Jesus, High Priest
We thank you, God our Father, for those who have responded to your call to priestly ministry.
Accept this prayer we offer on their behalf: Fill your priests with the sure knowledge of your love.
Open their hearts to the power and consolation of the Holy Spirit.
Lead them to new depths of union with your Son.
Increase in them profound faith in the Sacraments they celebrate as they nourish, strengthen and heal us.
Lord Jesus Christ, grant that these, your priests, may inspire us to strive for holiness by the power of their example, as men of prayer who ponder your word and follow your will.
O Mary, Mother of Christ and our mother, guard with your maternal care these chosen ones, so dear to the Heart of your Son.
Intercede for our priests, that offering the Sacrifice of your Son, they may be conformed more each day to the image of your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Saint John Vianney, universal patron of priests, pray for us and our priests
This icon shows Jesus Christ, our eternal high priest.
The gold pelican over His heart represents self-sacrifice.
The border contains an altar and grapevines, representing the Mass, and icons of Melchizedek and St. Jean-Baptiste Vianney.
Melchizedek: king of righteousness (left icon) was priest and king of Jerusalem. He blessed Abraham and has been considered an ideal priest-king.
St. Jean-Baptiste Vianney is the patron saint of parish priests.
Pray a Rosary each day for our nation.
1. Sign of the Cross: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
2. The Apostles Creed: I BELIEVE in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from there He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
3. The Lord's Prayer: OUR Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
4. (3) Hail Mary: HAIL Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and in the hour of our death. Amen. (Three times)
5. Glory Be: GLORY be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
6. Fatima Prayer: Oh, my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of your mercy.
Announce each mystery, then say 1 Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, 1 Glory Be and 1 Fatima prayer. Repeat the process with each mystery.
End with the Hail Holy Queen:
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve! To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears! Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us; and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus!
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Final step -- The Sign of the Cross
The Mysteries of the Rosary By tradition, Catholics meditate on these Mysteries during prayers of the Rosary. The biblical references follow each of the Mysteries below.
The Joyful Mysteries
(Mondays and Saturdays)
1. The Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38) [Spiritual fruit - Humility]
2. The Visitation (Luke 1: 39-56) [Spiritual fruit - Love of Neighbor]
3. The Nativity (Luke 2:1-20) [Spiritual fruit - Poverty of Spirit]
4. The Presentation (Luke 2:21-38) [Spiritual fruit - Purity of mind & body]
5. The Finding of Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41-52) [Spiritual fruit - Obedience ]
The Word Among Us
Daily Meditation: Psalm 16:1-2, 5, 7-10
You are my inheritance, O Lord. (Psalm Response)
“I’m all in.” In a tense game of poker, a player will say that phrase when he puts all his chips into the bet, holding nothing back. The risk is great: if he wins, he gains a huge payout. But if he loses, he’s out of the game and he’s lost everything. By going “all in,” the player chooses to take that risk.
We see this very same attitude in today’s psalm. It is the prayer of a person who places his or her entire bet on God. The psalmist declares that his “allotted portion” and his “inheritance” is the Lord (Psalm 16:5, 6). Instead of hurrying to store up enough wealth to live in security, his concern lies with pleasing the Lord. The risk is real, as we know well enough from our own temptations: What if God doesn’t come through and provide for me?
Our first reading gives an example of this risk-taking trust: Elisha slaughtered all his oxen and gave up his entire livelihood to follow the prophet Elijah. But the supreme example is Jesus himself. In laying down his life, Jesus trusted completely in his Father and did not hedge his bet in any way: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46). His prayer of trust was the culmination of the many times he had relied on his Father throughout his life. He took refuge in God alone. And what did God do but turn his death and defeat into life and victory!
Today, ask the Holy Spirit to help you go “all in” with him. You can have the courage to do this because Jesus already went all in with you. In whatever situation you face today, big or small, he is already there, ready to provide for you. So take a risk and pray with your sick child for healing, or choose to forgive and reach out to someone who has hurt you, or talk about your faith and risk being misunderstood. God will bless your efforts and reward you. With every act of faith, your confidence in Jesus will grow. Soon you’ll discover that you can take even bigger steps of trust. And that is an inheritance worth betting on!
“You are my inheritance, O God.”
1 Kings 19:19-21
Matthew 5:33-37
One Bread, One Body
Saturday, June 13, 2020
> >St. Anthony of Padua
1 Kings 19:19-21
Psalm 16:1-2, 5, 7-10
the word on our word
“Say ‘Yes’ when you mean ‘Yes.’ ” —Matthew 5:37
Jesus is, to put it mildly, a Man of His word. In fact, He is the God-Man of His word. He is the incarnate and eternal Word. Consequently, it is in character for Jesus to say in the Sermon on the Mount: “Say ‘Yes’ when you mean ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ when you mean ‘No.’ Anything beyond that is from the evil one” (Mt 5:37; cf Jas 5:12). Jesus “was not alternately ‘yes’ and ‘no’; He was never anything but ‘yes.’ Whatever promises God has made have been fulfilled in Him” (2 Cor 1:19-20).
Therefore, when we renew our baptismal promises at Easter Vigil or Easter Sunday Mass, the Lord expects us to mean what we say, that is, to reject Satan and live lives of faith in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Moreover, after we pray the creed, Jesus expects us to be men and women of our word and be under His lordship and faithful to His Church forever.
Because Jesus is a Man of His Word and is the Word of God, Jesus also expects married couples to be faithful to their wedding promises and priests and religious to fully live their vows.
Jesus will give us the grace to be men and women of our word both in our major commitments and casual conversations. Because He is the Truth (Jn 14:6) and lives in us (see Jn 17:23), we can be true and faithful by His grace. In His Word, be a man or woman of your word.
Prayer: Father, send the Spirit of truth to make me a person of truth (see Jn 16:13).
Promise: “I bless the Lord Who counsels me; even in the night my heart exhorts me. I set the Lord ever before me; with Him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.” —Ps 16:7-8
Praise: St. Anthony was born in Portugal. Through God’s providence, a confluence of events took him to Italy where he joined the Mendicant Order of St. Francis of Assisi (the Franciscans). He is called “a martyr of the Word, a martyr of the road, a martyr of the crowds.”
