Tagged: Prayers in English

“Near the cross of Jesus there stood His mother.” –John 19:25 The cross, because it was an instrument for executing criminals, is naturally repulsive to us. Nevertheless, Jesus wants us near His cross. He even wants us to live our whole lives in the shadow of the cross by taking up our daily cross (Lk 9:23). He wants us to come to the point that we will boast of nothing but Jesus’ cross and sharing in it (see Gal 6:14). Jesus has given His mother Mary to all His disciples to help overcome our revulsion of the cross and to...

“There is one God, the Father, from Whom all things come and for Whom we live.” –1 Corinthians 8:6 After the consecration at Mass, at the finale of the Eucharistic prayer and just before Holy Communion, we pray in reference to Jesus: “Through Him, with Him, and in Him…” When we pray these words at this most precious moment, are we giving lip service to God (see Mt 15:8), or are we saying that ” ‘life’ means Christ” (Phil 1:21) and Jesus is Life? (Jn 14:6) Is everything in our lives done “through Him”? Do we realize emphatically that without...

“The world as we know it is passing away.” –1 Corinthians 7:31 St. Paul, in today’s first Eucharistic reading, is bringing out the very message of Luke’s Beatitudes in today’s Gospel reading. We are not made only for this world, and there is more to life than this world. Jesus teaches that trying to live by the values of this world does not bring happiness that endures. Additionally, living by the world’s standards actually brings disaster, not happiness. Woe to those who don’t see this (Lk 6:24-26), for the world as we know it is passing away (1 Cor 7:31)....

“Then He went out to the mountain to pray, spending the night in communion with God.” –Luke 6:12 In imitation of Christ, we are sometimes called to spend several hours in prayerful communion with God (Lk 6:12). This may be a vigil, a day or night of recollection, or a retreat. After we spend these special, extended times with the Lord, He sometimes raises up leaders for His Church (see Lk 6:13ff). Then He may cure those “troubled with unclean spirits” and all those suffering from diseases (Lk 6:18-19). When the Lord calls us to extended times of prayer, we...