Prayer to the Divine Infant Jesus

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O Miraculous Infant Jesus, prostrate before Your Sacred image we beseech You to cast a merciful look on our troubled hearts. Let Your tender heart be softened at our prayers and grant us that grace for which we ardently implore You. Take from us all affliction and despair, all trials and misfortunes with which we are laden. For Your Sacred Infant's sake hear our prayers and send us consolation and help, that we may praise You with the Father and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

Love Endures and Fears Nothing

Saint Faustina wrote in her diary: I often felt the Passion of the Lord Jesus in my body, although this was imperceptible [to others], and I rejoiced in it because Jesus wanted it so. But this lasted for only a short time. These sufferings set my soul afire with love for God and for immortal souls. Love endures everything, love is stronger than death, love fears nothing... (Diary entry 46)

Authentic Fasting Leads to Blessing

This powerful reading from the book of Isaiah gives us a great lesson on Lent. It teaches us how to fast and repent -- and makes an important point on what sacrifice is pleasing to God. He wants us to give of ourselves to others. If we do selflessly and lovingly, you shall call, and the Lord will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say: “Here I am!”

 If you lavish your food on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted; Then your light shall rise in the darkness, and your gloom shall become like midday.

Isaiah 58:1-11

Reasons for Judgment

Cry out full-throated and unsparingly,
lift up your voice like a trumpet blast;
Proclaim to my people their transgression,
to the house of Jacob their sins.

They seek me day after day,
and desire to know my ways,
Like a nation that has done what is just
and not abandoned the judgment of their God;
They ask of me just judgments,
they desire to draw near to God.

“Why do we fast, but you do not see it?
afflict ourselves, but you take no note?”
See, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits,
and drive all your laborers.

See, you fast only to quarrel and fight
and to strike with a wicked fist!
Do not fast as you do today
to make your voice heard on high!

Is this the manner of fasting I would choose,
a day to afflict oneself?
To bow one’s head like a reed,
and lie upon sackcloth and ashes?
Is this what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the LORD?

Authentic Fasting That Leads to Blessing

Is this not, rather, the fast that I choose:
releasing those bound unjustly,
untying the thongs of the yoke;
Setting free the oppressed,
breaking off every yoke?

Is it not sharing your bread with the hungry,
bringing the afflicted and the homeless into your house;
Clothing the naked when you see them,
and not turning your back on your own flesh?

Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your wound shall quickly be healed;
Your vindication shall go before you,
and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.

Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer,
you shall cry for help, and he will say: “Here I am!”
If you remove the yoke from among you,
the accusing finger, and malicious speech;

If you lavish your food on the hungry
and satisfy the afflicted;
Then your light shall rise in the darkness,
and your gloom shall become like midday;

Then the LORD will guide you always
and satisfy your thirst in parched places,
will give strength to your bones
And you shall be like a watered garden,
like a flowing spring whose waters never fail.

Mary, Our Mother of Mercy

In this entry is Saint Faustina's diary, we see the Blessed Virgin Mary, powerful and loving, embracing Her Divine Son.

Saint Faustina wrote in 1934: Once, the confessor told me to pray for his intention, and I began a novena to the Mother of God. This novena consisted in the prayer, "Hail, Holy Queen," recited nine times. Toward the end of the novena I saw the Mother of God with the Infant Jesus in Her arms, and I also saw my confessor kneeling at Her feet and talking with Her. I did not understand what he was saying to Her, because I was busy talking with the Infant Jesus, who came down from His Mother's arms and approached me. I could not stop wondering at His beauty. I heard a few of the words that the Mother of God spoke to him [i.e., my confessor] but not everything. The words were: I am not only the Queen of Heaven, but also the Mother of Mercy and your Mother. And at that moment She stretched out her right hand, in which She was clasping her mantle, and She covered the priest with it. At that moment, the vision vanished. (Diary entry 330)

Pray to Our Lady, Our Mother of Mercy, for peace of heart and mind, and perfect love of God.

Blessed Virgin Mary, who can worthily repay you with praise and thanks for having rescued a fallen world by your generous consent! Receive our gratitude, and by your prayers obtain the pardon of our sins. Take our prayers into the sanctuary of Heaven and enable them to make our peace with God.

Holy Mary, help the miserable, strengthen the discouraged, comfort the sorrowful, pray for your people, plead for the clergy, intercede for all women consecrated to God. May all who venerate you feel now your help and protection. Be ready to help us when we pray, and bring back to us the answers to our prayers. Make it your continual concern to pray for the people of God, for you were blessed by God and were made worthy to bear the Redeemer of the world, who lives and reigns forever. Amen.

Saint Augustine of Hippo

Friday Meditation

Psalm 51 is one of the seven Penitential Psalms and a truly perfect prayer for Lent. It calls us to acknowledge how our failures have separated us from God and ask for forgiveness -- and if we have remorse and do repent, we will be fully healed. It is also a prayer of boundless hope in God's mercy, with the cry to our Lord: A clean heart create for me, God; renew in me a steadfast spirit. Do not drive me from your presence, nor take from me your holy spirit. Restore my joy in your salvation; sustain in me a willing spirit.


Take a minute to read, reflect and pray on Psalm 51

For the leader. A psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him after his affair with Bathsheba.

Have mercy on me, God, in your goodness; in your abundant compassion blot out my offense.

Wash away all my guilt; from my sin cleanse me.

For I know my offense; my sin is always before me.

Against you alone have I sinned; I have done such evil in your sight
That you are just in your sentence, blameless when you condemn.

True, I was born guilty, a sinner, even as my mother conceived me.

Still, you insist on sincerity of heart; in my inmost being teach me wisdom.

Cleanse me with hyssop, that I may be pure; wash me, make me whiter than snow. Let me hear sounds of joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Turn away your face from my sins; blot out all my guilt.

A clean heart create for me, God; renew in me a steadfast spirit.

Do not drive me from your presence, nor take from me your holy spirit.

Restore my joy in your salvation; sustain in me a willing spirit.

I will teach the wicked your ways, that sinners may return to you.

Rescue me from death, God, my saving God, that my tongue may praise your healing power.

Lord, open my lips; my mouth will proclaim your praise.

For you do not desire sacrifice; a burnt offering you would not accept.

My sacrifice, God, is a broken spirit; God, do not spurn a broken, humbled heart.

Make Zion prosper in your good pleasure; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

Then you will be pleased with proper sacrifice, burnt offerings and holocausts; then bullocks will be offered on your altar.

A Special Anniversary

Some 81 years ago today, the world was given a supremely powerful and holy gift from Our Lord. Read Jesus's words to Saint Faustina, as recorded in her diary, on the importance of Divine Mercy, streaming rays of holy grace from Our Lord's Sacred Heart to us. Do Not Be Afraid. Draw near to Him and honor Him, and commit yourself to Divine Mercy, its celebration and spread to all the Earth.

February 22, 1931
In the evening, when I was in my cell, I saw the Lord Jesus clothed in a white garment. One hand [was] raised in the gesture of blessing, the other was touching the garment at the breast. From beneath the garment, slightly drawn aside at the breast, there were emanating two large rays, one red, the other pale. In silence I kept my gaze fixed on the Lord; my soul was struck with awe, but also with great joy. After a while, Jesus said to me, Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature: Jesus, I trust in You. I desire that this image be venerated, first in your chapel, and [then] throughout the world. 

I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish. I also promise victory over [its] enemies already here on earth, especially at the hour of death. I Myself will defend it as My own glory.

When I told this to my confessor, I received this for a reply: "That refers to your soul." He told me, "Certainly, paint God's image in your soul." When I came out of the confessional, I again heard words such as these: My image already is in your soul. I desire that there be a Feast of Mercy. I want this image, which you will paint with a brush, to be solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter; that Sunday is to be the Feast of Mercy.

