Im Back with a Good Prayer After Communion

I have been gone for quite some time, but now I return to you with much more time on my hands now, so maybe there will be an influx of good posts coming your way from me.

To ease back into the world of blogging I want to share with you this prayer after Communion.

Prayer of St. Augustine


Before Thine eyes, O Lord, we bring our sins, and we compare them with the stripes we have received.
If we examine the evil we have wrought, what we suffer is little, what we deserve is great.
What we have committed is very grievous, what we have suffered is very slight.
We feel the punishment of sin, yet withdraw not from the obstinacy of sinning.
Under thy lash our inconstancy is visited, but our sinfulness is not changed.
Our suffering soul is tormented, but our neck is not bent.
Our life groans under sorrow, yet amends not in deed.
If thou spare us we correct not our ways: if thou punish we cannot endure it.
In time of correction we confess our wrong-doing: after thy visitation we forget that we have wept.
If thou stretch forth thy hand we promise amendment; if thou withholdest the sword, we keep not our promise.
If thou strikest, we cry out for mercy: if thou spareest, we again provoke thee to strike.
Here we are before thee, O Lord, confessedly guilty; we know that unless thou pardon we shall deservedly perish.
Grant, then, O Almighty Father, without our deserving it, the pardon we ask; Thou who made out of nothing those who ask Thee. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

V. Deal not with us, O Lord, according to our sins.
R. Neither reward us according to our iniquities.

Let us pray.
O God, who by sin art offended and by penance pacified ; mercifully regard the prayers of thy suppliant people, and turn away the scourges of Thy wrath, which we deserve for our sins. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Two Steps Forward... One Step Backward

Today I would like to give my readers an Update on my Spiritual Life, Its amazing what transformation has happened in this short time, Since the catalyst of the passing of my grandmother. I have reverted to my faith, From clinging to the Extraordinary form of the Mass, the law of lex orandi lex credendi has really made an impact, aside from the Liturgical abuses in the previous post when I attend the Ordinary form, the Extraordinary form is truly changing my life.

I would venture to say that I have attended the Sacrament of Penance more in the Last 6 months then in my entire life as a Catholic before I fell away, This is a good thing through this sacrament I am changing habits that needed to be changed.

I have heard our Lord call me to visit him in Eucharistic Adoration, I have been praying the rosary with frequency, things have dramatically changed in the way we live and the company we keep.

With all of this it becomes more apparent the every day spiritual warfare that is being waged has increased as well- I can barley imagine what attacks the Holy Priest's are under on a daily basis as Msgr. Schmitz addressed at the First Mass of Fr. Avis- Sometimes the "Accuser" gets me down and it feels with every two steps forward I take to reform my life........ I take One step backward. This is something I'm afraid that will not end, but I pray when I come to the end of my Journey I have made the forward progress that Jesus wants for me.

Enjoy your Labor Day Weekend

God Bless

Are we All Welcome?

A Catholic man has written into a Catholic online forum, he had an amazing "day dream" during communion the other day about how, "whereby Christ in the Flesh walked into the Church. Everyone filing up to Communion stopped dead in their tracks, turned around towards Him and began pressing back to reach Him. I, however, remained sadly rejected in place." he continues, "At that moment, someone in the crowd grabbed my arm and said, "C'mon! It's the Lord"! I explained that I couldn't go to Him because I was in sin. At that, many of the people who were pushing their way back to Him, had overheard me and began explaining that it's for the worst sinners that He came, and that He didn't want anyone kept from touching His garment. No one held me back from receiving Jesus. I was urged to go right up to Him and touch his garment, to be nourished, to be cleansed."


This man brings up a good question....
But Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P. provides a better answer:


"The Church doesn’t hold the worst sinners at arms distance, the sinners themselves do. The Church isn’t forcing them to sin. They are doing that quite on their own.

The Church does not withhold the Lord’s compassion any more than He did. But He was only compassionate with those who were repentant and then He warned them not to engage in such activity again.

Actually when you were waiting for an annulment, you could have received Holy Communion if you were not having marital relations with someone with whom you were not validly married. Perhaps you didn’t know that to do so is a mortal sin. One cannot profess one’s unconditional love for the Lord while at the same time engaging in sinful activity. THIS is where it can’t be both!

The Church wasn’t politely holding your arm. You could have gone to Confession and determined to live celibately until you were validly married—and then received Holy Communion. Many do. Unfortunately, often priests fail to tell people this."

Quotes Taken From:
SOURCE: Do we really want unity among the faithful?