PRAYER

Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, 
which you do not know Jeremiah 33:3 

 Email  Prayer Requests to Kay murdyk@netscape.net  
Check out Catholic Prayers - Praying Scripture

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The Divine Office: "The Liturgy of the Hours"
“Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God.”
Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 2559)

The Divine Office is the former name for the official daily liturgical prayer by which the Church sanctifies the hours of the day. The “Office” is the full cycle of canonical “Hours”, the official daily public prayer of the Church. The term was borrowed from the custom of the Jews, and passed into the speech of the early Christians. In the Acts of the Apostles there is reference to prayer being designated by the hour at which it was said. In our Church today, when the Hours are prayed by clergy and lay persons alike, even in private, we are united in this beautiful prayer, and participating with fellow Catholics all around the world, praying the official prayers at the same time. What a powerful thing!

Office of Readings – Three psalms or sections of psalms followed by a scriptural reading and a patristic reading. In contemplative communities this is to retain its “nocturnal character,” evoking the ancient Christian discipline of “keeping vigil” for the Lord’s return. For parish priests (and for active religious and laity who choose to say this Office), it may be celebrated the evening before, early in the morning or any time in the course of the day conducive to prayer and spiritual reading.

The LITURGY OF THE Hours 
The Second Vatican Council, valuing highly this long-standing custom of the Church and wishing to renew it, provided a new form for the prayer, revised so that it could more fittingly be used by all members of the Church in the circumstances of modern life. With Vatican II came the renamed Office – The Liturgy of the Hours.

Matins: (from the Latin, matutinas vigilias, or “morning watches”) The hour of Matins was a nocturnal hour, it was celebrated at midnight onwards and often joined with Lauds as a continuing vigil of prayer. Within this is a great consolation, the realization that even now, in many parts of the world, midnight is the advent of the expectant new day... and "we do not know the hour when the Lord will come!"

Morning Prayer ̶-Lauds: (pronounced: lawds) The word Lauds is derived from the Latin word laus meaning, praise. This is always an hour of praise, as is clear from the Psalms chosen within the text, which recall the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, and the gift of new life that comes to us in this new God- given day.

The Hour of Prime: (pronounced: prime) (Latin: prima, first) was originally the earliest Canonical Hour, prima hora, and the first hour of the Roman day. Prime is celebrated at 6 AM, an hour in which we consecrate the forthcoming day to God, giving thanks for the awakening to life and being open to God’s gift of Himself through his Word.

Midmorning  ̶ Terce: (pronounced: terse) (Latin: tertia hora) Called thus because the Romans celebrated it at what they regarded the third hour of their day, which was 9 AM in the morning. Terce is often called the golden hour, or the Hour of the Holy Spirit, recalling the hour when the disciples went up to the Temple to pray. It also commemorates the event at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended upon Mary and the Apostles at this hour. As did the Romans, we celebrate Terce at approximately 9 AM and it is, therefore, a prayer inspiring us to begin the day under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and in union with Mary Our Mother. “Come Holy Spirit!”

Midday ̶  Sext : (Latin, sexta hora) This was the sixth hour of the Roman day, what is for us about Midday. At midday the time we recall the hour that Christ was raised upon the Cross of Salvation for us, and Mary His faithful Mother standing faithfully by Him in His suffering. This is midday, and this hour can be regarded as an oasis of prayer, a time to turn to Our Savior and pray in union with Mary for the suffering of the world.

Midafternoon -- None: (pronounced: known) (Latin, nona hora) This hour was regarded by the Romans as the ninth hour, hence the Latin name nona, which for us occurs about three o'clock in the afternoon. It was at the ninth hour, we will remember, that Jesus cried out in his agony, 'Eloi, Eloi, lamma sabacthani?' which means, 'My God, My God why hast thou forsaken me!” This is the hour of Crucifixion, the hour of Redemption, and in this hour we bring all our burdens to Christ on the Cross, praying for all poor sinners with and through Mary His Immaculate Mother.

Evening Prayer -- Vespers: (Latin, Vespers Espera ) was a name given to the evening star of Venus, which rising in the evening was a call to prayer, a light in the Heavens announcing the drawing on of the day, Vespers is prayed anytime after the Hour of None and before Compline.

