I love this time of the year, looking at the sky in the morning. I get up first thing to walk the dogs and when I look to the sky and it is just changing over from night to day, like a many shades of blue , speckled with stars , like some heavenly designed mantle for the Queen of Heaven. I usually find myself thinking of many things but especially of work as I walk along. Then I catch myself on and turn my thoughts directly to God. For this is what prayer is, is it not? To move the heart to God. In a way the soul is like a hive of bees. The centre of the hive is the Queen, the heart. It is the heart that must always rest in the heart of God. It may take a lifetime for grace to work its magic but our own heart must always, always always beat with God's. In a dance that never ends. Thus the centre of the hive of our being, the centre of the buzzing hive of thoughts, of memories, of imagination and wanderings, of feelings is God Himself. By nudging towards Him we ask all little the bees of our being to pay homage to Him .
Morning and evening times are such great times for prayer. The stillness, the aloneness. It is for this reason I love to spend the first early morning while on the forum, for this reason to I choose for daily mass. For, for me this is the best time to the entire day..and as it says in the Book of Leviticus it is the best part of the flock that must be sacrificed to the Lord, the Lamb without blemish; gifts of finest wheat. Leviticus 2:1 "'When anyone brings a grain offering to the LORD, their offering is to be of the finest flour. They are to pour olive oil on it, put incense on it ..and so as we turn our hearts to God , we become the Lamb, we become the Host, we become the Sacrifice.
I see so may strangers through the course of the day walking around the precincts of the hospital. I have taken it as a practice to often pray for them. Leviticus 19:33-34 “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. I think there is something very powerful about praying for a complete stranger . The only thing more powerful, I suspect is to pray for our enemies. ..and since ,as far as I know I don't have any enemies on the radar screen currently the strangers are the next best thing. Which is fine, for the whole world , nearly , to all of us is a stranger....plenty to pray for, plenty to embrace in the arms of prayer..... 2 Chronicles 6:32 …31that they may fear You, to walk in Your ways as long as they live in the land which You have given to our fathers. 32"Also concerning the foreigner who is not from Your people Israel, when he comes from a far country for Your great name's sake and Your mighty hand and Your outstretched arm, when they come and pray toward this house, 33then hear from heaven, from Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know Your name, and fear You as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by Your name.…
MORNING OFFERING PRAYER Our Blessed Mother said in Garabandal on October 18th, 1961, "We must make many sacrifices, perform much penance, and visit the Blessed Sacrament frequently. But first, we must lead good lives. " In 1945 Jesus told Lucia, the seer of Fatima, "The sacrifice and penance I now seek and require is the fulfillment of your state in life and the observance of my laws." Whatever your state in life may be you can sanctify all your daily actions if upon arising you recite sincerely the morning offering prayer. Through the "Morning Offering of Reparation" every act you do becomes a sacrifice. The word "sacrifice" means to make "holy." Once you have made your morning offering you make "holy" every act you do throughout the day. Whatever trial God permits to pass your way during the day becomes a penance — whether it be work, bad weather, rebellious children, sickness in the family, tight economic conditions or misunderstandings by relatives or friends. All these sacrifices and penances obtain graces the Blessed Virgin needs for the conversion of sinners. Padre Pio said it best, "If you knew the value of suffering, you wouldn't give it up." Use this Morning Offering Prayer to start your day ! View attachment 2238
Two thoughts came to me from your post, Padraig. First, while distributing Holy Communion to the Catholic residents and spending time with them last Sunday, I stopped by and chatted with a non-Catholic. For 25 minutes he ended up pouring his heart out to me; I'm glad God arranged for me to be there and listen to this stranger. Second, how beautiful is the above verse from Leviticus for it demonstrates that the God of the Old Testament is the God of the New. It surprises me that the one who questioned Jesus, on who his neighbor is which he must love, had not read this passage. It was all there already. And before him stood the Incarnate Reality of the Old Law to boot! Now, within our own hearts dwells the Almighty. Here is a wonder to rejoice in and to marvel about in the morning! Safe on the Father's Lap!
A beautiful prayer, Glenn. I always intend to pray it every day and often forget. But lately after mass I ask Jesus , Mary and Joseph to come to me to work.
Reading Leviticus has been a big eye opener to me in recent weeks, Terry. I never would have picked it to read out of all the bible, but since I am reading it cover to cover..... I can see now why Jesus converts who enter the Church are delighted to discover in us a home from home. Reading Leviticus I can see just why. Even the wheat for the Eucharist gets a big mention....even gold candle sticks. Popery everywhere...
I was at Mass this morning and when the offering prayers were being said the person praying said "let the faithful of the world work for justice, peace and equality". I immediately felt the Holy Spirit speak to me and say that equality is not a precept of God. He then brought to mind the parable of the talents how one was given 10 the other 5 and the last 1. God expected each to do the best with what they were given. It was also brought to mind that in the beginning that Lucifer wanted to be equal with God and that is what got him into trouble. I'm not saying that people should be down trodden, but that we should do the best for God with who we are.
Yes, this is not the Spirit of God but the Spirit of the World. But perhaps in a funny kind of way God speaks to us in the brokeness of the things we often here, forcing us to think. I think we see this so much in Scripture; with St Paul, for instance who seemed to fight with everyone who moved, but always seemed to be right.... and wrong in his rightness because of his bad temper.
