May 19, 2013
Heart of Jesus, house of God and gate of heaven, have mercy on us.
I am the door; if anyone enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. (John 10:9)
My favorite recurring theme in the Gospel of John, are the seven great “I AM” sayings of Jesus. In this specific verse, “I am the door” is also translated as the gate. The analogy Jesus is using is that He is the door/gate into heaven. Are you standing before that door/gate, hoping to get in to heaven?
May 18, 2013
Heart of Jesus, worthy of all praise, have mercy on us.
First a definition: Praise is the form of prayer which recognizes most immediately that God is God. It lauds God for his own sake and gives him glory, quite beyond what he does, but simply because HE IS. (Catechism Catholic Church 2639)
Second an example: While the Bible is filled with examples of the Praise of God, this one verse from the Psalms has both a literal sense and an anagogical sense:
“I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise shall be continually in my mouth.” (Psalm 34:1)
The literal sense teaches to to praise the Lord every day, and through out the day, while the anagogical sense shows us that we are meant (taught by the Psalm) to praise the Lord Jesus Christ for all eternity.
May 13, 2013
Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who hope in you, have mercy on us.
Definition of Salvation: The forgiveness of sins and restoration of friendship with God, which can be done by God alone. CCC p. 898.
The concept of salvation is found in many books of the Bible, in both Old and New Testaments. It is most prevalent in Isaiah and in the Psalms, here are two verses that demonstrate our need for salvation, and serve as examples of prayers for salvation.
“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” (Isaiah 12:2).
Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name; deliver us, and forgive our sins, for thy name’s sake! (Psalm 79:9).
May 1, 2013
Note: This was one of the books that was used in a class (Introduction to Liturgy and Sacraments) I just finished at Sacred Heart Major Seminary. The first important question to ask is what do sacraments have to do with prayer? Sacraments are liturgy, and in that liturgy, the minister of the sacrament prays to God, and by the power of the rite itself, grace is given to the recipient. The next important question is “What is a Sacrament?”. From the Catechism:
The sacraments are efficacious signs of grace,
instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church,
by which divine life is dispensed to us.” (CCC 1131)
Final question: What is grace? “Grace is God’s eternal life”, St. Thomas Aquinas, (Summa III, q.73, a.4.)
Now with all of that as a background…
The book has a chapter for each of the sacraments, and organizes the study of each by following what is called the “Essential Rite”. The essential rite has four parts: matter, form (the prayer), minister, recipient. In addition to an explanation of each one of these four parts, each chapter covers where in Sacred Scripture that specific sacrament can be found. Also covered in each chapter are the “effects” of the sacrament, what does the grace of that sacrament specifically do to the recipient of the sacrament. While the book is too small to include the entire prayer (the form) said by the minister, it does include the main part of each sacrament’s prayer.
This book does a great job of explaining the sacraments and all that surrounds the sacraments. I read the book along with the sections in the Catechism of the Catholic Church that cover the sacraments. The two have some overlap, but are also complementary, in that reading both will help someone studying the sacraments to effectively learn. My advice to someone who does not have money for this book, or who just wants to learn a little, read the Catechism starting at: Section Two. The Seven Sacraments Of The Church (CCC 1212). The “In Brief” sections of the CCC are a great summary.
In his concluding chapter, the author brings up a point that there is a crisis in the Church with regard to the sacraments. People in the Church today are not understanding the sacraments and are not receiving them as frequently as they should or could. The reading / studying of a small, but effective book like this would go a long way to helping people understand the beauty, power, responsibility and grace that is in the Seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church.
A related post: see my post here for a prayer of renewal of sacramental grace.
April 30, 2013
Heart of Jesus, in who dwells all the fullness of the Divinity, have mercy on us.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. (John 1:1–3)
I love this passage. While there are many passages in the Gospel that show the Divinity of Jesus, this one is something special. It is a direct allusion to the very beginning of the Bible: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)
April 28, 2013
Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation, have mercy on us.
When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul. ( Psalm 94:19)
April 6, 2013
Heart of Jesus, our peace and reconciliation, have mercy on us.
On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” (John 20:19-21)
It was the evening of the day He rose from the dead, and Jesus comes to his disciples with this one word, this one special word “Peace”. This word and phrase is so important that Jesus repeats it. An important principle of reading the Sacred Scripture is that when something is repeated, there is a special importance, in that repetition. So we are to understand that Jesus is giving us peace, and that we are sent to bring this peace to our brothers and sisters.