Night Prayer -- Compline: (pronounced: complin) From the Latin word (Latin, complere, or to complete) so named because it is the last hour of the day to be prayed. Compline is a beautiful way to complete our day, to pray with Mary and to Mary for the dying and for all those upon whom the night either of the spirit or in fact will soon fall. We pray for Gods protection for the night, conscious of the many evils perpetrated in the nocturnal hours. It is an hour in which we commend everything , surrender everything to God. This is an excellent moment for an examination of conscience.

This website offers daily Liturgy of the Hours Morning, Daytime, Evening and Night Prayer, plus the Office of Readings. The prayers are offered in Adobe Acrobat formats that print as booklets, display on PCs and mobile devices, and 'Read Out Loud' on PCs. Also in Spanish, French, Italian and Portugese. http://www.liturgyhours.org/
 NOVENAS
* What is a Novena?
A novena is the reciting of powerful prayers and devotions for a special request over nine consecutive days. Traditionally, a novena includes praying, fasting, and meditating.

* Do I have to be Catholic to make the novena?
No! You only have to be someone having a difficult time coping with difficult problems in your life that you cannot resolve on your own. You're only human! It's all right to be overwhelmed sometimes.

* How long should the novena be said?
Traditionally, the novena prayer is said for nine days. The nine days signifies the nine days the Apostles prayed together during the time between the Ascension of Jesus, and Pentecost. However, there is no hard and fast "rule" for praying; it is best if you adopt a way of prayer that is comfortable for you and allows you to be in conversation with God.

* What prayers should I say? How do I say them?
Your goal when praying is to focus your heart, mind, and body on communicating with God. Praying is best done in a quiet environment. Start by closing your eyes, then describe your special need, and make a heartfelt request. Your prayer can be as simple as "Dear Lord, please help me with (insert your request)", or if you prefer, choose your own prayer or a prayer used by others. You should then follow your prayer by saying three Our Father's, three Hail Mary's, and three Gloria prayers. Many people also find that some type of fasting during the nine days provide extra comfort and strength when saying the prayers.
 

SACRED SPACE

The Irish Jesuits invite you to make a 'Sacred Space' in your day, and spend ten minutes, praying as you sit at your computer with the help of on-screen guidance and scripture chosen specially every day.

www.sacredspace.ie

 

 Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius
 Creighton University offers a 34 Week Online Retreat, a guided experience of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius adapted for busy, everyday life. Begin the retreat at any time, and follow the guides and resources provided each week. Be open and trust in a God who is not outdone in generosity.

http://www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/cmo-retreat.html

APOSTLESHIP OF PRAYER
3211 S. Lake Dr., Suite 216
Milwaukee, WI 53235
414-486-1152
www.apostlesofprayer.org

The Apostleship of Prayer began in France in 1844. At that time Fr. Francis X. Gautrelet told a group of Jesuit seminarians who were eager to work on the missions:

"Be apostles now, apostles of prayer! Offer everything you are doing each day in union with the Heart of our Lord for what He wishes, the spread of the Kingdom for the salvation of souls."

The Apostleship of Prayer now includes over 50 million people worldwide, who pray the Daily offering in their different languages. Each month they offer their prayers for specific intentions that the pope has personally chosen.
“The Messenger of the Sacred Heart” A monthly magazine published by the Canadian Apostleship of Prayer. Subscribe in the USA at: MESSENGER, P. O. Box 238, Pembrina, ND 58271
Fax: (416) 466-1196 

DIVINE MERCY

In 1935, St. Faustina Kowalska received a vision in which she saw the Holy Trinity and felt the power of Jesus' grace. At the same time, she found herself pleading with God for mercy with words she heard interiorly:

Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world; for the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world (Diary, 476). 
The Chaplet of Mercy is a powerful prayer. Go to this web site and feel Gods healing love and mercy. http://www.marian.org/divinemercy/prayers.html

OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL

According to the most ancient Carmelite chronicles, the Order has its origins with the disciples of the prophets Elijah and Elisha who lived in caves on Mount Carmel. The Carmelites honored the Queen of Heaven as the Virgin who gave birth to the Savior. In the 12th century, many pilgrims from Europe who had followed the Crusaders came to join them. A rule was established and the Order began to spread to Europe.

Amid the many persecutions raised against the Order of Mount Carmel, St. Simon Stock, General of the Order, turned with confidence to the Blessed Mother of God. As he knelt in prayer on July 16, 1251, she appeared before him and presented him with the brown scapular, a loose sleeveless garment reaching from the shoulders to the knees, destined for the Order of Carmel. It was given as an assurance of her heavenly protection from eternal death for all who died wearing it. Devotion spread quickly throughout the Christian world.

At Lourdes in 1858, the Virgin chose to make Her last apparition on July 16th, feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the day the Church commemorates her apparition to Saint Simon Stock. And at Fatima on October 13, 1917, it is as Our Lady of Mount Carmel that Mary appeared when she said farewell to the three children. Throughout the ages, the Queen of Carmel has always kept a faithful watch over the destinies of her cherished children on earth.

The Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

The world in which we live is full of material things that have symbolic meaning: light, fire, water... there are also, in everyday life, experiences of relationships between human beings, which express and symbolize deeper realities. One of the signs in the tradition of the Church from many centuries ago is the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. It is a sign approved by the Church and accepted by the Carmelite Order as an external sign of love for Mary, of the trust her children have in her, and of commitment to live like her.

The word scapular indicates a form of clothing that monks wore when they were working. In some religious orders, such as the Carmelites, the Scapular turned into a sign of their way of life. The Scapular came to symbolize the special dedication of Carmelites to Mary, the Mother of God, and to express trust in her motherly protection as well as the desire to be like her in her commitment to Christ and to others. Thus it became a sign of Mary.

In the Middle Ages many Christians wanted to be associated with the orders founded at that time: Franciscans, Dominicans, Augustinians, and Carmelites. Groups of lay people began to emerge in associations such as confraternities and sodalities. All the religious orders wanted to give these lay people a sign of affiliation and of participation in their spirit and apostolate. That sign was often a part of their habit: a cloak, a cord, a scapular. Among the Carmelites, the stage came when a smaller version of the Scapular was accepted as the sign of belonging to the Order and an expression of its spirituality.

The Carmelite Scapular is not:
* a magical charm to protect you
* an automatic guarantee of salvation
* an excuse for not living up to the demands of the Christian life

It is a sign:
* which has been approved by the Church for over seven centuries;
* which stands for the decision to follow Jesus like Mary:
to be open to God and to his will
to be guided by faith, hope, and love
to to pray at all times
to discover God present in all that happens around us.



 Novena To Our Lady of Mount Carmel

First Day
O Beautiful Flower of Carmel, most fruitful vine, splendor of heaven, holy and singular, who brought forth the Son of God, still ever remaining a pure virgin, assist us in our necessity! O Star of the Sea, help and protect us! Show us that you are our Mother! (pause and mention petitions)
Say: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Second Day
Most Holy Mary, Our Mother, in your great love for us you gave us the Holy Scapular of Mount Carmel, having heard the prayers of your chosen son Saint Simon Stock. Help us now to wear it faithfully and with devotion. May it be a sign to us of our desire to grow in holiness. (pause and mention petitions)
Say: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be. Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Third Day
O Queen of Heaven, you gave us the Scapular as an outward sign by which we might be known as your faithful children. may we always wear it with honor by avoiding sin and imitating your virtues. Help us to be faithful to this desire of ours. (pause and mention petitions). Say: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be. Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Fourth Day
When you gave us, Gracious Lady, the Scapular as our Habit, you called us to be not only servants, but also your own children. We ask you to gain for us from your Son the grace to live as you children in joy, peace and love. (pause and mention petitions)
Say: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be. Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Fifth Day
O Mother of Fair Love, through your goodness, as your children, we are called to live in the spirit of Carmel. Help us to live in charity with one another, prayerful as Elijah of old, and mindful of our call to minister to God's people. (pause and mention petitions) Say: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be. Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Sixth Day
With loving provident care, O Mother Most Amiable, you covered us with your Scapular as a shield of defense against the Evil One. Through your assistance, may we bravely struggle against the powers of evil, always open to your Son Jesus Christ. (pause and mention petitions). Say: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Seventh Day
O Mary, Help of Christians, you assured us that wearing your Scapular worthily would keep us safe from harm. Protect us in both body and soul with your continual aid. may all that we do be pleasing to your Son and to you. (pause and mention petitions)
Say: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be. Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Eighth Day
You give us hope, O Mother of Mercy, that through your Scapular promise we might quickly pass through the fires of purgatory to the Kingdom of your Son. Be our comfort and our hope. Grant that our hope may not be in vain but that, ever faithful to your Son and to you, we may speedily enjoy after death the blessed company of Jesus and the saints. (pause and mention petitions). Say: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be. Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Ninth Day
O Most Holy Mother of Mount Carmel, when asked by a saint to grant privileges to the family of Carmel, you gave assurance of your Motherly love and help to those faithful to you and to your Son. Behold us, your children. We glory in wearing your holy habit, which makes us members of your family of Carmel, through which we shall have your powerful protection in life, at death and even after death. Look down with love, O Gate of Heaven, on all those now in their last agony! Look down graciously, O Virgin, Flower of Carmel, on all those in need of help! Look down mercifully, O Mother of our Savior, on all those who do not know that they are numbered among your children. Look down tenderly, O Queen of All Saints, on the poor souls! (pause and mention petitions)
Say: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.
OUR LADY OF LOURDES
Our Lady appeared 18 times to Bernadette Soubirous, a young poor and sick girl in the grotto of Masabielle, close to Lourdes in France in 1858. She asked for a chapel to be built in the site of the apparitions and when asked who she was, She replied " I am the Immaculate Conception " Our Lady asked Bernadette to wash her face at the fountain but there was no fountain there. Bernadette dug a hole in the ground, and with muddy water washed her face while people ridiculed her. From there sprang the famous fountain of water that has healing attributes. Many sick people have bathed themselves in that water and there have been at least 64 reported miraculous healings. Millions of people from all over the world go to Lourdes yearly in the hope of obtaining help from the Mother of God. Bernadette became a nun. She died when she was 35 and her body is still incorrupt.

