Saturday, August 27, 2011

PRAYER FOR THE GIFT OF WISDOM

Great is the wisdom of the Lord!
God Almighty, Your Wisdom includes
An understanding of what is fair,
What is logical, what is true,
What is right and what is lasting.
It mirrors Your pure intellect!
I entreat You to grant me such Wisdom,
That my labors may reflect Your insight.
Your Wisdom expands in Your creations,
Displaying complexity and multiplicity.
Your Wisdom is an eternity ahead of man.
May Your wisdom flourish forever!

Friday, August 26, 2011

A MORNING PRAYER


O my God!
I offer Thee all my actions of this day
for the intentions and for the glory
of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
I desire to sanctify every beat of my heart,
my every thought,
my simplest works,
by uniting them to His infinite merits;
and I wish to make reparation for my sins
by casting them into the furnace of His merciful love.
O my God,
I ask of Thee for myself and for those dear to me
the grace to fulfill perfectly Thy holy will,
to accept, for love of Thee,
the joys and sorrows of this passing life,
so that we may one day be united together
in Heaven for all eternity.

Amen.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

PRAYER OF FORGIVENESS

Lord Jesus Christ,
I ask today to forgive everyone in my life.
I know that You will give me the strength to forgive
and I thank You that You love me more than I love myself
and want my happiness more than I desire it for myself.

Father, I forgive You for the times death has come into my family,
hard times, financial difficulties,
or what I thought were punishments sent by You
and people said "It's God's will,"
and I became bitter and resentful towards You.
Purify my heart and mind today.

Lord, I forgive myself for my sins, faults and failings,
and for all that is bad in myself or that I think is bad.
For any delvings in superstition,
using ouija boards, horoscopes, going to seances,
using fortune telling or wearing lucky charms,
I reject all that superstition
and choose You alone as my Lord and Savior.
Fill me with Your Holy Spirit.

I further forgive myself for taking Your name in vain,
not worshiping You by attending church,
for hurting my parents, getting drunk, fornication,
adultery, homosexuality.
You have forgiven me; today I forgive myself.
Also, for abortion, stealing, lying, defrauding,
hurting peoples' reputation, I forgive myself.

I truly forgive my mother.
I forgive her for all the times she hurt me,
she resented me, she was angry with me
and for all the times she punished me.
I forgive her for the times
she preferred my brothers and sisters to me.
I forgive her for the times she told me I was dumb,
ugly, stupid, the worst of the children
or that I cost the family a lot of money.
For the times she told me I was unwanted,
an accident, a mistake or not what she expected, I forgive her.

I forgive my Father.
I forgive him for any non-support,
any lack of love, affection, or attention.
I forgive him for any lack of time,
for not giving me his companionship, for his drinking,
arguing and fighting with my mother or the other children.
For his severe punishments, for desertion, for being away from home,
for divorcing my mother or for any running around, I do forgive him.

Lord, I extend forgiveness to my sisters and brothers.
I forgive those who rejected me, lied about me,
hated me, resented me, competed for my parents' love,
those who hurt me, who physically harmed me.
For those who were too severe on me,
punished me or made my life unpleasant in any way, I do forgive them.

Lord, I forgive my spouse for lack of love,
affection, consideration, support, attention, communication;
for faults, failings, weaknesses
and those other acts or words that hurt or disturb me.

Jesus, I forgive my children for their lack of respect,
obedience, love, attention, support, warmth, understanding;
for their bad habits, falling away from the church,
any bad actions which disturb me.

My God, I forgive my in-laws, my mother-in-law,
father-in-law, son/daughter-in-law and other relatives by marriage,
who treat my family with a lack of love.
For all their words, thoughts, actions or omissions
which injure and cause pain, I forgive them.

Please help me to forgive my relatives,
my grandmother and grandfather, aunts, uncles, cousins
who may have interfered in our family,
been possessive of my parents,
who may have caused confusion
or turned one parent against another.

Jesus, help me to forgive my co-workers
who are disagreeable or make life miserable for me.
For those who push their work off on me,
gossip about me, won't cooperate with me, try to take my job,
I do forgive them.

My neighbors need to be forgiven, Lord.
For all their noise, letting their property run down,
not tying up their dogs,
who run through my yard,
not taking in their trash barrels,
being prejudiced and running down the neighborhood,
I do forgive them.

I now forgive all priests, ministers, nuns,
my parish, parish organizations,
my pastor, bishop, the Pope,
and the church for their lack of support,
affirmation, bad sermons, pettiness, lack of friendliness,
not providing my family with the inspiration we needed,
for any hurts they have inflicted on me or my family,
even in the distant past, I forgive them today.

Lord, I forgive all those who are of different persuasions,
those of opposite political views who have attacked me,
ridiculed me, discriminated against me,
made fun of me, economically hurt me.

