Seeking Serenity

 

Seeking Serenity

 

At peace with God.

Freedom from Anxiety.

Ability to make decisions.

Knowing I am doing the will of God.

Feeling the presence of God.

Trusting the Future to God.

Letting Go…Letting God.

Seeking God with humility.

Giving the past to God.

Accepting forgiveness.

Forgiving others.

Accepting imperfection.

Agreeing to disagree.

Asking for directions when confused.

God’s Will…not my will.

Being able to say “No”.

Knowing when to speak and when to be silent.

Hearing God in the Silence.

By the Power of Your Grace

 

By the Power of Your Grace

Grace is the presence of God’s presence!

Guide me Lord,

May Thy will be done.

I feel confused and lost.

I  need FAITH.

Lift my anxiety Lord…

Grant me FAITH.

By the Power of Your Grace.

 

The world is chaotic, Lord.

Help me to see Your face.

Especially in dark and trying times, Lord

I want to trust in You.

Grant me Hope…

By the Power of Your Grace.

 

Perhaps I am anxious

because I need to ask

for Your forgiveness.

You are Love.

You are Mercy.

Grant me your Love and Mercy Lord…

By the Power of Your Grace.

 

FAITH, HOPE and LOVE

All three do I need.

I hear You say..

“Be not afraid!”

Heal my heart, Lord

that I may do Thy will always.

Grant that I may

grow old gracefully…

By the Power of Your Grace.

 

Author’s Pick; Church History…The Four Witnesses

 

Would you like to know more about early church history?  This book is a fascinating book to read.  It brings the early church to life and tells the story of important people in church history.

The Four Witnesses by Rod Bennett brings alive the early Church–telling the story of it’s early saints..Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr, and Irenaeus of Lyons. 

Based on documents of the early church, this book of 343 pages  is written in novel form and is difficult to put down.  Persecution in the early church was real and resulted in martyrdom of many believers.

I highly recommend this book  for those wanting to know the culture surrounding the early church.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/402721.Four_Witnesses

 

 

Author’s Pick…Book Review #1…Prayer Styles

 

Their is a different prayer style for each person.  Each of the saints also prays in a way that is special to that saint  If you are searching for the type of prayer that works for you a wonderful book to read is Six Ways to Pray from Six Great Saints by Gloria Hutchinson.

 

This book introduces you to six different saints:  St. Francis of Assisi (Franciscan), St. Clare ( Poor Clares), St. Teresa of Lisieux (Carmelite), St. Therese of Avila (Carmelite), St. John of the Cross (Carmelite ) and St. Ignatius of Loyola (Jesuit).   You will learn not only their story but also their prayer style.

Each chapter contains exercises to help you  discover what type of prayer works best for you.  When I read this book, I learned about the “Prayer of Detachment” taught by St. John of the Cross.  The exercises helped me to practice and meditate in a way I had never tried before.  I encourage everyone to read it and discover their own prayer type.

 

 

https://www.catholiccompany.com/six-ways-pray-six-great-saints-i104691/

 

Six Ways to Pray from Six Great Saints

 

 

 

Feast Days and Saint of the Day; DECEMBER CALENDAR

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Dec. 1…Bl. Charles de Foucould...France…Martyr…Patron Saint of diocesan priests

Dec. 2...St. Bibiana...Rome…Martyr

Dec. 3…St. Francis Xavier...Spain…Co-Founder of the Jesuits…Patron Saint of foreign missions…Incorrupt

Dec. 4…St. John Damascene...Demascus…Doctor of the Church              St. Barbara…Patron against sudden death

Dec. 5…St.Sabas...Cappadocia….priest and monk

Dec. 6…St. Nicholas...Bishop of Myra…Patron Saint of children, sailors, and bakers.

Dec. 7…St. Ambrose…Bishop of Milan…Doctor and Father of the Church.,.Patron Saint of bee keepers

Dec. 8…Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary…Patron Saint of Brazil and the United States.

Dec. 9…St. Juan Diego…Mexico City…Visionary

Dec. 10…St. Gregory III...Syria…Bishop of Rome…

Dec. 11…St. Damasus I…Bishop of Rome

Dec. 12…Our Lady of Guadalupe...Mexico City…Patron Saint of the Americas.

