January 2008

Family of Nazareth & Childhood and Hidden Life of Jesus

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
The words of Padre Pio for January are taken from the letters to the Ventrella Sisters dated: 1917: October 1, 8-9, 18 1918: March 8 1 Advance always, even if you progress at a slow pace, you will still travel far. 2 (God) wants our miseries to be the throne of his mercy… 3 (God wants) your impotence (to be) the seat of His omnipotence. 4 One thing only is necessary, to be close to Jesus. 5 Love the crib of the Child at Bethlehem; love the Calvary of the God crucified.
6 Stay close to him and be sure that Jesus is in the midst of your hearts more than you could believe. 7 (Be) humble, tranquil, gentle and confident in times of darkness and impotence 8 We must pay attention to charity … for the edification of our neighbor. 9 Be totally resigned in the hands of our Lord. 10 Love (God) a great deal because he wants to do you a great deal of good. 11 Walk simply with certainty in your (faith-filled, God-centered) resolutions 12 I will hold you tightly, Jesus, and will not let you go until you have placed me in a safe place.
13 What do you seek on earth, … if not God? 14 If fear takes you by surprise, exclaim strongly with St. Peter “O Lord, save me!” 15 (Do not fear.) Let the world turn upside down … God is with us. Won’t we be fine close to Him? 16 Jesus always reign in your hearts…and render them always more worthy of his divine presence. 17 Peace … has been acquired for us through the merits of the most sweet Savior 18 Jesus will keep watch at the doors of your hearts, and will never permit the enemy to overcome you. 19 Lethargy, languor and shriveling of the senses cannot take place without being followed by sadness.
20 As long as your hearts are determined to belong totally to God, there is nothing to fear. 21 How burdensome this mortal life is to the children of God. 22 The next life, which the mercy of God will be pleased to grant … will be more than we could desire. 23 We certainly do not doubt our possessing (eternal life) one day, even though we are sinful. 24 God is merciful to all those who place their hope in him. 25 When you find yourself exposed to some trial … the best remedy is to think of him who is our life. 26 Abstain from sin and from those actions which you clearly see to be sinful.
27 Do all with an upright conscience and with the will to please God. 28 Walk with simplicity in the ways of the Lord. 29 Hate your faults, but with a quiet hate, not troublesome and restless. 30 Be patient…as there is nothing that nourishes our defects like restlessness. 31 Fear is a greater evil than evil itself. Father, creator and ruler of heaven and earth, you made us in your likeness to be stewards of creation and to recognize the work of your hands in its beauty. Grant that I, surrounded on all sides by your presence, may live continually in Christ, praising you through him and with him. Amen.

website: www.PPPG.org


Praying the Month of January
The Universal Prayer
(Composed by Pope Clement XI)
(As we enter the New Year, this prayer of Pope Clement XI may help us to focus our hearts on what really matters. To say the entire prayer on any given day, just pray the various stanzas in order, without the days of the week and the words in brackets)

Sunday

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.

Monday:

(Lord, Mighty God) 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 suffering: to be endured for your greater glory.

Tuesday:

(Eternal Father,) 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.

Wednesday:

(Merciful God,) Help me to repent of my past sins and 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 in authority over me or those under my authority, my friends and my enemies.

Thursday:

(Loving Father,) 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.

Friday:

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.

Saturday:

(God of Love, Mercy and Providence,) 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.
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Prayer to Our Lady of the New Year

Holy Virgin Mary, Mother of God and my Mother. Daughter of the Eternal Father, pray that we recognize our unity as children of the One Father. Mother of the Only-Begotten Son, pray that we accept each other as sisters and brothers in the same Jesus. Spouse of the Life-Giving Holy Spirit, pray that we be open to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, leading us to the fullness of life. Mary, Virgin Made Church, Mother of the Mystical Body of Christ, First Tabernacle, First Monstrance, be with us in life’s journey, and help us to see and to follow Jesus. Amen

Prayer to Padre Pio of Pietrelcina

Padre Pio, you bore the marks of the savior’s saving Passion and became a refuge and support for all who sought your guidance. Your patient ministry of reconciliation brought numberless souls back to God, so that rescued from the evil one, they could praise and glorify God in their lives. From your place in heaven watch over us and keep your hand on each one of us that we may always walk the path that leads to God, the Source and Goal of all life, who lives and reigns Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

website: www.PPPG.org