An evil thought defiles the soul

when it is deliberate and consented to.

Our Lord placed evil thoughts at the head of all crimes,

because they are their principle and source.

St. John Baptist de la Salle

 

”When a woman has an abortion she will experience the profound effects of this act for the rest of her life. But did you know that fathers of aborted babies can suffer the same kinds of emotional stress?

It is the father who often cries…HIDDEN TEARS.”

From Hidden Tears, a pamphlet by Lindy Pierce

this quote discovered here

Hear us, O God of our salvation! and issue not the decree for the completion of our days before Thou forgivest us our sins; and because penance avails not in hell, and there is no room there for amendment, therefore do we humbly pray and beseech Thee here on earth, that, giving us time to pray for pardon, Thou wouldst grant us also forgiveness of our sins. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Take away, merciful Lord, all errors from Thy faithful people, avert from them the sudden destruction of the wasting pestilence; that those whose wanderings Thou dost justly chastise, Thou wouldst vouchsafe in Thy tender pity to cherish when corrected. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Antiphon - Sin no longer, O my soul! Think upon the sudden change from sin to endless woe. There, in hell, penance is not accepted, and tears profit not. Turn, then, whilst thou hast time; cry out and say: Have mercy upon me, O my God!

Antiphon - In the midst of life we are in death: whom, then, O Lord, shall we seek to be our helper, save Thee, O Lord! although Thou art indeed angry with us because of sins? O Holy Lord, holy and strong, holy and merciful Saviour! deliver us not ever to a bitter death.

V. - Lest, overtaken by the day of death, we seek time for penance, and be not able to find it.

R. - Hearken! O Lord! and have mercy on us; for we have sinned against Thee.

We beseech Thee, Almighty God, receive in Thy fatherly pity Thy people flying to Thee from Thine anger; that they who fear to be chastised by the rod of Thy Majesty in the suddenness of death, may be made worthy to rejoice in Thy gracious pardon. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

We beseech Thee, Almighty God, graciously to incline Thine ear to the assembly of Thy Church, and let Thy mercy prevent Thine anger in our behalf; for if Thou shouldst mark iniquities, no creature shall be able to stand before Thee: but in that marvellous charity, through which Thou didst create us, pardon us sinners, and destroy not the work of Thine own hands by sudden death. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

O God! in Whose sight every heart trembles and every conscience is awed; show forth Thy mercy upon us Thy suppliants, that we, who trust not in the excellence of our own merit, may never know Thy judgments in the suddenness of our death, but may receive Thy pardon. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Most merciful Lord Jesus! by Thine agony and bloody sweat, and by Thy death, deliver me, I beseech Thee, from a sudden and unprovided death. O most gentle Lord Jesus! by Thy cruel and ignominious scourging and crowning with thorns, by Thy cross and most bitter Passion, and by Thy goodness, I humbly pray Thee, let me not die unprepared and pass from this life without the Holy Sacraments. Jesus, my best Beloved, my Lord! by all Thy labours and sorrows, by Thy precious Blood, and by Thy most holy Wounds, and by those last words spoken on the cross by Thee: “Deus meus, Deus meus, ut quid dereliquisti me?? - “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” and again: “Pater, in manus tuas commendo spiritum meum,” - “Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit,” most ardently I pray Thee, save me from a sudden death. Thy hands, O Redeemer! have wholly made and formed me: ah! suffer not death to take me unawares; give me, I beseech Thee, time for penance; vouchsafe that I may pass from this life happily in Thy grace, that I may love Thee with my whole heart, and praise and bless Thee forever and ever.

Amen.

Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory Be To The Father…

[Indulgences: 500 days each time. - Plenary, once a month, on usual conditions, when recited daily. - Pen., 12 May 1933.]

 LORD Jesus Christ, eternal and merciful God,

Creator and Redeemer of all, please listen to my prayer.

For the love Thou doth bear to those who ask forgiveness,

look on me with mercy, as once Thou didst look on Mary Magdalen,

and on Peter who denied Thee.

Look on me, Lord Jesus Christ, as Thou didst looked at the thief on his cross

and on every sinner whom Thou hast ever forgiven.

