O God, Father of mercies, whose Only Begotten Son, as he hung upon the Cross, chose the Blessed Virgin Mary, his Mother, to be our Mother also, grant, we pray, that with her loving help your Church may be more fruitful day by day and, exulting in the holiness of her children, may draw to her embrace all the families of the peoples. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

Holy Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for us.

“Prayer is man’s richest boon. It is his light, his nourishment, and his very life, for it brings him into communication with God, who is light, nourishment and life. But of ourselves we know not how we should pray as we ought; we must needs, therefore, address ourselves to Jesus Christ, and say to him as the Apostles did: ‘Lord, teach us how to pray.’” ~Dom Prosper Guéranger, OSB, The Liturgical Year

Help me to journey beyond the familiar and into the unknown. Give me the faith to leave old ways and break fresh ground with You.

Christ of the mysteries, I trust You to be stronger than each storm within me. I will trust in the darkness and know that my times, even now, are in Your hand. Tune my spirit to the music of heaven, and somehow, make my obedience count for You. Amen ~A prayer attributed to St. Brendan

“[E]verything about Catholic beliefs and Catholic living—whether it be about Jesus, the Church, Mary, the sacraments, sex, care for the poor or prayer—everything is centered on our relationship with Jesus and helps us live more profoundly in his love and radiate his love more in the world. And the more we live according to God’s plan for our lives, the more we will resist the enemy, help build up Christ’s kingdom on earth and make our lives, as [Saint] Mother Teresa of Calcutta liked to say, ‘something beautiful for God’.” ~Excerpt from the book “Love Unveiled”, an introduction to Catholicism by Edward Sri

O God, who assigned Saint Matthias a place in the college of Apostles, grant us, through his intercession, that, rejoicing at how your love has been allotted to us, we may merit to be numbered among the elect. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

“Always give good heed to the Word of God, whether you hear or read it in private, or hearken to it when publicly preached: listen with attention and reverence; seek to profit by it, and do not let the precious words fall unheeded; receive them into your heart as a costly balsam; imitate the Blessed Virgin who ‘kept all the sayings’ concerning her Son, ‘in her heart.’ And remember that according as we hearken to and receive God’s words, so will He hearken and receive our supplications.” ~St. Francis de Sales

“The great agitation in the world of today makes it more and more urgent to gain inner strength in those quiet encounters with Christ that make it possible for us to remain under his rule and authority. Situated as we are in the midst of a world that is so terribly unpeaceful, we need constant nourishment for our inner life. In short, if we want to avoid suffering inward shipwreck in the storm of public opinion and chaos, then our hidden inner being needs daily the quiet haven of communion with God.” ~Eberhard Arnold, Innerland

God our Father, may we look forward with hope to our resurrection, for you have made us your sons and daughters, and restored the joy of our youth. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen