You. Please help me to get down under things and find where You are. I do not mean to deny the traditional prayers I have said all my life; but I have been saying them and not feeling them. My attention is always very fugitive. This way I have it every instant. I can feel a warmth of love heating me when I think & write this to You. Please do not let the explanations of the psychologists about this make it turn suddenly cold. My intellect is so limited, Lord, that I can only trust in You to preserve me as I should be. Please help all the ones I love to be free from their suffering. Please forgive me.

From the homily P ray face-to-face to the Lord, bringing all our lives to Him with courage. Jesus prays for us, in this moment. And when I pray – whether I am convinced or pray like a mercantilist or stutter or struggle with the Lord – it is He who takes my prayer and presents it to the Lord. Jesus has no need of speaking before the Father: He shows Him His wounds. The Father sees His wounds and extends His grace. When we pray, let us recall that we do so with Jesus. Jesus is our courage. Jesus is our security, who in this moment intercedes for us.   [link]

From the general audience Christian prayer begins from this level. It’s not an exercise for ascetics; it starts from reality, from the heart and from the flesh of people that live in need, or who share the condition of those that don’t have what is necessary to live. Not even the highest Christian mystics can do without the simplicity of this request. Jesus’ prayer begins with a pressing demand, which is very similar to the entreaty of a beggar: “Give us our daily bread!” This prayer comes from evidence that we often forget, that is, that we aren’t self-sufficient creatures, and that every day we need to eat. The Scriptures show us that for many people the encounter with Jesus began from a question. Jesus doesn’t ask for refine invocations, rather, the whole of human existence, with its most concrete and daily problems, can become a prayer. . . .   Therefore, Jesus teaches us to ask the Father for daily bread. He teaches us to do so united to so many men and women fo...

Prayer for the Heart of a Child ( Leonce de Grandmaison ) Holy Mary, Mother of God, preserve in me the heart of a child, pure and transparent as a spring. Obtain for me a simple heart That does not brood over sorrows; A heart generous in giving itself, Quick to feel compassion; A faithful, generous heart that forgets no favor and holds no grudge. Give me a humble, gentle heart Loving without asking any return; A great indomitable heart That no ingratitude can close, No indifference can weary; A heart tortured by its desire for the glory of Jesus Christ: Pierced by His love With a wound that will heal only in heaven.

Prayer for Peace and Protection from Violence and from Terrorism O almighty and merciful God, Lord of the universe and of history. All that You have created is good and your compassion for the mistakes of mankind knows no limits. We come to You today to ask You to keep in peace the world and its people, to keep far away from it the devastating wave of terrorism, to restore friendship and instill in the hearts of Your creatures the gift of trust and of readiness to forgive. O Giver of life, we pray to You also for all those who have died as victims of brutal terrorist attacks. Grant them their eternal reward. May they intercede for the world that is torn apart by conflicts and disagreements. O Jesus, Prince of Peace, we pray to You for the ones who have been wounded in these acts of inhuman violence: children and young people, old people and innocent people accidentally involved in evil. Heal their bodies and hearts; console them with Your strength and, at the same time, take...

Prayer is the first and principal “work tool” in our hands. To insist [on something] with God is not in order to convince him, but rather to strengthen our faith and our patience, that is, our capacity to fight beside God for the things that are truly important and necessary. In prayer we are a pair: God and me, fighting together for what is important. From the Angelus Father.  This word is the secret of Jesus’ prayer; it is the key that he himself gives us so that we can also enter into this relationship of trusting dialogue with the Father who has accompanied and sustained his life. ...  To the name “Father,” Jesus associates two petitions: “hallowed be your name; your kingdom come.” Jesus’ prayer, and therefore, a Christian’s prayer, is before all to give space to God, allowing him to manifest his holiness in us and allowing the advance of his kingdom by the possibility of exercising his lordship of love in our lives. ...  Another three petitions complete this pr...

“The poor are the treasure of the Church.” Abstract theories lead us to ideologies and ideologies lead us to deny that God became flesh, he became one of us! It is a life shared with the poor that transforms and converts us. From an address to poor pilgrims Since Jesus wanted to share in your condition, out of love he became one of you: despised by men, forgotten, one who does not count for much. When you happen to experience all of this, do not forget that Jesus also experienced it like you. It is proof that you are precious in his eyes, and that he is near to you. You are in the heart of the Church, as Father Giuseppe Wresinski said, because Jesus, in his life, always gave priority to people who were like you, who lived similar situations.  And the Church, who loves and prefers what Jesus loved and preferred, cannot rest until she has reached all those who experience rejection, exclusion, and feel that they do not matter to anyone. In the heart of the Church, you allow us ...

