St. Gregory Barbarigo was born in 1625, of a very old and distinguished Venetian family. A brilliant student, he embraced a diplomatic career and accompanied the Venetian Ambassador, Contarini, to the Congress of Munster in 1648. Then he became a priest and was soon thereafter consecrated as the first Bishop of Bergamo by Pope Alexander VII. Later on he was elevated to the rank of Cardinal and also given authority over the diocese of Padua. He guided his flock with pastoral wisdom and deep …
Month: June 2022
Hail, Holy Queen: Prayer of the Day for Saturday, June 18, 2022
Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy, hail, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve: to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus, O merciful, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Amen.
The Eyes
I have always been fascinated by eyes: person, animal, insect, it doesn’t matter. I have noticed them on all creatures as I encounter them in my life. Several months ago I called out to a young woman as I was approaching my favorite bakery. We were both masked and she was clearly startled. She replied, “No, that’s my sister’s name. How did you know to ask?” “It’s your beautiful eyes. You have the same eyes.” I hadn’t seen either of these bright adult women in several years as they were my children’s classmates.
The eyes stay in my memory of family and friends, acquaintances and passers by. In the Gospel today Jesus speaks of the eye being the lamp of the body. He tells us that when the eye is good, our whole body is filled with light; if it’s not, the whole body is in darkness. He then cautions, “And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.”
Open the Eyes of My Heart, by Michael W. Smith and Open My Eyes, by Jesse Manibusan, are songs that ask God for grace and love to see the world with Jesus’ eyes. The artist Akiane (at the age of 8) painted ‘Prince of Peace’, a portrait of Jesus whose eyes seem able to penetrate all time and every viewer.
What do my eyes portray to others? Do I possess a warming light which conveys love or a light which is filled with cold darkness?
O Lord, open my eyes to see you. Allow my eyes to look upon the world as your Son, Jesus Christ did, with love and compassion. I ask for guidance from the Holy Spirit to bring the light of God into my heart, my mind, my work, my community, and throughout all the world. Amen
Beth Price is part of the customer care team at Diocesan. She is a Secular Franciscan (OFS) and a practicing spiritual director. Beth shares smiles, prayers, laughter, a listening ear and her heart with all of creation. Reach her here bprice@diocesan.com.
Feature Image Credit: Misioneras Clarisas Monterrey, www.cathopic.com/photo/17685-mirada-jesus
St. Emily de Vialar: Saint of the Day for Friday, June 17, 2022
St. Emily de Vialar, Virgin, Foundress of the Sisters of St. Joseph “of the Apparition” Anne Marguerite Adelaide Emily de Vialar was the eldest child and only daughter of Baron James Augustine de Vialar and his wife Antoinette, daughter of that Baron de Portal who was physician-in-ordinary to Louis XVIII and Charles X of France. She was born at Gaillac in Languedoc in 1797. At the age of fifteen she was removed from school in Paris to be companion to her father, now a widower, at …
Prayer for Employment: Prayer of the Day for Friday, June 17, 2022
You govern your creation, O God,
and bring it to perfection by the work of our hands.
Hear the prayers of your people who ask for work
that will enhance their human dignity
and promote the upbuilding of your kingdom.
Enable them to provide for those confided to their care
either by family ties or by charity we owe to one another
for the betterment of human life.
We ask this blessing in the name of Jesus
who laboured with his own hands while he lived on earth.
Amen.
Our Father, Who Art in Heaven
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus teaches the Apostles to pray the Our Father. If we reflect on this beautiful prayer, we cannot help but get a glimpse of God’s love for us.
So today, I want to just focus on three sections of the Our Father.
The first is “thy will by done.”
How often do we fall into the trap of doing our own will or doing the will of something or someone of this world? We often forget that we were created to know, love, and serve God, and it is to Him we must look for guidance. Our faith teaches us that we must not put anything before God, and while we say that of course we don’t have false idols, we have to remember that false idols come in many forms. They are computer screens, TVs, phones, money, material possessions, even other people. If we are constantly doing our will or listening only to our own words, how will we ever hear God’s? Then how will we do His will? Only when we open ourselves to Him, only when we listen for His voice, and only when we sit quietly will we grow closer to Him and know what He desires for us.
The second is “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
Have you ever stopped to think about what this really means? We are telling God that we expect Him to forgive us in the manner in which we have forgiven others. That makes you think, doesn’t it? So often we hold grudges, we become bitter, or we flat-out refuse to forgive someone who has wronged us. But this isn’t the way God wants us to live our lives. If we live like this, we are closing ourselves to His joy and to His love. We are filling ourselves up with anger and resentment when we could be filling ourselves up with His mercy and love. Forgiveness isn’t easy, and God understands that. But we have to at least try. So, today, if you are having difficulty forgiving someone, go to God in prayer and ask for His help. Ask Him to teach you the mercy that He shows when you present yourself in the confessional.
And finally, let us think about the words “lead us not into temptation.”
Temptations abound in our secular world. Sometimes it seems that we are bombarded on all fronts. It could be something as simple as an overindulgence in sweets—a temptation that harms our bodies in a small way. It could be the temptation to sleep in and miss Mass. Or it could be the temptation to a more serious vice. We know our hearts, and we can be assured that God knows them too. Today, let us think about the things in life that tempt us, and let us work to let them go.
And let us take time today to pray this prayer, to reflect on God’s words, and to open our hearts to the Lord who loves us so much that we cannot even fathom it.
Susan Ciancio has a BA in psychology and a BA in sociology from the University of Notre Dame, with an MA in liberal studies from Indiana University. For the past 19 years, she has worked as a professional editor and writer, editing both fiction and nonfiction books, magazine articles, blogs, educational lessons, professional materials and website content. Thirteen of those years have been in the pro-life sector. Currently Susan freelances and writes weekly for HLI, edits for American Life League, and is the executive editor of Celebrate Life Magazine. She also serves as executive editor for the Culture of Life Studies Program—an educational nonprofit program for K-12 students. You can reach her at slochner0.wixsite.com/website.
Feature Image Credit: Rita Laura, www.cathopic.com/photo/6743-rosario-se-encuentra-misericordia
St. John Francis Regis: Saint of the Day for Thursday, June 16, 2022
St. John Francis Regis Confessor of the Society of Jesus June 16 True virtue, or Christian perfection, consists not in great or shining actions, but resides in the heart, and appears to great edification, though in the usual train of common and religious duties constantly performed fidelity and fervor. Such a life has its trials, and often a severer martyrdom than that which stands the test of the flames. This we find in the life of the holy servant of God, John Francis …
Prayers before Holy Communion: Prayer of the Day for Thursday, June 16, 2022
O Lord Jesus Christ, Who said to Your Apostles: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you,” regard not my sins but the faith of Your Church, and deign to give her peace and unity according to Your Will: Who live and reign, God, world without end. Amen.
O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, Who, by the will of the Father, with the cooperation of the Holy Spirit, have by Your death given life to the world, deliver me by this Your Most Sacred Body and Blood from all my sins and …
The Right Thing for the Wrong Reasons
I know many people complain that our modern society lives for attention on social media, photographing adventures or good deeds solely to post pictures on social media for others to admire their courage, thoughtfulness, beauty, etc. I have heard people say, “Pictures or it didn’t happen!” It’s as though nothing matters unless others see it.
So when I hear Jesus warning us in today’s Gospel not to pray, fast, or give alms so that others notice, I take comfort in knowing that this phenomenon has plagued human nature for centuries. Even people in Jesus’s time were doing good, holy things more for attention than for their souls. The temptation to care more about what others think than what God thinks has been there since the dawn of time, it just is in a different form in our modern times.
As we contemplate today’s readings, may God help us to remember that He is the only one who can see us clearly, and His opinion of us is the only one that matters in the long run.
J.M. Pallas has had a lifelong love of Scriptures. When she is not busy with her vocation as a wife and mother to her “1 Samuel 1” son, or her vocation as a public health educator, you may find her at her parish women’s bible study, affectionately known as “The Bible Chicks.”
Feature Image Credit: StockSnap, pixabay.com/photos/curtain-art-design-house-home-2573892/
St. Germaine Cousin: Saint of the Day for Wednesday, June 15, 2022
When Hortense decided to marry Laurent Cousin in Pibrac, France, it was not out of love for his infant daughter. Germaine was everything Hortense despised. Weak and ill, the girl had also been born with a right hand that was deformed and paralyzed. Hortense replaced the love that Germaine has lost when her mother died with cruelty and abuse. Laurent, who had a weak character, pretended not to notice that Germaine had been given so little food that she had learned to crawl in order to get to …