CATHOLIC SPIRITUAL DIRECTION




 

"Holy Communion is the shortest and safest way to Heaven."      Saint Pope Pius X

STATIONS OF THE CROSS

V. We adore you Oh Christ and we bless You!

R. Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world!

 

WRITINGS FROM THE VISIONS OF BLESSED ANNE CATHERINE EMMERICH,
FROM THE BOOK: 
THE LOWLY LIFE AND BITTER PASSION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST AND HIS BLESSED MOTHER 

[Image above is from the Movie: The Passion of the Christ, Director Meb Gibson.]

See: Promises and Indulgences for saying The Stations of the Cross.

 

PREPARATORY PRAYER

O Jesus, my adorable Savior, behold me here prostrate imploring Your mercy for myself, and for the souls of all the faithful departed.  Vouchsafe to apply to me the infinite merits of Your passion on which I am now about to mediate.  Grant that, while I trace this path of signs and tears, my heart may be so touched with contrition and repentance that I may be ready to embrace with joy all the sufferings and humiliations of this life and pilgrimage.

 

STATION ONE JESUS IS CONDEMNED TO DEATH
STATION TWO JESUS ACCEPTS HIS CROSS
STATION THREE JESUS FALLS FOR THE FIRST TIME
STATION FOUR  JESUS MEETS HIS SORROWFUL MOTHER
STATION FIVE  SIMON OF CYRENE HELPS JESUS CARRY THE CROSS
STATION SIX  VERONICA WIPES THE BLOODY FACE OF JESUS
 
STATION SEVEN  JESUS FALLS FOR THE SECOND TIME
STATION EIGHT   JESUS SPEAKS TO THE WOMEN OF JERUSALEM
STATION NINE  JESUS FALLS FOR THE THIRD TIME
STATION TEN  JESUS IS STRIPPED OF HIS GARMENTS
STATION ELEVEN  JESUS IS NAILED TO THE CROSS
 
STATION TWELVE  JESUS DIES ON THE CROSS
 
STATION THIRTEEN  JESUS IS TAKEN DOWN FROM THE CROSS
STATION FOURTEEN  JESUS IS LAID IN THE TOMB

 

 

LENT

Lent is the period of 40 weekdays from Ash Wednesday, February 17th through Easter, April 4th.

OBJECTIVES FOR LENT

1) To confess and turn away from all sin in our lives through Penance/Confession and Prayer.

2) To increase our love for God by attending Mass and receiving the Body of Christ.

3) To increase our love for our neighbor by forgiving our neighbor their faults and by doing good works to help our neighbor and the community.   This Lent ask God to give you the Grace  to forgive those who have  offended you the most.

4)  It also means fasting and giving up pleasures we would normally have during the week.  Before Lent starts try to make a plan that would include these items. 

 5) Another suggestion would be to see Mel Gibson's  movie, The Passion of the Christ, which will lead us to reflect more deeply on the horrific agony Jesus suffered in order to save us.  Also, consider reading Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich's visions of the sufferings that Christ endured when he was crucified,  in the book, The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, which Mel Gibson used as a reference source in producing his Passion movie.

6) Pray the Stations of the Cross

7) Pray and Read the Devotion to the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Mary

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GUIDELINES FOR FASTING DURING LENT

ABSTINENCE is a penitential practice consisting of refraining from the consumption of meat and is to be observed by all Catholics who are 14 years of age and older.  Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and the Fridays during Lent are days of abstinence in which meat is not to be eaten.  Pastors and parents are encouraged to see that children who are not bound by the obligation to fast and abstain are led to appreciate an authentic sense of penance.  

FASTING AND ABSTINENCE:  In addition to abstinence, fasting is to be observed by all Catholics between the ages of 18-59 years (inclusive). There are two days for this:  Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. On days of fasting, one full meal is allowed.  Two smaller meals, sufficient to maintain strength, may be taken according to one's needs, but together they should not equal another full meal.  Eating between meals is not permitted, but liquids are allowed.  Note:  If a person is unable to observe the above regulations due to ill health or serious reasons, they are urged to practice other forms of self-denial that are suitable to their condition.

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 CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES

RELIEF FOR HAITI

TO DONATE SEE:  Haiti Relief Begins Amid Crisis, Catholic Relief Services

 

images from www.wikipedia.org

 

SPIRITUAL DIRECTION FOR TODAY

[The works of a well known Catholic Spiritual Director will be featured in this space each week.]

SERMONS OF SAINT JOHN VIANNEY

GREAT CONFESSOR OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

(1786-1859)

Life Summary of Saint John Vianney

THE TONGUE OF THE SCANDAL-MONGER

Anyone who is unfortunate enough to come under the tongue of the scandalmonger is like a grain of corn under the grinding stone in a mill: he is torn, crushed, entirely destroyed. People like these will fasten onto you intentions that you never had; they will poison all your actions and your movements. If you have enough piety to wish to fulfil your religious duties, you are only a hypocrite, an angel in the church and a demon in the house. If you do any good or charitable works, they will think that this is just through pride and so that you may gain notice. If you are not worldly and not interested in worldly affairs, you are said to be odd and singular and to have no spirit. If you look after your own affairs carefully, you are nothing but a miser. Let me go further, my dear brethren, and say that the tongue of the scandalmonger is like the worm which gnaws at the good fruit -- that is, the best actions that people do -- and tries to turn all to bad account.

