Who can worthily be present at this Sacrifice,
unless You, O God, makes him worthy?
I know, O Lord, that I am unworthy to approach so great a Mystery,
by reason of my numberless sins and negligences;
but I know, and truly with my own heart do I believe,
and with my mouth confess,
that You can make me worthy.
December 7, 2019
December 6, 2019
Heavenly Father, God of joy and cheer,
we thank you for Your servant, Nicholas.
In loving the poor, he showed us Your kindness;
in caring for Your children, he revealed Your love.
Make us merciful and thoughtful
without need of reward
so that we, too, may be good followers of Jesus.
December 5, 2019
My Queen! my Mother!
I give you all myself, and,
to show my devotion to you,
I consecrate to you my eyes,
my ears, my mouth, my heart, my entire self.
Wherefore, O loving Mother,
as I am your own,
keep me, defend me,
as your property and possession.
December 4, 2019
Christmas is a festival of children. We see images of a child born in a stable surrounded by animals with Mary and Joseph by the crib. Although recalling the birth of Jesus of Nazareth is the purpose of Christmas, outside the church buildings, it is replaced by secular, non-Christian commercial money-making enterprises.
December 4, 2019
O eternal Father,
rouse our hearts out of the sleep of sin,
so that we may clear the path of Your Son into our souls.
Each year at Advent,
You gladden us with the thought of our redemption.
Grant us, we pray You, that,
as we receive Your Son as our Redeemer now,
we may, in the future, gladly and confidently
meet Him as our Judge.
Amen.
December 3, 2019
O God, our creator,
inspired by the example of St. Francis,
we pray to you for the courage to be missionaries,
reaching out and leading others to Jesus.
Like St. Francis Xavier,
may we help those in need,
may we live a life rooted in prayer and
may we bring Christ to all those we meet.
This we ask throughYour Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Amen.
December 2, 2019
A couple of years ago, before starting the Christmas Mass, in a chapel in the southern area of the archdiocese of Santiago, Chile, a family arrived with their children. One of the children brought a teddy bear and when I was greeting them, at the entrance of the church, I decided to greet his teddy bear.
December 2, 2019
The Subanens are an indigenous people whose ancestral habitat is the highlands of northwest Mindanao in the Philippines. When the Columban Fathers arrived in Mindanao in 1938 we took little notice of the Subanens because we were so engaged in a full schedule of parish pastoral activities which included dozens of far flung barrio communities.
December 2, 2019
Jesus, our Lord, save me from my sins.
Come, protect me from all dangers and lead me to salvation.
Come! Wisdom of our God Most High,
guiding creation with power and love:
teach me to walk in the paths of knowledge!
Come! Leader of ancient Israel,
giver of the Law of Moses on Sinai:
rescue me with Your might power!
The Columbans are a society of missionaries, including priests and lay people, who minister to people of various cultures as a way of witnessing to the universal love of God.