Look on me, merciful Lord, as Thou didst look on Thy Mother, Mary,

standing in sorrow beneath Thy Cross.

Let me feel in my heart her compassion for Thee,

and let my eyes weep for Thy sorrows, caused by my sinful life.

Call me back from the darkness to my Father’s house, give me a new heart

and a place at Thy side in the banquet Thou hast prepared for me. Amen.

HAIL, Mary, my joy, my glory, my heart and my soul!

Thou art all mine through thy mercy, and I am all thine.

But I am not thine completely enough.

Destroy in me all that may be displeasing to God.

Place and cultivate in me everything that is pleasing to thee. Amen.

 

this prayer discovered here

 

Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections,

but instantly set about remedying them.

St. Francis de Sales

 

CHIETI, Italy - On February 22, 2006, in an appendix to a pastoral letter on the sacrament of reconciliation, Archbishop Bruno Forte of Chieti-Vasto outlined questions that could be used for examining one’s conscience before going to confession:

 

For the Examination of Conscience

If possible, prepare yourself for confession with regularity, not allowing too much time to pass. Prepare your confession in a climate of prayer, responding to these questions under the gaze of God, seeing him as the one you can go to for help to progress more quickly along the path of the Lord.

“You shall not have other gods besides me” (Deuteronomy 5:7). “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37).      Do I love God like this? Do I give him the first place in my life? Do I eagerly reject all idols that could get between him and me, be it money, pleasure, superstition, or power? Do I listen with faith to his Word? Do I persevere in prayer?

 

“You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain” (Deuteronomy 5:11).     Do I respect the holy name of God? Do I abuse him in my references to him, offending him, or making use of him, instead of serving him? Do I bless God in each one of my actions? Do I surrender myself without reserve to his will for me, trusting entirely in him? Do I entrust myself with humility and confidence to the guidance and teaching of the pastors which the Lord has given to his Church? Do I make an effort to go deeper in and strengthen my life of faith?

 

“Take care to keep holy the Sabbath day as the Lord, your God, commanded you” (Deuteronomy 5:12-15).      Do I make Sunday the center of my week, beginning with the most important moment, the celebration of the Eucharist? Do I use it, and the other days consecrated to the Lord, to praise and give thanks to God, to entrust myself to him and take rest in him? Do I participate faithfully and actively in the liturgy, preparing myself beforehand with prayer, and making the effort to obtain its fruits during the entire week? Do I sanctify the holy day with some act of love toward the needy?

 

“Honor your father and your mother” (Deuteronomy 5:16).      Do I love and respect those who have given me life? Do I make the effort to understand and help them, above all in their weaknesses and limits?

 

“Thou shalt not kill” (Deuteronomy 5:17).      Do I make the effort to respect and promote life in all of its stages and aspects? Do I do everything in my power to promote the good of the others? Have I done evil to someone with the explicit intention of doing it? “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39).      How do I live charity toward my neighbor? Am I attentive and available, above all with the poorest and weakest? Do I love myself, knowing how to accept my limits under the gaze of God?

 

“You shall not commit impure acts” (cf. Deuteronomy 5:18). “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife” (Deuteronomy 5:21).      Am I chaste in thoughts and actions? Do I make the effort to love with gratitude, free of the temptation to possess or be jealous? Do I always respect the dignity of the human person? Do I treat my body and the bodies of others as a temple of the Holy Spirit?

 

“You shall not steal” (Deuteronomy 5:19). “You shall not desire your neighbor’s goods” (Deuteronomy 5:21).      Do I respect the goods of creation? Am I honest in my work and in my relations with my neighbor? Do I respect the fruit of others’ labor? Am I envious of the goods of the others? Do I make an effort to make others happy, or do I only think of myself?

 

“You shall not bear dishonest witness against your neighbor” (Deuteronomy 5:20).      Am I sincere and loyal in each word and action? Do I always speak only the truth? Do I try to give confidence and act in a way that inspires confidence in the others? Do I make an effort to follow the example of Christ in my life of surrender to God and my neighbor? Do I try to be like him: humble, poor and chaste? Do I faithfully find the Lord in the sacraments, in fellowship, and in service to the poor? Do I live with hope in eternal life, seeing each thing under the light of God, always trusting in his promises?

