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.

The Meaning of Life (pt 1)

This is a Three part series of posts that will Deal with the Meaning of life

We are called to Know Him, to Love him, and Serve him in this world and spend eternity with him in the next.

This is the meaning of life, plain and simple. It is through living our vocation and persevering through the struggles and tribulations of daily life that we praise and honor God. This post will consider ways that we can better serve our Lord.

Firefighter, Pilot, Solider,Homemaker,Lawyer - You get the Idea we all have a role to play, the path that we choose to follow may vary but we all hope to be heading to the same destination that is the Beatific Vision. No road heading in this direction is easy, this road is one of great difficulty, if we are so lucky. It is in the times of greatest struggle that we really may have a chance to get to really know and serve the Lord.

While the acts of our day may often seem mundane, we must remove our initial reaction and perception. It is quite easy to get frustrated or angry at a screaming toddler, the gut reaction is usually one of haste and immediate gratification to silence the child. Instead of these instances of frustration we should learn to treat the child and his tantrum with total love and calmness, if the issue can not be resolved with tenderness and compassion the issue must not be resolved with the opposite emotions of anger and frustration. It is in acts of love toward the most unappealing situations that we can serve God.

Whether its a toddler, working late in the office, In the line of fire - this the Cross God has asked us to carry. God never gives us more than we can handle, in thinking we know what we can or can not handle we only do injustice to God, as he knows us better than anyone. Is life Fair? NO! Some have what we perceive to be no large yolk around their neck, we then sin by envying the light load of others. Whatever we are called we can serve better when we embrace our Cross like Jesus and continue along our way.

The rocky road of our life can be endured much more easily, and we can serve much more effectively when we live in an abundance of Grace. Grace from God overflows in the Sacraments, all of them bestow great amounts of grace. Since only two of the seven can be given continually, participating in the Eucharist and Confessing our sins regularly we can affirm all the total grace that has been given.

I leave you with the response we should all have when we are called to serve God even in the most dire circumstance:

And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word.

Luke 1:38

Confession a lost art for some..An abundant grace for others.

Divine Mercy Sunday is here today, Jesus' favorite Sunday as told to us by St. Faustina. His abundant grace is here for all, even the worst of sinners-Would God have it any other way?

This post is not meant to be judgmental but to encourage the faithful whom have not been in a long time. As we are asked to confess our sins on a regular basis so that we may remain in a state of grace to receive our Lord in the Most Holy Eucharist.

Living in a state of grace is hard.. wait.. no.. living in a state of grace is VERY VERY Hard, the enemy tempts us in so many ways, we must keep our vessels clean so that the Holy Spirit may fill us with love, and help us to prevent the devil from sending his minions to claim our soul.

Do I sound a bit fire and brimstone-ish? I hope so, fear of God must be spread, as well as fear of eternal separation from God, as we do not know the Time or the place of our death it is recorded with God... are we so sure we can make it til next week to confess, let alone tomorrow?

Please my Brothers and Sisters in Christ, remember if you die with a Mortal Sin you will pay for it, this is why our lord has given us this wonderful sacrament, we must make GOOD confessions, put aside the uneasy feeling of confessing and remember that just as the Priest is truly Christ at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, he is Truly Christ when he issues Absolution!

With confession comes the key part.. the Confessional does not have a Revolving door, you MUST make a firm purpose of amendment for your sins, please be truly sorry. Please make a good Act of Contrition! And please keep your penance.

"Confiteor Deo omnipotenti, beatae Mariae semper Virgini, beato Michaeli Archangelo, beato Joanni Baptistae, sanctis Apostolis Petro et Paulo, omnibus Sanctis, et tibi Pater: quia peccavi nimis cogitatione verbo, et opere: mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. Ideo precor beatam Mariam semper Virginem, beatum Michaelem Archangelum, beatum Joannem Baptistam, sanctos Apostolos Petrum et Paulum, omnes Sanctos, et te Pater, orare pro me ad Dominum Deum Nostrum."

from the Gospels today (both Vatican II parishes and Latin Mass parish's had the same reading's today!)

John 20:22-23
"When he had said this, he breathed on them; and he said to them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained."