March - The month dedicated to St Joseph

Prayer to St Joseph

O Glorious St Joseph,

faithful guardian of Jesus and chaste spouse of Mary,

I place myself under your protection and care.

With a Father's heart, you watched over the Holy Family,

watch over me now with the same love and strength.

Guide my work, bless my efforts, 

and help me to walk in humility and faith.

Teach me patience in trails, courage in difficulties

and trust in God's divine plan.

St Joseph patron of workers and protector of families,

pray for me and for all those I love

May your example of quiet obedience and steadfast faith

lead me closer to Jesus and Mary.

Amen

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Let us pray

O Jesus I Surrender myself to You, You take over. Amen

Uphold the true Gospel of Jesus Christ

Today We Celebrate

5th Sunday of Lent

Other saints: 

St Deogratias (d. 457)

St Nicholas Owen (c.1550-1606)

The Way of the Cross

Lent provides us with a wonderful opportunity to reflect on where we are with the Lord.

It is a wonderful way of reliving the final journey of Christ to his death. 

Between Monday 23nd March through to Holy Saturday 

we intend to concentrate on each station 

leading to the glorious events of Easter Sunday. 

On this day we will reflect on a lessor known station

The Resurrection of Jesus.

The stations we follow were composed by St Alphonsus Ligouri.

The Stations or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Our Lord on the day of His suffering and death on the Cross and accompanying prayers. The stations grew out of imitations of Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem  which is believed to be the actual path Jesus walked to mount Calvary.

The object of the stations is to help the Christians faithful to make a spiritual pilgrimage through contemplation of the Suffering and Passion of Jesus. It has become one of the most popular devotions and the stations can be found in many Western Christian

We will follow each station in prayer and reflection

I trust you will walk the Way of the Cross with me over these two weeks leading to the Resurrection and the hope and joy for all mankind.

Preparatory Prayer

My Lord Jesus Christ, Thou hast made this journey to die for me with love unutterable, and I have so many times unworthily abandoned Thee; but now I love Thee with my whole heart, and because I love Thee, I repent sincerely for ever having off ended Thee. Pardon me, my God, and permit me to accompany Thee on this journey. Thou goest to die for love of me; I wish also, my beloved Redeemer, to die for love of Thee.

My Jesus, I will live and die always united to Thee.

John 8:1-11   'Let the one among you who has not sinned be the first to throw a stone'

Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At daybreak he appeared in the Temple again; and as all the people came to him, he sat down and began to teach them.

The scribes and Pharisees brought a woman along who had been caught committing adultery; and making her stand there in full view of everybody, they said to Jesus, ‘Master, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery, and Moses has ordered us in the Law to condemn women like this to death by stoning. What have you to say?’ They asked him this as a test, looking for something to use against him. But Jesus bent down and started writing on the ground with his finger. As they persisted with their question, he looked up and said, ‘If there is one of you who has not sinned, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.’ Then he bent down and wrote on the ground again. When they heard this they went away one by one, beginning with the eldest, until Jesus was left alone with the woman, who remained standing there. 

He looked up and said, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ ‘No one, sir’ she replied. ‘Neither do I condemn you,’ said Jesus ‘go away, and do not sin any more.’

From the Letters of Paul

Philippians 3:8-14

I look on everything as so much rubbish if only I can have Christ

I believe nothing can happen that will outweigh the supreme advantage of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For him I have accepted the loss of everything, and I look on everything as so much rubbish if only I can have Christ and be given a place in him. I am no longer trying for perfection by my own efforts, the perfection that comes from the Law, but I want only the perfection that comes through faith in Christ, and is from God and based on faith. All I want is to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and to share his sufferings by reproducing the pattern of his death. That is the way I can hope to take my place in the resurrection of the dead. Not that I have become perfect yet: I have not yet won, but I am still running, trying to capture the prize for which Christ Jesus captured me. I can assure you my brothers, I am far from thinking that I have already won. All I can say is that I forget the past and I strain ahead for what is still to come; I am racing for the finish, for the prize to which God calls us upwards to receive in Christ Jesus.

ANTIPHON

I am the light of the world, says the Lord;

whoever follows me will not walk in the darkness,

but will have the light of life.

The Holy Rosary

Our Blessed Mother explained to us what would happen in the World and in the Church if people continued to turn from God. Sadly we can now see this all around us in the Church and in the World. One of the things she asked us to do was to say the Rosary everyday. 

Please find a few minutes today to fulfil her request. 

The Holy Rosary

Surrender to Jesus

Surrender is a word that can feel heavy, especially in a world that glorifies self-reliance and control. Yet, when it  comes to our relationship with God, surrender is not about giving up; it’s about giving in—to His love, His plans, and His promises. 

Trusting God in daily surrender is a beautiful yet challenging act of faith.

Trusting God in Daily Surrender

The Surrender Novena

Prayer to St Michael

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in our hour of conflict. 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, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen.

Personal Prayer to Jesus

Lord Jesus I accept you as my personal Saviour. 

From this moment on may I open my heart to you and trust that the Holy Spirit will fill this heart with your love so that I can in all sincerity worship God our Father above all things and love my neighbour as myself.

For me alone this will be extremely difficult. In my human nature I am under constant attack from Satan but I know that if I trust You, You will provide me with whatever graces I need  to withstand such evil attacks.

I know that with Your love it is truly possible to have heaven here on earth.

For what is Heaven except to be in the presence of God.

With Your help I can overcome my human limitations, my needless worries, and my needless concerns. 

Help me accept Your holy living Word as proclaimed in the bible and at every Mass and through the Gospel realise that my childish love reflects Your words  - 

'Unless you become like little children you shall not enter the Kingdom of Heaven'.

Jesus please grant that when my time comes to meet You, You will not be a stranger but a friend.

I can ask for nothing more.

Amen.

Our online Daily Missal and Prayerbook

theworldofourlord.com

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God of peace and love bring us all together in your name. 

Do not let the gates of hell consume us. 

We all believe in God and his Word 

and accept Jesus as our Saviour. 

Send your Spirit to lead us to accept each other 

and our differences and that one day 

we will be one in Christ.

Amen.

Always remember - Jesus loves you.

Only in God is my soul at rest.

In Him comes my salvation.

Always remember - Jesus loves you

We finish as we begun

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen