KNOWN BUT BY GRACE

August 24, 2017 by Be Holy

Only, and far flung God,
Bursting upon the scene of Time
To start the clock
By uncreated might,
And usher forth
Your manifold good will,
In the splendor of creation,
Look on me,
In my becoming.
In this, the only now I know,
This precious fleeting instant,
Reveal Yourself evermore.

You entered Time
That Man might enter Heaven.
You, Who are Eternal Being,
Let me contemplate Thee
Wrapped in swaddling clothes,
Nursing at the Virgin’s breast,
Growing as men grow,
Yet knowing the Father Creator
As only Son.

I see Thee arrayed,
Transfigured in the Light,
Even as You are stretched
Between Heaven and Earth
On Your Holy Cross,
Becoming Sin,
And dying in my stead.
Lifted above the earth in Your divinity,
Higher than the mountains,
Yet pervading depth and breathe,
To shake and shape
The cursed land and Man anew,
In elegant Revelation of Mystery,
Rising from the dead,
To live in universal blessedness,
Across all time and space,
Known but by grace.

Promises for Spreading the Devotion

August 24, 2017 by Be Holy

https://youtu.be/_g3R6GWrTiY

Distractions in Prayer

August 23, 2017 by Be Holy

REMEDY AGAINST DISTRACTIONS

When you are distracted in prayer, commend it to the Heart of Jesus, to be perfected by Him, as our Lord Himself taught St. Gertrude. One day, when she was much distracted in prayer, He appeared to her, and held forth to her His Heart with his own sacred hands, saying: Behold, I set My Heart before the eyes of thy soul, that thou mayest commend to it all thine actions, confidently trusting that all that thou canst not of thyself supply to them will be therein supplied, so that they may appear perfect and spotless in My sight.

Remember always to say the Gloria Patri with great devotion. The hermit Honorius relates that a certain monk who had been accustomed to say his office negligently appeared to another after his death, and being asked what sufferings he had to undergo in punishment of his carelessness, he said that all had been satisfied for and effaced by the reverent devotion with which he had always said the Gloria Patri.

AN EFFICACIOUS METHOD OF OFFERING OUR ACTIONS TO GOD

While St. Gertrude was offering a certain action to God, saying:

O Lord, I offer Thee this work through Thine Only Son, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to the praise of Thine eternal Majesty; it was revealed to her that whatever action was thus offered would acquire a worth and acceptableness to God beyond all human comprehension. For as all things appear to be green when seen through a green glass, so whatever is offered to God through His Only-begotten Son cannot be otherwise than most precious and pleasing in His sight.

That you may understand how useful it is to offer all your works to God, listen to what our Lord said on one occasion to St. Gertrude: All thy works are most perfectly pleasing to Me. And as she could not believe this, He added: If you held in your hand some object which you had the means and the skill to render perfectly pleasing to everyone, and if you tenderly loved that object, would you neglect to adorn it? Even thus, because you are accustomed to offer all your works to Me, I hold them in My hand; and as I have both the power and the skill, My love rejoiceth to cleanse and perfect them all, that they may be most perfectly pleasing in My sight.

Prayer for Sleep

August 22, 2017 by Be Holy

TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN AND OTHER SAINTS

To thy maternal faithfulness and to thy special care, O most blessed Virgin Mary, I commend myself this night, beseeching thee to protect me from all the snares of the enemy. O my beloved Angel guardian, and thou, holy Saints, my patrons, defend me and keep me in safety through this night. Praise my God for me without ceasing while I sleep ,and deign to bestow on me thy blessing in answer to my humble prayer. Amen.

INTENTION BEFORE SLEEP

Taught to St. Gertrude by our Lord.

O LORD JESUS, I accept this sleep in the love with which Thou didst sanctify it when Thou didst deign to sleep in Thy most sacred Humanity, to the glory of God the Father, and for the salvation of all the whole human race; beseeching Thee that, in union with Thy Divine Love, it may tend to the increase in grace and glory of all Thine elect, in Heaven, on earth, and in Purgatory. Amen.

Before you lie down to sleep, trace on your forehead these four letters, I. N. R. I., saying:

MAY Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews, preserve me from sudden and unprepared
death. Amen.

Our Lord revealed to St. Edmund that those who use this prayer shall be preserved from sudden death in the night.

On one occasion when St. Gertrude could not sleep, she learned this prayer from Christ Himself.

By Thine Own eternal and unruffled repose in the bosom of God the Father, by Thy most
peaceful rest in the womb of the Blessed Virgin, by the most ecstatic rapture with which Thou didst ever take thy delight in the hearts of those who love Thee, I beseech Thee, O most loving Lord, deign to grant me needful sleep, not for my pleasure or advantage, but that the weary members of my body may be refreshed to labour for Thine eternal praise and glory. Amen.

Counting Stars

August 15, 2017 by Be Holy

I counted stars today.
As prophets and dreamers,
Glimpsing God through the darkness,
My wonder soared.
I, too, beheld
The promise of eternity,
Stretched across the eons.

Mere points of light
In a midnight sky,
Announcing Truth veiled in mystery,
Of things hidden and unseen,
Of ages long past and yet to be.
Who with me
Knows that there is more,
Much more?

Lanterns hung in the heavens
Make of me their lampstand,
That Eternal Light
Might shine more brightly,
Giving voice to creation.

No dumb marvel,
Rather angelic themes,
To sing high praises
In celestial chants,
For all who turn their gaze
Heavenward, counting,
And loosing count,
Journey home.