Faith, Prayer, Spirituality

Finding Serenity

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serenity-prayer

 

I try to make the serenity prayer a daily prayer. Often, it helps me to get through the most difficult moments of my life. When life is out of control, this prayer reminds me that I am not supposed to be in control of everything, only God is! I am a very visual person. When I say a prayer I often have pictures to meditate on in my mind. One day as I was praying the serenity prayer I realized my definition of serenity was wrong!

I have always considered serenity as complete calm. While praying this prayer I was picturing a calm lake on a sunny day. It was so calm there were no whitecaps on the water. It was so calm if I was on a sailboat, I would not be able to sail due to lack of wind. I was stuck! This is not serenity! We need movement in our lives! Without progress we stagnate and then we seem to go backwards or become lost.

When I am the opposite of serene, I am frantic and in a panic. This frame of mind makes it impossible to make rational decisions. I finally realized that serenity is being able to make decisions while we are in the eye of a storm! While I prefer a sunny day on the lake, I always want there to be a breeze so the sailboat I am in will actually go where I direct it.

Serenity is being calm enough during the storm to know which ropes to pull to keep the boat from turning over!

Serenity Prayer

God, grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change
Courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time,
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace
Taking, as He did, this world as it is,
Not as I would have it.

Trusting that He will make all things right
If I surrender to His will.
That I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with Him,
Forever in the next.

(Reinhold Neibuhr, 1926)

 

Help me make good decisions Lord. Direct my life!

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Carmelite Saints, Faith, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: Bl. Raphael Kalnowski, Feast Day Nov. 19

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Bl. Raphael Kalnowski
Bl. Raphael Kalnowski

 

The feast day of Bl. Raphael Kalnowski is celebrated on Nov. 19.

The name at baptism given to Bl. Raphael Kalnowski was Joseph.  He was born to Polish parents in Vilnius in 1835.  After military service he studied engineering at St. Petersburg.  He helped design the Kursk-Kiev-Odessa railway.

During the Polish insurrection against Russia, he accepted the post of Minister of War.  He was arrested on March 24, 1864 and condemned to death.  The sentence was changed to ten years hard labor in Siberia.

After his release, he became a tutor for Prince Augusto Czarteryski in Paris.  Augusto was inspired to become a priest, becoming a member of the Salesians.  Through his travels, Joseph met St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross, both Carmelites.  Two years later he decided to join the Carmelite Order taking the name of Brother Raphael of St. Joseph.  H studied theology in Hungary and was ordained a priest on Jan. 15, 1882.

He served as a priest with apostolic zeal.  He was known as a good confessor and a spiritual director.  He worked for church unity and was known for his holiness.

Bl. Raphael died of natural causes on Nov. 15, 1907.  Miraculous healings which were attributed to him led to his canonization by Pope John Paul II in 1991.

I like to find at least a few moments each day spent in doing good for others out of love for God.  These few moments, almost unnoticeably used, bring something like rays of peace and comfort behind them;  they unite us with people and God by a pure feeling of tender sweetness.

Quote of Bl. Raphael Kalnowski

 

November is the Month of the Holy Souls

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Franciscan Saints, patron saints, Sacred Heart, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Rose Phillippine Duchesne, Feast Day Nov. 18

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St. Rose Phillippine Duchesne
St. Rose Phillippine Duchesne

The feast day of St. Rose Phillippine Duchesne is celebrated on Nov. 18.  St. Rose is the patron saint of the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, Missouri

St. Rose was born in Grenoble, France in 1769. She was drawn to the contemplative life. During the French revolution she spent her time nursing prisoners. She soon joined the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

During Eucharistic Adoration she experienced a vision where she was serving God in the New World. Twelve years later , at the age of 49, she moved to the United States. She was sent to the Louisiana Territory.

In Louisiana, she opened the first free school west of the Missouri River. By 1828 she had founded six houses. She worked among the Potawatomie Indians who named her Quah-kak-ka-num-ad, “Woman-Who-Prays-Always”.

St. Rose died at the age of 83 at St. Charles, Missouri on November 18, 1852.

St. Rose was Beatified by Pope Pius XII in 1940.

St. Rose was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1988.

 

Humility is the virtue that requires the greatest amount of effort.”
 Quote of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne
November is the Month of the Holy Souls

 

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Faith, Franciscan Saints, patron saints, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Feast Day Nov. 17

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St. Elizabeth of Hungary by Moroder Public Domain Image
St. Elizabeth of Hungary
by Moroder

 

 

The feast day of St. Elizabeth of Hungary is celebrated on November 17.  Elizabeth was a Princess born in 1207 to King Andrew II of Hungary.  St. Elizabeth of Hungary  is the patron saint of widows, charities, bakers and young brides.

St. Elizabeth of Hungary was born in 1207 in Hungary. She was the daughter of Alexander II who was the King of Hungary. She was betrothed at the age of four to be married to Louis of Thuringa (a German principality). At the age of 14 she married Louis who was 21.

Elizabeth was very pious from a young age.  Louis, also was quite religious. Their marriage was a happy and fruitful union. They had three children.  Louis was a brave soldier. While he was away Elizabeth devoted herself to charity. She helped to build a hospital which had 12 beds.

