St. Augustine: “Patience is the companion of wisdom”
When we impetuously
Want to speed through
The intersections of life
And just do what we want —
Not what God wants —
Then the red Light stops us,
So that we can recognize the danger;
Acting rashly, thoughtlessly,
Charging ahead of the Lord,
All of these cause nothing but trouble,
So the red Light gives us a little more time,
To ponder, to reflect, to pray,
So that when the Light turns green,
we can move and act
In God’s time, in God’s will.
Inspired by the Saints
Following the guidance of
St. Francis de Sales, I pray:
Dearest Jesus,
King of Divine Mercy,
I place myself in your holy presence,
and I beseech you to inspire me
by the power of the Holy Spirit
for the glory of God the Father.
Vive Jésus!
Our Lady of Love
then comes to me,
encouragingly,
and quoting the words
of St. Paul the Apostle,
she begins to prepare me
for the spiritual battle
and says to me,
Be filled with the Spirit,
singing to the Lord,
and giving thanks always.
Then, Our Lady,
smiling peacefully,
reminds me of the words
of San Padre Pio,
and says to me,
Prega e spera:
non agitarti.
L’agitazione
non giova a nulla.
Iddio è misericordioso,
e ascolterà
la tua preghiera.
(Pray and hope:
don’t be agitated.
Agitation doesn’t help at all.
God is merciful,
and He will hear
your prayer.)
Our Lady then quotes
the words of St. John Paul II,
and joyfully says to me:
Non abbiate paura.
(Don’t be afraid.)
Then, Our Lady gives me
the kiss of peace
on each cheek
and continues,
with greater emphasis:
Non abbiate paura!
(Don’t be afraid!)
Our Lady then embraces me
with tender motherly love
and, echoing the words
of St. John Paul the Great,
she says to me:
I love you! I love you!
I love you! I love you!
Then, Our Lady does
what she does best:
she leads me to Jesus
and humbly says,
Fate quello que vi dirà.
(Do whatever He tells you.)
Our Lord of Love
then stands before me,
in gentleness,
and says to me,
Approach this Sea of Mercy
with great trust.
Then, Our Lady,
at Jesus’ side,
speaks again,
and with holy courage
she quotes St. Augustine,
as she continues preparing me
for the spiritual battle,
and so, she kindly says to me,
Patience
is the companion
of wisdom.
Our Lady then reminds me
of the words of
Venerable Fulton J. Sheen,
and calmly says to me,
When Our Blessed Lord
came to this earth,
He had the divine
sense of humor.
Then, Our Lady speaks
in the spirit of
St. Francis of Assisi,
and wisely says to me,
True joy is divine mercy
in the dark night.
After doing all these things,
Our Lady sweetly kneels before Jesus,
and then speaks the words of
St. Louis de Montfort’s consecration,
faithfully saying to Him:
Tuus totus ego sum,
et omnia mea tua sunt.
Then, humbly kneeling
side-by-side with Our Lady,
I continue St. Louis’ prayer,
and I wholeheartedly say,
I am all yours, O my Jesus,
and all that I have is yours,
through Santa Maria,
your most holy mother.
Our Lady then stands,
faces me once again,
and speaks the same
inspiring words to me
that she spoke
to St. Faustina:
Be courageous.
Do not fear
apparent obstacles,
but fix your gaze
on the Passion of my Son,
and in this way
you will be victorious.
At last, I find myself
transported in spirit to
The Sermon on the Mount,
and I hear Jesus,
The Divine Mercy,
speak sincerely
and lovingly to me,
and He says,
Come to me,
all you who are weary
and find life burdensome,
and I will refresh you.
Take my yoke
upon your shoulders
and learn from me,
for I am gentle
and humble of heart.
Your souls shall find rest,
for my yoke is easy,
and my burden light.
Amen.
in fear.
we shudder.
thinking we may offend.
someone.
by speaking.
the wrong words.
because political correctness.
ties a knot.
in our throats.
and makes us mute.
But in Love,
When the opportunity
Presents itself,
My heart smiles,
And my soul soars,
As the Morning Star
Rises in my heart,
And I shout out,
Bursting with joy,
“Merry Christmas!”
At the Last Supper,
Judas left you.
He betrayed you.
But don’t we
Betray you too? --
When we make excuses,
And skip the prayers,
And skip the masses,
And skip the Eucharist?
For then we are falling,
Down, down, down,
Headlong towards
The open-throated
Abyss of doom
Which vomits forth
The flames of folly.
