O my God, I am heartfully sorry for having offended thee, and I detest all my sins because of thy just punishment, but most of all because I have offended thee my God, who is all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of thy grace, to sin no more, and to avoid the near occasion of sin. Amen.
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Saint Michael Prayer
Saint Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our protection against
the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God,
cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits
who prowl throughout the world
seeking the ruin of souls. Amen
Developing a Habit
A few days ago I mentioned my goal to read the Bible daily throughout 2023 and complete it all by the end of the year. I also discussed where I had attempted reading the Bible many times throughout my life, even sometimes before I became a Catholic. Each of these previous attempts simply failed because I didn’t have a plan and I didn’t allow enough time to develop it into a habit and a routine in my daily life. Of course we can certainly spend a lot of time talking about bad habits, but for this writing I want to talk about developing good habits.
Experts who have devoted their life to studying human behavior refer to the 21/90 rule regarding habits. Basically, it is understood that it takes 21 days to create a habit and 90 days to make it part of your daily life. So as I apply the 21/90 rule to my 2023 Bible in a Year Plan I’ve certainly met the 21 day mark of creating the habit and I’m over half way to making it a part of my daily life.
Of course, being retired has its advantages. Specifically to my daily Bible reading, I’ve blocked an hour in my morning to devote to reading the Bible and reciting my daily Rosary. I find reciting the Holy Rosary immediately after my Bible reading to be the perfect time. As a point of reference, I began reciting my daily Holy Rosary in the fall of 2019 and haven’t missed a single day since and based on the above mentioned 21/90 rule, I actually look forward to and even crave this very important part of my daily routine.
Finally, I believe the best advice I could offer to anyone who wants to develop habits for prayer and devotionals is to start off small. What I mean by that is pick something such as reading the Bible, praying the Holy Rosary or even praying the Liturgy of the Hours and slowly work towards the time it takes to make it a daily habit. You’ll find that once it becomes a formed habit, it is much easier to introduce something else to your daily prayer life.
Until next time…
Fratus tuus in Christo,
Jerry
2023 Bible in a Year Plan
In all my 56 years, while I’ve tried several times, I’ve never actually read the Bible cover to cover. Of course, I’ve read particular chapters/verses, but never with any success have I been able to complete the entire Bible. As 2022 was coming to a close, I began thinking about some goals that I wanted to accomplish for 2023 and reading the Bible was at the top of my spiritual list. I researched a few different options which I found online and decided that the Fr. Mike Schmitz: The Bible in a Year plan was the one that appealed to me the most. I signed up via the Ascension website and within a few minutes had received the reading plan via email.
Today is the 48th day in the plan and I’m happy to report that I’ve been successful at finding 20-30 minutes each day to sit down and carefully read each of the daily readings. The really wonderful thing about Fr. Mike’s plan is he also provides his Youtube video podcast series which follows the reading plan with a daily video. While his series is designed to start on 1 January, you can begin your own journey to reading the entire Bible in a year at any time. The Fr. Mike Schmitz: The Bible in a Year reading plan is absolutely free and may be obtained by registering here. If you’re like me and have struggled to read the entire Bible, I believe this plan will help you and I highly encourage you to begin today.
Until next time…
Fratus tuus in Christo,
Jerry
Prayer to St. Jude
To Saint Jude, Holy Saint Jude, Apostle and Martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, near kinsman to Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor of all who invoke thy special patronage in time of need. To you I have recourse from the depths of my heart and humbly beg to whom God has given such great power to come to my assistance. Help me in my present and urgent petition, in return I promise to make thy name known and cause you to be invoked. Saint Jude pray for us and all who invoke thy aid. Amen
Recite an Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be (3 times). Keep your promise to St. Jude and make his name known.
Fatima Prayer
Oh my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all souls to heaven, especially those most in need of thy mercy.
Hail, Holy Queen
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn, then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
The Glory Be
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son,
and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning,
is now,
and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
Hail Mary
Hail Mary,
Full of Grace,
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit
of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary,
Mother of God,
pray for us sinners now,
and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
The Our Father
Our Father, Who art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy Will be done,
on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.
The Our Father is my favorite prayer. When I was a little boy, my grandmother taught me how to say this prayer and I committed it to memory. I believe The Lord’s Prayer summarizes the entire gospel and serves as my foundation in faith today, just as it did when I was a child.