Lord Jesus, Let me Know Myself : An Augustinian Prayer

No matter where we are in life, it's important to take the time to stop and reflect. We should constantly work on bettering ourselves, which means we need to be keenly aware of our own weaknesses. And what better way is there to do that than with prayer? I came across this Augustianian prayer on the EWTN site and knew I wanted to share it. I went ahead and included both the English and Latin version so you can feel free to use whichever you prefer. Saint Augustine  St. Augustine of Hippo is renowned for his influential Church writings and philosophy. His life remains an inspiration for sinners everywhere. Though his mother (Saint Monica) was a devout Catholic, his father was a Pagan. Despite the best efforts of his mother, Augustine chose to embrace Manichaeism and a life of sin. During this time, his mother prayed for him ceaselessly, begging God's intercession for her wayward son. Her prayers were answered in the form of an encounter between her son and St. Ambrose (who also became a Doctor of the Church). Augustine abandoned his old ways, embraced the faith, and, of course, eventually became a saint. The Prayer Domine Iesu, Noverim me (Lord Jesus, Let Me Know Myself) English  Lord Jesus, let me know myself and know Thee, And desire nothing save only Thee. Let me hate myself and love Thee. Let me do everything for the sake of Thee. Let me humble myself and exalt Thee. Let me think of nothing except Thee. Let me die to myself and live in Thee. Let me accept whatever happens as from Thee. Let me banish self and follow Thee, And ever desire to follow Thee. Let me fly from myself and take refuge in Thee, That I may deserve to be defended by Thee. Let me fear for myself, let me fear Thee, And let me be among those who are chosen by Thee. Let me distrust myself and put my trust in Thee. Let me be willing to obey for the sake of Thee. Let me cling to nothing save only to Thee, And let me be poor because of Thee. Look upon me, that I may love Thee. Call me that I may see Thee, And for ever enjoy Thee. Amen. Latin  Domine Iesu, noverim me, noverim te, Nec aliquid cupiam nisi te. Oderim me et amem te. Omnia agam propter te. Humilem me, exaltem te. Nihil cogitem nisi te. Mortificem me et vivam in te. Quaecumque eveniant accipiam a te. Persequar me, sequar te, Semerque optem sequi te. Fugiam me, confugiam ad te, Ut merear defendi a te. Timeam mihi, timeam te, Et sim inter electos a te. Diffidam mihi, fidam in te. Obedire velim propter te. Ad nihil afficiar nisi ad te, Et pauper sim propter te. Aspice me, ut diligam te. Voca me, ut videam te, Et in aeternum fruar te. Amen. Original files by Michael Martin

Saint Gertrude Chaplet- release 50,000 souls from Purgatory!

Print this & share it with others!

  I have had many requests to redo my St Gertrude Chaplet (video on YouTube). It is a surprisingly difficult chaplet to get ahold of... 1 of St Gertrude's prayers releases 1,000 souls from Purgatory (it may also confer special graces and indulgences for living souls). . . This chaplet has what I like to think of as a Spiritual Multiplier Effect. If prayed faithfully, this chaplet releases (up to) 50,000 souls from Purgatory! (What happens to souls released from Purgatory?...) Those 50,000 souls are able to go to Heaven and pray for us (for our soul & the world)! God literally gave us a prayer to increase the number of souls in Heaven- and it's so easy too! Why is this prayer (and chaplet) so difficult to find? Satan tries to hide things like this from us in order to keep us from living a faithful life... and to prevent the release of souls into Heaven. This means its up to us to share it with others! You can try printing a few & leaving them in the back of your Church [it might be a good idea to ask your priest first]... or share it with the your church's youth group & (CCD) Faith Formation classes... you can even repost it on Facebook, leave it in Catholic books at your library (for some lucky person to find in the future), share it with your family, friends, and Catholic neighbors... the possibilities are endless!

