Novena for the Immaculate Conception (Day Seven)

Pro Sanctity Novena in preparation for the

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

November 29-December 8, 2012

All quotes are from our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, Bishop Giaquinta and Giuliana Spigone, prayers from the AO Prayerbook.

1.     Read and Pause

2.     Pause and voice your intentions

3.     Pray Novena Prayer

4.     Option: Write your own reflections and prayers inspired by the Novena. Share with others.

5.     On the 8^th of December, pray a closing prayer of thanksgiving for graces given. See prayers at the end of the outline

Intention: We are praying for communion in our community/family, and in our world, as we all hunger for the one same Bread!

DAY SEVEN

Read and Pause: "…Mary teaches us that the good of each one depends on listening with docility to the word of the Son. In those who trust in him, the water of daily life is transformed into the wine of a love that makes life good, beautiful and fruitful." (September 2011)

Pause and voice your intentions and then pray

Jesus, through and with Mary, let my heart be

the altar where You sacrifice Yourself

the tabernacle where You watch over us

the monstrance where You manifest Yourself to the world. Amen!

Novena for the Immaculate Conception (Day Seven)

Novena for the Immaculate Conception (Day Six)

Pro Sanctity Novena in preparation for the

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

November 29-December 8, 2012

All quotes are from our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, Bishop Giaquinta and Giuliana Spigone, prayers from the AO Prayerbook.

1.     Read and Pause

2.     Pause and voice your intentions

3.     Pray Novena Prayer

4.     Option: Write your own reflections and prayers inspired by the Novena. Share with others.

5.     On the 8^th of December, pray a closing prayer of thanksgiving for graces given. See prayers at the end of the outline

Intention: We are praying for communion in our community/family, and in our world, as we all hunger for the one same Bread!

DAY SIX

Read and Pause: "…Do not lose courage in face of the needs that seem to extinguish joy at the table of life," he said. "At the Wedding of Cana, when wine was lacking, Mary invited the servants to go to Jesus and she gave them a precise indication: 'Do whatever he tells you.' Treasure these words, the last of Mary's taken up in the Gospels -- virtually a spiritual testament -- and you will always have the joy of the celebration: Jesus is the wine of the celebration!" (September 2011)

Pause and voice your intentions and then pray

Jesus, through and with Mary, let my heart be

the altar where You sacrifice Yourself

the tabernacle where You watch over us

the monstrance where You manifest Yourself to the world. Amen!

Novena for the Immaculate Conception (Day Six)

Novena for the Immaculate Conception (Day Five)

Pro Sanctity Novena in preparation for the

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

November 29-December 8, 2012

All quotes are from our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, Bishop Giaquinta and Giuliana Spigone, prayers from the AO Prayerbook.

1.     Read and Pause

2.     Pause and voice your intentions

3.     Pray Novena Prayer

4.     Option: Write your own reflections and prayers inspired by the Novena. Share with others.

5.     On the 8^th of December, pray a closing prayer of thanksgiving for graces given. See prayers at the end of the outline

Intention: We are praying for communion in our community/family, and in our world, as we all hunger for the one same Bread!

DAY FIVE

Read and Pause: By faith, Mary tasted the fruits of Jesus’ resurrection, and treasuring every memory in her heart (cf. Lk 2:19, 51), she passed them on to the Twelve assembled with her in the Upper Room to receive the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 1:14; 2:1-4). …”  (October 17, 2011)

Pause and voice your intentions and then pray

Jesus, through and with Mary, let my heart be

the altar where You sacrifice Yourself

the tabernacle where You watch over us

the monstrance where You manifest Yourself to the world. Amen!

Novena for the Immaculate Conception (Day Five)

November Pro Sanctity Prayer Letter

Pro Sanctity Movement

            a call to holiness in daily life

11002 N. 204th St.

Elkhorn, NE. 68022

psm@prosanctity.org

402-289-2670 or FAX 402-289-1938

November  2012

Dear Pro Sanctity Prayer Partners:

It is November already.  Although our calendar year is coming to a close, our apostolic year, as well as the year Pope Benedict has christened the Year of Faith is just beginning.  I pray that we all make a special effort to express gratitude and find multiple things to be thankful for as the season encourages us to do. 

We also begin a new formation manual this month:  Famished for the Same Bread.  This wonderful new resource helps us to combine scripture, the catechism, the words of Pope Benedict, and the words of our founder to more fully experience the riches of our faith and the priceless gift of the Eucharist.    The paragraph below is taken directly from the formation manual. 

