Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Family Tragedy

A tragedy has struck our family.

I struggle to see God's hand in this situation and there is so much within me that wants to turn away from Him; but my deepest core continues to know there is some plan here. All I see is pain, loneliness, orphaned children; but God sees so much more.

Please pray for my family; that the next 18 months will not only go by quickly but may be drastically shortened.


May purgatory be emptied.



Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Liturgy of the Hours

The Liturgy of the Hours is the second greatest prayer of the Church - second only to the Sacrifice/Celebration of the Mass and is required for all priests to pray each day.

Our family has been praying the Liturgy of the Hours for several years. It has only been in the last year that we have tried to do every hour as many days as possible.

Learning this beautiful prayer is difficult for me. There are pieces to the prayers all over the place and the 5-ribbon set doesn't feel like enough, but more would be even more overwhelming!

With a wonderful priest and close friend, I have formed a framework in my mind so I know what to expect next.

This chart is a rough attempt to visualize that framework.

Liturgy of the Hours Definitions:

  • Antiphon: a short sentence sung or recited before or after a psalm or canticle (usually a line from the psalm itself)
  • Hagiography: writing on the life of a saint as a guide for the faithful. 
  • Versicle: a short sentence said or sung by the prayer leader, to which the other participants give a response


Liturgy of the Hours Prayers: 




Office of Readings:
Matins
Morning:
Lauds
Daytime:
Terce
Sext
None
Evening:
Vespers
Night:
Compline
 (theme)

Praise

Thanksgiving

Invitatory
Invitatory is done as you begin the first prayer hour that you do each day.
When said, it replaces the Introduction.
Lord, open my lips; and my mouth will proclaim Your praise.
Glory Be (aka Doxology)
Psalm 95 with Antiphon
Introduction
O God, come to my assistance; O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory Be
Examination of Conscience
---
---
---
---
Examination of Conscience and Act of Contrition
Hymns
Optional throughout the day
Psalms framed by Antiphons
Typically, three Psalms
or
one Psalm divided into three sections.
Each Psalm (or section) ends with the Glory Be
Typically 1 Psalm
Saturday and Wednesday have 2 Psalms
Scripture Reading & Responsory/Acclamation
Scripture
Responsory is call/response: the response is shorter in the middle
The last line is the Glory Be – only the first part – ending with the longer version of the response.
Second Reading:
Hagiography &
Responsory/Acclamation
Church Father,  
Saint, Documents
---
---
---
---
Gospel Canticle
---
Canticle of Zechariah (Benedictus)
---
Canticle of Mary (Magnificat)
Canticle of Simeon (Nunc Dimittis)
Intercessions
---

---

---
Our Father
---
Our Father
---
Our Father
---
Te Deum
(Sundays and Feasts)
Te Deum
---
---
---
---
Concluding Prayer
Begins with “Let us pray” when the Our Father is not utilized.
Dismissal/Blessing/
Acclamation
Dismissal only
Let us praise the Lord – and give Him thanks.
Dismissal
(and blessing when priest/deacon is present)
Dismissal only
Dismissal
(and blessing when priest/deacon is present)
Dismissal only
Marian Hymn
---
---
---
---
4 options
WHERE TO FIND IN THE 4-volume set




Night prayer is all together in a   one-week cycle.

Saturday is “after Sunday evening prayer I”



The Liturgy of the Hours Books: 

  • Shorter Christian Prayer: Includes selections of Morning and Evening Prayer in an easier to navigate format. Good to get started, but does not include the full Morning and Evening prayers sets. 
  • Christian Prayer: This version contains the complete texts of Morning and Evening Prayer for the entire year. 
  • 4-Volume Liturgy of the Hours: Everything you need for the entire year, every hour of the day. Volume 1 is Advent and Christmas; Volume 2 is Lent and Easter; Volume 3 is Ordinary Time Weeks 1-17; Volume 4 is Ordinary Time Weeks 18-34. 

