 by Sr. Margaret Mary Magdalene O.P.
My friends in Christ, I hope to bring to you the good news of intercessory prayer in explanation to the best that this lay person can. As in all prayer, it is a presentation to the Lord. Jesus intercedes for us to the Father. All prayer rises to Him and with the Holy Spirit. Intercessory prayer is not new. From the time of our knowledge of the Lord it has been done. It has and is a loving act between those that pray and to whom we ask. I myself as a convert many years ago did not know the full benefit of asking for prayer from others, especially those that are in His Glorious presence. In most cases too ashamed, afraid, or felt undeserving of this help; or simply did not understand. How wrong was I. We are not alone in this world and it is this wonderful freedom we have to seek the Divine relationship with Him and through Him by the means He has given us. The litany of saints; who are in the presence of God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit the Paraclete is a wonder intercessory prayer of the church. If I were to ask you, my friends in Christ to pray for me, would you turn me down? Why would the heavenly occupants do so either, that is what they do. They are working for us, they are the aid of mediation to the Holy Trinity. I daily ask for intercessory prayer from the saints; it is a wondrous fact to know how many saints are “watching our back”. I heard a Protestant leader give a great analogy of intercessory prayer. Think of a sports game, we can use soccer; not only are spectators at the game cheering on the players— millions of people watching at a distance cheering, either by television, radio, or internet are as well. The players cannot see the shouting encouragement routing the win and yet millions of them are. Think of the celebration when the desired team wins. Imagine between heaven and earth the unseen spectators applauding enthusiastically for us to come to the Lord in our every need; to know Him and love Him and to receive His great love for us. So do not be discouraged. Prayer is the great light that shines from earth to heaven and heaven to earth. “I exhort therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings, be made for all men;” 1 Timothy 2:1 ASV https://www.bible.com/bible/12/1ti.2.1.asv Intercession (MEDIATION).—To intercede is to go or come between two parties, to plead before one of them on behalf of the other. In the New Testament it is used as the equivalent of entugchaneln (Vulg. interpellare, in Heb., vii, 25). “Mediation” means a standing in the midst between two (contending) parties, for the purpose of bringing them together (cf. mediator, mesites, I Tim., ii, 5). In ecclesiastical usage both words are taken in the sense of the intervention primarily of Christ, and secondarily of the Blessed Virgin and the angels and saints, on behalf of men. It would be better, however, to restrict the word mediation to the action of Christ, and intercession to the action of the Blessed Virgin, the angels, and the saints. In this article we shall briefly deal with: I. the Mediation of Christ; and at more length with, II. the intercession of the saints. “with all prayer and supplication praying at all seasons in the Spirit, and watching thereunto in all perseverance and supplication for all the saints,” Ephesians 6:18 ASV https://www.bible.com/bible/12/eph.6.18.asv Peace to you all, know that you are in my prayers and those at Joy of the Just; we are not alone and you are loved. For further consideration please review St. Dominic’s prayer life.