Excerpt from the Apostolic Letter of Pope Benedict XVI, Porta Fidei

9. We want this Year to arouse in every believer the aspiration to profess the faith in fullness and with renewed conviction, with confidence and hope. It will also be a good opportunity to intensify the celebration of the faith in the liturgy, especially in the Eucharist, which is “the summit towards which the activity of the Church is directed; ... and also the source from which all its power flows.”[14] At the same time, we make it our prayer that believers’ witness of life may grow in credibility. To rediscover the content of the faith that is professed, celebrated, lived and prayed,[15] and to reflect on the act of faith, is a task that every believer must make his own, especially in the course of this Year.

Let us pray especially this month for an increased desire to rediscover our faith, to become aware of the priceless gift that we have been given to have faith in the first place, which is not of ourselves but from God who wanted so much for us to know His love for us that He gave His only Son for our salvation.  Let us also pray for those affected by recent storms and those who are working to assist them. 

Thank you for praying with us

Dan and Joan Kash, Marian Lenz, Anne Zugelder

Prayer Requests:

Vocations

Aging parents

Joan's uncle Leon recovering from brain surgery but in poor health

Struggling families

Pro Sanctity Members and everyone on the east coast struggling from the effects of Hurricane Sandy

Conversion of our nation

Renewal of faith in the Year of Faith

Parishes in South Omaha undergoing transition

Fr Frank's brother John who is struggling with alcoholism

Senior citizens struggling with loneliness

Priests struggling with loneliness that they might cultivate good friendships

Continued healing for Fr Dan Kampschneider

Black Family

Rosman Family

Gray Family

For Dan’s court case yield truth and justice

For Dan’s mother

For Peg for strength in her faith

For Joanna’s job

For James’ clinic

Catholic habitat for Humanity in Rapid City

Dorothy Brown

For the Ahlstrom Family

John and Francis Monaghan

John and Frieda Zugelder

Lee and Irish Gallagher

Gail Brennan

Mary Stemmer

Barbara Wagner

Erica Latiolaif

Alice Laybourne

Alice Jarecki for cataracts surgery

           It Was Good

Death was not of the beginning

My sinfulness makes death a necessity

In the beginning God was

Out of love God created all things

And God saw that it was good

I am filled with goodness

In baptism I am the beloved Son

With God is my heart desire

United with Jesus in Communion

Grace and strength comes

Redemption becomes salvation

Dying comes everyday

In big ways in small ways die

And God saw that it was good

                              Anne Zugelder

           It Was Good

Death was not of the beginning

My sinfulness makes death a necessity

In the beginning God was

Out of love God created all things

And God saw that it was good

I am filled with goodness

In baptism I am the beloved Son

With God is my heart desire

United with Jesus in Communion

Grace and strength comes

Redemption becomes salvation

Dying comes everyday

In big ways in small ways die

And God saw that it was good

                              Anne Zugelder

November Pro Sanctity Prayer Letter

Novena for the Immaculate Conception (Day Four)

Pro Sanctity Novena in preparation for the

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

November 29-December 8, 2012

All quotes are from our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, Bishop Giaquinta and Giuliana Spigone, prayers from the AO Prayerbook.

1.     Read and Pause

2.     Pause and voice your intentions

3.     Pray Novena Prayer

4.     Option: Write your own reflections and prayers inspired by the Novena. Share with others.

5.     On the 8^th of December, pray a closing prayer of thanksgiving for graces given. See prayers at the end of the outline

Intention: We are praying for communion in our community/family, and in our world, as we all hunger for the one same Bread!

DAY FOUR

Read and Pause: We want to make our heart like a monstrance, exposing Jesus to all we meet.  Mary, the first monstrance, showed her Son to the Shepherds, the Magi, to all.  Before Jesus was born, Mary brought Him to Elizabeth who rejoiced in Whom she saw.  Elizabeth, in turn, became a monstrance herself and sang the first beatitude and Mary responded with the Magnificat. Together the two women - each bearing Jesus in her heart  - sang a beautiful canticle of praise to the Lord. May our own encounters with others reflect the mystery of the Visitation as we bring our Lord to a waiting world (Giuliana Spigone)

Pause and voice your intentions and then pray

Pray: Jesus, through and with Mary, let my heart be

the altar where You sacrifice Yourself

the tabernacle where You watch over us

the monstrance where You manifest Yourself to the world. Amen!

Novena for the Immaculate Conception (Day Four)

Novena for the Immaculate Conception (Day Three)

Pro Sanctity Novena in preparation for the

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

November 29-December 8, 2012

All quotes are from our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, Bishop Giaquinta and Giuliana Spigone, prayers from the AO Prayerbook.