Notes on Intercessions: 

  • You may add your own intercessions after these and before the Our Father. 
  • The italicized portion is usually saved for large groups praying together. 
  • Various options for this section. 
    • Alone: Pray the introduction, followed by the italicized. Pray all of it straight through (or skip the italicized for the remainder). 
    • With someone else: the leader prays the introduction; the second person reads the first half of each intercession, the leader responds. 
    • With a group: some people can group together and do the style just above; or third person can pray the italicized line. OR someone can pray the entire first/second line and the other pray the italicized. 
    • So many variations. 


Thursday, January 11, 2018

Novena for the intercession of St. Othmar


Daily prayer:
Dear St. Othmar, your love for Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd made you a good shepherd for your brothers and God's people. Yet because of your goodness and justice, you were unjustly imprisoned. Pray for me, who am so helpless and alone. Intercede with God for me that He bring visible and speedy help to those in danger of unjust imprisonment. Come to my assistance in this great need that I may receive  the consolation and help of heaven in all my necessities, tribulations, and  sufferings, particularly -
(make your request here)
- and that I may praise  God with you and all the saints forever. I promise, O Blessed St. Othmar, to be  ever mindful of this great favor granted me by God and to always honor you as  my special and powerful patron.  Amen

Day 1
Dear St. Othmar, your love for Jesus Christ gave you the resolve to take on the responsibility of abbot over the cell of St. Gall. This community was not organized into a monastery, but you chose to form it into one for the better spiritual perfection of your new spiritual sons. You did not have to take on this additional care for souls, especially since these souls were already living a religious life. But you wanted the best for them and to produce the best for God. Be a shepherd and father also to me, who am in need of the love and guidance of Christ my Savior. Do not pass over my poor, fearful soul, but take me under your fatherly robes and care for me when I am forsaken by the world and even at times by family and friends.
St. Othmar, pray for those imprisoned. St. Othmar, pray for me. 

Day 2
Blessed St. Othmar, you were never afraid of the judgments of your fellow men as long as you were pleasing to God and useful to souls. You restored the Rule of St. Columban at your monastery despite the weakness of those contented by the corrupted practice. When that was not enough to bring harmony among your spiritual sons, you did not hesitate to replace the founding rule with the Rule of St. Benedict despite the expected opposition among the monks. Your courage aided the spiritually of your monastery and prepared you for the greater trial to come. Grant that I may imitate your courage and your single-hearted focus on God's glory, so that I might also accept every unjust criticism, trial, judgment, or action with complete resignation to the will of God. 
St. Othmar, pray for those imprisoned. St. Othmar, pray for me.

Day 3
Good St. Othmar, your love modeled the love of Our Holy Savior especially in your care for the sick and for children.  During your time at St. Gall, you no only built a monastery and reformed the monks, but you also built a school, a  hospital, an almshouse, and the first leprosarium in Switzerland.  "Whatsoever you do to one of these least brethren of Mine," says the Lord, "you do to Me."  He further added, "Let the little children come to Me."  You taught your monks to bring this kind of goodness and love into the world no matter the cost in time, labor, resources, or mental taxation.  You taught them that to imitate the Good Master is worth any cost.  Pray for me, St. Othmar, that I may never regret any good that I have done in the name of Christ, even if it should cost me dearly in this world.  Teach me to look for a reward for my labors not in this life, but in the next.
St. Othmar, pray for those imprisoned. St. Othmar, pray for me. 

Day 4
Diligent St. Othmar, when Karlmann, the brother of King Pepin, offered you the opportunity to request royal support for your monastery, you took the long and difficult task of making this request upon yourself.  Your zeal for the Lord's Vineyard made you ready to take every difficulty upon yourself that could help your children grow in wisdom and grace.  Your guilelessness and trust came from your long association with Goodness and Truth Himself, Jesus Christ.  Although this trust would be used against you by the world, you remained a living icon of what it means to imitate Christ, to be the salt of the earth, and to let your light shine before men.  Counsel me, O holy abbot, who have been likewise sorely betrayed by the injustice, selfishness, lies, and treachery of the world.  Help me to remain steadfast in my trust in God.  Help me to believe that it is still possible to love my neighbor as myself, and even to love and pray for my enemy.  May I still be willing to bear every hardship to improve the spiritual and temporal conditions of those entrusted to my care.
St. Othmar, pray for those imprisoned. St. Othmar, pray for me. 

