Do you want to be Saved??? Then Pray

Potent Weapon: Prayer is the most necessary and very powerful weapon of defence against our enemies. All the saints are saved because of prayer; and all the damned are lost because of the lack of prayer.
 
St. Paul of the Cross wrote: We enter on the broad road of perdition when we neglect prayer. If we stop praying, our spiritual life gradually dies. St. Thomas says that Adam fell because he had no recourse to divine assistance. According to St. Gelasius, the rebel angels could not preserve because they did not pray. St. Charles Borromeo says that of all means recommended by jesus Christ in the Gospels, the first place is given to prayer. Prayer is more important than anything else, Dr. Alexis Carrol wrote, "If you make a habit of prayer, your life will be profoundly altered."
 
Prayer is the beginning and progresss and the completion of all virtues. When we pray, God gives us the strength to do that which we cannot do by ourselves. God knows how useful it is to us to be obliged to pray, in order to keep us humble and to exercise our confidence in Him. Prayer is urgently needed for any one who loves God, nothing can replace it. The true and only way to become a saint is to exercise ourselves in virtue and the love of God. This is done by means of prayer,a nd correspondence to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit.
 
 
Prayer: Holy Spirit, help us to recognize that nothing of this world can save us, but the deep faith in God and the eagerness and love to be united with God forever. Help us to move more close to you and be desolved in you with prayer. Help us to pray all the time so that we may be guided by the Holy Spirit in our day to day life in this world. 


Courtesy of: Prayer with the heart, Rosarian Publication

Fame, Celbrity and Power - A Contradiction

What do we value most in our society? Fame, celebrity and wealth for a start. Power, influence and position, for another. Nature favours the proud, the arrogant, the wealthy, and those with power and money. Today we seem particularly obsessed with fame, celebrity and notoriety.

Andy, Warhol said in the late 1960's that in the future everybody would enjoy 15 minutes of fame. Through reality television, people are enjoying not just 15 minutes of fame but, through programmes like 'big brother' and others, days and days of media exposure!

The birth of Jesus of Nazereth, the Son of God, in obscurity and poverty, will always be a sign of contradition. Our true dignity, the real purpose and meaning of our lives, is revealed in humility, love and the service of others.


Courtesy of : www.alivepublishing.co.uk

Happiness

Happiness: The only men in the world who are really happy are the ones who know how to pray. True happiness of man on earth, consists in praying; and loving. Prayer is one of the basic needs of man.

Breath of the soul: As food is indispensable for the body, prayer is indispensable for the soul. In fact, food for the body is not so necessary, as prayer is for the soul. Fasting is often necessary in order to keep the body healthy. For our spiritual life, we need prayer as we need breathing to remain alive. A man can live fifty days without food, but only a few minutes without breathing. Without prayer, sanctification is unthinkable. He who knows how to pray well, knows how to live well. Our prayer will show us what condition we are in.



Courtesy of : Prayer with the heart

Love One Another

"I find great joy and comfort in your love, because through you the hearts of God's people have been refreshed." (Philemon 7)

One of God's primary ways of loving us is through people. Think of the person whose love has enabled you to know more deeply the love of God has for you. This person has refreshed you through their love, bringing you "joy and comfort" (Philemon 7). When you were with this person, their love was so refreshing it was as though Jesus Himself was refreshing you (see Mt 11:28). When you look at their face, you know "God is Love" (1 jn 4:8, 16).

God so loved the world that He gave His only Son" (Jn 3:16). His love for us was so intense that it became incarnate in Jesus, so that God could love us even more intimately by taking on human flesh. God has loved us through Jesus, and now His plan is that we "love one another" (Jn 13:34). So that we can carry out His loving plan, "the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit" (Rm 5:5) Now we are missionaries of God's love, actively seeking to refresh the hearts of friends and enemies (Mt 5:44) by our love.

May love "be the root and foundation of your life" (Eph 3:17). Through your love, may many people "be able to grasp fully, with all the holy ones, the breadth and length and height and depth of Christ's love and experience this love which surpasses all knowledge" (Eph 3:18-19).

Prayer: Father, thank you for the people You send into my life to love and refresh me wit Your love. May I in return bring Your love into many lives.

Invitation from Jesus

Many will come from east to west to take their places.....at the feast int he kingdom of heaven (Mathew 8:11).

Everyone is called to enter the kingdom. No one is excluded from this invitation. Jesus ushered in the kingdom with these words: ' The time is fulfilled,a nd the kingdom is at hand: repent, and believe in the gospel' (Mark 1: 14-15). Jesus came to do God's will and his will is that we are seved and have some share in his devine life. Jesus does not call the righteous, but sinners, and we are sinners. Herein lies our true dignity because God invites us to repentance and conversion. There is great joy in heaven when we repent and believe in the gospel. Ther is rejoicing in heaven when we seek out the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It is the time to receive God's mercy and forgiveness.

Lord God, your kingdom is near at hand, I repent and believe in the gospel.

Too Busy???

There is a saying that goes: 'Jaw, jaw, not war, war!' How important it is to dialogue and converse. It is so much better to talk something through than to burst in to action that we might later regret.

Likewise, it is no bad idea to start our day and finish it with time spent with God. Time spent in prayer is not wasted time, not fruitfless time.

At the very least it can give us peace and have a calming effect. It can also give shape and purpose to our lives. We can be too quick to ask God to bless our plans. How about trying to find out what God's plans are!

There is another saying that goes: 'If you are too busy to pray, you are too busy!'

Lord, help me to overcome the obstacles which prevent me from making time to pray. Help me cultivate within the virtues of humility, trust and perseverance.


Courtesy of: www.alivepublishing.co.uk