Instead, let us
Return to Him,
Our Father of Love,
To make a fresh
New start to our
Broken lives,
Let us fall
To our knees
And surrender to Him,
Let us fall
Into His loving arms
And embrace Him,
Let us fall,
Fall in love with Him,
Down in adoration falling.
I’m like a ridiculous painted clown,
Juggling to-do’s, up and down
And back and forth, my life is a frantic
Intertwining of past, present, future,
In a tangled jungle of multitasking,
Weighed down by the heavy stress
Of guilt over my imperfect past and
Of worry over unknown tomorrows;
But life is so much easier when I
Zero in and focus on the great I AM,
Living perpetually in the present,
Juggling one little ball at a time:
Blessed are the single-hearted,
For they shall surely see God.
Temptation tries to throttle me,
So why should I face him alone?
My guardian angel patiently waits
Until I confidently cry out to him,
Asking him to protect me
From all danger and all fear,
And joyfully joining him are the
Mighty and powerful archangels,
Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael,
They create a giant bubble,
Formed out of Our Lord’s
Fountain of Living Water,
And it shields me from the
Fiery darts of the evil one.
You obey as a spiritual warrior,
Yet are an innocent loving girl;
Your bravely fight for the Lord,
Yet are very sweet and kind;
You stand up for what is right,
Yet are so gentle and peaceful;
You persevere in the darkness,
Yet are filled with the holy Light;
You face death with courage,
Yet have life and heavenly joy.
The Words of St. Francis de Sales
“The King of Glory
Does not reward his servants
According to the dignity
Of the offices they hold,
But according to
The love and humility
With which they fulfill
Their offices.”
Inspired by the Saints
Following the guidance of
St. Francis de Sales, I pray:
Dearest Jesus,
King of Divine Mercy,
I place myself in your holy presence,
and I beseech you to inspire me
by the power of the Holy Spirit
for the glory of God the Father.
Vive Jésus!
Our Lady of Love
then comes to me,
encouragingly,
and quoting the words
of St. Paul the Apostle,
she begins to prepare me
for the spiritual battle
and says to me,
Be filled with the Spirit,
singing to the Lord,
and giving thanks always.
Then, Our Lady,
smiling peacefully,
reminds me of the words
of San Padre Pio,
and says to me,
Prega e spera:
non agitarti.
L’agitazione
non giova a nulla.
Iddio è misericordioso,
e ascolterà
la tua preghiera.
(Pray and hope:
don’t be agitated.
Agitation doesn’t help at all.
God is merciful,
and He will hear
your prayer.)
Our Lady then quotes
the words of St. John Paul II,
and joyfully says to me:
Non abbiate paura.
(Don’t be afraid.)
Then, Our Lady gives me
the kiss of peace
on each cheek
and continues,
with greater emphasis:
Non abbiate paura!
(Don’t be afraid!)
Our Lady then embraces me
with tender motherly love
and, echoing the words
of St. John Paul the Great,
she says to me:
I love you! I love you!
I love you! I love you!
Then, Our Lady does
what she does best:
she leads me to Jesus
and humbly says,
Fate quello que vi dirà.
(Do whatever He tells you.)
Our Lord of Love
then stands before me,
in gentleness,
and says to me,
Approach this Sea of Mercy
with great trust.
Then, Our Lady,
now at Jesus’ side,
speaks again,
and quoting St. Augustine,
she continues preparing me
for the spiritual battle
and kindly says to me,
Patience
is the companion
of wisdom.
Our Lady then reminds me
of the words of
Venerable Fulton J. Sheen,
and calmly says to me,
When Our Blessed Lord
came to this earth,
He had the divine
sense of humor.
Then, Our Lady speaks
in the spirit of
St. Francis of Assisi,
and wisely says to me,
True joy is divine mercy
in the dark night.
After doing all these things,
Our Lady kneels before Jesus,
and speaks the words of
St. Louis de Montfort’s consecration,
faithfully saying to Him:
Tuus totus ego sum,
et omnia mea tua sunt.
Then, sweetly kneeling
side-by-side with Our Lady,
I continue St. Louis’ prayer,
and I wholeheartedly say,
I am all yours, O my Jesus,
and all that I have is yours,
through Santa Maria,
your most holy mother.
Our Lady then turns
and speaks to me
the same words
that she spoke
to St. Faustina,
and, inspiring me,
she says,
Be courageous.
Do not fear
apparent obstacles,
but fix your gaze
on the Passion of my Son,
and in this way
you will be victorious.
At last, I find myself
transported in spirit to
The Sermon on the Mount,
and I hear Jesus,
The Divine Mercy,
speak sincerely
and lovingly to me,
and He says,
Come to me,
all you who are weary
and find life burdensome,
and I will refresh you.