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 By Sr. Catherine of Siena
God has created great beauty for us: light day/darkness, arrangements of water, fish, birds and flowers with their array of colors, animals, human beings, male and female. God sent prophets to prepare us, then He sent Jesus Christ to live among us to show us the way back to Him. Then Christ sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in us and help us. “If we see the beauty of the world through the eyes of God, we will be drawn into the heart of the Holy One.” (The Catechist’s Formation Workbook). There may be times when we do not experience beauty as a part of our life. We may be too busy to dwell on the Great Artist’s work. Through some sorrow, despair, ugliness and brutality in this world, “We need to be reminded that there is goodness, hope and beauty here, too. (The Catechist’s Formation Workbook). Then we can sing, because Christ lives. We can face tomorrow because He lives. All fear is gone because we know He holds the future, and life is worth the living because He lives.” Praise God!  An Invitation by Sister Margaret Mary Magdalene
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone will hear my voice and will open the door to me, I will enter to him, and I will dine with him, and he with me.” https://www.bible.com/42/rev.3.20.cpdv The Lord is calling, inviting all. I am not writing you as a person of theology, I write to you as a witness to what the Lord can do in a life. If you feel something missing in your life, I would ask you to listen to my experience. I invite you to join. Each person’s life can change once you answer the invitation. Mine has... is.., and will continuously change because I am vigilantly seeking this relationship with Him. In some cases it can be miraculous, some cases slow, and sometimes may seem void. I would tell you that never during anytime has He left your side. Be patient, you are being taken from a diamond in the rough to a beautifully polished gem worth more than money can buy. As a child raised as a Lutheran I experienced a typical Protestant Christian up-bringing. My maternal grandfather was exceptionally respectful, humble, and generous. My father a devoted Bible reader and could have been a theologian. We all have our faults, not to paint these men in a light absent of sin, but to let you know my strongest influence came from these men. The women were also firm believers but most engaged in household tasks and being loving mothers. I was always drawn to Christ in my upbringing and, which I could never understand, drawn to his Blessed Mother. Sometimes I believe that He draws us close to Him which is not to our understanding but creates that longing of hope and love. In turn, we try to seek that out not knowing we had received an invitation to join Him. My calling, invitation, to become Catholic came in 1987. I converted in 1989 and nothing has been the same. The invitation can come from many places and in many forms and is a constant process that takes us deeper into His presence. Change occurs as we grow. He does not remove anything from us until we are ready and willing to surrender. He wants to make us whole, not in a form that the world knows; only in our soul do we surrender and become to understand what freedom means. Change happens. YOU CANNOT BE THE SAME. You don’t want to be the same. Your world changes, at least how you begin to see it. True happiness is a very different commodity. You don’t carry it on you, you carry it in you. “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine ruptures the wineskins, and it will be poured out, and the wineskins will be lost.” Luke 5:37 CPDV https://www.bible.com/42/luk.5.37.cpdv I invite you to find the peace that Jesus Christ can bring. No matter where you are in this journey, it is never too late. Go to church, listen, read. Join a community. You belong, you are His. No love is greater. Believe, be persistent in your prayer, don’t give up. Do not judge actions of some to be the scales of many. There are more holy but human servants of the Lord than bad. Come and become what you were meant to be. “For we have been saved by hope. But a hope which is seen is not hope. For when a man sees something, why would he hope? But since we hope for what we do not see, we wait with patience. And similarly, the Spirit also helps our weakness. For we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself asks on our behalf with ineffable sighing.” Romans 8:24-26 CPDV https://www.bible.com/42/rom.8.24-26.cpdv  Getting in your Daily Dose By: Sr. Margaret Mary Magdalene Prayer: it is an expression of love, a relationship, a lesson, the conduit between humans and the Lord. It is something that I need a daily dose of. I invite all, especially those seeking but not sure where to start, into a relationship with the Lord who loves you as no other. Prayer takes many forms. Direct conversation; written words, from your heart, your soul, it is communication to the Lord and from the Lord. To begin say a prayer in the morning, say a thankful prayer before meals, say a prayer before bed. As a convert to the Catholic Faith; I am amazed by the many venues of prayer and I invite you to attend. I hope you share your own avenues of prayer and place it in the comment area. I have found that people may not know all the resources of prayer and education that can be explored available to us. Prayer is inspiring, fulfilling, and quite often relevant to human nature and needs. I started off with the common forms of prayer but as a young person; growing to new things I have found this wonderful Catholic Faith offers so much more… adding to my daily dose. If you are starting a prayer life or wish to find more resources to enhance your current prayer life, acquire time each day as if it were the medicine you needed to take, in other words, make time. A simple prayer but one that can be used throughout the day in our busy lives is the Jesus prayer. "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner". I use this often when I find I don’t have the words but want to reflect on Him. Don’t forget, everything can become an offering of prayer to the Lord. The more you contemplate Him the more your conversation with Him develops. The more in love you become with Him and your communication with him becomes a relationship. Love grows in your soul for Him, it’s amazing. If you are looking for direction or new avenues to find prayer that can help you get your daily dose, here are a few areas that may help. A few apps I have on my phone
The Lord is calling; get your daily dose in. |
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