Offering of Oneself

Another beautiful little prayer from my treasured little book.

Accept, O Lord, this offering of my liberty, memory understanding and will.  All that I am and have, Thou hast given me.  I want to restore everything to Thee, O Lord. Dispose of me as it shall please Thee. All that I ask is Thy Grace and Thy Love.  With these alone I shall be rich enough. I ask nothing more.  

Thank you Lord for the bountiful harvest

Festive Fall by Sharon Elliott

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Prayer by an Old Lady

Another beautiful writing from my little treasure book.    Recite before Mass

My loving Lord, a thousand welcomes! O Son of Mary, I love You, indeed I do.  Who am I at all that You should come next or near me?  O God of Heaven! Make a little corner for me in Your Heart, and never, while there’s life in me, let me lose my place there, and after death may I still hide there.    Amen

Have pity on me, O Blessed Mother, talk to my God for me.  Tell Him I ‘m a poor ignorant creature, full of nothing but sin and misery, but that I love you, His Own dear Mother; and that I am a poor follower of Him, and for your sweet sake, to help and pity me.    Amen

Just playing around

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/raindrops-in-brushstroke-sharon-elliott.html

 

Raindrops In Brushstroke

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Raindrop Reflections done in Brushstrokes

Matthew 5

A new piece on SEImagesonline
http://fineartamerica.com/featured/matthew-5-16-sharon-elliott.html

 

Matthew 5 16

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What Shall I give Thee?

An after Communion Prayer

I have received into my heart, Jesus Christ, His Body and Blood Soul and Divinity! I begin this day as a day in Heaven.  He is in my soul…the Divine Infant in the crib…the growing Boy at Nazareth…. The Apostle acclaimed by crowds on the roads of Galilee….the Miracle Worker who preformed such prodigies…the Martyr Who completed His Sacrifice on Calvary.

He is in my….What more can I desire when I posses Jesus?

And now, O good Master! What shall I give Thee in exchange for Thy visit…?

I would like to give Thee a soul all sparkling with purity and sincerity, but mine is afflicted with so many miseries!

I would like to pray to Thee with the burning words of Thy Mother and her court of Heaven, but I feel riveted to earthly things….

I would like to offer Thee courageous Loyalty to my Baptismal Vows and Confirmation Graces, but, alas I have so often been disloyal….

I would like, at least, to have a desire for the Christian life, but I allow myself to be discouraged by my failures….

O good Jesus! I have nothing to give Thee, and Thou hast given Everything; Thou hast given Thyself to me.  I can only join my poor voice in the chorus of praise to Thee, rising out of all the works of Thy Creation here on earth…

With the majesty of the mountains, the immensity of the desert, the roar of the ocean, the fury of the storm, I shall praise Thy Power!

With the flowers of the field, the colors of the rainbow, the whiteness of the snow, the blue of the skies I shall praise Thy Beauty!

With the fruits of the earth, the air I breath, the light I see, the life I enjoy, I shall praise Thy Goodness.

With the splendor of the stars, the rays of the sun, the moon’s pale light, the depths of space, I shall praise Thine Immensity.

With fifteen hundred millions now living on earth, I shall praise Thy Mercy! May our voices unite with the billions of those who inhabited the earth before us, and out of whose dust the beauty of nature perpetually rises to praise Thy Glory!

May an infinite concert of voices from cottages and palaces, from fields and forests, from towns and deserts, from workshops, and cathedrals, from earth and from heaven, from time and from eternity, arise to give my thanks unto Thee!  Amen

Week of Love

So......how has your week on the Virtue of Love/Charity going??????
I have found myself challenged by some events where I had to do some REAL soul searching.  Places where I have to make a better effort to see people as Jesus would....not by my, sometimes, narrow minded vision. I am trying to remember that Jesus is just as frustrated with me for some of the things I do or don't do and He still loves me.....His love is unfathomable. 

Why Callest thou Me?

From time to time I am given Rosaries to repair or beads to make a Rosary, from the necklace of a loved one that has passed away. Still other times I am given old treasured books.  A while back I was given a little book and was reading this on my Adoration night....this is what I found.

                                         Why callest thou Me?
Carved by an unknown sculptor, into the walls of an old European Cathedral, this appeal expresses the grief of Christ.
Thou callest Me MASTER…..
     Yet heedest to Me,
Thou callest Me LIGHT…..
    Yet I shine not in thee.
Thou callest Me WAY….
    But dost follow Me not,
Thou callest Me LIFE….
    Yet My Name is forgot,
Thou callest Me TRUTH…..
    But playest a false role,
Thou callest Me GUIDE…..
    Yet despisest control.
Thou callest Me LOVING….
    Withholding thy heart,
Thou callest Me RICH…..
    Yet desirest no part.
Thou callest Me GOOD….
    And yet evil thy ways,
Thou callest Me ETERNAL…..
    While wasting thy days.
Thou callest Me NOBLE….
    Yet draggest Me down,
Thou callest Me MIGHTY….
    Not fearing My frown.
Thou callest Me JUST….
    Oh!   If just then I be,
When I shall condemn thee………………..Reproach thou not Me. 

Virtue of Love

Day four Virtue of Love

 Pick a Christian virtue to grow in your life.

Ask the Holy Spirit to guide your meditation.

Reflect 10 minutes or so on that virtue.

Read something about that virtue; perhaps from the Catechism or a quote from one of the Saints.

At the end of the day ask; “How did I live this virtue today?”

Act; make a decision to implement a way to live out that virtue.

Continue this pattern for several days before moving on to another virtue.

The Apostle Paul has given and incomparable depiction of charity; “charity is patient and kind, charity is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Charity does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrong, but rejoices in the right.  Charity bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

CC1826 “If I ……(put your name here) have not charity,” says the Apostle, “I am nothing.” Whatever my privilege, service, or even virtue, “if I …..(put your name here) have not charity, I gain nothing.”  Love/Charity is superior to all the virtues.  It is the first of the theological virtues: “So faith, hope, charity abide, these three.  But the greatest of these is love/charity.”

Virtue of Love/Charity Day 3

 Pick a Christian virtue to grow in your life.

Ask the Holy Spirit to guide your meditation.

Reflect 10 minutes or so on that virtue.

Read something about that virtue; perhaps from the Catechism or a quote from one of the Saints.

At the end of the day ask; “How did I live this virtue today?”

Act; make a decision to implement a way to live out that virtue.

Continue this pattern for several days before moving on to another virtue.

Day 3  Virtue of Love/Charity

More Love

Lord, it is my chief complaint;

That my love is weak and faint;

Yet I love thee and adore,

Oh for grace to love thee more!

William Cowper

CC1825  Christ died out of love for us, while we were still “enemies”.  The Lord asks us to love as he does,  even our enemies, to make ourselves the neighbor of those farthest away, and to love children and the poor as Christ himself.

Finding Calm

"Live calmly and do not worry excessively, because in order to work more freely in us, the Holy Spirit needs tranquility and calm." ~St. Pio

I so agree with St. Pio…..and try to remember to stay calm, trust and wait on the Lord.  There are times when that is such a challenge and I am reminded to return to the quiet within…..remembering that I am a child of God, a child of the light.  

Today’s readings from 1 Thes 5 particularly 5 – For all of you are children of the light and children of the day. And 8 – But since we are of the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love and the helmet that is hope of salvation……  Our pastor reminded us that we must find that inner quiet and peace in struggles, remembering that we are Christ’s and He will always be there beside us.