Take my yoke
upon your shoulders
and learn from me,
for I am gentle
and humble of heart.
Your souls shall find rest,
for my yoke is easy,
and my burden light.
Amen.
Guardian Angel, please pray for me,
Because the devil tempts us to obsess,
We must evade the evil of worldly idols,
And not dream of what to possess;
Thirsting for things can thicken anxiety,
Which can seem to never cease,
We struggle and tuggle with all our might,
And banished is all our peace.
The diabolical dragon swoops down,
Determined all good to destroy,
With the flaming fire of enslaving greed,
He seeks to kill all devotion and joy;
But as our trustworthy guide from Heaven,
With love you sing a sweet prayer,
And your petitions rise like a happy dove
Higher and higher up into the air.
When the evil one tries to pour words of
Corrosive poison into our innocent ears,
Teach us to think of the Lord Jesus crucified,
So that banished are all our fears;
When we dance with delight with temptation,
Help us the crucifix recall,
For the cross crushes the devil’s teeth,
And into hellish Styx he will fall.
Meditating on the gore of Golgotha,
Our hearts like tearful candles melt,
Knife-like nails puncture his palms,
And blood trickles to where Our Lady knelt;
Then our foolish obsessions are obliterated,
By the power of His holy love,
And we are magnificently made new,
By His grace flowing from above.
Trying to lure us into obsession,
The devil deceptively dangles his bait,
But seeing you push us out of harm’s way
Only fuels his mad fury and hate;
We escape the avalanche of avarice,
That can smash the soul like snow,
You lead us on a path filled with Light,
So that our life in the Spirit will grow.
Inspired by the Saints
Following the guidance of
St. Francis de Sales, I pray:
Dearest Jesus,
King of Divine Mercy,
I place myself in your holy presence,
and I beseech you to inspire me
by the power of the Holy Spirit
for the glory of God the Father.
Vive Jésus!
Our Lady of Love
then comes to me,
encouragingly,
and quoting the words
of St. Paul the Apostle,
she says to me,
Be filled with the Spirit,
singing to the Lord,
and giving thanks always.
Then, Our Lady reminds me,
peacefully, of the words
of San Padre Pio,
and says to me,
Prega e spera:
non agitarti.
l’agitazione
non giova a nulla.
Iddio è misericordioso,
e ascolterà
la tua preghiera.
(Pray and hope:
don’t be agitated.
agitation doesn’t help at all.
God is merciful,
and He will hear
your prayer.)
Our Lady then quotes
the words of St. John Paul II,
and joyfully says to me:
Non abbiate paura.
(Don’t be afraid.)
Then, Our Lady gives me
the kiss of peace
on both cheeks
and continues,
with greater emphasis:
Non abbiate paura!
(Don’t be afraid!)
Our Lady then embraces me
with tender motherly love
and, echoing the words
of St. John Paul the Great,
she says to me:
I love you! I love you!
I love you! I love you!
Then, Our Lady does
what she does best:
she leads me to Jesus
and humbly says,
Fate quello que vi dirà.
(Do whatever He tells you.)
Our Lord of Love
then appears to me,
in gentleness,
and says to me,
Approach this Sea of Mercy
with great trust.
Then, Our Lady,
standing at Jesus’ side,
speaks again,
and quoting St. Augustine,
she kindly says to me,
Patience
is the companion
of wisdom.
Our Lady then reminds me
of the words of
Venerable Fulton J. Sheen,
and, patiently,
she says to me,
When Our Blessed Lord
came to this earth,
He had the divine
sense of humor.
Next, Our Lady speaks
in the spirit of
St. Francis of Assisi,
and wisely says to me,
True joy is divine mercy
in the dark night.
After doing all these things,
Our Lady kneels before Jesus,
and speaking the words of
St. Louis de Montfort’s consecration,
she faithfully says to Him:
Tuus totus ego sum,
et omnia mea tua sunt.
Then, sweetly kneeling
side-by-side with Our Lady,
I continue St. Louis’ prayer,
and I wholeheartedly say,
I am all yours, O my Jesus,
and all that I have is yours,
through Santa Maria,
your most holy mother.
Our Lady then turns
and speaks to me
for one last time, and,
inspiring me, she says,
Be courageous.
Do not fear
apparent obstacles,
but fix your gaze
on the Passion of my Son,
and in this way
you will be victorious.
Finally, I find myself
transported in spirit to
The Sermon on the Mount,
and I hear Jesus,
The Divine Mercy,
speak sincerely
and lovingly to me,
and He says,
Come to me,
all you who are weary
and find life burdensome,
and I will refresh you.