 

this article discovered here

 

O Most loving Redeemer, humbly prostrate at the foot of the Cross, I implore from the bottom of my heart pardon for all my sins, which were the cause of Thy bitter Passion and of the overwhelming sorrow of Thy most afflicted Mother. O good Jesus, let not Thy Precious Blood be shed for me in vain. May Thy five Sacred Wounds ever plead before Thy Eternal Father on behalf of my misery; and through the infinite merits of Thy Sacred Death and the bitter anguish of Thy holy Mother, grant me, dearest Lord, to atone for the past and to persevere in Thy love for the future. Amen.

 

this prayer discovered here

 

 

  1. O Lord Christ, Word of the Father, Who came into this world to save sinners, I beseech Thee, by the innermost depths of Thy mercy, cleanse my soul, perfect my actions, put in order my manner of life, take from me what is harmful to me, and what displeases Thee. Grant me what Thou knowest is pleasing to Thee, and profitable to me. Who but Thou alone canst make clean what was conceived of unclean seed?  Thou art the Omnipotent God, Infinite in mercy, Who makest sinners just, and givest life to the dead; Who changest sinners, and they are sinners no more?

 

  Take from me therefore whatever is displeasing to Thee; for Thy eyes can see my manifold imperfections.  Stretch forth, I beseech Thee, the hand of Thy mercy, and take from me whatever in me offends the eyes of Thy goodness.  In Thy hands, O Lord, are my health and my infirmity.  Preserve me in the one; heal me in the other.  Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed, save me, and I shall be saved: Thou Who dost heal the sick, and preserve those who are healed, Thou Who by Thy nod alone dost renew what is ruined and fallen.  For if Thou wilt sow good seed in Thy field, there is need also to pluck from it the thorns of my sins by the hands of Thy mercy.

 

  2. Most sweet, most kind, most loving, most dear, most precious, most desired, most lovable, most beautiful, pour out into my breast, I beg of Thee, the fulness of Thy sweetness and charity, so that I shall not think of or desire what is carnal or earthly, but rather love Thee alone, keep Thee alone within my heart, and upon my lips.  Write with Thy finger upon my heart the precious remembrance of Thy sweet name, that no forgetfulness may ever from there erase it.  Write Thy will and Thy law upon the tables of my heart, that always and everywhere I may have Thee and Thy holy precepts before my eyes, O Lord of unending sweetness.

 

  Inflame my soul with the fire thou didst cast upon the earth, and willed it be enkindled (Lk. xii. 49), so that with welling tears I may offer Thee daily the sacrifice of an afflicted spirit, and of a contrite heart (Ps. 51).  Sweet Jesus, O good Jesus, since I long for it, and implore it of Thee with my whole soul, grant me Thy chaste and holy love, that it may fill me, hold me, possess me, completely.  And grant me that visible sign of Thy love, a cleansing ever flowing fountain of tears, that these tears may also bear witness to Thy love in me, that they may show, that they may tell, how much my soul doth love Thee: that in the too great sweetness of Thy love it cannot withhold its tears.

 

  3.  I remember, O Lord, that good woman of whom Scripture speaks, who came to Thy House to implore of Thee a son, that after her prayers and tears her face was no longer changed (I Kgs. i. 18).  But remembering her great virtue, her great constancy, I am afflicted with grief, overcome with shame: for I behold my miserable self lying prone upon the ground.  For if she so wept, and persevered in weeping, this woman who sought a son, how should not that soul lament, and cease not lamenting, which loves and desires God, and desires to come to Him; how it should not weep and mourn, day and night, loving only Christ?  (Ps. xli. 4.)

 

  Look upon me, and have pity upon me, for the griefs of my heart are multiplied.  Grant me Thy heavenly consolation, and despise not this sinful soul for which also Thou didst die?  Grant me, I beseech Thee, in Thy love, the inward tears that can dissolve the chains of my sins, and fill my soul for ever with Thy heavenly delight: so that I may merit to obtain, if not together with Thy true and perfect monks, whose steps I am unable to imitate, then at least with Thy devoted women, some little place within Thy kingdom?