I desire that priests proclaim this great mercy of Mine towards souls of sinners. Let the sinner not be afraid to approach Me. The flames of mercy are burning Me - clamoring to be spent; I want to pour them out upon these souls.

Jesus complained to me in these words, Distrust on the part of souls is tearing at My insides. The distrust of a chosen soul causes Me even greater pain; despite My inexhaustible love for them they do not trust Me. Even My death is not enough for them. Woe to the soul that abuses these [gifts]. (Diary entries 47 to 50)

Today's Meditation

From Saint Faustina we get essential life guidance. Let us echo her diary notes in our daily lives, namely to trust in Jesus and do all things with Jesus, through Jesus, in Jesus.

Jesus, I trust in You; I trust in the ocean of your mercy. You are a Mother to me. (Diary entry 249)

This year, 1933, is for me an especially solemn year, because in this Jubilee Year of the Lord's Passion, I have taken my perpetual vows. I have joined my sacrifice in a special way to the sacrifice of the crucified Jesus, in order to thus become more pleasing to God. I do all things with Jesus, through Jesus, in Jesus. (Diary entry 250)

Readings for Reflection

Today's Reading 1 James 4:1-10

Beloved:
Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from?
Is it not from your passions that make war within your members?
You covet but do not possess.
You kill and envy but you cannot obtain;
you fight and wage war.
You do not possess because you do not ask.
You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly,
to spend it on your passions.
Adulterers!
Do you not know that to be a lover of the world means enmity with God?
Therefore, whoever wants to be a lover of the world
makes himself an enemy of God.
Or do you suppose that the Scripture speaks without meaning when it says,
The spirit that he has made to dwell in us tends toward jealousy? 
But he bestows a greater grace; therefore, it says:
God resists the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.

So submit yourselves to God.
Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
Cleanse your hands, you sinners,
and purify your hearts, you of two minds.
Begin to lament, to mourn, to weep.
Let your laughter be turned into mourning
and your joy into dejection.
Humble yourselves before the Lord
and he will exalt you.

Responsorial Psalm 55:7-8, 9-10a, 10b-11a, 23

R. Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you.

And I say, "Had I but wings like a dove,
I would fly away and be at rest.
Far away I would flee;
I would lodge in the wilderness."

R. Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you.

"I would wait for him who saves me
from the violent storm and the tempest."
Engulf them, O Lord; divide their counsels.

R. Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you.

In the city I see violence and strife,
day and night they prowl about upon its walls.

R. Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you.

Cast your care upon the LORD,
and he will support you;
never will he permit the just man to be disturbed.

R. Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you.

Gospel of Mark 9:30-37

Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee,
but he did not wish anyone to know about it.
He was teaching his disciples and telling them,
"The Son of Man is to be handed over to men
and they will kill him,
and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise."
But they did not understand the saying,
and they were afraid to question him.

They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house,
he began to ask them,
"What were you arguing about on the way?"
But they remained silent.
For they had been discussing among themselves on the way
who was the greatest.
Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them,
"If anyone wishes to be first,
he shall be the last of all and the servant of all."
Taking a child, he placed it in their midst,
and putting his arms around it, he said to them,
"Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me;
and whoever receives me,
receives not me but the One who sent me."

Pray to St. Faustina for God's Grace

Saint Faustina shows us that when we put ourselves in God's presence, He is with us. Praise Jesus and Mary with pure intentions and they will tend to your needs and wants. Faustina, who is our model and Secretary of Divine Mercy, wrote in her notebook in May 1938:

On my way to the veranda, I went into the chapel for a moment. My heart was plunged in profound adoration, praising God's incomprehensible goodness and His mercy. Then I heard these words in my soul: I am and will be for you such as you praise Me for being. You shall experience My goodness, already in this life and then, to the full, in the life to come. (Diary entry 1707)

Pray for Our Priests and Religious

It is imperative that we pray for the souls of all priests and religious. They are keepers of our Lord's love. He needs them to be strong and faithful, as do we. Saint Faustina wrote in her diary in 1938:

Towards the end of the Way of the Cross which I was making, the Lord Jesus began to complain about the souls of religious and priests, about the lack of love in chosen souls. I will allow convents and churches to be destroyed. I answered, "Jesus, but there are so many souls praising You in convents." The Lord answered, That praise wounds My Heart, because love has been banished from convents. Souls without love and without devotion, souls full of egoism and self-love, souls full of pride and arrogance, souls full of deceit and hypocrisy, lukewarm souls who have just enough warmth to keep them alive: My Heart cannot bear this. All the graces that I pour out upon them flow off them as off the face of a rock. I cannot stand them, because they are neither good or bad. I called convents into being to sanctify the world through them. It is from them that a powerful flame of love and sacrifice should burst forth. And if they do not repent and become enkindled by their first love, I will deliver them over to the fate of this world...
How can they sit on the promised throne of judgment to judge the world, when their guilt is greater than the guilt of the world? There is neither penance nor atonement. O heart, which received Me in the morning and at noon are all ablaze with hatred against Me, hatred of all sorts! O heart specially chosen by Me, were you chosen for this, to give Me more pain? The great sins of the world are superficial wounds on My Heart, but the sins of a chosen soul pierce My Heart through and through... (Diary entry 1702)

Saint Therese's Prayer for Priests
O Jesus, eternal Priest,
keep your priests within the shelter of Your Sacred Heart,
where none may touch them.
Keep unstained their anointed hands,
which daily touch Your Sacred Body.
Keep unsullied their lips,
daily purpled with your Precious Blood.
Keep pure and unearthly their hearts,
sealed with the sublime mark of the priesthood.
Let Your holy love surround them and
shield them from the world’s contagion.
Bless their labors with abundant fruit and
may the souls to whom they minister be their joy and consolation
here and in heaven their beautiful and everlasting crown. Amen.

Today's Readings

Blessed Chiara Badano showed us by her life, through tremendous trials and grace that we must persevere in faith. The Lord gives us sweet tests of love to strengthen us. Though it may seem difficult, the Lord carries us at all moments.

James 1:1-11

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
to the twelve tribes in the dispersion, greetings.

Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters,
when you encounter various trials,
for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
And let perseverance be perfect,
so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
But if any of you lacks wisdom,
he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly,
and he will be given it.
But he should ask in faith, not doubting,
for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea
that is driven and tossed about by the wind.
For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord,
since he is a man of two minds, unstable in all his ways.

The brother in lowly circumstances
should take pride in high standing,
and the rich one in his lowliness,
for he will pass away "like the flower of the field."
For the sun comes up with its scorching heat and dries up the grass,
its flower droops, and the beauty of its appearance vanishes.
So will the rich person fade away in the midst of his pursuits.


Responsorial Psalm 119:67, 68, 71, 72, 75, 76

R. Be kind to me, Lord, and I shall live.

Before I was afflicted I went astray,
but now I hold to your promise.

R. Be kind to me, Lord, and I shall live.

You are good and bountiful;
teach me your statutes.

R. Be kind to me, Lord, and I shall live.

It is good for me that I have been afflicted,
that I may learn your statutes.

R. Be kind to me, Lord, and I shall live.

The law of your mouth is to me more precious
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

R. Be kind to me, Lord, and I shall live.

I know, O LORD, that your ordinances are just,
and in your faithfulness you have afflicted me.

R. Be kind to me, Lord, and I shall live.

Let your kindness comfort me
according to your promise to your servants.

R. Be kind to me, Lord, and I shall live.

Gospel Mark 8:11-13

The Pharisees came forward and began to argue with Jesus,
seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him.
He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said,
"Why does this generation seek a sign?
Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation."
Then he left them, got into the boat again,
and went off to the other shore.

Remember Us, O Lord

Responsorial Psalm 106:6-7ab, 19-20, 21-22

R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.