The tongue of the scandalmonger is a grub which taints the most beautiful of the flowers and upon them leaves behind it the disgusting trace of is own slime.

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SERMONS OF SAINT JOHN VIANNEY, THE CURE OF ARS

 

PRAYER TO THE PASSION AND WOUNDS OF JESUS


A Very powerful Prayer To Obtain A Favor:

PRAY THE FOLLOWING:

O great passion!  O deep Wounds!  O Blood shed in abundance!  O meekness!  O God of meekness, O cruel death, have mercy on me and grant my request if it be for my salvation.JesusChristScourged.jpg (25611 bytes)

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Promises Of Our Lord

"I will grant all that shall be asked of Me through the invocation of my Holy Wounds."

"With my Wounds and my Divine Heart you can obtain all."

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PRAY THE FOLLOWING:

"Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Wounds of our Lord Jesus Christ to heal those of our souls."  

"My Jesus, pardon and mercy, by the merits of Thy Holy Wounds."           

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PRAY FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA AND VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN   

We  must pray for President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle.   Scripture says "with God all things are possible."  We must pray for Vice-President , Joe Biden and his wife, Jill.

    Say the  prayer on the left for President Barack Obama's conversion to become prolife; that God would show him that he must vote and legislate to always protect the lives of unborn children.  See : Abortion Decisions of President Obama and his Administration

Also See:  ABORTION DECISIONS OF PRESIDENT OBAMA: FROM LIFE NEWS: http://www.lifenews.com/obamaabortionrecord.html

 

ABORTION IS THE WORST FORM OF DISCRIMINATION MAN HAS EVER KNOWN!

 IN ABORTION ALL RACES OF MEN ARE DISCRIMINATED AGAINST!

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MARIAN PRAYER

[Make a prayer request.]

PRAYER OF
ACCLAMATIONS TO MARY

O gracious and beautiful Heaven, more vast than the heavens themselves, for they cannot contain God, Who is immense, but He concealed Himself in thy womb; O richest of all treasures, in which was deposited the
treasure of our redemption; O Mother of sinners, under whose mantle we are defended; O consolation of the world, in which all who are afflicted, infirm, and disconsolate, find consolation; O beautiful eyes, which steal hearts; O coral lips, which imprison souls; O generous hands, filled with lilies, and which always distribute graces; O pure creature. who appearest a God, and whom I should have taken for a God, had not faith taught me that thou art not so, although thou hast a splendor, and I know not what of Divine sovereignty; O great Lady, empress of Heaven, enjoy for a thousand eternities the greatness of thy state, the immensity of thy greatness, and the happiness of thy glory, We only beseech thee, O compassionate Mother, not to forget us, who glory in being thy servants and children, And since in thee are deposited all graces, and the best and most privileged of all created things, grant, O Lady, that we, thy devout children, may be favored more beyond comparison than are all other men on earth, The whole world should know that the dear children of Mary are the best of Heaven and earth: they are the spoilt children, who enjoy all the choicest possessions of their Mother; they are the beloved Benjamins, who, being caressed in the bosom of the Queen of Heaven, are doubly favored and doubly caressed by the Majesty of God, This I hope, O most beautiful Rachel; and this I am confident that thou wilt do, O sovereign Princess, in the name of what thou art, do it; for all Heaven prostrate at thy feet beseeches thee, and with importunity asks it of thee. Say only yes, pronounce only a loving consent; be it done, be it done, fiat, fiat! O men, of what are you thinking? How can you love earthly, deceitful, and lying creatures, which betray you and cause you to lose your souls, your bodies, Paradise, and God! And why do you not love the most loving, the most amiable, the most faithful Mary, who, after having enriched you with consolations and graces in this life, will obtain you from her Divine beloved Son the eternal glory of Paradise? O Mary, Mary more beautiful than all creatures, lovely after Jesus above all loves, more dear than all created things, gracious above every grace, pity this miserable heart of mine; miserable because it does not love thee; and it ought to love thee. Thou canst inflame it with thy holy love. Turn, O Mary, thy loving eyes upon me; look at me, and draw me to thee; and grant that after God I may love no other but thee, most gracious, most amiable Mary, Mother of Jesus, and my Mother.

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THREE HAIL MARY'S PRAYER TO SAVE THE LIVES OF UNBORN CHILDREN

Christian prolifers who have spent time counseling in front of abortion clinics have often observed the power of prayer to save the lives of unborn children.  God pours out special graces to save the lives of unborn children when His followers petition Heaven to redirect women away from having abortions.  Your prayers today can save a life.  Prayers said to the Virgin Mary can prevent abortion from taking place. 

