Priere du jour - Prayer of the day!!!

Picture 136
Originally uploaded by Oldmaison

Notre Père

Notre Père qui es aux cieux,
que ton Nom soit sanctifié,
que ton règne vienne,
que ta volonté soit faite sur la terre comme au ciel.
Donne-nous aujourd'hui notre pain de ce jour.
Pardonne-nous nos offenses,
comme nous pardonnons aussi à ceux qui nous ont offensés.
Et ne nous soumets pas à la tentation,
mais délivre nous du mal.

Amen


SPIRITUAL LIVING
Prayer and Devotions





Heaven Holds the Key
by Father Barry O’Toole, LC

Resolution: Consciously offer every activity of this day as part of your Christmas gift to the Christ Child.

December 24, 2007
Monday of the fourth week of Advent

Luke 1: 67-79
Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy: "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins. By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.


Introductory Prayer: I believe in your loving presence with me, Lord, and I tremble as I consider the immense love you have for me. I do not deserve your grace, yet I cannot live without it. You have called me to rise above my sin and misery and to live in your love as one of your children. I truly want to show you my love.

Petition: Lord, help me to overcome my pettiness of dreaming about doing great things for you. Rather grant me the grace to simply unite my every act of this day to the merits of your Son.

1. Trials Can Lead Us to God Zechariah had been in silence (a silence imposed by God) for over nine months. Perhaps at the beginning, he had felt frustrated at not being able to communicate normally with others. As time goes on, that frustration may have turned into resignation and reluctant acceptance. Through perseverance and prayer, suddenly one begins to love the trial God had imposed, and starts embracing it wholeheartedly and willingly. This is the way it always is. When we see someone who is suffering, be it in a hospital, a nursing home or even on the street or at work, we need to bring them this message of hope. Suffering has a meaning, a redemptive value, if we unite our sufferings to those of Christ.

2. True Prayer Overflows in the Apostolate At some moment during this tribulation, Zechariah would recall the angel’s words that “you will be speechless and unable to talk until the day these things take place” (Luke 1:20). Hope would invade his heart. A day was coming when he would be able to speak again. He had nine months to prepare his speech. The first words he utters as his tongue is loosened are not a curse against God for having made him suffer, but a hymn of praise for his mercy on sinful humanity. He has experienced this mercy in his own flesh. Zechariah’s intimate contact with God through prayer has brought him to a deeper and experiential knowledge of God, converting him into an apostle in his desire to share this experience with others. Silence was only a vehicle for achieving this intimacy.

3. Dreams of Greatness All devout Jews hoped and longed for the day when the Messiah, God's anointed King, would come. Most of them believed that before he came, a forerunner would announce his coming and prepare his way. Zechariah saw in his son the one who would prepare the way for the coming of God's King. Now, every loving parent thinks that their child is the best. So when Zechariah trumpets this hymn, proclaiming his son to be the prophet of the Most High, perhaps some there present began to snicker. Little did they know the great plans God had in store for the child. Even Jesus would give him the highest praise, “Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11). Truly, every child is a gift of God. We discover the worth of a man when we look at his life through heaven’s eyes. Both Zechariah and John the Baptist were important not because greatness was thrust upon them but because they both chose to accept and fulfill God’s plan in their lives. This is where our greatness lies too.

Conversation with Christ: Lord, the birth of your Son comes tonight. I want to have a proper place prepared for him. Please help me to make it warm and comfortable for him. Make up for what is lacking in my poor efforts to please you. May my every act of this day be a fitting homage for the coming of the King of Glory.

Resolution: I will consciously offer every activity of this day as part of my Christmas gift to the Christ Child.