Weekly Prayers
Monday 4 March 2019.
Our calling is first and foremost to love God with all our heart, mind and soul. We are then called to love others and doing so requires us to open our hearts and minds.
In Philippians 2 we are told that in our relationships with one another, we have to have the same mind set as Christ Jesus. We are to do nothing out of selfish ambition. In humility we are to value others above ourselves, not looking to our own interests but to the interests of others.
In order to do so, our hearts have to be filled with God’s love and compassion. Our minds have to be set on putting the needs of others above our own.
Our Father…..
Tuesday 5 March 2019.
“Jesus Christ taught that man not only receives and experiences the mercy of God, but that he is also called (our vocation) to practise mercy towards others”. (St John Paul II, Dives in misericordia, 1980)
Today we pray that we are prepared to listen and to act on the Corporal Works of Mercy. We pray that we are prepared to show Mercy to others by:
Feeding people who are hungry
Giving drink to those who are thirsty
Clothing people who need clothes
Supporting prisoners or their families
Sheltering the homeless
Visiting the sick
Burying those who have died
Our Father……
Wednesday 6 March 2019.
Today is Ash Wednesday, which begins our Season of Lent. We wear ashes on our forehead as a sign of our willingness to accept that we do wrong and sin. From this we make a real commitment to do better and to avoid sin. For most of us, avoiding sin will involve being careful in our relationships with other people especially those close to us and others whom we meet daily. We should listen to what we say to people and make sure that there are no harsh or cruel word. We should think of what we do to others and make sure that we are helping them and not putting then down or being cruel. In this way, will turn away from sin and strengthened by the Gospel we will be better people.
Let’s ask Mary our Mother to help us today and always to be better people.
Hail Mary…..
Thursday 7 March 2019.
Today we celebrate the feast of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity.
Today we remember Saints Perpetua and Felicity, martyrs who died for the faith around the year 203.
Perpetua and Felicity were imprisoned and endured tortures designed to make them renounce their faith. They remained steadfast until the end, having been condemned to death. Their jailer converted to Christianity, and so the captives were treated well in their final days. When the day of the games arrived, Perpetua and Felicity went to the amphitheatre “joyfully as though they were on their way to heaven”. Perpetua sang a psalm of triumph. Although the execution in the Coliseum was intended as entertainment, some of the spectators, inspired by the martyrs’ fearlessness, became converts.
Let us pray for those who today find themselves imprisoned or tortured for their faith. May they be strengthened by the power or our prayers and able to stand firm.
Our Father . . .
Friday 8 March 2019.
In our prayer today, we remember our Lenten commitment.
Almighty and Everlasting God,
You have given the human race
Jesus Christ our Saviour as a model of humility.
He fulfilled Your Will by becoming Man
and giving His life on the Cross.
Help us to bear witness to You
by following His example of suffering
and make us worthy to share in His Resurrection.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son.
Amen.
Our Father…