    According to a recent news story from the Associated Press a record number of babies were born in the United States in 2007.  A total of  4,315,000 children were born in 2007. That's about 15,000 more births than the peak time of the baby boom in 1957. These figures were recorded by the National Center for Health Statistics which compiled the data from provisional birth certificate registrations at state health departments.

But there were 1,287,000 abortions done in the United States in 2007.  This means the people of United States in 2007 aborted approximately 1 out of every 5 babies.

 

Mother Teresa said that "the fruits of abortion are nuclear war."   When Mother Teresa said this she was indicating that the complete disrespect for life, especially the lives of the unborn, would bring about a nuclear war.

 

 During each day, offer up three Hail Mary's several times each day asking the Blessed Mother to redirect women throughout the world away from the abortion clinics and toward giving birth to their children.  If you want to say rosaries  each day to save unborn children; this is also recommended.

 

PURPOSE OF WEB SITE: Welcome to this Catholic Spiritual Direction Web Site.   It is the intention of this page to help Catholics develop a closer relationship with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit through the promotion of prayer and Christian teaching which will enable Christians to adhere to the straight and narrow path Jesus speaks of in the Gospels.  Included in these web pages are the Douay-Rheims Bible and the works of Saint John of the Cross, Thomas à Kempis and Saint Louis de Montfort, and the works of other saints of the Catholic faith, f whose teachings on spiritual directveeen llowed by priests, ministers, clergymen, Popes and Saints. These teachings adhere to the teachings of the Catholic Church.   This site is dedicated to Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich (Biography) (1774-1824) Mystic, Stigmatist,  Prophet, and Great Visionary, a saintly Augustinian nun from Flamske, Germany.  Her highly descriptive visions of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, The Sorrowful Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, are presented here.   In time more works from the Saints of the Catholic Church will be added to these pages.

 INTERCESSORY PRAYER AND PRAYER CHAPLET TO BLESSED ANNE CATHERINE EMMERICH

PRAYER TO PROTECT ALL MILITARY TROOPS  FIGHTING FOR PEACE

Oh, Lord God, we ask in the name of your precious Son, JESUS, for the protection of all military troops fighting against terrorism.  Secondly, in the name of JESUS, we ask for the apprehension of all hostile terrorist leaders and their followers. "Whatever you ask in my name I will do, so that the Fathe glorified in the Son.  If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it." John 14: 13-14

 

PRAYER TO SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL

(Ask Saint Michael to protect International troops in harm's way around the world.)

Glorious St. Michael,
Prince of the heavenly hosts,  who standest always ready to give assistance to the people of God;  who didst fight with the dragon, the old serpent, and didst cast him out of heaven,  and now valiantly defendest the Church of God that the gates of hell may never prevail against her, I earnestly entreat thee to assist me also, in the painful and dangerous conflict which I have to sustain against the same formidible foe. Be with me, O mighty Prince! that I may courageously fight and wholly vanquish that proud spirit, whom thou hast by the Divine Power, so gloriously overthrown, and whom our powerful King,  Jesus Christ, has, in our nature, so completely overcome; to the end that having triumphed over the enemy of my salvation, I may with thee and the holy angels, praise the clemency of God who, having refused mercy  to the rebellious angels after their fall,  has granted repentance  and forgiveness to fallen man.

Amen

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U.S. FATALITIES IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN

 

HAVE MASSES SAID FOR SOLDIERS THAT HAVE DIED

 

SEXUALLY IMMORAL PEOPLE WILL NOT ENTER INTO HEAVEN UNLESS THEY REPENT AND TURN AWAY FROM SIN. (THIS INCLUDES: FORNICATORS (PEOPLE WHO LIVE TOGETHER BEFORE MARRIAGE), ADULTERERS AND HOMOSEXUALS).

"Do you not know that the unrighteous and the wrongdoers will not inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived (misled): neither the impure and immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor those who participate in homosexuality,  Nor cheats (swindlers and thieves), nor greedy graspers, nor drunkards, nor foulmouthed revilers and slanderers, nor extortioners and robbers will inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God."  --- Saint Paul,  1 Corinthians 6:9-10

EVENING PRAYER:

Jesus gave us the very essence of spiritual direction in the Bible:  "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment." Matthew 22:37-38

Each evening we should reflect on the good things and on the bad things we did during the day and ask God to help us to improve in the future.  It is good if we say an Act of Contrition each evening to help us acknowledge our imperfections and to ask God to give us the graces to improve.

ACT OF CONTRITION

O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins, because of Thy just punishments, but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, who art all-good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to sin no more and to avoid the near occasions of sin. 

PRAYER FOR PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL HEALING

THE CONSTANT PRAYER OF SAINT CATHERINE OF SIENA
PRECIOUS BLOOD, ocean of divine mercy:  Flow upon us!
Precious Blood, most pure offering: Procure us every grace!
Precious Blood, hope and refuge of sinners: Atone for us!
Precious Blood, delight of holy souls: Draw us! Amen.

 "At the evening of life, you will be examined in love. Learn to love as God desires to be loved and abandon your own ways of acting."   Saint John of the Cross

 

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