Take my yoke
upon your shoulders
and learn from me,
for I am gentle
and humble of heart.
Your souls shall find rest,
for my yoke is easy,
and my burden light.
Amen.
The Holy Spirit
Is very much like
A sweet beautiful
Monarch butterfly
That is full of Love:
It glides in peace
Upon the swirling breeze
Of heavenly happiness,
And delightfully dances
With indescribable joy,
Bobbing up and down,
And to and fro,
Often unpredictably,
For the wind blows
Where it wills.
Vince Lombardi: “Never, ever, ever, ever give up!”
Just as
there is
no sin
that
God
cannot
forgive,
so also
there is
no person
that
God
cannot
make
a saint.
I have a tendency to
overreact to things,
to immediately assume
the worst, out of fear;
but Our Lady is teaching me
that I need to be patient --
since patience, as St. Augustine said,
is the companion of wisdom,
and so, when an accident happens,
I take fear, and I promptly surrender it
to Our Lady, so that she can place
it at the foot of the cross,
until with a calmer mind
I can bring it before the King
in my private audience with Him,
and allow Him to guide me;
in the meantime,
I am resolved to
have the divine sense of humor,
knowing in my heart
that the Divine Mercy
will never let me down:
patience leads to good humor,
and good humor leads to
divine mercy in the dark night.
The Spirit of Love
Awakens in my heart
Like holy fire,
Burning away impurities,
Enlightening my mind,
Sweetening my soul.
The Holy Spirit
Is very much like
A sweet beautiful
Monarch butterfly
That is full of Love:
It glides in peace
Upon the swirling breeze
Of heavenly happiness,
And delightfully dances
With indescribable joy,
Bobbing up and down,
And to and fro,
Often unpredictably,
For the wind blows
Where it wills.
The Holy Spirit
Is very much like
A sweet beautiful
Monarch butterfly
That is full of Love:
It glides calmly upon the
Swirling breeze of
Heavenly happiness,
And delightfully dances
With indescribable joy,
Bobbing up and down,
And to and fro,
Often unpredictably,
For the wind blows
Where it wills.
In silence,
I long to hear
God’s Word,
And feel
God’s presence;
So when worry wails,
When anxiety assails,
I remember that God
Smiles upon us,
Compassionately,
And holds the world
Like a precious pearl
In His holy hands.
Most sweet Lord Jesus,
pierce my inmost heart
with the most dear
and most bracing
wound of your love.
Pierce it with true, sincere,
apostolic, and most holy charity,
that my soul may ever yearn
and melt with love for you
and the desire to possess you.
May my soul be drawn toward you,
and overwhelmed with the hope
of entering your courts.
May it long to be dissolved
and to be with you.
Grant that my soul
may hunger for you,
the Bread of Angels
and the food of holy souls,
our supersubstantial Bread,
having in itself every sweetness
and good taste,
having the delightfulness
of all that charms my heart.
May my heart always long for you,
and find its nourishment in you,
on whom the angels long to gaze,
and may my inmost heart be filled
with the sweetness of your savor.
May my heart thirst for you,
the fountain of life, and of wisdom
and of knowledge, and of eternal life,
the torrent of pleasure, and the richness
of the house of God.
May my heart always draw near to you,
seek you, catch sight of you,
be drawn to you, and arrive at your presence.
May my heart think of you, speak of you,
and do all that it does for the glory of your name,
with humility and care and affection and delight,
with eagerness and with deep feeling,
and with perseverance to the end.
Thus may you alone always be my hope,
all my confidence, my joy, my rest
and my tranquility, my peace,
all that charms me; my fragrance,
my sweetness, my food, my nourishment,
my refuge, my help, my wisdom,
my portion, my possession, my treasure.
In you may my mind and my heart
be fixed and secure and rooted
forever without any change.
Amen.
When there is a crash on the
Superhighway of sensations,
Time painfully slows down,
And we live in boredom,
Crawling lethargically along,
Bumper to bumper,
In the dreadful dullness
Of the traffic jam of life.
When we are behind schedule
In the crowded city of Chaos,
Time urgently speeds up,
And we live in anxiety,
Racing with our hair on fire,
Chasing and being chased,
In the nail-biting frenzy
Of the rat race of life.
But when there’s surrender,
And we give our lives to Him,
Time dissolves into eternity,
Love smiles upon us —
Then, nothing else matters,
We are attached to the Vine,
And our little branches are full
Of the sweet fruit of the Spirit!