1.     Read and Pause

2.     Pause and voice your intentions

3.     Pray Novena Prayer

4.     Option: Write your own reflections and prayers inspired by the Novena. Share with others.

5.     On the 8^th of December, pray a closing prayer of thanksgiving for graces given. See prayers at the end of the outline

 Intention: We are praying for communion in our community/family, and in our world, as we all hunger for the one same Bread!

DAY THREE

Read and Pause: We see Mary move in haste to carry out her mission. Bishop Giaquinta says, “ A strong, virile, indomitable will is an essential requirement” if we are to carry on the mission entrusted to us. “Sluggish, weak and apathetic characters who do not wish to move or to make an effort” will do very little for God’s Kingdom.  Blessed is she who trusted that the Lord’s word to her would be fulfilled.”  Our Lady appears to us as someone on whom God has been able to depend, in whom he has placed his trust. Let us ask ourselves if God can count on us. Can God trust us? (Bishop Giaquinta)  

Pause and voice your intentions and then pray:

Pray: Jesus, through and with Mary, let my heart be

the altar where You sacrifice Yourself

the tabernacle where You watch over us

the monstrance where You manifest Yourself to the world. Amen!

Novena for the Immaculate Conception (Day Three)

Novena for the Immaculate Conception (Day Two)

Pro Sanctity Novena in preparation for the

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

November 29-December 8, 2012

All quotes are from our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, Bishop Giaquinta and Giuliana Spigone, prayers from the AO Prayerbook.

1.     Read and Pause

2.     Pause and voice your intentions

3.     Pray Novena Prayer

4.     Option: Write your own reflections and prayers inspired by the Novena. Share with others.

5.     On the 8^th of December, pray a closing prayer of thanksgiving for graces given. See prayers at the end of the outline

Intention: We are praying for communion in our community/family, and in our world, as we all hunger for the one same Bread!

DAY TWO

Read and Pause: Learn from the Mother of the Lord and our Mother to be humble and at the same time brave, simple and prudent; balanced and strong, not with the force of the world, but with that of truth. Amen.” (October  17, 2011)

Pause and voice your intentions and then pray

Jesus, through and with Mary, let my heart be

the altar where You sacrifice Yourself

the tabernacle where You watch over us

the monstrance where You manifest Yourself to the world. Amen!

Novena for the Immaculate Conception (Day Two)

Novena for the Immaculate Conception 2012

Pro Sanctity Novena in preparation for the

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

November 29-December 8, 2012

All quotes are from our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, Bishop Giaquinta and Giuliana Spigone, prayers from the AO Prayerbook.

1.     Read and Pause

2.     Pause and voice your intentions

3.     Pray Novena Prayer

4.     Option: Write your own reflections and prayers inspired by the Novena. Share with others.

5.     On the 8^th of December, pray a closing prayer of thanksgiving for graces given. See prayers at the end of the outline

Intention: We are praying for communion in our community/family, and in our world, as we all hunger for the one same Bread!

DAY ONE

Read and Pause: “…May the Virgin Mary, who was not afraid to answer "yes" to the Word of the Lord, and, after having conceived Him in her womb, went out full of joy and hope, always be your model and your guide. (September 2011)

Pause and voice your intentions and then pray:

Pray: Jesus, through and with Mary, let my heart be the altar where You sacrifice Yourself

the tabernacle where You watch over us

the monstrance where You manifest Yourself to the world. Amen!

Novena for the Immaculate Conception 2012

Famished

Famished

by Guglielmo Giaquinta

O my brother, I, too, have a soul

That cries without tears

That shouts even when silent

That seems to laugh, yet is dying.

My soul is famished,

But I desire no more husks;

They do not satisfy me --

They only disappoint.

I do not hunger for bread.

I do not thirst for water.

I am burning only for love.

I need Him alone.

Famished

I Need You

I NEED YOU

 By Servant of God William Giaquinta

I traveled the universe,

Running endlessly,

Searching always;

But You I did not find.

Lord, I am weary.

I have passed through the Red Sea,

I have dwelt in the desert;

I have scaled the mountains.

Lord, I am so tired.

If my search must go on,

I will die along the way,

Worn out from weariness,

Consumed by emptiness.

O Lord, I am worn out:

I need You.