But fear paralyzes us, it always paralyzes us; it makes us close in on ourselves, closed to God’s surprises. This detail speaks to us of a constant temptation for  the Church, that of closing in on herself in the face of danger. But we also see the small openings through which God can work. From the homily The reading from the Acts of the Apostles (12:1-11) shows us three examples of “closing”: Peter is cast into prison; the community gathers behind closed doors in  prayer; and – in the continuation of our reading – Peter knocks at the closed door of the house of Mary, the mother of John called Mark, after being set free.  In these three examples of “closing”, prayer appears as the main way out. It is a way out for the community, which risks closing in on itself out of persecution and  fear.  It is a way out for Peter who, at the very beginning of the mission given him by the Lord, is cast into prison by Herod and risks execution.  And while Peter...

When we present ourselves to Jesus long speeches are not necessary. A few words suffice, though accompanied by full confidence in His omnipotence and in His  goodness. In fact, to entrust ourselves to the will of God means to submit to His infinite mercy.  From the audience I will also share something personal with you. In the evening, before going to bed, I pray this brief prayer: “Lord, if you will, you can cleanse me!” And I pray  five “Our Fathers,” one for each wound of Jesus, because Jesus has purified us with His wounds. But if I do this, you can also do it at home, and say: “Lord, if you  will, you can cleanse me!” –and think of Jesus’ wounds and say an “Our Father for each one of them. And Jesus always listens to us.  Against the dispositions of the Law of Moses, which prohibited coming close to a leper (cf. Leviticus 13:45-46), Jesus stretches His hand and even touches him. How  many times we meet a poor man who comes to us! We can even be ...

Christians must be salt and light, but never self-serving: salt must add flavor and light must illuminate the other. From the homily The Pope continued his homily with the question: “what must a Christian do in order for the salt not to  run out, so that the oil to light the lamp does not come to an end?”  The “battery” a Christian uses to generate light, the Pope explained, is simply prayer.  “There are many things one can do, many works of charity, many great things for the Church – a Catholic University, a college, a hospital – you may even be rewarded as a benefactor of the Church with a monument, but if you do not pray, it will be dark and dimly lit” he said.  Prayer, the Pope said, is what lights up Christian life, and he highlighted the fact that prayer is a “serious” matter: “a prayer of adoration to God the Father, a prayer of praise to the Holy Trinity, a prayer of thanksgiving, a prayer to request to God… prayer must come from the heart”.   As...

If God favors humility, it is not to humiliate us: rather humility is the necessary condition to be raised by Him, so as to experience the mercy that comes to fill our emptiness. If the prayer of the arrogant does not reach God’s heart, the humility of the miserable one opens it wide. God has a weakness: a weakness for the humble. Before a humble heart, God opens His heart totally. From the audience [T]he parable of the Pharisee and the Publican (cf. Luke 18:9-14). ...  Both the protagonists go to the Temple to pray, but they act in very different ways, obtaining opposite results. The Pharisee “stood” (v. 11) to pray, and used many words. His prayer was one of thanksgiving addressed to God, but in reality it was a display of his merits, with a sense of superiority vis-a-vis “other men,” described as “extortioners, unjust, adulterers,” as, for example — and he points to the other who was there – “this tax collector” (v. 11). But the problem is precisely here: the Pharisee prays...

Available in life, meek of heart and in constant dialogue with Jesus, you will not be afraid to be servants of Christ, and to encounter and caress the flesh of the Lord in the poor of our time. From the homily One who serves cannot hoard his free time; he has to give up the idea of being the master of his day. He knows that his time is not his own, but a gift from God which is then offered back to him. Only in this way will it bear fruit. One who serves is not a slave to his own agenda, but ever ready to deal with the unexpected, ever available to his brothers and sisters and ever open to God’s constant surprises. One who serves is open to surprises, to God’s constant surprises. A servant knows how to open the doors of his time and inner space for those around him, including those who knock on those doors at odd hours, even if that entails setting aside something he likes to do or giving up some well-deserved rest. One who serves is not worried about the timetable. It deeply troub...

Prayer is not a magic wand. It helps to keep faith in God and to entrust ourselves to Him, even when we do not understand His will. In this Jesus Himself – who  prayed so much! – is our example.  From the audience God truly saved Jesus from death giving Him complete victory over it, but the way followed to obtain it passed through death itself! The reference to the  supplication that God heard refers to Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane. Assailed by imminent anguish, Jesus prays to the Father to let the bitter chalice of the Passion  pass from Him, but His prayer is pervaded by trust in the Father and He entrusts Himself to His will without reservations: “Nevertheless – says Jesus – not as I  will, but as Thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39). The object of the prayer passes to the second plane; what matters first of all is His relation with the Father. See what  prayer does: it transforms the desire and moulds it according to God’s will, whatever it is, because one w...

The humble prayer we can say is: ‘Father, lead me to Jesus, help me to know Jesus’ and the Father will send the Spirit to open our hearts and lead us to Him. From the homily The hardness of the Scribes and Pharisees’ hearts, the Pope said, “is a drama which continues all the way to Calvary.” the Pope said, noting various examples of those who witnessed Jesus’ miracles, but refused to believe. And this, the Pope explained, has its consequences, “because they are orphans who have denied their Father.”  “These doctors of the law,” he highlighted, “had closed hearts, they thought they were their own masters but in fact they were orphans because they had no relationship with the Father. They talked about their fathers, Abraham and the patriarchs, but these were distant figures and in their hearts they were orphans because they would not let themselves be drawn to the Father.”   [link]

Pope Francis's prayer during the Good Friday Via Crucis O Cross of Christ, symbol of divine love and of human injustice, icon of the supreme sacrifice for love and of boundless selfishness even unto madness, instrument of death and the way of resurrection, sign of obedience and emblem of betrayal, the gallows of persecution and the banner of victory. O Cross of Christ, today too we see you raised up in our sisters and brothers killed, burned alive, throats slit and decapitated by barbarous blades amid cowardly silence. O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the faces of children, of women and people, worn out and fearful, who flee from war and violence and who often only find death and many Pilates who wash their hands. O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in those filled with knowledge and not with the spirit, scholars of death and not of life, who instead of teaching mercy and life, threaten with punishment and death, and who condemn the just. O Cross of Christ, today ...

You, we, all of us together, of different religions, different cultures, but children of the same Father, brothers – and there, those poor people, who buy weapons to wreck fraternity. From the pope's remarks at the Mass of Last Supper Even today, here, there are two gestures: this, of all of us together, Muslims, Hindus, Catholics, Copts, Evangelical [Protestants] brothers and sisters – children of the same God – we want to live in peace, integrated. One gesture. Three days ago, an act of war, of destruction in a European city, by people who do not want to live in peace. Though behind that gesture, as there were behind that of Judas, there were others. Behind Judas there were those who offered money, that Jesus be delivered up to them. Behind that [other] gesture [on Tuesday in Belgium], there are manufacturers, arms dealers who want blood, not peace; they want the war, not fraternity. [...]  Each of us has a story, each of you has a story you carry with you. Many crosses, ...

Prayer and Common Sense by Thomas Green When the Well Runs Dry by Thomas Green Lend Me Your Hands by Bernard Meyer   Centering Prayer by Basil Pennington Unconditional Love by John Powell  The Truth About Trouble by Michael Scanlan  Ethical Communities and the Faith Community by Stuart Speiser  I Love You/I Hate You by Carlos Valles  The Search for Human Values by Cornelius Van der Poel   The Need for Contemplation by Rene Voillaume  Converting 9 to 5 by John Haughey

A Religion for Our Time by Louis Evely  The Prayer of Modern Man by Louis Evely    Enjoy the Lord by John Catoir   A Spiritual Friendship Anonymous The Noonday Devil by Bernard Basset  The Way to Freedom by Nicolas Caballero   Prayer Is A Hunger by Edward Farrell The Gospel Truth by Mitch Finley  All Shall Be Well by Robert Llewelyn  

The Imitation of Mary Rule of St. Benedict The Love of Eternal Wisdom by St. Louis de Montfort Opening to God by Thomas Green  A Closer Walk with Christ by Raymond Gawronski  The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius The Interior Castle by St. Teresa of Avila On Marriage and Family Life by John Chrysostom Frequent Confession by Benedict Baur 

Turning by Emilie Griffin  Directions for Communication by Willi Lambert  A Marian Retreat by Bernard Lefrois   Listening With the Heart by Taize The Way, Furrow, Forge by Josemaria Escriva Men of God: Men for Others by Peter Kolvenbach Surprised by Truth by Patrick Madrid The Breath of Love by Michel Quoist