Thursday Prayer for the Holy Souls

Thursday

O Lord God Almighty, I beseech Thee, by the Precious Body and Blood of Thy Divine Son Jesus, which He gave with His own hands upon the eve of His Passion to His beloved Apostles to be their meat and drink, and which He left to His whole Church to be a perpetual Sacrifice and life-giving food of His own faithful people, deliver the souls in Purgatory, and especially that one which was most devoted to this mystery of infinite love; that, with Thy Divine Son, and with Thy Holy Spirit, it may ever praise Thee for this Thy wondrous love in Thy eternal glory. 

Amen.  

Our Father,  Hail Mary,  De Profundis.

De Profundis

Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O Lord;

Lord, hear my voice.

Let Thine ears be attentive; 

to the voice of my supplication.

If Thou, O Lord, wilt mark iniquities; 

Lord, who shall abide it?

For with Thee there is merciful forgiveness; 

and because of Thy law, I have waited for Thee, O Lord.

My soul hath waited on His word; 

my soul hath hoped in the Lord.

From the morning watch, even until night; 

let Israel hope in the Lord. 

For with the Lord there is mercy; 

and with Him is plenteous redemption. 

And He shall redeem Israel; 

from all his iniquities.

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.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. 

And let perpetual light shine upon them. 

May they rest in peace. 

Amen. 

May their souls, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. 

Amen. 

(Prayers taken from: My Prayer Book by Father F. X. Lasance)

Wednesday Prayer for the Holy Souls

Wednesday

O Lord God Almighty, I beseech Thee, by the Precious Blood which Thy Divine Son Jesus shed through the streets of Jerusalem, when He carried the Cross upon His sacred shoulders, deliver the souls in Purgatory, and especially that soul which is richest in merits before Thee; that so, on that throne of glory which awaits it, it may magnify Thee and bless Thee forever.  

Amen.  

Our Father,  Hail Mary,  De Profundis.

De Profundis

Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O Lord;

Lord, hear my voice.  

Let Thine ears be attentive; 

to the voice of my supplication.

If Thou, O Lord, wilt mark iniquities; 

Lord, who shall abide it? 

For with Thee there is merciful forgiveness; 

and because of Thy law, I have waited for Thee, O Lord.

My soul hath waited on His word; 

my soul hath hoped in the Lord.

From the morning watch, even until night; 

let Israel hope in the Lord. 

For with the Lord there is mercy; 

and with Him is plenteous redemption. 

And He shall redeem Israel; 

from all his iniquities.

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.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. 

And let perpetual light shine upon them. 

May they rest in peace. 

Amen. 

May their souls, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. 

Amen. 

(Prayers taken from: My Prayer Book by Father F. X. Lasance)

Beginning a Week of Prayer for the Holy Souls

November is the month when we remember the Holy Souls in Purgatory in a special way.  Our family uses a series of prayers for the Holy Souls which are specific to each day of the week, when we visit the cemetery during November.

Tuesday 

O Lord God Almighty, I beseech Thee, by the Precious Blood which Thy Divine Son Jesus shed in His bitter crowning with thorns, deliver the souls in Purgatory, and in particular, amongst them all, deliver that one which would be the last to issue from those pains, that it tarry not so long a time before it comes to praise Thee in Thy glory and bless Thee forever. Amen.

 

Our Father,  Hail Mary,  De Profundis.

 

 

 

De Profundis

 

Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O Lord;

Lord, hear my voice.  

 

Let Thine ears be attentive; 

to the voice of my supplication.

 

If Thou, O Lord, wilt mark iniquities; 

Lord, who shall abide it? 

 

For with Thee there is merciful forgiveness; 

and because of Thy law, I have waited for Thee, O Lord.

 

My soul hath waited on His word; 

my soul hath hoped in the Lord.

 

From the morning watch, even until night; 

let Israel hope in the Lord. 

 

For with the Lord there is mercy; 

and with Him is plenteous redemption. 

 

And He shall redeem Israel; 

from all his iniquities. 

 

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.

 

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. 

And let perpetual light shine upon them. 

May they rest in peace. 

Amen. 

May their souls, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. 

Amen.

 

 (Prayers taken from: My Prayer Book by Father F. X. Lasance)

Unshakeable Hope: A bishop speaks to the heart of men

Unshakeable Hope: A bishop speaks to the heart of men

The problem with libraries these days...

...is that they aren't what they used to be:

fewer books
no room to study
fewer tables
no silence
lots of bizarre "art"
nothing to learn

plenty of play spaces
no study carrels
no quiet
goofy seating
no beautiful art
no  beautiful design
no talent evident
no courtesy
no kids studying together
lots of kids "making out"
too much fiction
not enough non fiction
lots of newspapers
not enough reference section
huge computer banks
lots of headphones
librarians are babysitters
librarians work and make phone calls at the patrons tables (??)
story time takes precedence
ugly furniture made of cheap materials
molded plastic everything
conversation seating groups
industrial lighting
single floor plan ( no upstairs.)

Anything else?

Remember these:

Quiet
Studious atmosphere

comfortable
helpful people and resources
purposeful

multiple floors of books, new and old

atlases
task lighting
warm, inviting interiors

fewer distractions

classical architecture
study carrels
polite patrons
librarians available working at the desk
group study rooms for necessary conversation

                                                                         

Just remembering the good old days...  I suppose some people have enjoyable libraries still, most I have seen around here are just a sad, little, media savvy, community bus stop or an overdecorated daycare.   (sigh)  Thanks to Google for the snapshots

"I Think It's a Balance Thing ..."

     As it happens, my dad is a big Science Fiction fan, and one of the shows that he enjoys is a show called "The X-Files". We don't normally watch it, not being quite as big fans, but every so often, Dad will find an episode he thinks we'd really like and shows it to us.

     One such episode was "The Goldberg Variation".  In it, a man named Henry Weems appears to be the luckiest man alive; but every time he gets lucky, someone around him has something bad happen to them.  As he explains it to Agent Mulder, "I think it's a balance thing. Something good happens to me and everybody else has to take it in the keister."
     During the last year, it seems like everyone we talked to has "taken it in the keister." It's a vicious cycle that never, ever, ends. In the last three months especially our immediate family has been hurting and for the longest time we couldn't figure out why.

One example of a Rube Goldberg Machine

     But then Bird and Reaganite, observant people that they are, realized that at the time our troubles started, the Vatican's Synod on the Family was beginning. It is entirely possible that we were spiritually taking it in the keister for the Church, as I am positive that other Catholic Faithful were as well. Now, there were other good things happening closer to home too, but my belief is that it was a combination of them that was pushing us towards a cliff edge. After all, we are all connected through the communion of saints, and Henry Weem's Rube Goldberg machines (characterized by a cause and effect sequence of tricks)  didn't ever consist of just one trick.
     Just recently, in the last couple of weeks, it seems that our troubles are slowing down, and it is 95.5% certain that we won't go careening off the cliff.
     Yesterday, however, my aunt called and said that one of our extended family member's mom was sick and his nephew had been in a car crash. We hadn't heard anything but good news from the extended family all while we were having our problems. Reaganite called this weekend too, and said that he was having some problems, but said he wouldn't elaborate until after they were over. And so, it's a balance thing. When something good happens, someone gets hurt. When the pressure lets up on someone, it squeezes someone else.
     So what can we do about it? Well, not much. We can pray, of course. We can be encouraging and supporting and stand by other people when the pressure lets off of us. We can offer up the little trials for other people (which is actually very good practice for when the big trials come).   And occasionally, when we know that the pressure is getting too much for someone, we can shift the balance. We can ask God to let us take on the stress and the impatience and the tiredness of the people who need to be strong, buoyant, and patient for someone else.
     It's scary, though, to do that. You can never quite tell what you're going to get.  You can never tell who you really helped either. But be assured, there is nothing more rewarding then to shift the balance.

     With love, and hoping we can do some good,
               -Bonny