Saint Nicholas of Flue

21 MARCH 2014. Today the Holy Church proposes for our commemoration St. Nicholas of Flue, a fifteenth century mystic and Patron Saint of  Switzerland.

My Lord and my God, take from me everything that distances me from you. My Lord and my God, give me everything that brings me closer to you. My Lord and my God, detach me from myself to give my all to you.

Blessed Alvarez of Cordoba

19 FEBRUARY 2013. Being the season of Lent, the regular observance of memorials is more limited, so we say that today the Order commemorates Blessed Alvarez of Cordoba.

Blessed Alavarez was born at Zamora, Spain in about A.D. 1350. He entered the Order of Preachers in 1368, where he preached throughout Spain and Italy. He established the Priory of Scala Caeli at Cordoba, where he promoted regular religious life. He is credited with spreading the practice of the Way of the Cross throughout Western Europe by his preaching and contemplation of the Lord's passion. He died at Cordoba on 19 February 1430.

From The Holy Father's 2011 Lenten Message

During the entire Lenten period, the Church offers us God's Word with particular abundance. By meditating and internalizing the Word in order to live it every day, we learn a precious and irreplaceable form of prayer; by attentively listening to God, who continues to speak to our hearts, we nourish the itinerary of faith initiated on the day of our Baptism.

A Prayer at the Beginning of Lent

God bless us in this holy season:
to know thy Holy Will for us and seek true wisdom;
To have true fear of the Lord; and to seek holiness
in our actions.
For this we pray, that we your people, may offer ourselves:
our very lives, purposes, and beings to You,
the one Holy and Triune God.
In this season, we pray, that you may grant us
true contrition for our sins and,
unified with graces of the Sacrament of Reconciliation,
may we find You, O Lord, again
in the great Sacrament of the Mass,
through which we may truly offer You all praise
and thanksgiving,
for the passion, death, and resurrection
of dearly beloved Lord, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Favorite Lenten Hym from the Liturgy of the Hours

12 MARCH 2010. From today's Morning Prayer (and also used on other days in Lent):

Lord, whose love in humble service
Bore the weight of human need,
Who did on the cross, forsaken,
Show us mercy's perfect deed;
We, your servants, bring the worship
Not of voice alone, but heart;
Consecrating to your purpose
Every gift which you impart.

As we worship, grant us vision,
Till your love's revealing light,
Till the height and depth and greatness
Dawns upon our human sight;
Making known the needs and burdens
Your compassion bids us bear,
Stirring us to faithful service,
Your abundant life to share.

Called from worship into service
Forth in your great name we go,
To the child, the youth, the aged,
Love in living deeds to show.
Hope and health, goodwill and comfort,
Counsel, aid, and peace we give,
That your children, Lord, in freedom,
May your mercy know, and live.

Lenten Prayer for Spiritual Renewal

God, heavenly Father,
look upon me and hear my prayer
during this holy Season of Lent.
By the good works You inspire,
help me to discipline my body
and to be renewed in spirit.

Without You I can do nothing.
By Your Spirit help me to know what is right
and to be eager in doing Your will.
Teach me to find new life through penance.
Keep me from sin, and help me live
by Your commandment of love.
God of love, bring me back to You.
Send Your Spirit to make me strong
in faith and active in good works.
May my acts of penance bring me Your forgiveness,
open my heart to Your love,
and prepare me for the coming feast
of the Resurrection of Jesus.

Lord, during this Lenten Season,
nourish me with Your Word of life
and make me one
with You in love and prayer.

Fill my heart with Your love
and keep me faithful to the Gospel of Christ.
Give me the grace to rise above my human weakness.
Give me new life by Your Sacraments, especially the Mass.

Father, our source of life,
I reach out with joy to grasp Your hand;
let me walk more readily in Your ways.
Guide me in Your gentle mercy,
for left to myself I cannot do Your Will.

Father of love, source of all blessings,
help me to pass from my old life of sin
to the new life of grace.
Prepare me for the glory of Your Kingdom.
I ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever.

Amen.

Monday of the Second Week of Lent: A Short Reflection

1 MARCH 2010. Today is Monday of the second week of Lent. The ashes of Ash Wednesday have been washed from our skin, but the dry, coarse texture of the ash is still with us. Having buried the "Alleluia" at the beginning of Lent, we are now well on our way on the Lenten journey: no longer at the outset, but now immersed in this season.

This season, though, does not bring about dryness and coarseness in our spiritual life. Instead, it is an opportunity to rest in Christ: a calling to spend more time in prayer, a calling to refresh ourselves in the gifts of the Trinity.

Saint Catherine of Siena, a fourteenth century tertiary Dominincan, mystic, and doctor of the Church, received the great grace of conversing directly with Christ who appeared to her. In Christ's first appearance to Saint Catherine, while she was at prayer, our Lord said:

Do you know, daughter, who you are and who I am? If you know these two things you have beatitude in your grasp. You are she who is not, and I AM HE WHO IS. Let your soul become penetrated with this truth, and the Enemy can never lead you astray . . . .

I imagine these words being spoken by Christ to me today: "You are he who is not." This definition of myself is the antithesis of God's words to Moses from the burning bush: "I AM WHO AM." (Exodus 3, 13-14 NAB) But, it is not a condemnation by our Lord of His creation. No, instead Christ's words to Saint Catherine of Siena say that everything she has--the very root of her being--is not hers, but a gift from God. Then, Christ calls for Saint Catherine to allow this truth to penetrate her.

I pray that this truth of Christ will penetrate us too. Refresh yourself in the truth of God. The very nature that we have is not ours, but a gift from our loving God. He is all and we are nothing, but in our nothingness, we are borne up by Christ in the ultimate act of His redemptive love, which is quite the opposite of nothing. His love is everything. So, we can see, that in our lowliness Christ has lifted us up and given us everything--His very self.

Pray. Refresh yourselves in this truth. Nourish your soul with prayers of thanksgiving for the gifts of God, the gift of our very selves.

IMAGE: Saint Catherine of Siena by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696-1770).