He encouraged her works of charity. After six years of marriage Louis was killed during the crusades while she was pregnant with their third child at the age of 20. Elizabeth’s relatives resented how generous she was with the family’s money. They mistrusted her and eventually threw her out of the palace.

Upon hearing the news of her husband’s death, Elizabeth cried out,

“The world with all its joys is now dead to me.”

After finding care for her children, Elizabeth left the castle and became a Third Order Franciscan, joining them on Good Friday. She devoted herself entirely to helping the sick and poor. A Franciscan hospital was built in which she was able to care for the sick and suffering.

St. Elizabeth died at the age of 24 in 1231. Soon after her death miracles of healing were reported at her grave site

A legend exists that her husband met her unexpectedly as she went secretly on an errand to help the poor. The bread she was carrying was turned into roses. Pictures of St. Elizabeth often show her carrying bread or roses.

St. Elizabeth of Hungary died  at the age of 24 in 1231 at Marburg, Germany of natural causes.  She was canonized on May 27, 1235 by Pope Gregory IX.

https://stelizabethdallas.org/

“How could I bear a crown of gold

when the Lord bears a crown of thorns?…

and bears it for me!”

Quote of St. Elizabeth of Hungary

 

November is the Month of the Holy Souls

St. Elizabeth of Hungary in Art

November is the Month of the Poor Souls

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Benedictine Saints, patron saints, Sacred Heart, Saint of the Day, Spirituality, Visionary

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Gertrude the Great, Feast Day Nov. 16

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St. Gertrude the Great
St. Gertrude the Great

 

The feast day of St. Gertrude is celebrated on November 16.  She is the patron saint of West Indies, Nuns and travelers.

St. Gertrude was born at Eisleben in Saxony, Germany on Jan. 6, 1256. At the age of five, Gertrude was placed in the care of Benedictine nuns. She later joined the monastery, living a cloistered life.

At the age of 24, St. Gertrude was experiencing an interior crisis and depression.  She experienced a vision of Jesus on Jan. 27, 1281.  He told her:

“I have come to comfort you and bring you salvation.”

St. Gertrude was filled with a new zeal for her vocation to love Jesus.  She considered herself a “bride of Christ”.  She dedicated herself to studying scripture and spiritual writing.  St. Gertrude was inspired to write five books.  Three of them still exist.

Eventually she was elected Abbess. She also took charge of the monastery at Hefta. She and her nuns moved there. Gertrude was well educated. She was a mystic and had a great devotion to the saints, the souls in purgatory, the Passion of Our Lord and to His Sacred Heart. She also was devoted to the Bl. Virgin Mary.

The following prayer expresses her devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

“O Sacred Heart of Jesus, fountain of eternal life, Your Heart is a glowing furnace of Love. You are my refuge and my sanctuary. O my adorable and loving Savior, consume my heart with the burning fire with which Yours is aflamed. Pour down on my soul those graces which flow from Your love. Let my heart be united with Yours. Let my will be conformed to Yours in all things. May Your Will be the rule of all my desires and actions. Amen. “

Prayer of  Saint Gertrude the Great

 

In 1298, St. Gertrude became very ill.  The suffering she experienced was transfigured into love.  St. Gertrude died in the year 1302.

The devotion St. Gertrude had for the Poor Souls in Purgatory is well known.  The following prayer was written by her out of compassion for those still on their journey to heaven.

 

Eternal Father, I offer You the most Precious Blood of your Son, Jesus Christ, in union with all the masses said around the world today, for all the Poor Souls in Purgatory,for sinners everywhere, in the Universal Church, in my home and in my family. Amen.

Quote of St. Gertrude

 

November is the Month of the Holy Souls

Doctor of the Church, Dominican, Dominican Saints, Faith, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Albert the Great, Feast Day Nov. 15

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St. Albert the Great
St. Albert the Great

The feast day of St. Albert the Great is celebrated on November 15.  He is the patron saint of scientists and philosophers.

St. Albert the Great was born in Germany.   After experiencing an encounter with the Virgin Mary he was inspired to join the Dominican Order also known as the Order of Preachers.

St. Albert was well educated and respected for his knowledge of science and theology, He received his doctorate from the University of Paris in 1245.  He studied and commented on the works of Aristotle.   Eventually, he became a professor of theology the the University of Paris. He became bishop of Regenburg in 1260. Because he refused to ride a horse and traveled entirely by foot he became known as “boots the bishop”). St. Thomas Aquinas was one of his students, later becoming a good friend.

St. Albert was a prolific writer. His writings are compiled in 38 volumes. He wrote about many subjects including philosophy, geography, astronomy, law and love.

St. Albert became well known as a mediator of disputes.  He became ill and died on November 15, 1280.

St. Albert was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1931 and declared a Doctor of the Church.

Three years after his death his body was discovered to be incorrupt.  However, when his grave was opened centuries later, only a skeleton was found.  His relics are found in St. Andreas Church in Cologne.

 

It is by the path of love, which is charity,

that God draws near to man, and man to God.

But where charity is not found, God cannot dwell.

If, then, we possess charity, we possess God,

for God is Charity.

Quote of St. Albert the Great

 

November is the Month of the Holy Souls

 

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