 

  4.  There comes also to my mind the wondrous devotion of another woman, who with pious love sought Thee, lying in Thy tomb; who when Thy disciples departed from the tomb did not depart from it, but sad and grieving sat there, and long and sorely wept, and getting up again, in tears, searched with anxious eyes in every corner of the tomb, that somewhere she might see Him Whom she looked for with such fervent longing.  Once and again had she entered and seen the tomb, but there is never enough to the soul that loves: for the crown of a good work is perseverance.  And because she loved more than the others, and loving wept, and weeping sought, and seeking persevered, so did she merit to be the first of them all to find Thee, to see Thee, to speak with Thee (Jn. xx. 11-17).  And not this only, but the first to tell the Disciples themselves of Thy glorious Resurrection; Thou commanding her, and gently instructing her: Go, tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, where they shall see me (Mt. xxviii. 10).

 

  If she then so wept, and continued weeping, the woman who looked for the Living with the dead, who with the hand of faith touched Thee not, how should not that soul mourn, and cease not from mourning, which believes in her heart, and confesses with her lips, that Thou art her Redeemer, ruling from heaven, and reigning everywhere?  How ought not such a soul both weep and mourn, which loves Thee with all its heart, and longs with all its being to see Thee!

 

  5.  O Sole Refuge and Sole Hope of the unhappy, to Whom we can never pray without hope of mercy, for Thy sake, and for Thy Holy Name’s sake, grant me this grace, that as often as I think of Thee, speak of Thee, write of Thee, read of Thee, preach of Thee, that as often as I remember Thee, stand before Thee, offer Thee sacrifice, prayers and praise, so often may I weep, the tears welling sweetly and abundantly in Thy sight, so that tears may be my bread by day and night.  For Thou, King of Glory, and Teacher of all virtue, by word and by example, has taught us to weep and to mourn, saying: Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.  Thou didst weep for Thy dead friend, and Thou didst weep over the city that was to perish (Jn. xi. 35).  I beseech Thee, O Good Jesus, through these most blessed tears, and through all Thy tenderness, by which Thou didst wondrously come to our aid who were lost, grant me this grace of tears my soul so longs for, and now begs of Thee.  For without Thy gift of it I cannot possess it.

 

  By Thy Holy Spirit Who softens the hard hearts of sinners, and moves them to tears, grant me the grace of tears, as Thou didst grant it to my fathers, in whose steps I should follow: that I may bewail my whole life, as they bewailed themselves by day and night.  By their prayers and merits who have pleased Thee, and most faithfully served Thee, have mercy on me Thy most pitiful and unworthy servant, and grant me the gift of tears.  Water me from above, and water me from below, that day and night tears may be my bread.  May I become in Thy sight, O my God, a sacrifice, rich and full of marrow, through the fires of Thy compunction.  May I be wholly consumed on the altar of my own heart, and may I as a most acceptable holocaust, be received by Thee as an odour of sweetness.

 

  Grant me a strengthening fountain, a clear fountain, in which this defiled holocaust may be continuously washed.  For though by the help of lily grace I have offered myself wholly to Thee, yet in many things I daily offend Thee, because of my great weakness.  Grant to me, therefore, this gift of tears, O blessed and Lovable God, especially because of the great sweetness of Thy love, and also for a remembrance of Thy mercies.

 

  Prepare this table before the face of Thy servant, and grant me this power with regard to it, that as often as I will I may be filled from it.  Grant me, in Thy kindness and Thy goodness, that this Thy chalice (Ps. xxii), so good and so inebriating, may quench my thirst.  Let my spirit long for Thee; let my soul burn with Thy love, forgetful of all vanity and of all misery.

 

  Hear me, O My God; hear me, O light of my eyes, hear what I ask of Thee; and grant that I may ask of Thee what Thou wilt hear.  Kind and gentle Lord, be not hard to me, because of my sins, but because of Thine own goodness receive the prayers of Thy servant, and grant me the answer to my prayer, the answer to my desire, through the prayers and merits of my Lady, Mary Virgin, and of all the Saints.  Amen.

 

St. Augustine