The sanity of God

We should not be discouraged if our prayers go unanswered; if some were, we most certainly would have grave reservations about the sanity of God. - J.K. Stuart

Unshakable Strength

Prayer is a force as real as terrestrial gravity. As a physician, I have seen men, after all other therapy had failed, lifted out of disease and melancholy by the serene effort of prayer. Only in prayer do we achieve that complete and harmonious assembly of body, mind and spirit which gives the frail human reed its unshakable strength. - Alexis Carrel

Saturday Morning Prayer

Let me seek You in my desire,
let me desire You in my seeking.
Let me find You by loving you,
let me love You when I find you.
- St. Anselm (From the Little Book of Prayer)

Praise be to you, Lord, for the banquet of Christ’s body and blood given us through the apostles, which refreshes us and gives us life. - Petition for Morning Prayer, Feast of Sts. Simon & Jude

What God wants

Therefore, if something happens that we did not pray for, we must have no doubt at all that what God wants is more expedient than what we wanted ourselves. Our great Mediator gave us an example of this. After he had said: Father, if it is possible, let this cup be taken away from me, he immediately added, Yet not what I will, but what you will, Father, so transforming the human will that was his through his taking a human nature. As a consequence, and rightly so, through the obedience of one man the many are made righteous. - St. Augustine, Letter to Proba

Feast of St. Matthew

On hearing Christ’s voice, we open the door to receive Him, as it were, when we freely assent to His promptings and when we give ourselves over to doing what must be done. Christ, since He dwells in the hearts of His chosen ones through the grace of His love, enters so that He might eat with us and we with Him. He ever refreshes us by the light of His presence insofar as we progress in our devotion to and longing for the things of heaven. He himself is delighted by such a pleasing banquet. - Saint Venerable Bede
  Taken from this morning's Office of Readings and St. Venerable Bede reflection on Jesus dining with St. Matthew and other public sinners.

Happy Birthday Mary!

Holy Mary, Mother of God, Mother of the Church, Model of Faith, I come before you today to ask your intercession on my behalf that I may more completely imitate your Son, Jesus Christ, in all that I say and do this day. You welcomed Him into your life and dedicated yourself in love and service to Him. Inspired by your example of holiness may I surrender myself to the will of the Father this day. May the Holy Spirit fill me so that I will bring forth the presence of your Son by the way I live my life. May your example of humility lead me to deeper trust and confidence that God’s providence is unfolding in my life. Dear Mother, pray for me that my yes to God will be as trusting as your fiat. You are the perfect disciple, pray that I am true to my calling as a Christian. - Tom Miller
       Just a little prayer I wrote during my deacon year in 1992.  It has become part of my morning offering from time to time. I try to maintain an active devotion to the Blessed Mother, St. John the Baptist, St. John Chrysostom and St. Gregory the Great. I consider them my patrons as I entered into priesthood. They are the friends who inspire with their love for Jesus and their lives of holiness.

Celebrate the beauty

All you who love the Lord, sing His praises, celebrate the beauty of His Holiness. - Divine Office

Feast of St. Augustine

You are Christ,
my Holy Father,
my Tender God,
my Great King,
my Good Shepherd,
my Only Master,
my Best Helper,
my Most Beautiful and my Beloved,
my Living Bread,
my Priest Forever,
my Leader to my Country,
my True Light,
my Holy Sweetness,
my Straight Way,
my Excellent Wisdom,
my Pure Simplicity,
my Peaceful Harmony,
my Entire Protection,
my Good Portion,
my Everlasting Salvation.


Christ Jesus, Sweet Lord,
why have I ever loved,
why in my whole life
have I ever desired anything except You,
Jesus my God?
Where was I when I was not in spirit with You?
Now, from this time forth,
do you, all my desires, grow hot,
and flow out upon the Lord Jesus:
run... you have been tardy until now;
hasten where you are going;
seek Whom you are seeking.


O, Jesus may he who loves You
not be an anathema;
may he who loves You
not be filled with bitterness.

O, Sweet Jesus,
may every good feeling that is fitted for Your praise,
love You, delight in You, adore You!
God of my heart,
and my Portion, Christ Jesus,
may my heart faint away in spirit,
and may You be my Life within me!
May the live coal of Your Love
grow hot within my spirit
and break forth into a perfect fire;
may it burn incessantly on the altar of my heart;
may it glow in my innermost being;
may it blaze in hidden recesses of my soul;
and in the days of my consummation
may I be found consummated with You!

Amen.  - St. Augustine

A Father's Prayer

       Father, I thank you for the gift of my family for whom I now pray and upon whom I now ask you  to shower your blessings. With St. Joseph as my guide, may I always be ready  to spend my life for them.
       Bless my wife whom you have given to me as my spouse, sharing in your wondrous work of creation. May I see her as my equal  and treat her with the love of Christ for his Church. May Mary be her guide  and help her to find your peace and your grace.
       Bless my children with Your life and presence. May the example of Your Son  be the foundation upon which their lives are built, that the Gospel may always be their hope and support.
       I ask you, Father, to protect and bless my family. Watch over it so that in the strength of Your love its members may enjoy prosperity, possess the gift of your peace and, as the Church alive in this home, always bear witness to your glory in the world.  Amen.

Yesterday's missed quote - Memorial of St. Claire

       Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,  Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy;        O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;  to be understood as to understand;  to be loved as to love.  For it is in giving that we receive;  it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;  and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. - The prayer of St. Francis
       This is one of the prayers I say on pretty much a daily basis, I wish I did a better job living it.