We have sinned, we and our fathers;
we have committed crimes; we have done wrong.
Our fathers in Egypt
considered not your wonders.

R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.

They made a calf in Horeb
and adored a molten image;
They exchanged their glory
for the image of a grass-eating bullock.

R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.

They forgot the God who had saved them,
who had done great deeds in Egypt,
Wondrous deeds in the land of Ham,
terrible things at the Red Sea.

R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.

Our Lady of Lourdes Feast

Prayer to Our Lady of Lourdes

O ever Immaculate Virgin, Mother of Mercy, you are the refuge of sinners and the comfort of the afflicted. Look with mercy on us. By appearing in the Grotto of Lourdes you gave the world hope. Your Son has healed many, thanks to your compassionate intercession. Therefore, I come humbly before you to ask for your motherly intercession for all who are sick in body, mind and spirit. Holy Mary, pray for us now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Read more about the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin to a poor, fourteen-year-old girl, Bernadette.

Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

Conversion of Sinners

Saint Faustina knew that God wanted her to pray for sinners.

Even though, at times, we may fall away from God through our mistakes, failings and unbelief, God will always welcome us back if we are sincere about repenting and wanting to better -- never offending our Lord again.
Jesus said to Saint Faustina in 1937:

The Lord said to me, The loss of each soul plunges Me into mortal sadness. You always console Me when you pray for sinners. The prayer most pleasing to Me is prayer for the conversion of sinners. Know, My daughter, that this prayer is always heard and answered. (Diary entry 1397)

Approach Jesus as a Friend

Saint Faustina reminds us in this passage from her diary of experiences of God's Most Divine Mercy that we must go to Jesus, to fully trust and not fear Him. Though we are afraid at times, He is our best friend, our most trusted adviser and compassionate companion. Go to Mass and Confession as often as possible. He wants you there. 

Today I heard a voice in my soul: Oh, if sinners knew My mercy, they would not perish in such great numbers. Tell sinful souls not to be afraid to approach Me; speak to them of My great mercy. (Diary entry 1396)

Finding Strength ThroughThe Most Blessed Sacrament

Saint Faustina wrote in her diary in November 1937 about her love for the Most Blessed Sacrament, which is the Lord Himself. We see how important it is to be with our Lord, even at a young age, listening and talking to Him. What graces we will receive. 

You, too, will find peace and mercy if you spend time adoring our Lord in the sanctity and quiet of His Most Holy Presence. Parents, take your child to visit Jesus at more than Mass. Go to Adoration! Use this Website to find a Catholic church in your town that has adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament. Read what Saint Faustina wrote:

Hidden Jesus, in You lies all my strength. From my most tender years, the Lord Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament has attracted me to Himself. Once, when I was seven years old, at a Vesper Service, conducted before the Lord Jesus in the monstrance, the love of God was imparted to me for the first time and filled my little heart; and the Lord gave me understanding of divine things. From that day until this, my love for the hidden God has been growing constantly to the point of closest intimacy. All the strength of my soul flows from the Blessed Sacrament. I spend all my free moments in conversation with Him. He is my Master. (Diary entry 1404)

Our Lady of Lourdes Novena

Our Mother of Mercy, Mary. Pray for us.

O ever Immaculate Virgin, Mother of Mercy, Health of the Sick, Refuge of Sinners, Comfort to the Afflicted, you know my wants, my troubles, my sufferings.

Deign to cast upon me a look of mercy.

By appearing in the grotto of Lourdes, you were pleased to make it a privileged sanctuary, whence you dispense your favors; and already many suffers have obtained the cure of their infirmities, both spiritual and corporal.

I come, therefore, with the most unbounded confidence to implore your maternal intercession.

Obtain, O loving Mother, the granting of my requests.

Through gratitude for favors, I will endeavor to imitate your virtues that I may one day share your glory.

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us. (One Our Father, one Hail Mary, one Glory Be) Amen.

Mary is Our Hope. She will lead us to Jesus.