A Novena to the Immaculate Conception – Day 7

O Immaculate Virgin, Mother of God, and my mother,
from the sublime heights of your dignity
turn your merciful eyes upon me while I,
full of confidence in your bounty
and keeping in mind your Immaculate conception
and fully conscious of your power,
beg of you to come to our aid
and ask your Divine Son to grant the favor
we earnestly seek in this novena,
if it be beneficial for our immortal souls
and the so...

Novena a la Virgen de Guadalupe

En el nombre del Padre, del Hijo y del Espíritu Santo. Amén.

“Señor mío, Jesucristo, Dios y Hombre verdadero, creador y redentor mío, por ser vos quien sois, y porque os amo sobre todas las cosas, me pesa de todo corazón haberos ofendido.

Propongo enmendarme y confesarme a su tiempo y ofrezco cuanto hiciere en satisfacción de mis pecados, y confío por vuestra bondad y misericordia infinita, que me perdonaréis y me daréis gracia para nunca más pe...

Novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe – Day 3

Mother of God, your ribboned sash identified you as a pregnant woman, a woman who bore the Christ Child to a world in darkness and who through two millennia has borne the light and love of Christ to a world that has largely rejected Him.

May the love of your Son awaken a hymn of thanksgiving and praise in all pregnant mothers, as happened long ago in the home of Elizabeth and Zechariah.
Our Father …

Hail Mary …

Glory be …

Please v...



CLJ3 – Giving Evidence – ‘Come, Lord Jesus’ by Mother Mary Francis, P.C.C.

An excerpt from Come, Lord Jesus: Meditations on the Art of Waiting:

Giving Evidence

THE CHURCH is saying to us again and again, “Now is the acceptable time” (2 Cor 6:2). This Advent will never come again. Perhaps God will bless us with other Advents, although, with the condition the world is in right now, one could have large question marks about that. But even if he does, this one will never come again.

We recall the classic words o...

An Advent Journey for the Discerning Heart:
Prepare your heart for Christ through Scripture, the saints, and the gentle practice of daily listening.

Week One: Awakening the Listening Heart

DAY 6 – Conversion

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Matthew 4.17

Conversion is not a single moment. It is a continual turning toward God. Advent teaches this ongoing movement of the heart. Conversion is the steady, daily action of choosing God again and again. It is the refusal to remain still in spiritual life. It is the willin...

AR#6 – Advent Reflections with Deacon James Keating, Ph.D.

One of our greatest sufferings as Christians is our own impatience with ourselves. We want to be good and holy immediately. St. Francis de Sales said “Have patience with all things. But chiefly, have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage, in considering your own imperfections. But instantly set about to remedy them. Begin every day a task anew.”  During Advent, lets make our new task a deeper prayer life, entrusting all our desires for goodness and holiness, to the Most Holy Trinity, who has infinit...



Friday of the 1st Week of Advent – An Advent Lectio Divina for the Discerning Heart

As you begin, take a deep breath and exhale slowly.  For at least the next few moments, surrender all the cares and concerns of this day to the Lord.

Say slowly from your heart “Jesus, I Trust In You…You Take Over”

Become aware that He is with you, looking upon you with love, wanting to be heard deep within in your heart…

From the Holy Gospel of Matthew 9:27-31

As Jesus went on...

Caryll Houselander image used with permission from TRINITY ICONS

Day 6: A Home for Christ Within

“Christ asks for a home in your soul, where he can be at rest with you, where he can talk easily to you, where you and he, alone together, can laugh and be silent and be delighted with one another.“

Commentary:  Houselander’s vision of Christ seeking a “home” in our souls is a beautiful and intimate portrayal of His desire for closeness with us. This isn’t a distant or formal relationship; instead, she describes a place where Christ c...

Advent #2 – Embracing Hope and Presence – Advent Reflections w/ Dr. Anthony Lilles – Discerning Hearts Podcasts

In this episode of the Discerning Hearts podcast, Dr. Anthony Lilles focuses once again on the profound insights of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) from his work “Seeking God’s Face.” The episode explores the concept of waiting with hope during Advent and understanding the significance of Christian time and history.