I Need You

All Saints Novena 2012 day 9

All Saints Novena Day 9

Dear Lord we are so grateful to you for granting us these 7 amazing saints as models.  Let their example of love and sacrifice guide our own paths to heaven and encourage us to bring all of our brothers and sisters with us.  Amen   

All Saints Novena 2012 day 9

All Saints Novena Day 8

Meet  Anna Schaffer          (1882-1925)

 She was born in Germany to a devout Catholic family.  After her first communion she vowed to spend her life serving God.  At the age of 16 Jesus told her she would have to endure great suffering and she agreed to accept it.  In 1901 she was severely burned in an accident at her workplace.  As a result she was bedridden and extremely poor.  She later saw St Francis and after that she bore the stigmata, the wounds of Christ.  In spite of such suffering she still offered consolation in word and letter to all who would turn to her.  In a letter written 8 months before her death she is quoted as saying:  “The most important thing for me is to pray and suffer for the holy Church and her Pastors.  Whenever I receive Holy Communion, I fervently pray to our beloved Redeemer to continue protecting his holy Church and her pastors, to grant me the most agonizing martyrdom and to accept me as a little victim of reparation”  

Taken from:  http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/sunday-times/the-sunday-times-magazines/122-spirituality/15552-blessed-anna-schaffer-a-life-of-pain-and-suffering

Lord, how much I complain over the smallest inconvenience.  Teach me to offer my sufferings to you and to give encouragement in word or deed whenever I possibly can

All Saints Novena Day 7

Meet Kateri Tekakwitha      (1656-1680)

She is the first Native American  saint   She was born in what is now Auriesville New York and fled to Canada as a result of persecution.  She was baptized at the age of 20.  She was known for her life of prayer and penitential practices.  It was reported that people loved being around her when she prayed because they could feel the presence of God and see her face become more beautiful.   Kateri’s motto became “who can tell me what is most pleasing to God that I may do it?”  She loved the rosary and praying before the blessed sacrament.  At 23 she made a vow of perpetual virginity.  Her last words were “Jesus I love you”

Taken from;     http://conservation.catholic.org/kateri.htm

Lord, teach me to deny myself more willingly for your sake and teach me to see more fully just how beautiful you are and communicate your beauty to others. 

All Saints Novena Day 6

Meet Marianne Cope  

     Born in Germany then moved to New York, she spent several years teaching and founding hospitals there.  She felt called due to her devotion to St Francis and the request she received by letter to tend the poor and those with leprosy there.  She did so cheerfully and with great energy and compassion. 

Taken from:  

http://blessedmariannecope.org/Biography%20SMC%20final.pdf

Dear Lord grant me compassion to serve those in need without counting the cost, knowing you will provide what is needed.

All Saints Novena Day 5

Meet Maria del Monte Carmelo Salles y Barangueras       (1848-1911)

María Carmelo Sallés y Barangueras, a religious born in Vic in Spain in 1848, filled with hope in spite of many trials, she, on seeing the progress of the Congregation of the Conceptionist Missionary Sisters of Teaching, which she founded in 1892, was able to sing with the Mother of God, "His mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation" (Lk 1:50). Her educational work, entrusted to the Immaculate Virgin Mary, continues to bear abundant fruit among young people through the generous dedication of her daughters who, like her, entrust themselves to God for whom all is possible.        Taken from                            

http://www.zenit.org/article-35779?l=english

 Lord, help me to teach those around me of your love

All Saints Novena Day 4 

Meet Fr.  Giovanni Battista Piamarta   (1841-1913)      

He was  known for his passion for helping young people leave the streets and find opportunities for work.  He knew that if a young person could find  work and meaning. 

“The new blessed's apostolic work has many facets and embraces many areas of social life: from the world of work to that of agriculture, from education to the publishing sector. He has left a great mark on the Diocese of Brescia and on the entire Church,” John Paul II commented.

“Where did this extraordinary man of God find the energy for all his numerous activities? The answer is clear: assiduous and fervent prayer was the source of his tireless apostolic zeal and beneficial influence which he exercised on everyone he approached. He himself said, as the accounts of his contemporaries recall: "With prayer one is strengthened by the strength of God himself ... Omnia possum". Everything is possible with God, for him and with him,” the Pope added.

Taken from:     http://www.zenit.org/article-35749?l=english

Lord, give me the desire to pray more fervently and to more willingly help those around me, feeling needs as deeply as you do. 

All Saints Novena Day 3

Meet  Pedro Calungsod   

  

(1654-1672)

Born in the Phillippines he was a missionary catechist of the Jesuit mission in the Marianas.  In 1672 he was killed for his faith along with fellow missionary  Blessed Diego San Luis Vitoris.  They were killed because the chief of a tribe in Guam where he was preaching did not want his daughter baptized, but with the Christian mother’s consent, they baptized her.  Many people native to the area were converted to Catholicism as  a result of their missionary efforts. 

Taken from   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_Calungsod

Lord, I may think of myself as too young or to timid share my faith with others.    Help this young man’s courage inspire me to stand up for my faith. 