Dec. 13…St. Lucy…Sicily…Patron Saint of the blind and visually impaired…Martyr

Dec. 14…St. John of the Cross...Spain…Mystic…Carmelite…Patron of mystics…Doctor of the Church

Dec. 15…St. Maria Di Rosa...Italy…Servants of Charity

Dec. 16…St. Adelaide...Burgundy…Patron Saint of abuse victims and brides.

Dec. 17…St. Olympias...Constantinople…widow and deaconess

Dec. 18…Bl. Anthony Grassi...Italy…Oratorian Father…

Dec. 19…St. Thomas De & Companions…Vietnam…Dominican…Martyr

Dec. 20...St. Dominic of Silos…Spain…Benedictine…Patron Saint of pregnant women, shepherds and prisoners

Dec. 21…St. Peter Canisius...Holland. and Germany..Jesuit priest…Doctor of the Church…Patron Saint of the Catholic Press,

Dec. 22…St. Flavian...Patriarch of Constantinople…Martyr

Dec. 23…St. John Cantius...Poland…Priest

Dec. 24…St. Emiliana & Tarsila..Italy…Sisters

Dec. 25…Feast of the Nativity…Birth of Jesus…Christmas

Dec. 26...St. Stephen…Disciple of Jesus…First Martyr

Dec. 27…St. John the Evangelist...Apostle…Patron of writers, editors, and publishers

Dec. 28…The Holy Innocents...Bethlehem…Martyrs

Dec. 29…St. Thomas Becket…Normandy…Archbishop of Canterbury…Martry

Dec. 30…St. John Alcober …Granada…China…Dominican Priest…Martyr

Dec. 31…St. Sylvester I...Bishop of Rome

 

Nativity

Feast Days and Saint of the Day; NOVEMBER CALENDAR

1   All Saints Day

2.  All Soul’s Day

3.   St. Martin de Porres…Peru…Dominican…Incorrupt

4.   St. Charles Borromeo…Bishop of Milan…Oblates of St. Ambrose

5.   St. Elizabeth...  relative of Virgin Mary

6.   St. Theophane Venard...France…Vietnam…Missionary…Martyr

7.  St. Carina and her companions...Martyr

8.    St.  Elizabeth of the Trinity…France…Carmelite…Patron Saint of the sick and the loss of parents

9.    Dedication of St. John Lateran Basilica in Rome…Pope’s cathedral

10.   St. Leo the Great...Bishop of Rome…Doctor of the church

11.   St. Martin of Tours...Bishop…Patron Saint of soldiers and beggars.

12.  St. Josephat…Poland…Martyr…Bishop…Incorrupt

13…St. Frances Cabrini...Italy…U.S…Patron Saint of immigrants, orphans and against malaria…Incorrupt..Sisters of the Sacred Heart

14,  St. Laurence O’Toole…Ireland…Bishop

15.  St. Albert the Great...Germany…patron saint of scientists and philosophers…Dominican…Bishop…Doctor of the Church

16.  St. Gertrude the Great...Germany…Patron Saint of West Indies, Nuns and travelers…Benedictine…Mystic

17,  St. Elizabeth of Hungary...Third Order Franciscan…Patron Saint of widows, charities, bakers and young brides.

18,  St. Rose Philippine Duchasne…France…U.S.A….Patron Saint of the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, Missouri

19,  Bl. Raphael Kalnowski…Poland…Carmelite

20,  St. Edmund...King of East Angles…Martyr…Patron Saint of kings and against plaque and torture

21,  Presentation of the Virgin Mary...Jerusalem

22,  St. Cecelia...Rome…Patron Saint of musicians…Martyr

23.  St. Clement of Rome...Bishop of Rome…Martyr

24.  St. Andrew Dung and companions...Vietnam…Martyr

25.  St. Catherine of Alexandria…Egypt…Martyr…Patron Saint of Christian philosophers, teachers and librarians

26.  St. John Berchomans...Belgium…Patron Saint of altar boys.

27.  Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal...Vision in France

28.  St. Catherine Laboure’...France….Visionary…Incorrupt

29.  Bl. Denis of the Nativity...France…Carmelite Priest…Martyr

30.  St. Andrew...Apostle…Brother of Simon Peter…Patron Saint of Fishermen, Russia, Scotland, and Greece

Crucifixion of St. Andrew the Apostle by Mattia Petri

Discovering the Spirituality of Catholicism