Dr. Lilles reflects on a passage from Pope Benedict about the different aspects of waiting – from the anticipation of something better in life to the endurance of illness. The conversation h...

Thursday of the 1st Week of Advent – An Advent Lectio Divina for the Discerning Heart

As you begin, take a deep breath and exhale slowly.  For at least the next few moments, surrender all the cares and concerns of this day to the Lord.

Say slowly from your heart “Jesus, I Trust In You…You Take Over”

Become aware that He is with you, looking upon you with love, wanting to be heard deep within in your heart…

From the Holy Gospel of St. Matthew 7:21,24-27

Jesus said to his discipl...

A Novena to the Immaculate Conception – Day 6

O God,
who by the Immaculate Conception
of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
did prepare a worthy dwelling place for Your Son,
we beseech You that,
as by the foreseen death of this, Your Son,
You did preserve Her from all stain,
so too You would permit us,
purified through Her intercession,
to come unto You.
Through the same Lord Jesus Christ,
Your Son, who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Ho...

A commentary on the Diatessaron by St Ephrem

Keep watch: He is to come again

To prevent his disciples from asking the time of his coming, Christ said: About that hour no one knows, neither the angels nor the Son. It is not for you to know times or moments. He has kept those things hidden so that we may keep watch, each of us thinking that he will come in our own day. If he had revealed the time of his coming, his coming would have lost its savour: it would no longer be...

Novena a la Virgen de Guadalupe

En el nombre del Padre, del Hijo y del Espíritu Santo. Amén.

“Señor mío, Jesucristo, Dios y Hombre verdadero, creador y redentor mío, por ser vos quien sois, y porque os amo sobre todas las cosas, me pesa de todo corazón haberos ofendido.

Propongo enmendarme y confesarme a su tiempo y ofrezco cuanto hiciere en satisfacción de mis pecados, y confío por vuestra bondad y misericordia infinita, que me perdonaréis y me daréis gracia para nunca más pe...

Novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe – Day 2

Mary, Mother of divine grace, you appeared to Juan Diego standing on the moon and robed in a royal mantle adorned with stars, showing that you are the Queen of Heaven and Earth, yet far from a haughty or distant Queen. With hands folded in supplication, eyes cast downward in humility and compassion, you did not ask for a temple where you could be honored, but one where you could attend to the “weeping and sorrows of … all the people of this land, and of the various people...

An Advent Journey for the Discerning Heart:
Prepare your heart for Christ through Scripture, the saints, and the gentle practice of daily listening.

Week One: Awakening the Listening Heart

DAY 5 – Stillness

“Be still, and know that I am God.”
Psalm 46.10 RSV

Stillness is the interior calm that allows the soul to recognize God’s presence. It is different from silence. Silence quiets the environment. Stillness settles the heart. Advent invites us into stillness so the deeper truth of God’s nearness can be known rather tha...

AR#5 – Advent Reflections with Deacon James Keating, Ph.D.

As human beings, we tend to sin. We all know this about our characters. And many times, it moves us to despair. God sees our sin, but He never loses his patience with us. And one of the reasons why God never loses His patience with His creation, is, of course, because He loves us. But also because His happiness is already fully possessed by Himself. He’s not like us when we get angry at our children, and try to move time forward; try to m...

Caryll Houselander image used with permission from TRINITY ICONS

Day 5: Seeing God’s Love in the Ordinary

“Every ordinary thing in your life is a word of God’s love: your home, your work, the clothes you wear, the air you breathe, the food you eat…. the flowers under your feet are the courtesy of God’s heart flung down on You! All these things say one thing only: “See how I love you.”

Commentary: Caryll Houselander encourages us to see every element of daily life as a tangible expression of God’s love. From the ai...

Novena a la Virgen de Guadalupe

En el nombre del Padre, del Hijo y del Espíritu Santo. Amén.

“Señor mío, Jesucristo, Dios y Hombre verdadero, creador y redentor mío, por ser vos quien sois, y porque os amo sobre todas las cosas, me pesa de todo corazón haberos ofendido.

Propongo enmendarme y confesarme a su tiempo y ofrezco cuanto hiciere en satisfacción de mis pecados, y confío por vuestra bondad y misericordia infinita, que me perdonaréis y me daréis gracia para nunca más pe...