All Saints Novena  2012  Day 2

Meet Saint Fr. Jacques Berthieu     

(1838-1896)

He was ordained a priest in 1864   and before finishing his novitiate he was assigned to the missions in Madagascar in 1875.  He became a highly successful missionary, nearly tripling the number of mission stations on the north side of the island. 

There were a series of wars between 1883 and 1896 due to the government’s fear of British and French colonialism.  Fr. Berthieu was attacked and killed during one of  these uprisings.  He was told that he would be spared if he would renounce his faith in Christ but he refused. 

Taken from:     http://www.ewtnnews.com/catholic-news/Vatican.php?id=6266

Lord, I may not be called to be a missionary in a remote part of the world, but help me spread your love in my corner of it.  Give me the strength to stand up for my faith when I am questioned about it, to be ready to give a strong and loving witness for you

Please join Pro Sanctity in preparing for all saints day 2012!!!   We will be praying a novena that allows us to get to know our 7 newest saints, the ones canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on 10-21-12

All Saints Day Novena 2012 Day 1

For the first day of our Novena let us pray with the first paragraph of Bishop Giaquinta’s prayer Grant us Saints

Grant us people of God, people for whom God is everything

Grant us people filled with love for you;

People who never look without seeing you,

Never listen without hearing you,

Grant us people able to rescue the world from its materialism

by impressing it with the evidence of your salvation

As I was praying with this today, I found the holy spirit asking me how well I fit that description.  Am I someone for whom God is everything?  Am I filled with love for him and do I constantly look and see His face?  Listen and hear his voice? 

Lord, I want to be a saint and with your help I can be Help me want to be a saint more and trust you more to help me achieve this life long goal.  Help me be more aware of you with every person and situation I encounter.  And through the next 7 days as I learn about new saints inspire me and convince me more fully of your love and constant help

Explosive Gospel series

October 14, 2012

Explosive Gospel for the Year of Faith

Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 143

He replied and said to him,
"Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth."
Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him,
"You are lacking in one thing.
Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor
and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."
At that statement his face fell,
moreover, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
-------------------------------
Reflection"

Almost everyday I have the opportunity and privilege to listen to persons share their inner stories, and it never ceases to amaze me that when they voice discontent, distraction, sense of God being there but feeling Him faraway...they say things like, "I just don't have the clarity that I need. It does not seem that God is answering me." Their sadness troubles me, and in my own heart, I too lament. "Why does it have to be this way? Where is the Lord in all of this? Why am I feeling overwhelmed? How can I handle this situation or that situation? I feel sad and disorientated...” Strange?

The passage of Mark seems to be about possessions and stuff, but I believe it is really about the lack of allowing oneself to be possessed by the Lord. In the spirit of our Lady, who paused, pondered and discovered that in relating all to the Lord, the Holy Spirit filled her with the clarity of what was truly important, what were the priorities, directions, answers, security... She felt lifted up and concluded with rejoicing. On the other hand, I cry, and I walk away sad - similar to the rich young man who had many possessions.

Perhaps if the rich young man had shared his dilemma and difficulty of letting go of his possession with the Lord, he would have looked up in and seen the loving gaze of the Lord. Sharing it with the Lord would have lifted him up in hope, aware that the Lord would show him how to sell all and give to the poor. In the same vein, I too must tell Jesus everything. This gospel invites me to let go of my chief possessions, my ego. Oh what a burden is my self reliance, the "I have to figure it out syndrome" that makes me sad! Instead, I am invited to turn to the Lord with everything in my heart, especially the questions. It is time to stop looking at myself, in its place see the Lord gazing on me in love, and receive the real treasure of union and communion with him. This awareness is truth and is heaven on earth!

In addition, what about those persons who come to me to share their inner lives of discontent and distraction, of feeling far away from the Lord?  I invite them to turn their eyes to the Lord more often, assisting them to habitually look up and see him looking at them, they too will find "heaven on earth" in the loving presence of the Lord in the midst of their daily life. His love will give clarity in their decisions in union with him, and deep inner security in a real friendship with Him who is not faraway but as close as a lover to a beloved can be.

 Oh Lord, I give it all to you, all my inner needs that I hold onto like possessions. I pray for those who come to me, that they too will see your face and gaze of love giving them the real answer to all their need of your love! Lord, I do believe in your love, help my unbelief. Amen.

Explosive Gospel series

Welcome to the Year of Faith!!!  What a wonderful gift of renewal the church has given us.   Below is a link to the USCCB page on the topic.  Please share your thoughts here on the new year

http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-teach/new-evangelization/year-of-faith/