I forgive those of different religious denominations
who have tried to convert me,
harassed me, attacked me, argued with me,
forced their views on me.

Those who have harmed me ethnically,
have discriminated against me, mocked me,
made jokes about my race or nationality,
hurt my family physically, emotionally or economically,
I do forgive them today.

Lord, I forgive all professional people who have hurt me in any way:
doctors, nurses, lawyers, judges, politicians and civil servants.
I forgive all service people:
policemen, firemen, bus drivers, hospital workers
and especially repairmen who have taken advantage of me in their work.

Lord, I forgive my employer for not paying me enough money,
for not appreciating my work,
for being unkind and unreasonable with me,
for being angry and unfriendly, for not promoting me,
and for not complimenting me on my work.

Lord, I forgive my schoolteachers and instructors
of the past as well as the present.
For those who punished me, humiliated me,
insulted me, treated me unjustly, made fun of me,
called my dumb or stupid,
made me stay after school,
I truly forgive them.

Lord, I forgive my friends who have let me down,
lost contact with me, do not support me,
were not available when I needed help,
borrowed money and did not return it, gossiped about me.

Lord Jesus, I especially pray for the grace of forgiveness
for that one person in life who has hurt me the most.
I ask to forgive anyone who I consider my greatest enemy,
the one who is the hardest to forgive,
the one I said I will never forgive.

Lord, I beg pardon of all these people for the hurt I have inflicted on them,
especially my mother and father, and my marriage partner.
I am especially sorry for the three greatest hurts I have inflicted on them.

Thank you, Jesus,
that I am being freed of the evil of unforgiveness.
Let Your Holy Spirit fill me with light
and let every dark area of my mind be enlightened.

Amen.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Prayer of Self Surrender


http://onlineprayer.journeywithphoebe180.com

Lord, what do you want me to do?
What decision do you want me to make?
Where do you want my life to go?
The only way I can decide, Lord, is to put myself in your hands.
Like a potter takes clay and makes something of it,
Like you took a rib and made a woman,
Take me and give me whatever shape you want.
Or if you want, break the clay to pieces and start over again.
Do with me whatever you want.

It doesn't matter if I am loved or hated,
praised or calumniated, consoled or friendless.
What matters is that your will be done in me.
Help me to follow the example of your Mother
and say "Let it be done to me according to your Word."

I'm not looking for any big sacrifice, Lord, or any heavy cross.
Something like that would only make me proud.
Help me to do your will in little things,
To put up with misunderstandings, rash judgments,
confusion and frustration,
To be patient and peaceful with those who drive me crazy.

Let me love you by doing the little things
that will not bring me any satisfaction.

Amen.

Monday, August 22, 2011

THE UNIVERSAL PRAYER (attributed to Pope Clement XI)

Lord, I believe in you: increase my faith.
I trust in you: strengthen my trust.
I love you: let me love you more and more.
I am sorry for my sins: deepen my sorrow.

I worship you as my first beginning,
I long for you as my last end,
I praise you as my constant helper,
And call on you as my loving protector.

Guide me by your wisdom,
Correct me with your justice,
Comfort me with your mercy,
Protect me with your power.

I offer you, Lord, my thoughts: to be fixed on you;
My words: to have you for their theme;
My actions: to reflect my love for you;
My sufferings: to be endured for your greater glory.

I want to do what you ask of me:
In the way you ask,
For as long as you ask,
Because you ask it.

Lord, enlighten my understanding,
Strengthen my will,
Purify my heart,
and make me holy.

Help me to repent of my past sins
And to resist temptation in the future.
Help me to rise above my human weaknesses
And to grow stronger as a Christian.

Let me love you, my Lord and my God,
And see myself as I really am:
A pilgrim in this world,
A Christian called to respect and love
All whose lives I touch,
Those under my authority,
My friends and my enemies.

Help me to conquer anger with gentleness,
Greed by generosity,
Apathy by fervor.
Help me to forget myself
And reach out toward others.

Make me prudent in planning,
Courageous in taking risks.
Make me patient in suffering, unassuming in prosperity.

Keep me, Lord, attentive at prayer,
Temperate in food and drink,
Diligent in my work,
Firm in my good intentions.

Let my conscience be clear,
My conduct without fault,
My speech blameless,
My life well-ordered.
Put me on guard against my human weaknesses.
Let me cherish your love for me,
Keep your law,
And come at last to your salvation.

Teach me to realize that this world is passing,
That my true future is the happiness of heaven,
That life on earth is short,
And the life to come eternal.

Help me to prepare for death
With a proper fear of judgment,
But a greater trust in your goodness.
Lead me safely through death
To the endless joy of heaven.

Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.