A Night Prayer

Jesus Christ, my God,

I adore Thee and I thank Thee

for all the graces Thou hast

bestowed on me this day.

I offer Thee my sleep

and every moment of this night,

and I beseech Thee

to keep me free from sin.

Therefore I place myself

in Thy most sacred side and

under the protecting mantle of

our Lady, my mother.

May Thy holy angels help me

and keep me in peace,

and may Thy blessings be upon me.

~St. Alphonsus Liguori

A Child's Prayer

When I came across this I knew I just had to share it with you. How could anybody not want to pass it on. It's simple, sweet, and just plain CUTE!!!

Dear Heavenly Father, Please bless me that I won’t have any bad dreams.

But if I do, I won’t be mad.

But please bless me that I won’t have bad dreams.

Please help us that our days will be great.

Amen.

Simple Crafts

We are always getting prayer & holy cards in the mail, and I always keep them in random drawers, which makes it difficult when looking for a particular one. Today I found a few more in the mail & decided to create a spot just for them. The goal is to be able to find them easily and to make it easy for everyone to know where to put them.

My supply of scrapbooking stuff is pretty limited (and so are my skills), so I did the best with what I had. I think I chose the perfect colors--in a house full of browns & tans it should be very difficult to miss. A simple but enjoyable project for the morning.

Before

After

In the middle of my crafting session I heard something tapping on the back door, a cute little birdie!!! Picture's not great but the bird is sitting on the handle. Things like that used to freak me out, but the birds do it all the time, so I'm used to it.

Taken in France

I was searching through my previous blog, and I came across one of my favorite pictures that I've ever taken. This crucifix is right out side of the Church that is next door to the "Palace of the Popes" in Avignon, France. I wish I could remember the name of the Church, but I can't. I do remember being there for Vespers, and it was beautiful.

When I posted this picture on the other blog it was accompanied by a poem/prayer, and I thought I'd share it once more.

The Cross

Little headaches, little heartaches

Little griefs of everyday

Little trials and vexations.

How they throng upon our way.

Yet all life is formed of small things.

Little leaves make up the trees.

Many tiny drops of water

Blending, make the mighty seas.

Asking Him for grace sufficient

To sustain us through each loss

And to treasure each small suffering

As a splinter from His Cross.

~unknown

The Bishop's Wife--Christmas Sermon!!

Tonight I want to tell you the story of an empty stocking.

Once upon a midnight clear, there was a child's cry. A blazing star hung over a stable and wise men came with birthday gifts.

We haven't forgotten that night down the centuries; we celebrate it with stars on Christmas trees, the sound of bells and with gifts.

But especially with gifts.

You give me a book; I give you a tie. Aunt Martha has always wanted an orange squeezer, and Uncle Henry could do with a new pipe. We forget nobody, adult or child.

All the stockings are filled -- all that is, except one. And we have even forgotten to hang it up.

The stocking for the child born in a manger. It's His birthday we are celebrating. Don't ever let us forget that.

Let us ask ourselves what He would wish for most, and then let each put in his share.

Loving kindness, warm hearts and the stretched out hand of tolerance.

All the shining gifts that make peace on earth.

Why Wear Your Scapular?

Here's a post made by The Last Papist Standing about Purgatory and why you should wear your Brown Scapular, that everyone should read and pass along. It is a long post, so I'm just going to give you the link.

Please, please, click on the link & read it.


http://lastpapist.blogspot.com/2010/11/real-truth-about-purgatory.html

Rosary Tips

Here is a list of 4 ways to help prevent distraction during the Rosary.

1) Put yourself in the presence of God and imagine that God and his Blessed Mother are watching you.

2) Imagine that your guardian angel is at your right hand, taking your Hail Marys, if they are well said, and using them like roses to make crowns for Jesus and Mary.

3) Remember that at your left hand is the devil, ready to pounce on every Hail Mary that comes his way and to write it down in his book of death, if they are not said with attention, devotion, and reverence.

4) Do not fail to offer up each decade in honor of one of the mysteries, and try to form a picture in your mind of Jesus and Mary in connection with that mystery.

Source: HERE

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph

Last Sunday we went to a Church near by that we normally don't go to, since we needed to go to an earlier Mass than usual. The Priest gave a Sermon about how powerful just saying the names "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph" throughout the day can be, and I've been thinking about it a lot ever since. I had never thought that simply saying the names of the Holy Family could be a simple prayer all it's own. I'm so glad we were there that day.