So...I only had one class today, "The Devil in Film" and it was cancelled so I came back home, researched a guide for the Saint Gertrude Chaplet (so I could redo my video & post this with it) ... but I couldn't find any that were very useful. (There were a few but they were poorly written and difficult to follow so after struggling to figure out their instructions... I believe I have put it into an easy to use guide by reformatting a standard 5-decade Rosary guide.) ... I have a 2 page paper to write tonight (I'm analyzing the concepts of soul, sin, sexuality, and Protestant thought in the 1931 version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - I chose both topic & film so- yay! This should be interesting). I also have some Philosophy articles to read on the ethics of war but if all goes as planned, I should hopefully find some more time today to rerecord my Saint Gertrude Chaplet video & post it tonight - or maybe sometime later this week... Oh! I almost forgot... it might be a little hard to see but the Immaculate & Sacred Heart prayers come before the Glory Be.
 ... Pray on!

If the world is a puzzle and we are the pieces...

The world is like a giant jigsaw puzzle and we are each a piece of it. We are not all intended to be the same shape or piece- there must be some of us who are ‘ends’ and corners while others must be the middle pieces. We cannot be something that God did not create us to be. If we try to jam ourselves into the puzzle in the wrong spot- we’ll set the whole puzzle off. We all have a purpose. But how do I know if I am supposed to be on a corner or in the center? How do I know if I am supposed to be a wife or a nun? Unlike a jigsaw puzzle, the world is not so neat and clean cut. But unlike a jigsaw puzzle, we have a God who guides us and is with us every step of the way. We have a God that intimately knows each piece and can see the whole picture.  He sees our trials and failures and softly whispers hints and directions in our ears-- we must be willing to listen. 

No matter where God is calling you and me to be, I know that He is calling us to live a life of love. He wants each and every one of us to be saints. As we all know, the saints are varied and diverse people. The path to holiness and sainthood does not automatically mean that everyone must be a priest,brother or nun … 

In France during the mid-1800’s, Zélie Guérin and Louis Martin were both discerning the call to the religious life. While Louis considered staying single, Zélie discerned the call to become a nun. As fate would have it, they met and decided to marry on July 13^th 1858. Although they were married, they tried to live together in chastity like “brothers and sisters” but were instructed by a priest that this was not the way to embrace their vocation of marriage. At the age of 46, after 19 years of marriage, Zélie Martin passed away. This left Louis to raise their (living) five daughters. The daughters of this French couple became nuns of various orders… one of which is now widely known as a patron to the Carmelites, St Therese of the Little Flower. This couple which had such different plans for themselves gave their lives to God and trusted in His plan for them. Who could imagine that God would be calling them to birth, nurture and raise saints and holy women!

We can all learn a thing or two from their experiences. Everybody has a plan for themselves, not fulfilling our own plans does not mean that we have 'failed' or 'fallen short'. Sometimes God has different plans for us. As pieces in the puzzle of life, we have a limited understanding of our surroundings. If we wish to live a life that truly glorifies the Lord and allows us to reach our full potential, we must rely on God - who not only can see but actually made the whole picture. We must trust in Him to lead us. As a Trinitarian sister once told me, we are all like different types of flowers, we all need different things to help us grow (spiritually) but only God knows what garden we belong in so that we can be as beautiful and full of life as possible. We must trust that God will lead us to that garden which will nurture our souls- whether it is through motherhood, becoming a hermit, or remaining single. Only God knows what is best for us...

May God Bless and guide you in whatever vocation you are called to. May you trust Him utterly and completely to ‘see the big picture’ and may you desire to be the piece of the puzzle that God wants you to be. For an increase in understanding and acceptance of vocations and for all who are discerning- we pray to the Lord!

Catholic Veils - Women in Mass

This is not one of my videos... but it is amazing & very dear to me - I thought I'd share it here :D
Also- if you are looking for a place to purchase a veil, you CAN use VeilsbyLily but it can get a bit pricey [though there is an excellent selection- remember... you can only use 1 at a time... if you take good care of your veil it might last you- years!]. If you are looking for something a bit cheaper... try http://rosamysticamantilla.com/ or even a just a plain [wide] scarf which you might already own!