OUR LADY OF FATIMA
In 1917 a Woman from Heaven visited Portugal with a message for all humanity. She warned the world of the effects and punishment for sin. She  offered the means to lead humankind back to God once more. The message changed the lives of the three children who listened to her message, and it has changed the lives of millions of other people also. Two of those children, Jacinta and Francisco Martos, died shortly after the apparitions, and on May 13, 2000 the Pope declared them 'Blessed.' At the Mass of Beatification, the third part of the Secret of Fatima was finally revealed to the world on the instruction of Pope John Paul. Fatima has been called "the altar of the world," a view shared by the Holy Father himself, who has a very great devotion to Our Lady of Fatima. It is to her that the Pope attributes the preservation of his life after the attempted assassination of him in Saint Peters. Send Your Prayer Petitions to: OurLady@fatima-petitions.com http://www.Fatima-Petitions.com

 

OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE
In 1531 Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared at Tepeyac. She told Juan Diego "Am I not your Mother? Am I not holding you here, where I cross my arms?" As our Mother, she wants to help us. That is why Interlupe will deposit any kind of petition at Our Lady of Guadalupe´s feet in her Shrine where she appeared to Juan Diego nearly 500 years before. Once a month, a Mass will be freely celebrated praying for the needs of all who have sent her their prayers. Just be grateful for all the love God has given you, and you will accomplish His will. http://spin.com.mx/~msalazar/ 

Pope John Paul II marked the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec 12, 2001 by launching the official Spanish language Web Site dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico's Basilica: www.virgendeguadalupe.org.mx

Read Kay's talk on Our Lady of Guadalupe

If you want us to pray for some intention please
Email the Eucharistic Prayer Group
of San Pio of Pietrelcina, Santa Rosa, Pampa, Argentina.
 

Need some prayer in your life? Visit these sites:

"Psalm Weaver" is a yearly subscription service that delivers daily psalms to cell phones or e-mail. Online system allows recipients to customize the delivery time and method of their psalms. Annual subscription rate is available online: www.psalmweaver.com for $19.95 per year, plus a one-time set-up fee of $4.00

"Pray the News," run by the Carmelites of Indianapolis, features weekly prayerful reflections by six cloistered Carmelite nuns on current news events. The home page http://www.praythenews.org provides a tour of Carmelite life and contemplative prayer, but if you're in a hurry, click on the words "the news" on the homepage.



Daily Prayer to the Saints. Experience the friendship and spiritual guidance of hundreds of saints, one for each day of the year. If you desire to grow in holiness, the prayers given here will point you in the right direction, and the saints will lead you by the hand and never let go! http://gnm.org/saints/index.html

"Healing Power of Prayer" Therese is a young mother whose child Natalia was born with multiple birth defects. She has a web site dedicated to prayer for children and other needs. http://www.livingwithtrisomy13.org

How about making a retreat?
Looking for some spiritual refreshment? Trying to get your life in order? Do you long for a quiet place apart to hear God's voice? Do you need guidance and direction?
Check out my Retreat Page

 
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