Day 5
Just and upright St. Othmar, after your long journey to the king and a favorable reception, the worldly Count Warin and Count Ruodhard used their power and their guile to try and steal some property from the Monastery of St. Gall.  Despite their power and their threats, you refused to allow injustice to prevail and the work of the Lord to be hindered.  You openly and fearlessly spoke against them and refused to bow to their demands.  Again, your courage and boldness came from your faith in God as your providential Defender and your just Judge.  Pray for me that I might also have the courage in every trial to uphold justice and right despite the threats and temptations of the world, no matter the cost to myself.  May I never regret defending the sanctity of God by upholding the just ordering of society.
St. Othmar, pray for those imprisoned. St. Othmar, pray for me. 

Day 6
Faithful St. Othmar, because you fought for justice for your monastery and defied the worldly counts, they waylaid you on your journey home and made you their prisoner.  They made false accusations concerning you to cover their crime and their selfish motives.  How frustrated, powerless, and discouraged you must have felt at times, trapped in the dungeon of Bodmann Castle.  Yet you found true the exhortation of St. Paul, "When I am weak, it is then that I am strong" because Christ Jesus was with you.  Beg God for me, I pray, that I might have the same grace and strength to face lies, slander, violence, and imprisonment.  Help me to open my heart to the same peace and confidence that you experienced through your faith in Our Redeemer.  He is the Light in every darkness, and though I walk in the darkness of the valley of death, I shall fear no evil in Him.
St. Othmar, pray for those imprisoned. St. Othmar, pray for me.

Day 7
Long-suffering and patient St. Othmar, after a couple of months the wicked counts removed you to the island of Werd in the Rhine to try to discourage you even more and tempt you into giving in to their demands.  Here you were even more isolated and any chance of rescue even more hopeless.  Yet you did not give in to their unjust demands.  How lonely and desolate you must have felt at times.  But God was your rock and your shelter, and you rejoiced to share in the suffering of Christ your Lord, knowing that He was with you, giving you your daily bread and the strength to persevere.  Be with me, my friend and father, who likewise face imprisonment and am already often a captive to my fear.  Be with me in prison when I face all the temptations of the Devil and my enemies to worthlessness, despair, and sin.  Teach me to remember that Jesus is with me and in me as long as I keep my heart pure and faithful, and that His love and mercy abide forever.  In Him, I can do all things.  May He be my only hope and consolation when the world fails me.

St. Othmar, pray for those imprisoned. St. Othmar, pray for me.

Day 8
Happy St. Othmar, after six months of imprisonment and persecution you died a holy death still in the clutches of your captors.  What joy you must have experienced to leave this corrupt and sinful world behind.  How peacefully you must have faced death knowing that you upheld justice and truth to the end.  Although your captors were victorious over you for a short time on earth, the story of your virtue and leadership soon defeated their plans even here, to say nothing of the verdict of Eternal Justice.  Taken into Heaven, you prayed for the conversion of your enemies and to progress of your spiritual children at St. Gall.  You became a greater power for good by your death even than you had been in your life.  Intercede with Almighty God for me that I might persevere to the end in my faith and righteousness.  Help me to remember that it is always darkest just before the dawn--the dawn of the Sun of Justice, Christ Jesus Our Lord.
St. Othmar, pray for those imprisoned. St. Othmar, pray for me.

Day 9
Dear St. Othmar, just as God granted you an inexhaustible spring of virtue and grace to face the trials of your life, He also honored you in the eyes of the Christian faithful with wondrous miracles.  During your life, the barrel from which you distributed food and alms to the poor was sometimes seen to contain more than naturally possible.  It became as bottomless as your generosity.  After your death, devout men rowed to the island of Werd to recover your body and give it Christian burial.  Not only was your body incorrupt, but as they rowed back with their holy burden in the hot sun, their barrel of wine never grew empty.  These barrels have become the symbol of your generosity, which is a reflection of God's generosity in Christ.  Give to me of those bottomless graces that God has entrusted to you.  May I overflow as fully with virtue, love of God, and good humor as you did during your earthly life.  May I learn from you to hope in Christ and imitate Him in all things, no matter my situation in life.
St. Othmar, pray for those imprisoned. St. Othmar, pray for me.